All keywords

Various fine chemical products like glue, adhesives, resins, rubber, plastic compounds, selective herbicide, etc. (Source: ICBT)

A taxonomic category ranking immediately below a genus and including closely related, morphologically similar individuals which actually or potentially inbreed. (Source: MGH)

An organized group of activities and procedures, often run by a government agency or a nonprofit organization, to preserve and protect living organisms designated as being at risk. (Source: RHW / TOE)

Loss of species due to factors such as climate change or random events such as persistent drought, natural catastrophe, the emergence of a new predator, or genetic mutation. (Source: WRES)

Reintroducing wild animal and plant species to their natural habitat. The reintroduction of species in a region requires a preliminary study to establish the reasons of their disappearance and the modifications that might have occurred in the biotopes. (Source: SCIFRI / RAMADE)

Closely grouped bands of lines characteristic of molecular gases of chemical compounds (spectroscopy). (Source: DICCHE)

The branch of physics concerned with the production, measurement, and interpretation of electromagnetic spectra arising from either emission or absorption of radiant energy by various substances. (Source: MGH)

An address or form of oral communication in which a speaker makes his thoughts and emotions known before an audience, often for a given purpose. (Source: RHW)

A scalar measure of the rate of movement of a body expressed either as the distance travelled divided by the time taken (average speed) or the rate of change of position with respect to time at a particular point (instantaneous speed). It is measured in metres per second, miles per hour, etc. (Source: CED)

The maximum permitted speed at which a vehicle may travel on certain roads. (Source: CED)

Any predatory silk-producing arachnid of the order Araneae, having four pairs of legs and a rounded unsegmented body consisting of abdomen and cephalothorax. (Source: CED)

The uncontrolled discharge, leakage, dripping or running over of fluids or liquid substances. (Source: HMD)

Place where rubbish and waste minerals dug out of a mine are deposited. (Source: CED / PHC)

A person, firm, organization, etc. that provides or pledges money for an undertaking or event.

The complex of individual or group activities pursued for exercise or pleasure, often taking a competitive form. (Source: CED)

Buildings, constructions, installations, organized areas and equipment for indoor and outdoor sport activities. (Source: RRDA)

An aerosol can for applying paint, deodorant, etc., as a fine spray. (Source: SHOOX)

Asbestos emitted into the atmosphere in a spraying operation.

A place where ground water flows naturally from a rock or the soil onto the land surface or into a body of surface water. (Source: BJGEO)

Water obtained from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface, or would flow naturally to the surface if it were not collected underground. (Source: WQA)

Supplying water or pesticides to crops with a spray. (Source: PHCa)

An open area in a town, sometimes including the surrounding buildings. (Source: CED)

Settlement on land or property to which there is no legal title. (Source: CEDa)

Ponds in which wastes are allowed to decompose over long periods of time and aeration is provided only by wind action. Sunlight is allowed to fall on sewage to purify it. (Source: PARCOR / PHC)

A building or structure usually with stalls that is used to house and feed horses, cattle or other animals. (Source: RHW)

The portion of a chimney rising above the roof. (Source: MGH)

1) Something considered by an authority or by general consent as a basis of comparison. 2) An object regarded as the most common size or form of its kind. 3) A rule or principle that is used as a basis for judgment. 4) An average or normal quality, quantity, or level.

A norm or measure applicable in legal cases for any enterprise involved in the construction, remodeling or finishing of enclosed structures for habitation. (Source: BLD)

The act of conforming to a rule. (Source: ZINZAN)

The most commonly or regularly eaten food in a country or community and which forms the mainstay of the total calorie supply, especially in the poorer populations and at times of food shortage. (Source: GUNN)

A polysaccharide which is a combination of many monosaccharide molecules, made during photosynthesis and stored as starch grains in many plants. (Source: ALL)

A people permanently occupying a fixed territory bound together by common law, habits and custom into one body politic exercising, through the medium of an organized government, independent sovereignty and control over all persons and things within its boundaries, unless or until authority is ceded to a federation or union of other states. (Source: BLD)

An area of land and/or of water designated as having protected status for purposes of preserving certain biological features. Reserves are managed primarily to safeguard these features and provide opportunities for research into the problems underlying the management of natural sites and of vegetation and animal populations. Regulations are normally imposed controlling public access and disturbance. (Source: GOOD)

The power or authority of a government to regulate or command industry, organizations, programs, initiatives and individuals. (Source: RHW)

Forest owned and managed by the State. (Source: WEBSTEa)

One of the three fundamental conditions of matter: the solid, the liquid, and gaseous states. (Source: MGH)

Everything made available to the public by means of a written or oral description, by use or in any other way before the date of the patent application, or an application filed in a foreign country the priority of which is validly claimed. (Source: ECHO1)

A place along a route or line at which a bus, train, etc. stops for fuel or to pick up or let off passengers or goods, especially with ancillary buildings and services. (Source: CED)

The body of techniques used in statistical inference concerning a population. (Source: MGH)

No definition needed.

Knowledge pertaining to the collection, classification, analysis and interpretation of numerical data. (Source: ISEP / RHW)

A coordinated assemblage of people, devices or other resources enabling the exchange of numerical data that has been collected, classified or interpreted for analysis. (Source: RHW)

An ordered sequence of data samples in numerical form used to predict or demonstrate trends through time and space. (Source: RHW / APD)

A branch of mathematics dealing with the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of masses of numerical data. (Source: LANDY)

The extent to which a society promotes human well-being in all dimensions of existence by forming people's capabilities, expanding choices and increasing opportunities. (Source: POP)

A declaration made in a prescribed form before a justice of the peace, notary public, or other person authorized to administer an oath. (Source: DICLAW)

An association, supported in whole or part by public funding, that is established to operate programs for the public, often with little interference from government in day-to-day business. (Source: BLD / ODE)

A document or a portion thereof expressing an official enactment of a legislative body, with emphasis on the document's precise wording or language. (Source: RHW)

Unceasing prolonged noise, without interruption. (Source: CED)

A pressurized system in which water is vaporized to steam by heat transferred from a source of higher temperature, usually the products of combustion from burning fuels. Also known as steam boiler. (Source: MGH)

Any of various alloys based on iron containing carbon (usually 0.1-0.7 per cent) and often small quantities of other elements such as phosphorus, sulphur, manganese, chromium, and nickel. Steels exhibit a variety of properties, such as strength, machinability, malleability, etc., depending on their composition and the way they have been treated. (Source: CED)

Industry that deals with the processing of iron. (Source: RRDA)

Procedure by which a human or other animal is made incapable of reproduction. (Source: WEBSTE)

An act or process of destroying all forms of microbial life on and in an object. (Source: MGH)

A compound composed of a series of four carbon rings joined together to form a structural unit called cyclopentanoperhydrophenanthrene. (Source: MGH)

A group of individuals of one species within a specified area. (Source: LBC) planting of woody plants ; woody plant (tree) stock <D>

Stored products ready for sale.

The handling or controlling of accumulated materials or stored goods. (Source: ISEP / RHW)

To keep a supply accumulated for future use. (Source: AMHER) term mainly used for goods

The counting over of materials or goods on hand, as in a stockroom or store.

A general term for rock that is used in construction, either crushed for use as aggregate or cut into shaped blocks as dimension stone. (Source: BJGEO)

A series of actions undertaken to deposit or hold goods, materials or waste in some physical location, as in a facility, container, tank or dumping site. (Source: RHW) general term used for energy, heat, pollutants, also within the meaning of accumulation

A barrier of concrete, earth, etc., built across a river to create a body of water. (Source: CED)

An atmospheric disturbance involving perturbations of the prevailing pressure and wind fields on scales ranging from tornadoes to extratropical cyclones; also the associated weather and the like. (Source: MGH)

Storms may cause flooding and damage to crops; uproot trees; damage roofs and chimneys; break windows, leading to rain damage; overturn trucks; affect transportation, communication and energy supplies; delay building construction and destroy traditional landmarks. In their more violent form, storms may cause severe damage and loss of life. (Source: WPR)

Basin used to hold water which falls as rain during a storm. (Source: RRDA)

A chamber within which a fuel-air mixture is burned to provide heat, the heat itself being radiated outward from the chamber; used for space heating, process-fluid heating, and steel blast furnaces. (Source: MGH)

The arrangement of a body of water, as a lake, into two or more horizontal layers of different characteristics, especially densities. (Source: MGH)

The layer of the atmosphere which is sandwiched between the troposphere and mesosphere. Of the energy that reaches the Earth from the sun, only 3% is absorbed in the stratosphere, but that includes the vitally important process of absorption of ultraviolet radiation by the stratospheric ozone layer. The stratosphere is cloudless and dust free, and almost unaffected by the turbulent conditions of the underlying level of the atmosphere. (Source: WRIGHT)

Damage of the ozone shield by chemicals released on Earth. The main chemicals that are depleting stratospheric ozone are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are used in refrigerators, aerosols, and as cleaners in many industries, and halons which are used in fire extinguishers. The damage is caused when these chemicals release highly reactive forms of chlorine and bromine. (Source: WRIGHT)

The quantitative determination of the rate and amount of flow or discharge from a natural body of running water, such as a small river or brook. (Source: DOE / WWD / WRT)

The process of removing dirt, litter or other unsightly materials from city or town streets. (Source: ISEP)

No definition needed.

A stimulus or succession of stimuli of such magnitude as to tend to disrupt the homeostasis of the organism. (Source: MGH)

Superficial mining, in which the valuable rock is exposed by removal of overburden. Coal, numerous nonmetals and metalliferous ores (iron and copper) are worked in this way. Sinonym: strip mining, opencast mining, openpit mining. (Source: BJGEO)

High degree of ionization of an acid in water solution. (Source: KORENa)

A soft silvery-white element of the alkaline earth group of metals, occurring chiefly as celestite and as strontianite. Its compounds burn with a crimson flame and are used in fire works. (Source: CED)

A program for economic reforms aimed at improving or liberalizing an economy, which is advocated and imposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on poor or developing countries in exchange for new loans. (Source: LCC / OXF / BWP)

Metropolitan structure and land use plan intended to outline the general lines along which development should proceed in an area. (Source: ECHO1 / GOOD)

The association between a chemical structure and carcinogenicity. (Source: KOREN)

Sound that travels over at least part of its path by means of the vibration of a solid structure. (Source: CONFER)

The line demarcating a territory located within the limits of a State. (Source: GOODa)

That aspect of geological oceanography which deals with the relief features of the ocean floor and with the forces that modify them. (Source: BJGEO)

1) A sinking down of a part of the earth's crust, generally due to underground excavations. 2) The sudden sinking or gradual downward settling of the Earth's surface with little or no horizontal motion. The movement is not restricted in rate, magnitude, or area involved. Subsidence may be caused by natural geologic processes, such as solution, thawing, compaction, slow crustal warping, or withdrawal of fluid lava from beneath a solid crust; or by man's activity, such as subsurface mining or the pumping of oil or ground water. (Source: MGH / BJGEO)

The fundamental doctrine or tenet that policy making decisions should be made at the most decentralized level, in which a centralized governing body would not take action unless it it is more effective than action taken at a lower government level. (Source: ODE)

Any monetary grant made by the government to a private industrial undertaking or charitable organization, but especially one given to consumers or producers in order to lower the market price of some service or product and make it readily affordable to the public. (Source: MGHME / RHW)

Soil underlying surface soil, devoid of plant roots. (Source: MGH / ZINZAN)

The removal of surplus water from within the soil by natural or artificial means, such as by drains placed below the surface to lower the water table below the root zone. (Source: BJGEO)

The capability of a substance of being replaced by another, for example sweeteners used in place of sugar. (Source: RRDA) character of a process or substance to be possibly substituded by a less harmful one <D>

Halogenated compounds, because of their toxical and persistent character, should be substituted by environmental friendly compounds, like water-based fat solvents in metal processing industry or water-based coating agents. (Source: RRDA)

Replacement of phosphate in detergents by environmentally safer substances, such as zeolite. The substitute will not act as a nutrient, and so will not cause eutrophication as a result of the accelerated growth of plants and microorganisms if it is released into waterways. (Source: WRIGHTa)

The interacting system of a biological community and its non-living environmental surroundings in regions bordering on the tropics or the regions between tropical and temperate zones. (Source: TOE / DOE / RHW)

A residential district situated on the outskirts of a city or town. (Source: CAMB)

Sudden immission in considerable amount of one or more pollutants in the atmosphere, in a water body or in the soil. (Source: RRDA)

A sweet crystalline or powdered substance, white when pure, consisting of sucrose obtained mainly from sugar cane and sugar beets and used in many foods, drinks, and medicines to improve their taste. (Source: AMHER)

Establishments primarily engaged in processing raw cane sugar, sugar beets or starches to finished sucrose, glucose or fructose. By-products of this industry include beet pulp and inedible molasses. (Source: PGE)

A salt or ester of sulfuric acid, widely distributed in nature and often found in the atmosphere. (Source: INP)

Any compound that includes one or more sulfur atoms with a more electropositive element, either carbon, metal or some other nonoxygen atom. (Source: RHW / MHD)

A nonmetallic element existing in a crystalline or amorphous form and in four stable isotopes; used as a chemical intermediate and fungicide, and in rubber vulcanization. It is deposited from volcanic vents and fumaroles and also is found in sedimentary rocks, particularly with gypsum and limestone, and associated with salt-domes. Native sulphur is the main source of sulphur for the sulphuric acid industry, followed by sour gas (natural gas containing hydrogen sulphide) and pyrite. Sulphur is an essential plant macronutrient. (Source: MGH / ALL)

Sulphur content in a solution. (Source: MGH)

Emissions of the gas given off during the burning of fossil fuels in power stations and other boilers. Sulphur dioxide is created because sulphur is an impurity in most coal and oils. When the fuel is burned the hot sulphur reacts with oxygen in the atmosphere to form sulphur dioxide. (Source: WRIGHT)

A gas at ordinary temperatures; produces an orange-red deposit when cooled to temperatures of liquid air; prepared by passing an electric discharge through a mixture of sulfur vapor and sulfur dioxide at low temperature. (Source: MGH)

An oxide of sulphur, such as sulphur dioxide and sulphur trioxide; they are formed primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels; major air pollutants and cause of damage to the respiratory tract as well as vegetation. (Source: MGH / KOREN)

A toxic, corrosive, strongly acid, colorless liquid that is miscible with water and dissolves most metals, and melts at 10C; used in industry in the manufacture of chemicals, fertilizers and explosives, and in petroleum refining. (Source: MGH)

A graphical representation processing technique by which an analyst selects groups of pixels, determines their spectral response signature and trains a computer system to recognize pixels based on this spectral response pattern. (Source: TWS)

The oversight or direction in the construction and maintenance of houses, facilities, offices and other structures. (Source: RHW)

The oversight or direction over the process of setting up or making adjustments to a building or to a mechanical or electrical system or apparatus. (Source: OED)

An appointed or official group given the responsibility of overseeing or managing normal work operations, special projects or other functions of an organization or agency. (Source: RHW)

The willingness and ability to sell a range of quantities of a good at a range of prices, during a given time period. Supply is one half of the market exchange process; the other is demand. (Source: AMOS2)

The relationship between the amount or quantity of a commodity that is available for purchase and the desire or ability of consumers to buy or purchase the commodity, which, in theory, determines the commodity's price in a free market. (Source: MGHME)

Any soluble substance composed of two or more unlike atoms held together by chemical bonds that reduces interfacial tension between liquids or a liquid and a solid, often used as detergents, wetting agents and emulsifiers. (Source: APD / WQA)

Water that travels over the soil surface to the nearest surface stream; runoff of a drainage basin that has not passed beneath the surface since precipitation. (Source: BJGEO)

The force acting on the surface of a liquid, tending to minimize the area of the surface; quantitatively, the force that appears to act across a line of unit length on the surface. Also known as interfacial force; interfacial tension; surface intensity. (Source: MGH)

Any method of treating a material (metal, polymer, or wood) so as to alter the surface, rendering it receptive to inks, paints, lacquers, adhesives, and various other treatments, or resistant to weather or chemical attack. (Source: MGH)

All waters on the surface of the Earth found in streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, marshes or wetlands, and as ice and snow. (Source: LANDY / BJGEO)

The administration or handling of water naturally open to the atmosphere (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, streams, seas, etc.). (Source: RHW / TOE)

A substance that, when used in small quantities, modifies the surface properties of liquids or solids. A surface-active agent reduces surface tension in a fluid or the interfacial tension between two immiscible fluids, such as oil and water. Surfactants are particularly useful in accomplishing the wetting or penetration of solids by aqueous liquids and serve in the manner of detergent, emulsifying, or dispersing agents. They are more effective than soap in certain situations and are used by conservators for such purposes as cleaning, wetting, and dispersing. (Source: PALIM)

Any tissue, blood or mucus removed during surgery or autopsy, soiled surgical dressings, or other materials requiring special disposal procedures. (Source: UMT)

The extent to which assets exceed liabilities, especially the profits remaining after operating expenses, taxes, interest and insurance costs are subtracted. (Source: IVW)

System that permits the continuous observation, measurement and evaluation of the progress of a process or phenomenon with the view to taking corrective measures. (Source: GUNN)

A critical examination of facts or conditions to provide information on a situation. Usually conducted by interviews and/or on-site visitations. (Source: LANDY)

The act or fact of surviving or condition of having survived. (Source: CED)

Matter suspended in a fluid by the upward components of turbulent currents or by colloidal suspension. (Source: DUNSTE)

Development that provides economic, social and environmental benefits in the long term having regard to the needs of living and future generations. Defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 as: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Source: GILP96)

Statistical indicators used for measuring sustainable development that may be chosen among a wide range of themes as, for example, environmental capacity and quality of life. (Source: PORT)

Use of the environment and its living resources at a rate that does not exceed its capacity for renewal in order to ensure its availability for future generations. (Source: DUNSTE / UNUNa)

A permanently waterlogged area in which there is often associated tree growth, e.g. mangroves in hot climates. (Source: WHIT)

A family of waterfowl, including ducks, gees, mergansers, pochards and swans, in the order Anseriformes. (Source: MGH)

A sweetening agent, especially one that does not contain sugar. (Source: CED)

A regular movement of marine waves created by wind stress in the open ocean which travels considerable distances away from the generating field and into another wind field. The waves are characterized by relatively smooth, generally unbroken, crests and a fairly regular wavelength, but swell increases in wavelength and decreases in wave height as it moves away from the generating area. Local wind waves may be superimposed upon swell waves as they approach a coastline, thereby creating sharper crests and a choppy sea. (Source: WHIT)

A close and mutually beneficial association of organisms of different species. (Source: ALL)

Study of the ecology of organisms, populations, communities or systems. (Source: LBC)

An ecological association in which the physiological processes of behaviour of an individual are enhanced by the nearby presence of another organism. (Source: MGH)

1) A state in which the combined effect of two or more substances is greater than the sum of the separate effects. 2) An effect whereby two toxic substance together have more of an impact than anticipated. (Source: PORT / GILP96)

An artificially produced solid or liquid cleansing substance that acts like soap but is stronger, and is capable of dissolving oily materials and dispersing them in water. (Source: DOE / RIC)

No definition needed.

Material made artificially by chemical reaction. (Source: CEDa)

No definition needed.

An artificially produced filament or threadlike strand used by manufacturers to produce clothes or other goods that require weaving, knitting or felting, including polyester, nylon, rayon and other similar material. (Source: INP / RHW)

A means of organizing elements into an integrated analytic and/or decisionmaking procedure to achieve the best possible results. (Source: LANDY)

Analysis or estimate noting similarities and differences in the operations of businesses and organizations. (Source: ISEP / OED)

The science concerned with the general study of structures and behaviours of systems which may be applicable in different branches of learning. (Source: ECHO2)

Any collection of liquid effluents or wastewater drained or separated out during the processing of crops or mineral ores. (Source: TOE)

In criminal law and torts, the act of laying hold upon an evidence, with or without removing the same.

Storage space for containers of liquids or gases. (Source: RRDA)

A ship designed for bulk shipment of liquids or gases.

A truck designed for bulk shipment of liquids or gases.

One of a group of complex organic chemicals commonly found in leaves, unripe fruits, and the bark of trees. Their function is uncertain though the unpleasant taste may discourage grazing animals. Some tannins have commercial uses, notably in the production of leather and ink; used in tanning, as a mordant in dyeing, and in ink manufacture. (Source: DICCHE / UVAROV)

A viscous material composed of complex, high-molecular-weight, compounds derived from the distillation of petroleum or the destructive distillation of wood or coal. (Source: MGH)

The manufacture of dark, heavy, viscous substances or residue, which is obtained by the distillation of organic materials such as coal, wood and petroleum. (Source: ENC)

A sandstone in which hydrocarbons have been trapped; the lighter compounds evaporate, leaving a residue of asphalt in the rock pores. (Source: CED)

Any employment or utilization of dark, heavy, viscous substances or residue derived from the distillation of certain organic materials, often to produce benzene, soap, dyes, cosmetics and other products. (Source: ENC)

A collection of people selected and approached by some entity for a variety of purposes, including assistance, recruitment, information dissemination, marketing and research. (Source: RHW)

Establishing or determining environmental goals or objectives. (Source: RHW)

A classified list or scale of charges made in any private or public business. (Source: OED)

An amount of money demanded by a government for its support or for specific facilities or services, most frequently levied upon income, property or sales. (Source: RHW)

A binding rule or body of rules prescribed by a government stipulating the sum of money and manner of collection it demands for governmental support, facilities and services, usually levied upon income, property, sales or other financial resources. (Source: RHW / BLD)

A government imposed levy on the wealth or assets gained by an individual, firm, or corporation for the purpose of raising revenue to pay for services or improvements for the general public benefit. (Source: EFP / RHW)

A sum of money demanded from businesses by a government, usually based on a percentage of total sales of select goods and services, and generally passed on to consumers with each individual purchase. (Source: ODE)

A co-ordinated body of methods or plan of procedures for levying compulsory charges for the purpose of raising revenue. (Source: ISEP / EFP)

The act or result of a government requiring money for its support or for specific facilities or services. (Source: RHW)

The use of government tax and spending policies to achieve desired macroeconomic goals. Accordingly, they involve discretionary efforts to adjust governmental tax and spending to induce changes in economic incentives and, hence, to stabilize fluctuations in aggregate demand. (Source: INDEDU)

The branch of biology concerned with the classification of organisms into groups based on similarities of structures, origin, etc. (Source: CED)

The act of imparting knowledge or skill. (Source: RRDA)

An article or device used to facilitate the learning process in an instructional setting. (Source: RHW)

A procedure, technique or system with definite plans for instruction or imparting knowledge. (Source: RHW)

Factual data, knowledge or instructions relating to scientific research or the development, testing, evaluation, production, use or maintenance of equipment. (Source: RHW / MHD)

The education, instruction, or discipline pertaining to or connected with the mechanical or industrial arts and the applied sciences. (Source: RHW)

A government or management prescribed rule that provides detailed or stringent requirements, either directly or by referring to or incorporating the content of a standard, technical specification or code of practice. (Source: PVG)

Technical Guideline for Dangerous Substances: technical rules for handling dangerous materials. (Source: FKTa)

An unexpected incident, failure or loss occurring through the application of practical or mechanical sciences to industry or commerce that poses potential harm to persons, property or the environment. (Source: HMD / ISEP)

Changing of industrial methods by introducing new technology. (Source: PHC)

No definition needed.

Any application of practical or mechanical sciences to industry or commerce capable of harming persons, property or the environment. (Source: ISEP / FFD)

No definition needed.

Systematic knowledge of and its application to industrial processes; closely related to engineering and science. (Source: MGH)

The approval, favorable reception and ongoing use of newly introduced devices and systems, usually developed from recent advances in the engineering sciences or industrial arts. (Source: RHW)

The systematic analysis of the anticipated impact of a particular technology in regard to its safety and efficacy as well as its social, political, economic, and ethical consequences. (Source: KOREN)

The transfer of development and design work: a) from a parent company to a subsidiary, perhaps in another nation where it will be paid for in repatriated profits or royalties; b) from one country to another as a form of aid to help promote development and sustainable growth. Many nations have made great progress on the strength of technology transfer. (Source: GILP96)

A branch of geology dealing with the broad architecture of the outer part of the Earth, that is, the regional assembling of structural or deformation features, a study of their mutual relations, origin and historical evolution. (Source: BJGEO)

The conveyance of images, speech and other sounds, usually over great distances, through technological means, particularly by television, telegraph, telephone or radio. (Source: RHW)

The supply of heat, either in the form of steam or hot water, from a central source to a group of buildings. (Source: MGH)

The convergence of computing and communications technologies, thus the use of telephone or radio to link computers and the use of computers to send messages via telephone or radio links. (Source: NECTAR)

The use of radio waves, telephone lines, etc., to transmit the readings of measuring instruments to a device on which the readings can be indicated or recorded. (Source: CED)

The process, equipment or programming involved in converting a succession of audiovisual images into corresponding electrical signals that are transmitted by means of electromagnetic waves to distant receivers or screens, at which the signals can be used to reproduce the original image. (Source: MHD)

A performance or production transmitted in audiovisual signals with electromagnetic waves. (Source: MHD)

The climate of the middle latitudes; the climate between the extremes of tropical climate and polar climate. (Source: MGH)

The interacting system of a biological community and its non-living environmental surroundings in regions of or related to moderate climates, intermediate between tropical and polar zones and having distinct warm to hot summer seasons and cool to cold winter seasons. (Source: TOE / DOE)

Mixed forest of conifers and broad-leaf deciduous trees, or mixed conifer and broad-leaf evergreen trees, or entirely broad-leaf deciduous, or entirely broad-leaf evergreen trees, found in temperate regions across the world; characterized by high rainfall, warm summers, cold winters occasionally subzero, seasonality; typically with dense canopies, understorey saplings and tall shrubs, large animals, carnivores dominant, very rich in bird species. (Source: LBC)

Forest dominated by broad-leaved hardwoods, which occurs over large tracts in the mid-latitudes of Europe, N. America, and eastern Asia, but which is restricted in the southern hemisphere to Chilean Patagonia. (Source: ALL2)

A property that determines the direction of heat flow when an object is brought into thermal contact with other objects: heat flows from regions of higher to those of lower temperatures. (Source: PITT)

Simple facilities for asylum or provisional lodgings to individuals or groups in emergencies. (Source: ECHO2)

Any deposit or holdings of goods, materials or waste in a facility, container, tank or some other physical location for a brief or short time period. (Source: RHW)

The process whereby abnormalities of the offspring are generated, usually as the result of damage to the embryonal structure during the first trimester of pregnancy, producing deformity of the fetus. (Source: CONFER)

Substances capable of causing abnormal development of the embryo and congenital malformations. (Source: GRAHAW)

The ability or tendency to produce anomalies of formation.

The act or instrument by which the binding force of a contract is terminated, irrespective of whether the contract is carried out to the full extent contemplated or is broken off before complete execution. (Source: WESTS)

The body of specialized words relating to a particular subject. (Source: CED)

A soft-bodied insect of the order Isoptera; individuals feed on cellulose and live in colonies with a caste system comprising three types of functional individuals: sterile workers and soldiers, and the reproductives. Also known as white ant. (Source: MGH)

No definition needed.

Landscape resulting from the method of cultivating land by cutting terraces or benches into slopes to create areas of flat land. The practice is common in mountainous areas where land is scarce and rainfall uncertain. (Source: GOODa)

Subdivisions of the continental surfaces distinguished from one another on the basis of the form, roughness, and surface composition of the land. (Source: PARCOR)

Any source of supply derived from plants, animals or other wildlife inhabiting land or ground, which may be used by humans for food, clothes and other necessities. (Source: RHW)

Any terrestrial environment, from small to large, in which plants and animals interact with the chemical and physical features of the environment. (Source: GILP96)

The continental as distinct from the marine and atmospheric environments. It is the environment in which terrestrial organisms live. (Source: WHIT)

An infrastructure, body of people or homogenous constituency that is physically situated in a localized exurban area. (Source: RHW / TEF)

An administrative body or system in which political direction or control is exercised over a designated area or an administrative division of a city, county or larger geographical area. (Source: RHW / BLD)

A course of action adopted and pursued by government, business or some other organization, which determines the present and future use of each parcel of land in an area. (Source: DOE)

An area that an animal or group of animals defends, mainly against members of the same species. (Source: ALL)

The part of a country or region's economy that produces services or assets lacking a tangible and storable form. (Source: ODE)

The process which remove pollutants not adequately removed by secondary treatment, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus; accomplished by means of sand filters, microstraining, or other methods (referring to wastewater treatment). (Source: WQA)

To carry out an examination on (a substance, material, or system) by applying some chemical or physical procedure designed to indicate the presence of a substance or the possession of a property. (Source: CED)

Animals on which experiments are conducted in order to provide evidence for or against a scientific hypothesis, or to prove the efficacy of drugs or the reaction to certain products. (Source: CEDa)

Any animal organism used for scientific research. (Source: DELFIN)

No definition needed.

No definition needed.

The determination of the efficacy and the toxicity of chemical products. (Source: WPR)

The complex of tests performed in order to ascertain the characteristics and behaviour of materials; they are classified in physical and chemical tests, mechanical tests and technological tests. (Source: DIZSCT / MGH)

Tests performed to establish the effectiveness of pesticides under a wide variety of climatic and other environmental conditions; to assess the possible side effects on animals, plants and humans and to determine the persistence of pesticide residues in the environment. (Source: PARCOR)

A material made of natural or man-made fibers and used for the manufacture of items such as clothing and furniture fittings. (Source: MGH)

Industry for the production of fabrics. (Source: MGHa)

Plant producing material suitable to be made into cloths. (Source: CED)

Bluish-white metal with tinlike malleability, but a little softer; used in alloys. (Source: MGH)

A coherent group of general propositions about the supply and demand of money, interest rates, the flow of money's influence on the overall economy or the policies that should be adopted by institutions controlling the money supply. (Source: ODE / MGHME)

A structured simulation or explanation based on observation, experimentation and reasoning that seeks to demonstrate, characterize or explain the actions and interactions of the total surrounding conditions of a given system. (Source: APD)

A political conception of government in a capitalist economy where the state is responsible for insuring that all members of society attain a minimum standard of living through redistribution of resources, progressive taxation and universal social programs, including health care and education. (Source: APS)

The treatment of physical, mental or social disorders or disease. (Source: CED)

Equipment related to the production of heat. (Source: AMHER)

The process of preventing the passage of heat to or from a body by surrounding it with a nonconducting material. (Source: CED)

The excessive raising or lowering of water temperature above or below normal seasonal ranges in streams, lakes, or estuaries or oceans as the result of discharge of hot or cold effluents into such water. (Source: LANDY / WPR)

A power-generating plant which uses heat to produce energy. Such plants may burn fossil fuels or use nuclear energy to produce the necessary thermal energy. (Source: LANDY)

The concept of utilizing the temperature differences of 20+é-¦C or more that occur between the surface of an ocean and its depths to achieve a continuous supply of power; this temperature difference may be found in the tropical regions of the world. Various small plants have been constructed to demonstrate the principle. (Source: GILP96)

1) Heating and cooling a metal or alloy to obtain desired properties or conditions. 2) Treatment of hazardous waste in a device which uses elevated temperatures as the primary means to change the chemical, physical, or biological character or composition of the hazardous waste. Examples of thermal treatment processes are incineration, molten salt, pyrolysis, calcination, wet air oxidation, and microwave discharge. (Source: MGH / LEE)

Water, generally of a spring or geyser, whose temperature is appreciably above the local mean annual air temperature. (Source: BJGEO)

The branch of physics which seeks to derive, from a few basic postulates, relationships between properties of matter, especially those connected with temperature, and a description of the conversion of energy from one form to another. (Source: MGH)

Trade-Mark-Name for a thermic waste processing technology. Gasification is emerging as an alternative to combustion in the treatment and energy recovery from Municipal Solid Waste. Several innovative processes and demonstration plants are trying to achieve higher electrical efficiencies and lower emissions using this technology. (Source: ENSDK) Trade mark for a thermic waste processing technology <D>

A compilation of terms showing synonyms, related terms and other relationships and dependencies, often used in a book format or as a standardized, controlled vocabulary for an information storage and retrieval system. (Source: CCL)

A dissertation on a particular subject, in which original research has been done, usually by a candidate for a diploma or degree, or a proposition put forward for consideration, to be discussed and proved or maintained against objections. (Source: RHW)

Any process beyond gravity sedimentation that increases the concentration of solids in sludge with or without the use of chemical flocculants. (Source: WWC)

The maximum concentration of a particular substance to which a worker should be exposed in a given period of time. (Source: BRACK)

A storm caused by strong rising air currents and characterized by thunder and lightning and usually heavy rain or hail. (Source: CED)

Mechanical power, which may be converted to electrical power, generated by the rise and fall of ocean tides. The possibilities of utilizing tidal power have been studied for many generations, but the only feasible schemes devised so far are based on the use of one or more tidal basins, separated from the sea by dams (known as barrages), and of hydraulic turbines through which water passes on its way between the basins and the sea. (Source: ALL)

Power station where the generation of power is provided by the ebb and flow of the tides. The principle is that water collected at high tide behind a barrage is released at low tide to turn a turbine that, in turn, drives a generator. (Source: PORT / BRACK)

Any water whose level changes periodically due to tidal action. (Source: MGH)

The periodic rise and fall of the water resulting from gravitational interaction between the sun, moon and earth. In each lunar day of 24 hours and 49 minutes there are two high tides and two low tides. (Source: LANDY)

A wood, especially when regarded as a construction material. (Source: CED)

Forest whose trees are all in the adult stage and have reached the reproductive period. (Source: RAMADE)

Industry related with timber harvesting and processing. (Source: RRDA)

All interrelated steps of the lumber manufacturing process including tree felling, the removal of tops, branches and bark, the piling and sawing of logs, and the transportation and loading of finished boards or other products. (Source: TIM)

1) The dimension of the physical universe which, at a given place, orders the sequence of events. 2) A designated instant in this sequence, as the time of day. Also known as epoch. (Source: MGH)

The act of assigning various hours of one's day, week or year to particular activities, especially those falling within the categories of work and leisure. (Source: RHW)

Determining or planning for allotment of time in hours, days, weeks, etc. (Source: RHW)

A metallic element, occurring in cassiterite, that has several allotropes; the ordinary malleable silvery-white metal slowly changes below 13.2+é-¦C to a grey powder. It is used extensively in alloys, especially bronze and pewter, and as a noncorroding coating for steel. (Source: CED)

A part of an organism consisting of a large number of cells having a similar structure and function. (Source: CED)

A strong malleable white metallic element, which is very corrosion-resistant and occurs in rutile and ilmenite. It is used in the manufacture of strong lightweight alloys, especially aircraft parts. (Source: CED)

A white, water-insoluble powder that melts at 1560+é-¦C, and which is produced commercially from the titanium dioxide minerals ilmenite and rutile; used in paints and cosmetics. (Source: MGH)

Any anuran amphibian of the class Bufonidae, such as Bufo bufo of Europe. They are similar to frogs but are more terrestrial, having a drier warty skin. (Source: CED)

The grey, brown, or blackish mixture of gases and suspended carbon particles resulting from the combustion of tobacco. Tobacco smoke is inhaled and distributes toxins widely throughout the body and causes an enormous variety of illness among users and among non-smokers exposed to tobacco smoke.

A rapidly rotating column of air developed around a very intense low-pressure centre. It is associated with a dark funnel-shaped cloud and with extremely violent winds (>300km/h) blowing in a counterclockwise spiral, but accompanied by violent downdraughts. The precise mechanisms are not fully understood but the following atmospheric conditions appear to be necessary for tornado development: a layer of warm moist air at low altitude; a layer of dry air at higher altitude with an inversion of temperature at about 1.000 m; a triggering mechanism, usually in the form of an active, intense cold front or solar heating of the ground which will create a vortex. (Source: WHIT)

Any herbivorous terrestrial chelonian reptile of the family Testudinidae, of most warm regions, having a heavy dome-shaped shell and clawed limbs. (Source: CED)

The amount of carbon covalently bound in organic compounds in a water sample. (Source: WQA)

The sum of parameters that must be taken into account when assessing water quality (organoleptic factors, physico-chemical factors, toxic substances, microbiological parameters. (Source: RRDA)

The temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places or work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations and the facilities created to cater for their needs. (Source: GOOD)

No definition needed.

All the services connected with tourism, especially when regarded as an industry. (Source: CED)

The administration, promotion, organization and planning for the business or industry of providing information, transportation, entertainment, accommodations and other services to travelers or visitors. (Source: RHW)

An established or selected course for travel consisting, typically, of secondary roads with significant scenic, cultural, historic, geological or natural features and including vistas, rest areas, and interpretive sites matching the scenic characteristics of the course. (Source: GTT / RHW)

No definition needed.

Any section of a region which attracts travelers, often because of its scenery, objects of interest or recreational activities. (Source: OED)

A result produced by the ingestion or contact of poisonous materials. (Source: RRDA)

Metals (usually heavy metals) which interfere with the respiration, metabolism or growth of organisms. (Source: EPAGLO)

Pollution by toxic substances that produce a harmful effect on living organisms by physical contact, ingestion, or inhalation.

Any product which can cause acute or chronic injury to the human body or which is suspected of being able to cause disease or injury under some conditions. (Source: KOREN)

A chemical or mixture that may present a risk or injury to health or the environment. (Source: LANDY)

Refuse posing a significant hazard to the environment or to human health when improperly handled; includes carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic or phytotoxic wastes, or wastes harmful to aquatic species, or poisonous wastes. (Source: DEE / HMD)

The degree of danger posed by a substance to animal or plant life. (Source: LANDY)

The process of characterizing and evaluating the inherent toxicity of a chemical substance, a poison, etc. (Source: KORENa)

Test for the determination of the inherent toxicity of a chemical. (Source: KOREN)

A science that deals with poisons, their actions, their detection, and the treatment of the conditions they produce. (Source: LANDY)

A poisonous substance generally of plant or animal origin. (Source: LANDY)

Any of various chemical elements that occur in very small amounts in organisms and are essential for many physiological and biochemical processes. (Source: CED)

1) Both metals and non-metals, essential for the metabolic processes of algae, invertebrates and vertebrates. Organisms that derive nearly all their energy via photosynthesis are especially dependent upon dissolved trace substances. 2) Impurities that are present at small but detectable levels. (Source: NATURE / GEMAIR)

A minute quantity of radioactive isotope used in medicine or biology to study the chemical changes within living tissues. (Source: KOREN)

A large group of plants characterized by the presence of specialized conducting tissues (xylem and phloem) in the roots, stems, and leaves. (Source: MGH)

A formulated or systematic method for following or tracing environmentally related issues or concerns. (Source: OED)

The act or the business of buying and selling for money. Mercantile or commercial business in general or the buying and selling, or exchanging, of commodities, either by wholesale or retail within a country or between countries. (Source: WESTS)

The act or process of buying, selling, or exchanging commodities, at either wholesale or retail, within a country or between countries.

The act or process of buying, selling or exchanging goods and services at either wholesale or retail, within a country or between countries. (Source: RHW)

The act or process of buying, selling, or exchanging commodities and the use of goods and services. (Source: ISEP)

An artificial restraint on the free exchange of goods and services between nations. The most common types of trade barriers are tariffs, quotas, and exchange control. Such obstacles to trade are usually imposed by a country that wishes to protect domestic products in their home market against foreign competition, better its terms of trade, reduce domestic unemployment, or improve its balance-of-payments position. The raising of trade barriers by one country often provokes other nations position. Generally, the effect of a trade barrier is to reduce the volume of trade while increasing the domestic price of the protected good. Thus, it results in a relatively inefficient allocation of world resources and reduces the level of total world income and production. (Source: GREENW)

Trade impacts on the environment can be direct, such as trade of endangered species, of natural resources, of natural products such as tropical timber, etc., or indirect, such as deforestation, loss of habitats, pollution from mining, from energy production, oil spills, global warming, etc., increases in transport infrastructures. (Source: NWFa)

A course of action adopted and pursued by government, business or some other organization, which promotes or determines the direction for the act or process of buying, selling or exchanging goods and services within a country or between countries. (Source: RHW)

Commercial discrimination that apply to the exports of certain countries but not to similar goods from other countries. (Source: USIA)

All types of waste generated by offices, restaurants, shops, warehouses and other such non-manufacturing sources, and non-processing waste generated at manufacturing facilities such as office and packaging waste. (Source: EED)

Tradable emissions permits are used in an environmental regulatory scheme where the sources of the pollutant to be regulated (most often an air pollutant) are given permits to release a specified number of tons of the pollutant. The government issues only a limited number of permits consistent with the desired level of emissions. The owners of the permits may keep them and release the pollutants, or reduce their emissions and sell the permits. The fact that the permits have value as an item to be sold gives the owner an incentive to reduce their emissions. (Source: WEATHE)

An organization whose members are wholly or mainly workers and whose principal purposes include the regulation of relations between workers and employers or employers' associations. (Source: DICLAW)

Learned, nonrandom, systematic behavior and knowledge transmitted over several generations, especially customs and beliefs originating before the advent of modern science and technology. (Source: ANT / OED)

A system of treating and healing maladies based on cultural beliefs and practices handed down from generation to generation. (Source: FIT)

1) The movement of vehicles, ships, aircraft, persons, etc., in an area or over a route. 2) The vehicles, persons, etc., moving in an area or over a route.

An unexpected incident with potential for harm occurring through the movement or collision of vessels, vehicles or persons along a land, water, air or space route. (Source: OED)

The organization of a more efficient movement of traffic within a given road network by rearranging the flows, controlling the intersections and regulating the times and places for parking. (Source: GOOD)

Means of controlling the number and speed of motorvehicles using a road. (Source: PHCa)

Exhaust gases and vapours emitted by motorvehicles. (Source: RRDA)

The determination of the required capacity and layout of highway and street facilities that can safely and economically serve vehicular movement between given points. (Source: MGH)

The fundamental facilities and systems used for the movement of vehicles, often provided through public funding. (Source: RHW)

A number of vehicles so obstructed that they can scarcely move. (Source: CED)

The periodic or continuous surveillance or analysis of the movement of persons, objects, vehicles or other conveyances along an area of passage. (Source: TOE / RHW)

Noise emitted by vehicles (heavy vehicles, cars and motorcycles, tyre/road interaction).

Traffic noise can be controlled by reduction at source, by fitting motor vehicles with silencers, by installing barriers which interrupt the direct path of sound or by insulating dwellings exposed to high noise levels, such as those related to motorways or airports. (Source: GRAHAWa)

The movement of boats and other vessels over any water route or area. (Source: RHW)

A body of rules or orders prescribed by government or management for the safe and orderly movement of vehicles on land, sea or in the air. (Source: BLD / RHW)

No definition needed.

No definition needed.

A connected group of railroad cars, usu. pushed or pulled by a locomotive.

The process of bringing a person or a group of persons to an agreed standard of proficiency, by practice and instruction. (Source: CED)

Place where people are prepared for a specific purpose. (Source: CEDa)

The path described by an object moving in air or space under the influence of such forces as thrust, wind resistance, and gravity, especially the curved path of a projectile. (Source: CED)

Polluted air and water, or any other contaminated waste, that is generated in one country and transmitted to others. (Source: BRACK)

The seasonal migration of livestock to suitable grazing grounds. (Source: CED)

One of a group of metallic elements in which the members have the filling of the outermost shell to 8 electrons interrupted to bring the penultimate shell from 8 to 18 or 32 electrons; includes elements 21 through 29 (scandium through copper), 39 through 47 (yttrium through silver), 57 through 79 (lanthanum through gold), and all known elements from 89 (actinium) on. (Source: MGH)

Rules, guidelines or an agreement on the process of changing the administration, structure or constitution of a government or organization. (Source: RHW)

A small village, community or group of houses, or other shelters, usually located in a thinly populated area and existing there for only a short time. (Source: RHW)

The loss of water vapour from a plant, mainly through the stomata and to a small extent through the cuticle and lenticels. Transpiration results in a stream of water, carrying dissolved minerals salts, flowing upwards through the xylem. (Source: ALL)

Transfer of mass, momentum, or energy in a system as a result of molecular agitation, including such properties as thermal conduction and viscosity. (Source: PITT)

The outlay or expenditure involved in moving goods from one place to another. (Source: ODE)

Rules concerning the movement of goods or persons by sea, railway or road. (Source: WESTSa)

A programme of action to provide for present and future demands for movement of people and goods. Such a programme is preceded by a transport study and necessarily includes consideration of the various modes of transport. (Source: GOOD)

A rule or order prescribed by government or management for the safe and orderly conveyance of persons, materials or commodities over land, water or through the air. (Source: BLD / RHW)

System of lines of movements or communication by road, rail, water or air. (Source: GOOD)

The act or means of moving tangible objects (persons or goods) from place to place. Often involves the use of some type of vehicle. (Source: LANDY)

Any commercial venture involved in the processes of conveying things or people from one place to another. (Source: RHW / OED)

Transportation of gases, liquids or slurries by a system of tubes, of steel or plastics. Petroleum, natural gas and products derived from them are the main substances transported by pipelines. (Source: GOOD)

Vehicles used for transferring people or goods from one place to another. (Source: RRDA)

Comprehensive statements of the objectives and policies which a local transport authority intends to pursue; it includes and estimate of transport expenditure, a statement of transport objectives, etc. (Source: GOOD)

To catch an animal in a mechanical device or enclosed place or pit. (Source: CED)

Moving from one place to another generally by using a transportation mean. (Source: RRDA)

Expenditure of money or the amount of money incurred for journeying or going from one place to another by some mode of transportation. (Source: ISEP / RHW)

Gas is treated before it can be supplied to the marketplace. The extent to which gas needs to be processed will depend on its quality, the amount of associated impurities such as water, carbon dioxide and sulphur compounds, and the ultimate end-use for the gas. Common gaseous impurities found in natural gas are carbon dioxide and sulphur compounds. Both have an acidic reaction and are given the generic name 'acid gases'. These gases can be removed by a number of commercial processes, using either a physical or a chemical solvent. Physical solvent processes tend to be used where gas pressures are high and for gases with lower levels of propane and heavier hydrocarbons. (Source: SHELL)

Material left over from the treatment of any type of waste. (Source: DEE)

An international agreement in writing between two states or a number of states. Treaties are binding in international law; some treaties create law only for those states that are parties to them. (Source: DICLAW)

Any large woody perennial plant with a distinct trunk giving rise to branches or leaves at some distance from the ground. (Source: CED)

An area where trees, shrubs, or plants are grown for transplanting, for use as stocks for budding and grafting. (Source: ECHO2)

The general drift, tendency, or bent of a set of statistical data as related to time or another related set of statistical data. (Source: MGH)

The general movement, drift or direction of change in a viewpoint collectively and purportedly held by a significant number of people. (Source: RHW)

A judicial examination and determination of issues between parties to action; whether they need issues of law or of fact. A judicial examination, in accordance with law of the land, of a cause, either civil or criminal, of the issues between the parties, whether of law or fact, before a court that has proper jurisdiction. (Source: WESTS)

Azines that contain three nitrogen atoms in their molecules. (Source: CED)

Method in which water drips to the soil from perforated tubes or emitters. This irrigation technology is water conserving compared to flooding, furrows, and sprinklers. (Source: CNIE)

A system of secondary sewage treatment which is similar to self-purification action of streams; it is more accurately a biological oxidizing bed; the effluent is placed on the stones in the bed and microorganisms present consume the solids as a food supply. (Source: KOREN)

Three fundamental principles of environmental policy: precautionary principle, polluter pays-principle and cooperation principle. (Source: RRDA) trias of environmental policy principles: precautionary, originator (polluter-pays) and cooperation principle <D>

The hydrogen isotope having mass number 3; it is one form of heavy hydrogen, the other being deuterium. (Source: MGH)

The study of the feeding relationships of organisms in communities and ecosystems. Trophic links between populations represent flows of organisms, organic energy and nutrients. Trophic transfers are important in population dynamics, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem energetics. (Source: PARCOR)

Any of the feeding levels through which the passage of energy through an ecosystem proceeds; examples are photosynthetic plants, herbivorous animals, and microorganisms of decay. (Source: MGH)

A climate which is typical of equatorial and tropical regions, that is, one with continually high temperatures and with considerable precipitation, at least during part of the year. (Source: MGH)

The interacting system of a biological community and its non-living environmental surroundings in the land and water of the equatorial region between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. (Source: TOE / ENC)

A vegetation class consisting of tall, close-growing trees, their columnar trunks more or less unbranched in the lower two-thirds, and forming a spreading and frequently flat crown; occurs in areas of high temperature and high rainfall. (Source: MGH)

The interacting system of a biological community and its non-living environmental surroundings in forests found in tropical regions near the equator, which are characterized by warm to hot weather and abundant rainfall. (Source: TOE / DOE)

Plants growing in tropical areas in conditions of constant rain and high temperature. (Source: PHC)

The most valuable and the richest ecosystem on Earth. It plays a critical part in the Earth's life support systems and house 50%, and possibly as much as 90%, of all the species on Earth. It is a key storehouse of foods, oils and minerals, and a source of ingredients that make up a range of medical treatments. It also represents home and livelihood for many people. However, more than half of the rainforests have disappeared, chopped down for valuable tropical hardwoods, or cleared to provide areas for cattle grazing or human habitation. The forests play an important part in climate patterns, and deforestation is thought to be responsible for 18% of global warming. Furthermore, as they disappear there is also an albedo effect - a damaging increase in the sunlight reflected - which affects wind and rainfall patterns. (Source: WRIGHT)

The region of the earth's surface lying between two parallels of latitude on the earth, one 23+é-¦27' north of the equator and the other 23+é-¦27' south of the equator, representing the points farthest north and south at which the sun can shine directly overhead and constituting the boundaries of the Torrid Zone. (Source: AMHER)

The lowest of the concentric layers of the atmosphere, occurring between the Earth's surface and the tropopause. It is the zone where atmospheric turbulence is at its greatest and where the bulk of the Earth's weather is generated. It contains almost all the water vapour and aerosols and three-quarters of the total gaseous mass of the atmosphere. Throughout the troposphere temperature decreases with height at a mean rate of 6.5+é-¦C/km and the whole zone is capped by either an inversion of temperature or an isothermal layer at the tropopause. (Source: WHIT)

Tropospheric ozone is a secondary pollutant formed from emissions of nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide. Ozone scars lung tissue, makes eyes sting and throats itch. It has been implicated as a contributor to forest dieback, damage to agricultural crops, etc. (Source: WPR)

A main road, especially one that is suitable for heavy vehicles. (Source: CED)

Any new and abnormal growth, specifically one in which cell multiplication is uncontrolled and progressive. (Source: KOREN)

An area supporting some vegetation (lichens, mosses, sedges and low shrubs) between the northern upper limit of trees and the lower limit of perennial snow on mountains, and on the fringes of the Antarctic continent and its neighbouring islands. (Source: MGH)

A underground passageway, especially one for trains or cars that passes under a mountain, river or a congested urban area. (Source: CED)

Cloudy or hazy appearance in a naturally clear liquid caused by a suspension of colloidal liquid droplets or fine solids. (Source: MGH)

A fluid acceleration machine for generating rotary mechanical power from the energy in a stream of fluid. (Source: MGH)

A sea-going vessel that includes space between two continuous floor-like surfaces or platforms, which is also designed for bulk shipments of liquids or gases. (Source: RHW) 'between deck tanker'

Oil tank vessels provided with a double-hull to meet the regulatory safety requirements in oil transportation. Requirements include minimum values for depths and breadth of double bottoms. Also called double-hull tank vessel. (Source: PZa)

An internal combustion engine whose cycle is completed in two strokes of the piston. (Source: MGH)

The class or category of an enterprise or organization involved in an economy. (Source: ISEP / RHW)

A class or category of interests or remedies recognized in law or equity that create in the holder a right to the interest or its proceeds, typically taking the form of money, property or privilege. (Source: BLD)

The different, specific methods of business administration. (Source: OED)

The manner in which land is owned and possessed, i.e. of title to its use. (Source: GOOD)

A grouping by type of unusable material left over from any process. (Source: ISEP)

A severe tropical cyclone in the western Pacific. (Source: MGH)

A rubber ring placed over the rim of a wheel of a road vehicle to provide traction and reduce road shocks. (Source: CED)

Separation of colloidal or very fine solid materials by filtration through microporous or semipermeable mediums. (Source: MGH)

Sound waves having a frequency above about 20,000 hertz. (Source: MGH)

The part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths shorter than light but longer than x-rays; in the range of 4-400 nm. (Source: CED)

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1992. (Source: WRIGHT)

Place where waste is left on the ground and not buried in a hole. (Source: PHC)

The discharge, dumping or emission of wastes below the surface of the soil. (Source: RHW)

Any subterranean or below-ground site in which solid, or other, waste is deposited without environmental controls. (Source: TOE)

Quarry located below the surface of the earth. (Source: CAMB)

An electric passenger railway operated in underground tunnels. (Source: CED)

Storage located underground designed to hold gasoline or other petroleum products or chemical solutions. (Source: LEE)

A train for transportation of people, mostly beneath the surface of the ground, in order to lessen the traffic. (Source: CED)

A segment of the population that does not have access to the rights or benefits granted to the rest of society, often because of low economic or social status. (Source: RHW)

Any commercial activity, position or site associated with the preparation of the dead for burial and the management and arrangement of funerals. (Source: RHW)

Point of water disposal located below the sea surface. (Source: LANDYa)

The condition of being without remunerative employment. (Source: CED)

Hoofed mammals, including the Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla. (Source: ALL)

A voluntary association of around 180 state signatory to the UN charter (1945), whose primary aim is to maintain international peace and security, solve economic, social, and political problems through international co-operation, and promote respect for human rights.

Petrol with a low octane rating, which has no lead additives in it and therefore creates less lead pollution in the atmosphere. (Source: PHC)

Unsupervised classification is a kind of classification which takes place with minimum input from the operator; no training sample is available and subdivision of the feature space is achieved by identifying natural groupings of the measurement vectors. (Source: GEOG / YOUNG)

The body of a bicameral legislature comprising either representatives of member states in a federation or a select number of individuals from certain privileged estates or social classes. (Source: (Source: CIV / RHW)

A metallic element highly toxic and radioactive; used as nuclear fuel. (Source: MGH)

A planned, coordinated group of activities or services intended for improving urban centers in order to provide healthy and safe living conditions, efficient transport and communication, adequate public facilities and aesthetic surroundings. (Source: RHW / INP)

Areas within the legal boundaries of cities and towns; suburban areas developed for residential, industrial or recreational purposes. (Source: LANDY)

Body of people living in a town or city.

A process in which an increasing proportion of a country's population is concentrated in urban areas. (Source: GOOD)

Condition where part of a city or town becomes old or dirty or ruined, because businesses and wealthy families have moved away from it. (Source: PHC)

A plan, outline or preliminary sketch of, or for, a city or town. (Source: ISEP)

Any physical extension of, or changes to, the uses of land in metropolitan areas, often involving subdivision into zones; construction or modification of buildings, roads, utilities and other facilities; removal of trees and other obstructions; and population growth and related economic, social and political changes. (Source: CGP / AAG)

A written or printed text furnishing proposals or procedures for the improvement of living conditions, especially housing, for the inhabitants of a city or densely populated area. (Source: RHW)

A binding rule or body of rules prescribed by government to regulate public services and the competing claims of residential, commercial and industrial interests in municipal areas generally characterized by moderate to high population density. (Source: CGP)

Concept derived from biology: the city is viewed as a total environment, as a life-supporting system for the large number of people concentrated there, and within this people organize themselves and adapt to a constantly changing environment. Regarded as the same as human ecology. (Source: GOOD)

A graphic representation of a city area or other densely populated region, portraying the location of groups or select types of people in their environment through various geographic techniques. (Source: SOC / RHW)

Towns and cities viewed as ecosystems, having an input of matter and energy, recycling within the system, and an output of matter and energy into the surroundings. (Source: GILP96)

Supply of essential services to the community, e.g. electricity, gas, water. (Source: GOOD)

No definition needed.

The complex of private and public gardens in an urban area. (Source: DIFID)

The resulting effects and interrelationships of human population concentrations, the built environment, and the biophysical environment. (Source: UNUN)

The traits, patterns and structure of a city's specific geographic area, including its biological composition, its physical environment and its social patterns. (Source: TOE)

The administration, organization and planning performed for cities or towns, particularly the process of converting farmland or undeveloped land into offices, businesses, housing and other forms of development. (Source: DOE)

Noise emitted from various sources in an urban environment.

The activity of designing, organizing or preparing for the future lay-out and condition of a city or town. (Source: RHW)

The activity or process of preparing for the future arrangement and condition of an urban center, particularly the development of its physical lay-out, which would include the construction, reconstruction, conversion, alteration or enlargement of buildings and other structures, and the extension or use of undeveloped land. (Source: RHW / ELD)

A course of action adopted and pursued by government, business or some other organization, which seeks to improve or develop cities or towns through land use planning, water resource management, central city development, policing and criminal justice, or pollution control. (Source: MGHME)

Pollution of highly populated areas mainly deriving from motor vehicles, industrial plants, combustion and heating plants, etc. (Source: GREMES)

The total number of persons inhabiting a city, metropolitan region or any area where the sum of residents exceeds a designated amount. (Source: RHW)

A continuing process of remodelling urban areas by means of rehabilitation and conservation as well as redevelopment. Urban renewal programmes are generally undertaken by public authorities and concern those parts of the city which have fallen below current standards of public acceptability. (Source: GOOD)

The renovation or redevelopment of the decaying areas of cities by the demolition or up-grading of existing dwellings and buildings and a general improvement in environmental conditions. (Source: GILP96)

A collection of dwellings located in an urban area. (Source: CEDa)

The physical pattern of low-density expansion of large urban areas under market conditions into the surrounding agricultural areas. Sprawl lies in advance of the principal lines of urban growth and implies little planning control of land subdivision. Development is patchy, scattered and strung out, with a tendency to discontinuity because it leap-frogs over some areas, leaving agricultural enclaves. (Source: GOOD)

A state of bodily or mental tension developed through city living, or the physical, chemical, or emotional factors that give rise to that tension. (Source: MED)

The built-up components, the street system and the facilities which make up an urban unit. (Source: ZINZAN)

The study and theory of building and other physical needs in cities or predominantly urban cultures. (Source: ECHO2)

Movements of vehicles and people within a city. (Source: RRDA)

The liquid wastes deriving from domestic, commercial and industrial activities of an urban settlement. (Source: RRDA)

Water destined for private and public use in a town. (Source: RRDA)

The distribution of water, including collection, treatment and storage, for use in a town, city or municipal area, and used generally for domestic and industrial needs. (Source: WWC)

The state of being or becoming a community with urban characteristics. (Source: MGH)

A family of mammals in the order Carnivora including the bears and their allies. (Source: MGH)

Making use of free time to carry out recreational activities. (Source: RRDA)

Wastewater or utilized water from a home, community, farm or industry, which is often discharged after utilization. (Source: WRT / TOE)

Calorific value is the heat per unit mass produced by complete combustion of a given substance. Calorific values are used to express the energy values of fuels; usually these are expressed in megajoules per kilogram. They are also used to measure the energy content of foodstuffs; i.e. the energy produced when the food is oxidized in the body. The units here are kilojoules per gram. Calorific values are measured using a bomb calorimeter (apparatus consisting of a strong container in which the sample is sealed with excess oxygen and ignited electrically. The heat of combustion at constant volume can be calculated from the resulting rise in temperature). (Source: DICCHE)

Use of chemical or biological substances to deliberately kill unwanted plants or animals. (Source: DUNSTE)

Any low-lying land bordered by higher ground; especially an elongate, relatively large, gently sloping depression of the Earth's surface, commonly situated between two mountains or between ranges of hills or mountains, and often containing a stream with an outlet. It is usually developed by stream erosion, but may be formed by faulting. (Source: BJGEO)

An appraised, evaluated or estimated element or ingredient of a biological community and its non-living environmental surroundings. (Source: TOE)

A silvery-white, ductile metal resistant to corrosion; used in alloy steels and as an x-ray target. (Source: MGH)

The deliberate or wanton destruction of personal or public property caused by a vandal. (Source: CED)

Species which have disappeared from an area because of adverse environmental conditions. (Source: RRDA)

The partial pressure of water vapour in the atmosphere. For a liquid or solid, the pressure of the vapour in equilibrium with the liquid or solid. (Source: MGH)

Gas feedback device: while refuelling gasoline vapors are sucked off and led back again into the storage tank. (Source: WASCH)

Assemblage of cultivated plants that are distinguished by any characteristics (morphology, physiology, etc.) significant for purposes of horticulture, agriculture or forestry. (Source: DUNSTE)

A transparent surface coating which is applied as a liquid and then changes to a hard solid; all varnishes are solutions of resinous materials in a solvent. (Source: MGH)

One of the two major types of internal data organization used in GIS. Vector systems are based primarily on coordinate geometry and take advantage of the convenient division of spatial data into point, line, and polygon types. Vector structures are especially suited to storing definitions of spatial objects for which sharp boundaries exist or can be imposed. (Source: YOUNG)

An agent or organism that acts as a carrier or transmitter of a human illness. (Source: RHW)

Methods to convert remotely sensed raster data to vector format. A number of vector-to-raster and raster-to-vector conversion procedures have been developed and introduced to current releases of many GIS packages. (Source: YOUNG)

Any of various herbaceous plants having parts that are used as food. (Source: CED)

Cultivation of herbaceous plants that are used as food. (Source: CEDa)

An edible, mixed glyceride oil derived from plants (fruit, leaves, and seeds), including cottonseed, linseed, tung, and peanut; used in food oils, shortenings, soaps, and medicine, and as a paint drying oil. (Source: MGH)

Waste, comprised mainly of vegetable matter, which is capable of being decomposed by microorganisms. (Source: BHE)

1) The plants of an area considered in general or as communities, but not taxonomically; the total plant cover in a particular area or on the Earth as a whole. 2) The total mass of plant life that occupies a given area. (Source: ALL / MGH)

Number of plants growing on a certain area of land. (Source: PHC)

A subdivision of vegetation characteristic of a certain altitude above sea level at a given latitude. (Source: ECHO2)

A community of plants or plant life that share distinguishable characteristics. (Source: PEM)

Any conveyance in or by which people or objects are transported. (Source: CED)

An aeriform fluid of fine particles suspended in air, produced and vented as a byproduct of the operation of wheeled machines or conveyances self-propelled by internal combustion engines. (Source: RHW / MHD)

An official periodical examination of an automobile, truck, boat, airplane or other means of conveyance to determine compliance in design or operation with legal standards for safety or pollution emissions. (Source: DAM / RHW)

A sector of the economy in which an aggregate of commercial enterprises is engaged in the manufacture and sale of equipment that conveys people, goods or materials by land, air or water. (Source: SIC)

The process of supplying or removing air, by natural or mechanical means, to or from any space; such air may or may not have been conditioned. (Source: HARRIS)

Small animals and insects that can be harmful and which are difficult to control when they appear in large numbers. (Source: CAMB)

Any chordate animal of the subphylum Vertebrata, characterized by a bony or cartilaginous skeleton and a well-developed brain: the group contains fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. (Source: CED)

The branch of medical practice which treats of the diseases and injuries of animals. (Source: MGH)

A long high bridge, usually held up by many arches, which carries a railway or a road over a valley or other similar area at a lower level. (Source: CAMB)

A periodic motion of small amplitude and high frequency, characteristic of elastic bodies. (Source: ZINZAN)

A format or system used to record and transmit visual or audiovisual information by translating moving or still images into electrical signals. (Source: MVG)

A group of houses and other buildings, such as a church, a school and some shops, which is smaller than a town, usually in the countryside. (Source: CAMB)

The residual liquid from the distillation of alcoholic liquors, specifically, that remaining from the fermentation and distillation of beet-sugar molasses, valuable as yielding potassium salts, ammonia, etc.

The study of submicroscopic organisms known as viruses. (Source: MGH)