Climate Change: The Science

Key Terms

I hope you’re getting on well with the course so far. In case you’re
struggling with some of the key terms, this table should be able to help
you out. If anything is missing, please let us know on the FutureLearn
discussion boards and I’ll update this glossary for future course runs.
- Professor Tim Lenton

Loss of ice and snow from a glacier system

Ablation through melting and runoff, sublimation,
evaporation, calving etc.
Addition of ice and snow into a glacier system,
Accumulation
for example through precipitation.
A geological epoch describing the role of
Anthropocene
humans in driving environmental change.
The reflectivity of a surface. Ice has a high
albedo, meaning solar radiation is mostly
Albedo
reflected. Dark ocean has a low albedo, so solar
radiation is mostly absorbed.
The effect of greenhouse gases in Earth’s
Blanket Earth atmosphere creating a layer that traps heat
within the planet – acting like a blanket.
A process by which pieces of ice break away
from the terminus of a glacier that ends in a body
Calving
of water, or from the edge of a floating ice shelf
that ends in the ocean.
Describes the movement of carbon through the
Carbon Cycle environment. Carbon exists in the ground, sea, in
organisms and the atmosphere.
The amount of carbon dioxide released into the
Carbon Footprint atmosphere as a result of the activities of a
particular individual, organisation or community.
 The discoloration of corals, caused by external
Coral Bleaching
stress such as warming.
Naturally occurring fluctuations in sea-surface
temperature across the Pacific Ocean. El Niño
El Niño Southern
years are characterised by warmer temperatures
Oscillation
along the central-eastern Pacific, while La Niña
years are cooler.
In geology, a division of time. Geological eras
Epoch are split into periods, which are split into epochs,
which are split into ages.
Processes in the Earth System that change as a
Feedbacks result of a change in forcing – such as the albedo
of a surface.
Attributing global warming to factors that match
Fingerprinting
observations.
A gas that absorbs and emits thermal radiation,
Greenhouse Gas
contributing to the greenhouse / blanket effect.
A zone in space where water occurs as a liquid
Habitable Zone
that can support life.
The name given to the Earth’s last 11,700 years
Holocene
of existence. It is a geological epoch.
Ice Sheet Ice masses covering more than 50,000km2.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) is a scientific body that reviews and
IPCC
assesses scientific, technical and socio-
economic information on climate change.
Two or more forms of an element with different
numbers of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.
Isotope
This makes some atoms lighter or heavier than
others, despite being the same element.
A measure of the health of a glacier (inputs
Mass Balance
minus the outputs).
Observatory in Hawaii that measures
Mauna Loa
atmospheric carbon dioxide.
A representation of reality, usually made from a
combination of real-world observations and
Model
mathematical calculations to predict past or
future change.
A reduction in the pH of the ocean over an
Ocean
extended period of time, caused primarily by the
Acidification
uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere.
 Frozen soil that survives the summer melt.
Permafrost can be continuous in extent (covering
Permafrost
more than 90% of an area), discontinuous (50-
90%) or sporadic (10-50%).
A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a
solution. The pH scale is logarithmic, meaning a
pH
solution that is pH 4.0 is ten times as acidic as a
solution that is pH 5.0.
When a component of the climate system acts to
Positive Feedback amplify the effect of a process - e.g. the ice
albedo feedback.
Physical characteristics of the past that can be
Proxy
used to infer previous climate.
The different between energy from the sun
Radiative Forcing absorbed by the Earth and energy from the sun
reflected by the Earth. Usually given in W/m2.
Or Representative Concentration Pathways. The
IPCC adopted four greenhouse gas
RCP Scenarios concentration trajectories for its fifth Assessment
Report in 2013 to show various impacts on the
Earth depending on emissions scenarios.
Any variation in the sea-level at a particular place
over time. Sea-levels around the world are rising
Sea-Level change
as land-ice melt is adding more water to the
oceans.
The glaciation of the entire Earth 2.2 billion and
Snowball Earth
700 million years ago.
The second major atmospheric layer above the
Stratosphere troposphere, extending in altitude from about 8-
30 miles above the Earth.
When water is heated, it expands a small
Thermal
amount. Given the enormous volume of the
Expansion (of
oceans, warming can lead to sea-level rise as a
water)
result of this thermal expansion.
In climate science, an irreversible change to a
system which results in a new stable state that is
Tipping Point different. For example, the West Antarctic Ice
Sheet may experience a tipping point and enter a
new state of recession.