The Cryosphere
This term describes the percentage of incoming solar radiation reflected by a surface, which is very high for fresh snow and low for open water.
Albedo
This is the three-letter acronym for the complex computer simulations used to project future climate states by solving physical equations.
GCM (Global circulation model or global climate model)
This phenomenon occurs when stressed corals expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, often due to warming waters.
Coral bleaching
This physical process, caused by the heating of water molecules, is responsible for roughly one-third to one-half of observed sea-level rise.
Thermal expansion
This term describes the goal of balancing the amount of greenhouse gas produced with the amount removed from the atmosphere.
Net zero
Unlike melting sea ice, the melting of these two massive ice sheets is the primary contributor to global sea-level rise.
Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets
To account for uncertainty, scientists run these "groups" of models many times with slightly different starting conditions.
Ensembles
This term refers to the study of the timing of seasonal biological events, such as when flowers bloom or birds migrate.
Phenology
This "Great Ocean Conveyor Belt" is driven by differences in water temperature and salinity.
Thermohaline Circulation
This technology involves capturing CO2 at the source (like a power plant) and pumping it underground for long-term storage.
Carbon sequestration
This permanently frozen ground in the Arctic contains vast amounts of stored organic carbon that is released as methane or CO2 when it thaws.
Permafrost
This specific pattern—where the lower atmosphere (troposphere) warms while the layer above it (stratosphere) cools—is a telltale "fingerprint" that distinguishes greenhouse-gas-driven warming from other causes, like increased solar output.
Stratospheric cooling
To escape warming temperatures, many species are observed shifting their ranges in these two directions (geographically and topographically).
Poleward and upslope
This term describes a region of the ocean with such low oxygen levels that most marine life cannot survive, often worsened by warming and nutrient runoff.
Dead zone
This straightforward policy approach places a direct fee on every ton of greenhouse gas emissions, encouraging companies and individuals to switch to cleaner energy sources to save money.
Carbon tax
This hypothesis suggests that the loss of buttressing ice shelves in Antarctica could lead to the rapid, structural collapse of ice cliffs into the ocean.
Marine Ice Cliff Instability
As ocean acidity increases, the concentration of this specific ion decreases, making it energetically "expensive" or impossible for organisms like oysters to build their protective structures.
Carbonates or carbonate ions
This concept describes the maximum level of warming a species or ecosystem can endure before it crosses a "tipping point" into an irreversible state.
Ecological Threshold
This phenomenon describes the increasing "layering" of ocean water, which prevents deep, nutrient-rich water from mixing with oxygenated surface water.
Oceanic stratification
Mitigation efforts often focus on "decarbonizing" the electrical grid by replacing coal and natural gas with these two (2) specific weather-dependent energy sources.
Solar and wind power
These vertical shafts in a glacier are formed by meltwater flowing from the surface to the base, often lubricating the glacier's movement toward the sea.
Moulins
This field of climate science uses models and observations to quantify how much human-caused climate change has increased the likelihood or severity of a specific extreme weather event, like a heatwave or hurricane
Extreme Event Attribution
As climates warm, these types of species—which are not native to an ecosystem—often find it easier to move in, survive, and outcompete local wildlife for resources.
Invasive species
The process by which ocean water becomes less alkaline as it absorbs CO2.
Oceanic acidification
Low-carbon electricity generation with the movement of water alone.
Hydroelectric power