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civ a.xml McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Environmental Science June 2, 2003 19:52

McGraw-Hill

Dictionary of

Environmental

Science

McGraw-Hill

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Contents

Preface ...............................................................................................................................................v

Staff .....................................................................................................................................................vi

How to Use the Dictionary ................................................................................................vii

Fields and Their Scope .........................................................................................................ix

Pronunciation Key ...................................................................................................................xii

A-Z Terms ...............................................................................................................................1-465

Appendix .....................................................................................................................................467

Base units of the International System ..............................................................469

Derived units of the International System ........................................................470

Prefixes for units in the International System .................................................472

Some common units defined in terms of SI units ........................................473

Equivalents of commonly used units for the U.S.

Customary System and the metric system ..................................................474

Conversion factors for the U.S. Customary System,

metric system, and International System ....................................................475

The chemical elements ...............................................................................................479

Periodic table ..................................................................................................................480

Classification of living organisms .........................................................................481

Soil orders .........................................................................................................................490

Carbon cycle .....................................................................................................................491

Nitrogen cycle .................................................................................................................492

Structure of the atmosphere ....................................................................................493

Major sources and types of indoor air pollutants .........................................494

Major categories of water pollutants ...................................................................495

Top fifteen hazardous substances, 2001 ............................................................496

iii

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civ a.xml McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Environmental Science June 2, 2003 19:52

Preface

The McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Environmental Science provides a compendium of

8,800 terms that are relevant to environmental science and related fields

of science and technology. The coverage includes terminology from more

than 30 disciplines, including agriculture, botany, chemical engineering, civil

engineering, climatology, ecology, forestry, genetics and evolution, geochemi￾stry, geography and mapping, meteorology, microbiology, mycology, oceano￾graphy, petroleum and mining engineering, plant pathology, systematics, and

zoology.

The definitions are derived from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and

Technical Terms, 6th edition (2003). The pronunciation of each term is provided

along with synonyms, acronyms, and abbreviations where appropriate. A guide

to the use of the Dictionary is included, explaining the alphabetical organization

of terms, the format of the book, cross referencing, and how synonyms, variant

spellings, abbreviations, and similar information are handled. A pronunciation

key is also provided to assist the reader. An appendix provides definitions and

conversion tables for commonly used scientific units as well as charts and

listings of useful environmental data.

Many of the terms used in environmental science are often found in specialized

dictionaries and glossaries; the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Environmental Science,

however, aims to provide the user with the convenience of a single,

comprehensive reference. It is the editors’ hope that it will serve the needs of

scientists, engineers, students, teachers, librarians, and writers for high-quality

information, and that it will contribute to scientific literacy and communication.

Mark D. Licker

Publisher

v

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civ a.xml McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Environmental Science June 2, 2003 19:52

Staff

Mark D. Licker, Publisher—Science

Elizabeth Geller, Managing Editor

Jonathan Weil, Senior Staff Editor

David Blumel, Staff Editor

Alyssa Rappaport, Staff Editor

Charles Wagner, Digital Content Manager

Renee Taylor, Editorial Assistant

Roger Kasunic, Vice President—Editing, Design, and Production

Joe Faulk, Editing Manager

Frank Kotowski, Jr., Senior Editing Supervisor

Ron Lane, Art Director

Thomas G. Kowalczyk, Production Manager

Pamela A. Pelton, Senior Production Supervisor

Henry F. Beechhold, Pronunciation Editor

Professor Emeritus of English

Former Chairman, Linguistics Program

The College of New Jersey

Trenton, New Jersey

vi

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civ a.xml McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Environmental Science June 2, 2003 19:52

How to Use the Dictionary

ALPHABETIZATION. The terms in the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Environmental

Science are alphabetized on a letter-by-letter basis; word spacing, hyphen,

comma, solidus, and apostrophe in a term are ignored in the sequencing. For

example, an ordering of terms would be:

Animalia apple scab disease

animal kingdom Darwinism

apple-cedar rust Darwin’s theory

FORMAT. The basic format for a defining entry provides the term in boldface,

the field in small capitals, and the single definition in lightface:

term [FIELD] Definition.

A term may be followed by multiple definitions, each introduced by a boldface

number:

term [FIELD] 1. Definition. 2. Definition. 3. Definition.

A term may have difinitions in two or more fields:

term [ECOL] Definition. [GEN] Definition.

A simple cross-reference entry appears as:

term See another term.

A cross reference may also appear in combination with definitions:

term [ECOL] Definition. [GEN] See another term.

CROSS REFERENCING. A cross-reference entry directs the user to the

defining entry. For example, the user looking up “aiophyllous” finds:

aiophyllous See evergreen.

The user then turns to the “E” terms for the definition. Cross references are

also made from variant spellings, acronyms, abbreviations, and symbols.

aestivation See estivation.

ED50 See effective dose 50.

PVC See polyvinyl chloride.

ALSO KNOWN AS . . . , etc. A definition may conclude with a mention of

a synonym of the term, a variant spelling, an abbreviation for the term, or

vii

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civ a.xml McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Environmental Science June 2, 2003 19:52

other such information, introduced by “Also known as . . . ,” “Also spelled . . . ,”

“Abbreviated . . . ,” “Symbolized . . . ,” “Derived from . . . ,” When a term has more

than one definition, the positioning of any of these phrases conveys the extent

of applicability. For example:

term [ECOL] 1. Definition. Also known as synonym. 2. Definition.

Symbolized T.

In the above arrangement, “Also known as. . . ” applies only to the first definition;

“Symbolized. . . ” applies only to the second definition.

term [ECOL] 1. Definition. 2. Definition. [GEN] Definition. Also known

as synonym.

In the above arrangement, “Also known as . . . ” applies only to the second field.

term [ECOL] Also known as synonym. 1. Definition. 2. Defini￾tion. [GEN] Definition.

In the above arrangement, “Also known as . . . ” applies only to both definitions

in the first field.

term Also known as synonym. [ECOL] 1. Definition. 2. Definition.

[GEN] Definition.

In the above arrangement, “Also known as . . . ” applies to all definitions in both

fields.

CHEMICAL FORMULAS. Chemistry definitions may include either an

empirical formula (say, for acephate, C4H10NO3PS) or a line formula (for sodium

propionate, CH3CH2COONa), whichever is appropriate.

viii

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Fields and Their Scope

[AGR] agriculture—The production of plants and animals useful to humans,

involving soil cultivation and the breeding and management of crops and

livestock.

[BIOL] biology—The science of living organisms, including such fields as

anatomy, biochemistry, biophysics, cell and molecular biology, and physiology.

[BOT] botany—That branch of biology dealing with the structure, function,

diversity, evolution, reproduction, and utilization of plants and their

interactions within the environment.

[CHEM] chemistry—The scientific study of the properties, composition, and

structure of matter, the changes in the structure and composition of matter,

and accompanying energy changes; includes the fields of analytical chemistry,

inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, and spectro￾scopy.

[CHEM ENG] chemical engineering—A branch of engineering which involves the

design of chemical products and processes for a wide range of engineering fields,

including petroleum, materials science, agricultural, energy, environmental,

pharmaceutical, and biomedical.

[CIV ENG] civil engineering—The planning, design, construction, and main￾tenance of fixed structures and ground facilities for industry, for transportation,

for use and control of water, for occupancy, and for harbor facilities.

[CLIMATOL] climatology—That branch of meteorology concerned with the

mean physical state of the atmosphere together with its statistical variations in

both space and time as reflected in the weather behavior over a period of many

years.

[ECOL] ecology—The study of the interrelationships between organisms and

their environment.

[ENG] engineering—The art and science by which the properties of matter

and the sources of power in nature are made useful to humans, for example,

in structures, machines, processes, and products; subfields include aerospace

engineering, building construction, design engineering, food engineering,

industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, mechanics, and metallurgy.

ix

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[FOR] forestry—The science of developing, cultivating, and managing forest

lands for wood, forage, water, wildlife, and recreation; the management of

growing timber.

[GEN] genetics and evolution—The branches of biological science concerned

with biological inheritance, that is, with the causes of the resemblances and

differences among related individuals (genetics); and the processes and history

of biological change in populations of organisms by which descendants come

to differ from their ancestors (evolution).

[GEOCHEM] geochemistry—The field that encompasses the investigation of

the chemical composition of the earth, other planets, and the solar system

and universe as a whole, as well as the chemical processes that occur within

them.

[GEOGR] geography and mapping—The science that deals with the description

of land, sea, and air and the distribution of plant and animal life, including

humans (geography); and the creation of representations indicating the relative

size and shape of areas including such features (mapping).

[GEOL] geology—The science of the earth, its history, and its life as recorded

in the rocks; includes the study of the geologic features of an area, such as the

geometry of rock formations, weathering and erosion, and sedimentation, as

well the structure and origins of the rocks (petrology) and minerals (mineralogy)

themselves.

[GEOPHYS] geophysics—The branch of geology in which the principles and

practices of physics are used to study the earth and its environment, that is,

earth, air, and (by extension) space.

[HYD] hydrology—The science dealing with all aspects of the waters on earth,

including their occurrence, circulation, and distribution; their chemical and

physical properties; and their reaction with the environment, including their

relation to living things.

[MED] medicine—The study of the causes, effects, and treatment of human

diseases, including the subfields of immunology (the study of the native or

acquired resistance of higher animal forms and humans to infection with

microorganisms); pathology (the study of disease, including the biochemical

and microbiological examination of bodily substances and the study of

structural abnormalities of cells, tissues, and organs); and pharmacology (the

study of the action of drugs and other chemical substances on biological

systems).

x

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[METEOROL] meteorology—The science concerned primarily with the

observation of the atmosphere and its phenomena, including temperature,

density, winds, clouds, and precipitation.

[MICROBIO] microbiology—The study of organisms of microscopic size, such

as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.

[MYCOL] mycology—The branch of biological science concerned with the study

of fungi.

[OCEANOGR] oceanography—The science of the sea, including physical

oceanography (the study of the physical properties of seawater and its motion

in waves, tides, and currents), marine chemistry, marine geology, and marine

biology.

[PETR MIN] petroleum and mining engineering—Branches of engineering

concerned with the search for and extraction from the earth of oil, gas, and

liquifiable hydrocarbons (petroleum engineering), and of coal and mineral

resources (mining engineering), and the processing of these products for use.

[PHYS] physics—The science concerned with those aspects of nature that

can be understood in terms of elementary principles and laws, including

the subfields of acoustics, astrophysics, electromagnetism, fluid mechanics,

nuclear physics, nucleonics, optics, plasma physics, and thermodynamics.

[PL PATH] plant pathology—The branch of botany concerned with diseases of

plants.

[SCI TECH] science and technology—The logical study of natural phenomena

and application of this knowledge for practical purposes, and the general terms

and concepts used in such endeavors.

[STAT] statistics—The science dealing with the collection, analysis,

interpretation, and presentation of masses of numerical data.

[SYST] systematics—The science of animal and plant classification.

[VET MED] veterinary medicine—The branch of medical practice which treats

the diseases and injuries of animals.

[ZOO] zoology—The science that deals with the taxonomy, behavior, and mor￾phology of animal life, usually divided into vertebrate and invertebrate zoology.

xi

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Pronunciation Key

Vowels

a as in bat, that

a as in b ¯ ait, crate

a as in b ¨ other, father

e as in bet, net

e as in b ¯ eet, treat

i as in bit, skit

¯ı as in bite, light

o as in b ¯ oat, note

o as in b ˙ ought, taut

u as in b ˙ ook, pull

u as in b ¨ oot, pool

ə as in but, sofa

au as in cr ˙ owd, power

oi as in b ˙ oil, spoil

yə as in formula, spectacular

yu as in f ¨ uel, mule

Semivowels/Semiconsonants

w as in wind, twin

y as in yet, onion

Stress (Accent)

precedes syllable with primary

stress

precedes syllable with secondary

stress

precedes syllable with variable

or indeterminate primary/

secondary stress

Consonants

b as in bib, dribble

ch as in charge, stretch

d as in dog, bad

f as in fix, safe

g as in good, signal

h as in hand, behind

j as in joint, digit

k as in cast, brick

k as in Bach (used rarely)

I as in loud, bell

m as in mild, summer

n as in new, dent

n indicates nasalization of

preceding vowel

ŋ as in ring, single

p as in pier, slip

r as in red, scar

s as in sign, post

sh as in sugar, shoe

t as in timid, cat

th as in thin, breath

th as in then, breathe

v as in veil, weave

z as in zoo, cruise

zh as in beige, treasure

Syllabication

. Indicates syllable boundary

when following syllable is

unstressed

xii

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civ a.xml McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Environmental Science June 9, 2003 20:8

A

aapamoor [ECOL] A moor with elevated areas or mounds supporting dwarf shrubs

and sphagnum, interspersed with low areas containing sedges and sphagnum, thus

forming a mosaic. { ap¨ ·ə mur } ¨

abandoned channel See oxbow. { ə ban·dənd chan·əl }

abatement [ENG] A decrease in the amount of a substance or other quantity, such as

atmospheric pollution. { ə bat¯ ·mənt }

abiocoen [ECOL] A nonbiotic habitat. { a¯ b¯ı·o¯ sen } ¯

abiogenesis [BIOL] The origin of life from nonliving matter, as occurred with the

appearance of the first lifeform on earth. Also the discredited idea of spontaneous

generation. { a¯ b¯ı·o¯ jen·ə·sis }

abioseston [OCEANOGR] A general term for dead organic matter floating in ocean water.

{ a¯ b¯ı·o¯ ses·tən }

abiotic [BIOL] Referring to the absence of living organisms. { a b¯ı ad¨ ·ik }

abiotic environment [ECOL] All physical and nonliving chemical factors, such as soil,

water, and atmosphere, which influence living organisms. { a b¯ı ad¨ ·ik in v¯ı·rən mənt }

abiotic substance [ECOL] Any fundamental chemical element or compound in the

environment. { a b¯ı ad¨ ·ik səb·stəns }

ablation [HYD] The reduction in volume of a glacier due to melting and evaporation.

{ ə bla¯·shən }

ablation area [HYD] The section in a glacier or snowfield where ablation exceeds

accumulation. { ə bla¯·shən er·e¯·ə }

ablation cone [HYD] A debris-covered cone of ice, firn, or snow formed by differential

ablation. { ə bla¯·shən kon } ¯

ablation factor [HYD] The rate at which a snow or ice surface wastes away. { ə bla¯·shən

fak·tər }

ablation form [HYD] A feature on a snow or ice surface caused by melting or evaporation.

{ ə bla¯·shən form } ˙

abrade [GEOL] To wear away by abrasion or friction. { ə brad } ¯

Abraham’s tree [METEOROL] The popular name given to a form of cirrus radiatus

clouds, consisting of an assemblage of long feathers and plumes of cirrus that seems

to radiate from a single point on the horizon. { a¯·brə hamz tre } ¯

abrasion [GEOL] Wearing away of sedimentary rock chiefly by currents of water laden

with sand and other rock debris and by glaciers. { ə bra¯·zhən }

abrasion platform [GEOL] An uplifted marine peneplain or plain, according to the

smoothness of the surface produced by wave erosion, which is of large area. { ə bra¯·

zhən plat·form } ˙

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