A flood that has a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. A base flood may also be referred to as a 100-year storm and the area inundated during the base flood is sometimes called the 100-year floodplain.

NOAA. "Inundation F.A.Q.'s." 2017. https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/inundation/faq_google.php#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20%22100%2Dyear,exceeded%20in%20any%20given%20year.&text=It%20is%20not%20the%20flood,equaled%20or%20exceeded%20each%20year.

Adaptation

Maintain flexibility to accommodate change through transformability to alternate domains of operations.

Keenan, Jesse M., David A. King, and Derek Willis. “Understanding Conceptual Climate Change Meanings and Preferences of Multi-Actor Professional Leadership in New York.” Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning 18, no. 3 (2015): 261-285.

Afforestation

The act or process of establishing a forest on land not previously forested. Afforestation increases the storage of carbon dioxide in terrestrial vegetation and produces bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.

Merriam-Webster. "Afforestation." 2020. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/afforestation Doelman et al. "Afforestation for climate change mitigation: potentials, risks and trade-offs." Global Change Biology 26, no. 3 (2020):1576-1591.

Agribusiness

Business of agricultural production, coined as a portmanteau of agriculture and business including agrichemicals, breeding, crop production, distribution, farm machinery, processing, seed supply, marketing and retail sales.

Davis, John H. and Ray A. Goldberg. "A Concept of Agribusiness." Cambridge: Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration, 1957.

Agroforestry

Intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic and social benefits. Management practices must be intentional, intensive, integrated and interactive to qualify as agroforestry.

USDA. "Agroforestry." 2019. https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/inundation/faq_google.php#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20%22100%2Dyear,exceeded%20in%20any%20given%20year.&text=It%20is%20not%20the%20flood,equaled%20or%20exceeded%20each%20year.

Agrosilvopastoral systems

Land use systems that include crops, forestry and pastureland, commonly found in drylands. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

"Drylands Forests and Agrosilvopastoral Systems." Sustainable Forest Management Toolbox. 2020.  http://www.fao.org/sustainable-forest-management/toolbox/modules/dryland-forests-agrosilvopastoral-systems/basic-knowledge/en/

Albedo

Fraction of light that is reflected by a body or surface. It is an important consideration in climatology since recent albedo decreases in the Arctic have increased heat absorption at the surface. Changes in Earth’s global albedo can affect global warming. Sea-ice loss in the Arctic since the end of the 20th century has lowered the region’s albedo, decreasing the region’s ability to reflect incoming sunlight while increasing its ability to absorb energy from sunlight.

https://www.britannica.com/science/albedo

Anonymous adaptation

What people and systems do as impacts of climate change become apparent.

Keenan, Jesse M. Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation. SES 5369 at Harvard University. Fall 2019.

Anthropocene

The current geological epoch that started with the design of the steam engine in 1784 defined by human activities that exert increasing impacts on the environment on all scales and outcompete natural processes.

Creutzen. Paul J. "The 'Anthropocene.'" In Earth System Science in the Anthropocene. eds. E. Ehlers and T. Krafft. Berlin: Springer, 2006.

Anticipatory adaptation

Measures taken to reduce potential risks of future climate change.

Keenan, Jesse M. Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation. SES 5369 at Harvard University. Fall 2019.

Arboriculture

Arboriculture includes propagating, transplanting, pruning, cultivating, and arranging of trees in horticultural landscapes. The well-being of individual plants is the major concern of arboriculture, in contrast to such related fields as silviculture and agriculture, in which the major concern is the welfare of a large group of plants as a whole.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica . “Arboriculture.” Encyclopædia Britannica, December 17, 2014. https://www.britannica.com/science/arboriculture.

Arid climate

A climate characterized by excessive heat; inadequate, variable precipitation; and aridity, or the state of potential evapotranspiration nearing total precipitation. Arid climates vary in actual rainfall totals and temperatures and can be broken up into three types: Mediterranean, tropical, and continental.

UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). “The Arid Environments.” From Arid Zone Forestry: A Guide for Field Technicians. Rome:  FAO, 1989. http://www.fao.org/3/t0122e/t0122e03.htm

Attenuation

Reduction in the strength of a signal over long distances. When used in relation to coastal waves, attenuation is the reduction of wave energy. 

O'Donnell, Jennifer. Coastal Resilience and Wave Attenuation. Hartford: University of Connecticut, 2016.

Barrier island

A narrow strip of sand that forms an offshore island separated from the main shoreline by a narrow lowland of lagoons, marshes and estuaries.

DiPietro, Joseph A. Landscape Evolution in the United States. New York: Elsevier, 2013.

Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCs)

BECCs is a group of different technologies to produce energy for biomass and store the CO₂. BECCS involves the utilisation of biomass as an energy source and the capture and permanent storage of CO₂ produced during the conversion of biomass to energy. There is no singular definition of “BECCS” since it can include a variety of industries, biomass feedstocks and methods of energy conversion. The final use of the biomass also varies widely.

Consoli, Cristopher. “Bioenergy and Carbon Capture and Storage”. Global CCS Institute. 2019. https://www.globalccsinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BECCS-Perspective_FINAL_18-March.pdf

Biodiversity

Portmanteau of biological diversity coined in 1985 and popularized by biologist E. O. Wilson referring to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria and fungi.

Faith, Daniel P. "Biodiversity." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2007. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/biodiversity/

Breakwater

An offshore shore-parallel structure that “breaks” waves, reducing the wave energy reaching the beach and fostering sediment accretion between the beach and the breakwater. Made of rock, concrete, or oyster shell, these structures can be floating or fixed on the ocean floor and can be continuous or segmented. Breakwaters can be placed attached to the shoreline as headlands or submerged near the shoreline as sills. Breakwaters allow for the accretion of sediment between the structure and the shoreline, potentially stabilizing wetlands and providing shelter for new intertidal marsh habitat. However, this may impede longshore transportation of material leading to downdrift erosion as well as form intertidal marsh not appropriate for the location, replacing natural sandy beach habitat.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/breakwaters-headlands-sills-and-reefs.htm

Carbon footprint

The total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service or product, expressed as a carbon dioxide equivalent.

Carbon Trust. 2013. https://www.carbontrust.com/

Carbon offsets

Activity that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions reduction to directly compensate for carbon dioxide emissions elsewhere.

Eckley Sellin, Noelle. “Carbon Offset.” Shibboleth Authentication Request, August 11, 2011. https://www-britannica-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/technology/carbon-offset.

Carbon sequestration

The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide, which occurs in two major ways: geologic and biologic. Geologic carbon sequestration is the process of injecting carbon dioxide captured from an industrial or energy-related resource into deep subsurface rock formations for long-term storage, while biological carbon sequestration is the storage of atmospheric carbon in vegetation, soils, woody products and aquatic environments.

USGS. "What is carbon sequestration?" 2020. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-carbon-sequestration?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products
EPA. "Underground injection control." 2020. https://www.epa.gov/uic/background-information-about-geologic-sequestration#:~:text=Geologic%20Sequestration%20(GS)%20is%20the,formations%20for%20long%2Dterm%20storage.

Climate change

Changes in average weather conditions that persist over multiple decades or longer. Climate change encompasses both increases and decreases in temperature, as well as shifts in precipitation, changing risk of certain types of severe weather events, and changes to other features of the climate system.

“Glossary: Climate Change.’” GlobalChange.gov. Accessed August 18, 2020. https://www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/glossary.

Climate gentrification

Climate change impacts makes property more or less valuable. Climate gentrification is the act of moving financial assets to an area with low climate related risk which results in the displacement of existing populations in line with conventional definitions of gentrification. An example of this is speculative real estate development in high elevation neighborhoods in Miami, Florida.

Keenan, Jesse M., Thomas Hill, and Anurag Gumber. "Climate gentrification: from theory to empiricism in Miami-Dade County, Florida." Environmental Research Letters 13, no. 5 (2018): 054001.

Climate refugee

A “refugee” is defined as a person who has crossed an international border “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” (1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees). In some contexts, the definition extends to persons fleeing “events seriously disturbing public order” (1969 OAU Convention; 1984 Cartagena Declaration). Climate change affects people inside their own countries, and typically creates internal displacement before it reaches a level where it displaces people across borders. There may be situations where the refugee criteria of the 1951 Convention or broader refugee criteria of regional refugee law frameworks may apply, for example if drought-related famine is linked to situations of armed conflict and violence – an area known as “nexus dynamics.” Regardless, the term “climate refugee” is not endorsed by UNHCR, and it is more accurate to refer to “persons displaced in the context of disasters and climate change.”

UNHCR. "Climate change and disaster displacement." 2020. https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/climate-change-and-disasters.html

Commons

Land or resources shared by the whole of a community or entity.

https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/commons

Community resettlement

Migration of a community due to risk (in this context climate related risk) that involves a planned destination of refuge that can range from temporary and permanent settlement.

De Sherbinin, Alex, Marcia Castro, Francois Gemenne, M. M. Cernea, Susana Adamo, P. M. Fearnside, Gary Krieger et al. "Preparing for resettlement associated with climate change." Science 334, no. 6055 (2011): 456-457.

Contamination

Undesirable elements that make something unfit for use.

Merriam Webster. "Contaminate" https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/contaminate

COP (Conference of Parties)

The Conference of Parties is the supreme decision making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The COP meets every year. Since 1997 the conference serves to address the progress of the Kyoto Protocol (negotiated at COP 3) and since 2011 the conference oversees the progress of the Paris Agreement.

“Conference of Parties (COP).” unfccc.int, 2020. https://unfccc.int/process/bodies/supreme-bodies/conference-of-the-parties-cop.

Cost benefit analysis

Process of comparing the cost involved in doing something to the potential advantage or profit could bring. Can involve hidden costs and benefits and factor in non-monetary measurements and indexes.

Cambridge Dictionary. "Cost benefit analysis" 2020. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cost-benefit-analysis

Decarbonization

The process of removing carbon.
Deep decarbonization: blueprint to wean our economies off carbon emissions.

Victor, David G. “Deep Decarbonization: A Realistic Way Forward on Climate Change.” Yale E360, January 28, 2020. https://e360.yale.edu/features/deep-decarbonization-a-realistic-way-forward-on-climate-change.

Density

Population: People per square kilometer of land area.

“Population Density.” World Bank, 2020. https://data-worldbank-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/indicator/EN.POP.DNST.

Desertification

Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts.

United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/observances/desertification-day#:~:text=Desertification%20is%20the%20degradation%20of,the%20expansion%20of%20existing%20deserts

Disaster capitalism

The way private industries emerge to directly profit from large-scale crises.

Klein, Naomi. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Macmillan, 2007.

Displacement

Process of pushing individuals or communities to leave their communities due to risk, economic necessity or other threatening factors.

“Displaced People.” World Health Organization. World Health Organization, August 24, 2012. https://www.who.int/environmental_health_emergencies/displaced_people/en/.

Drought

Drought is a complex phenomenon which is difficult to monitor and define. Hurricanes, for example, have a definite beginning and end and can easily be seen as they develop and move. Drought, on the other hand, is the absence of water. It is a creeping phenomenon that slowly sneaks up and impacts many sectors of the economy, and operates on many different time scales. As a result, the climatological community has defined four types of drought: 1) meteorological drought, 2) hydrological drought, 3) agricultural drought, and 4) socioeconomic drought. Meteorological drought happens when dry weather patterns dominate an area. Hydrological drought occurs when low water supply becomes evident, especially in streams, reservoirs, and groundwater levels, usually after many months of meteorological drought. Agricultural drought happens when crops become affected. And socioeconomic drought relates the supply and demand of various commodities to drought. Meteorological drought can begin and end rapidly, while hydrological drought takes much longer to develop and then recover.

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/monitoring-references/dyk/drought-definition

Drylands

There is no single agreed definition of the term drylands. Two of the most widely accepted definitions are those of FAO and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. FAO has defined drylands as those areas with a length of growing period (LGP) of 1–179 days ; this includes regions classified climatically as arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid. The UNCCD classification employs a ratio of annual precipitation to potential evapotranspiration (P/PET). This value indicates the maximum quantity of water capable of being lost, as water vapour, in a given climate, by a continuous stretch of vegetation covering the whole ground and well supplied with water. Thus, it includes evaporation from the soil and transpiration from the vegetation from a specific region in a given time interval. Under the UNCCD classification, drylands are characterized by a P/PET of between 0.05 and 0.65. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Earthscan.

"Drylands, People and Land Use." Waters and Cereals in Drylands. London: Earthscan, 2008.

Emission

Typically used in reference to greenhouse gas emission, or the release of molecular contaminants such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases into the atmosphere through chemical and biological processes, including the burning of fossil fuels and organic matter, the decaying of solid waste, and various agricultural and other industrial practices.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “Overview of Greenhouse Gases.”  https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases.

Energy

Work that a certain force (gravitational, electromagnetic, etc) can do. A common measurement for energy consumption in the context of human use in electrical application is kilowatt hour, which measures the electrical energy equivalent to power consumption of 1,000 watts for 1 hour.

“Energy.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily. Accessed August 18, 2020. https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/energy.htm.

Easement

A grant to use someone else’s land for a specific purpose.
Cconservation easement: voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values.

Land Trust Alliance. “Questions?,” November 14, 2017. https://www.landtrustalliance.org/what-you-can-do/conserve-your-land/questions.

Evacuation

An organized withdrawal from a place for protection.

Merriam Webster. "Evacuating" https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/evacuating

Extreme

Existing in a very high degree, exceeding ordinary or expected.

Merriam Webster. "Extreme" https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/extreme

Feedback

The process through which a system is controlled, changed, or modulated in response to its own output. Positive feedback results in amplification of the system output; negative feedback reduces the output of a system.

“Glossary, ‘Feedback.’” GlobalChange.gov, 2020. https://www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/glossary.

Flood risk reduction

Measures taken by stakeholders to adapt and mitigate flood risk from fluvial, tidal, surface and groundwater sources.

Wilby, Robert L., and Rod Keenan. "Adapting to flood risk under climate change." Progress in physical geography 36, no. 3 (2012): 348-378.

Food security

A person's physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.

“Food Security.” ifpri.org. Accessed August 19, 2020. https://www.ifpri.org/topic/food-security.

Fortification

Strong structures built to protect a place.

Cambridge English Dictionary. "Fortification" https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/fortification

Frontline communities

Communities that experience the "first and worst" consequences of climate change.

Holland, Carolyn. “Centering Frontline Communities in the Face of Climate Change.” Ecotrust, July 15, 2017. https://ecotrust.org/centering-frontline-communities/.

Geoengineering

Geoengineering refers to a set of emerging technologies that could manipulate the environment and partially offset some of the impacts of climate change.

“Geoengineering.” Harvard's Solar Geoengineering Research Program. Accessed August 18, 2020. https://geoengineering.environment.harvard.edu/geoengineering.

Glacial melt

Glaciers gain mass through snowfall and lose mass through melting and sublimation (when water evaporates directly from solid ice). Glaciers that terminate in a lake or the ocean also lose mass through iceberg calving. Melting glaciers are currently the biggest cause of sea level rise globally.

“Climate Change: Glacier Mass Balance: NOAA Climate.gov,” February 14, 2020. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-glacier-mass-balance.

Greenhouse gases

Gasses that trap heat in the atmosphere.

“Overview of Greenhouse Gases.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, May 28, 2020. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases.

Green growth machine

When a city is beholden to the interests of local financial and real estate sectors who seek to profit from urban development that results in higher rents and higher commercial taxes.

DuPuis, E. Melanie, and Miriam Greenberg. “The right to the resilient city: progressive politics and the green growth machine in New York City.” Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 9, no. 3 (2019): 352-363.

Hazard

Source of danger, effect of unpredictable forces determining events.

Merriam Webster. "Hazard" https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/hazard

Heat

A sensation of molecular vibration, heat is the byproduct of the transfer of energy from warmer objects to cooler objects in a pursuit of equilibrium. Most of the heat experienced in Earth’s atmosphere and troposphere comes from solar radiation.

Lumen Earth Science. “The Atmosphere.”  https://courses.lumenlearning.com/earthscience/chapter/the-atmosphere.

Heat stress

The negative health impacts, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion, caused by exposure to extreme heat or long periods in hot environments.

https://www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/glossary.

Heritage

Something transmitted by or acquired from a predecessor.

Merriam Webster "Heritage" https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/heritage

Indicator

An observation or calculation that allows scientists, analysts, decision makers, and others to track environmental trends, understand key factors that influence the environment, and identify effects on ecosystems and society.

“Glossary, ‘Indicator.’” GlobalChange.gov. Accessed August 18, 2020. https://www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/glossary.

Indigenous knowledges

A network of knowledges, beliefs, and traditions intended to preserve, communicate, and contextualize Indigenous relationships with culture and landscape over time. Indigenous epistemologies do not rely on binary distinctions between knowledge (factual data), belief (religious concepts) and tradition (practice).

Bruchac, Margaret. "Indigenous knowledge and traditional knowledge." (2014): 3814.

Inequity

Equity refers to the fact that different people have varying needs of support and assistance, inequity is an instance of injustice that fails to proportionally account for such varying needs and differences.

Hochman, Allison. “Equity vs Equality and How They Are Different.” University of the People, March 10, 2020. https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/equity-vs-equality/.

Insolation

The amount of downward solar radiation energy incident on a plane surface. Seasonal and latitudinal variations in temperature are driven primarily by variations of insolation and average solar zenith angle. The amount of solar radiation incident on the top of the atmosphere depends on the latitude, season, and time of day. The amount of solar energy that is reflected to space without absorption depends on the solar zenith angle and the properties of the local surface and atmosphere. The climate depends on the insolation and zenith angle averaged over a 24-h period, over a season, and over a year.

Hartmann, Dennis L. “Global Physical Climatology” (Second Edition). 2016. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/insolation

Insurance

A protection against financial loss brokered by an insurer. One pays a fee so that the insurer covers some or all of the costs of a financially compromising incident.

“What Is Insurance.” ConsumerFinance.gov, 2019. https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_building_block_activities_what-is-insurance_handout.pdf.

Inundation

The amount of water that occurs above normally dry ground as a result of flooding.

https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/inundationdb_info.html

IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. The Panel provides policymakers assessments on the science, implications and future risks from climate change.

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.” IPCC. Accessed August 18, 2020. https://www.ipcc.ch/.

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J

Justice

Fairness in the way people are treated and dealt with, secondary: administration of the law.

Cambridge English Dictionary. "Justice" https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/justice

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K

Kyoto Protocol

An agreement committing participating industrialized countries to limit and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets.

“What Is the Kyoto Protocol?” unfccc.int. Accessed August 18, 2020. https://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol.

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L

Land cover

Indicates physical land type such as forest or open water.

US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is the Difference between Land Cover and Land Use?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, September 10, 2009. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lclu.html.

Land use

Indicates how people are using the land.

US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is the Difference between Land Cover and Land Use?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, September 10, 2009.https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lclu.html.

Landslide

Movement of a mass of rock, debris or earth down a slope. Causes vary, usually on slopes already on the verge of movement by rainfall, snowmelt, changes in water level, stream erosion, changes in groundwater, earthquakes, volcanic activity, disturbance by human activities, or any combination of these.

“What Is a Landslide and What Causes One?” USGS.gov. Accessed August 19, 2020. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-a-landslide-and-what-causes-one?qt-news_science_products=0.

Living shoreline

A protected, stabilized coastal edge made of natural materials such as plants, sand, or rock that grows over time and provides habitat and resilience to waterfront communities

NOAA Fisheries. “Understanding Living Shorelines.” June 19, 2017. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/understanding-living-shorelines

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M

Metrics

Metrics are measures of quantitative assessment commonly used for assessing, comparing, and tracking performance or production

Young, Julie. “Metrics-What They Are, How They're Used.” Investopedia. Investopedia, March 26, 2020. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/metrics.asp.

Mitigation

Practices which limit the magnitude and rate of warming and its related effects. This can be achieved using renewable resources for energy and materials, recycling, changing patterns of consumption and use, and applying new technologies and management techniques. Mitigation includes enhancing the “sinks” that accumulate and store greenhouse gases, such as the oceans, forests and soils.

NASA. "Responding to climate change." 2019. https://climate.nasa.gov/solutions/adaptation-mitigation/

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N

National Environmental Policy Act

Signed into law on January 1, 1970. NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions. The act requires federal agencies to incorporate environmental considerations in their planning and decision-making through a systematic interdisciplinary approach. Agencies must produce an Environmental Assessment (EA) to determine whether or not there are significant impacts on the environment. If impacts are found, the agency is required to produce an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which must involve public meetings and input.

“What Is the National Environmental Policy Act?” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, January 24, 2017. https://www.epa.gov/nepa/what-national-environmental-policy-act.

NGO

Stands for non-governmental organization. Typically a non-profit group with a social or political mission that operates independently from a governing body. Legal definition varies by country.

Editor, Content. “What Is an NGO?” NGOsource, June 22, 2018. https://www.ngosource.org/what-is-an-ngo.

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O

Ozone

A gas made of three oxygen atoms (O3). It occurs naturally in small amounts in the stratosphere, and protects life on Earth from the sun's UV radiation. Ozone is also an anthropogenically produced byproduct created from vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors and other emissions- these sit in the troposphere (lower atmosphere) and at ground level, where high concentrations of ozone are toxic to people and plants.

“Nasa Ozone Watch: Ozone Facts.” NASA. NASA, October 10, 2018. https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/SH.html.

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P

Paris Agreement

International agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP), the central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“The Paris Agreement.” unfccc.int, 2020. https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement.

Permeability

The state or quality of a material or membrane that causes it to allow liquids or gases to pass through it.

Merriam-Webster. "Permeability." 2020. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/permeability

Pollution

The introduction of harmful materials (pollutants) into the environment. Can be in the form of a gas, physical waste, heavy metals, among others.

National Geographic Society. “Pollution.” National Geographic Society, October 9, 2012. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/pollution/.

Post-conflict

Period directly following a time of conflict (war, terror, injustice, civil unrest). Referenced often as at a national scale, "post-conflict country"

Panić, Milan. "Post-conflict countries: aid effectiveness and permanent peace." Cambridge: University of Cambridge (2009).

Preparedness

Quality or state of being prepared, having acted in anticipation of a specific event, test or duty.

Merriam Webster. "Preparedness." https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/preparation

Proxy

A situation, process, or activity to which another situation, etc. is compared, especially in order to calculate how successful or unsuccessful it is.

Cambridge English Dictionary. "Proxy" https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/proxy

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R

Range shift

Range shifts are a response to climate change in which the preferred niche of a species, including abiotic variables like temperature and precipitation, change, as well as biotic variables like other species, causing species to migrate. In many cases, northern species range shifts are accompanied by a contraction at the southern boundary of a species range, with animals that are able to easily undertake long migratory movements like birds and whales, moving first, while tree and plant species moving more slowly, potentially making them more threatened by a required migration that they cannot successfully accomplish within the lifespan of the species. 

Tomiolo, Sara and David Ward. "Species migrations and range shifts: A synthesis of causes and consequences." Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 33 (2018): 62-77.

Regeneration

Forestry: A cutting procedure by which a new age class is created. The major methods are clearcutting, seed-tree, shelterwood, selection, and coppice. Regeneration methods are grouped into four categories: coppice, even-aged, two-aged, and uneven-aged.

“Reforestation Glossary.” Glossary, 2020. https://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/reforestation/glossary.shtml.

Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP)

Scenarios that include time series of emissions and concentrations of the full suite of greenhouse gases, and aerosols and other chemically active gases, as well as land use/land cover. The word "representative" signifies that each RCP provides only one of many possible scenarios that would lead to the specific radiative forcing characteristics. The term "pathway" emphasizes that not only the long-term concentration levels are of interest, but also the trajectory taken over time to reach that outcome.

“Glossary, ‘Representative Concentration Pathways.’” GlobalChange.gov. Accessed August 18, 2020. https://www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/glossary.

Renewable

Capable of being replaced by natural ecological cycles or sound management practice.

Merriam Webster. "Renewable" https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/renewable

Resilience

Resilience: the ability of a system to adapt and adjust to changing internal and external processes
Economists/management: threat or change to an important node that has been designated in advance
Engineers: mechanical process of bouncing back from perturbation, something inherent in the materiality of the disturbed object
Ecology: the persistence of relationships within a system and a measure of the ability of these systems to absorb chang

Vale, Lawrence J. "The politics of resilient cities: whose resilience and whose city?" Building Research and Information 42, no. 2 (2014): 191-201.

Rewilding

The repair or refurbishment of an ecosystem’s functionality through the (re-)introduction of selected species.

Pettorelli, Nathalie., Durant, and J. du Toit. "Rewilding: a captivating, controversial, twenty first-century concept to address ecological degradation in a changing world." Rewilding (2019): 1.

Risk

Probability of loss or a hazardous scenario.

Merriam Webster. "Risk" https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/risk

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S

Salinization

Soil salinization is the accumulation of water-soluble salts within soil layers above a certain level that adversely affects crop production, environmental health, and economic welfare. Soil salinity is described and characterized in terms of the concentration and composition of the soluble salts.

"Soil Salinization". In obo in Environmental Science, https://www-oxfordbibliographies-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/view/document/obo-9780199363445/obo-9780199363445-0008.xml (accessed 19 Aug. 2020).

Scarcity

Short supply, a situation where something is difficult to get or not easy to find.

Cambridge English Dictionary. "Scarcity" https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/scarcity

Scenario

Sets of questions that represent contrasting visions of the future that make it possible to evaluate the potential consequences of different choices.

Thompson, Jonathan, Kathy Fallon Lambert, David Foster, Meghan Blumstein, Eben Broadbent, Angelica Almeyda Zambrano. Changes to the Land: Four Scenarios of the Massachusetts Landscape. Petersham: Harvard Forest, 2014.

Sea level rise

Changes in global mean sea level which have trended upward at an unprecedented rate over the past century mostly attributed to anthropogenic climate change.

Raper, S. C. B., T. M. L. Wigley, and R. A. Warrick. "Global sea-level rise: past and future." In Sea-level rise and coastal subsidence, pp. 11-45. Springer, Dordrecht, 1996.

Sea surface temperature

Water temperature close to the ocean surface, measured to observe the way in which the sea interacts with the Earth’s atmosphere. It is an essential parameter in weather prediction and atmospheric modeling.

US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Why Do Scientists Measure Sea Surface Temperature?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, August 18, 2016. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sea-surface-temperature.html.

Sea wall

Hard engineered structures built parallel to the shore to prevent shoreline erosion and protect from incoming wave action.

UN Climate Technology Centre & Network. “Sea walls.” https://www.ctc-n.org/technologies/sea-walls.

Security

Freedom from danger, fear, anxiety, loss of income.

Merriam Webster. "Security" https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/security

Shock doctrine

Term coined by Naomi Klein to describe the state of collective shock in a post-disaster context, that leaves societies to give up things they would otherwise adamantly protect, providing a window for profiteering out of a desperate moment.

Klein, Naomi. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Macmillan, 2007.

Sink

A natural or technological process that removes carbon from the atmosphere and stores it.

“Glossary, ‘Sink.’” GlobalChange.gov. Accessed August 18, 2020. https://www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/glossary.

Soil organic carbon (SOC)

Soil organic carbon is a measurable component of soil organic matter. Organic matter makes up just 2–10% of most soil's mass and has an important role in the physical, chemical and biological function of agricultural soils. Organic matter contributes to nutrient retention and turnover, soil structure, moisture retention and availability, degradation of pollutants, carbon sequestration and soil resilience. Sequestering carbon in SOC is seen as one way to mitigate climate change by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide. The argument is that small increases of SOC over very large areas in agricultural and pastoral lands will significantly reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Government of Australia. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. “What Is Organic Soil Carbon?”. https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/measuring-and-assessing-soils/what-soil-organic-carbon

Soil organic matter (SOM) 

SOM is composed mainly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and has small amounts of other elements, such as nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur, potassium, calcium and magnesium contained in organic residues. It is divided into ‘living’ and ‘dead’ components and can range from very recent inputs, such as stubble, to largely decayed materials that are thousands of years old. About 10% of below-ground SOM, such as roots, fauna and microorganisms, is ‘living’. SOM exists as 4 distinct fractions which vary widely in size, turnover time and composition in the soil: dissolved organic matter, particulate organic matter, humus, resistant organic matter.

Government of Australia. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. “What Is Organic Soil Carbon?”. https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/measuring-and-assessing-soils/what-soil-organic-carbon

Storm surge

When severe storms such as hurricanes, cyclones, and nor'easters move toward land from the ocean causing low pressure and strong winds to abnormally high water levels onto the coast.

“U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit.” Storm Surge | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. Accessed August 19, 2020. https://toolkit.climate.gov/topics/coastal/storm-surge.

Stormwater

Stormwater runoff is generated from rain and snowmelt events that flow over land or impervious surfaces, such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops, and does not soak into the ground. The runoff picks up pollutants like trash, chemicals, oils, and dirt/sediment that can harm our rivers, streams, lakes, and coastal waters.

Environmental Protection Organization, National Pollutatnt Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). “NPDES Stormwater Program.” https://www.epa.gov/npdes/npdes-stormwater-program.

Structural racism

Structural Racism in the U.S. is the normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics – historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal – that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. It is a system of hierarchy and inequity, primarily characterized by white supremacy – the preferential treatment, privilege and power for white people at the expense of Black, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Arab and other racially oppressed people.

Lawrence, Keith. “Structural Racism.” Race and Public Policy Conference, 2004.

Subsistence

A source or means of obtaining the necessities of life.

Merriam Webster. "Subsistence" https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/subsistence

Sustainability

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Imperatives, Strategic. "Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our common future." Accessed Feb 10 (1987).

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T

Tidal flooding

When local sea level temporarily rises above an identified threshold height for flooding, in the absence of storm surge or riverine flooding.

“U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit.” High-Tide Flooding | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. Accessed August 19, 2020. https://toolkit.climate.gov/topics/coastal-flood-risk/shallow-coastal-flooding-nuisance-flooding.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)

Experience acquired over thousands of years of direct human contact with ecological systems.

Berkes, Fikret. "Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Perspective." Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Concepts and Cases 1 (1993).

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U

Uncertainty

State of not being known or certain to occur.

Merriam Webster. "Uncertainty" https://www-merriam-webster-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/dictionary/uncertainty

Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP)

A standardized review procedure whereby applications affecting the land use of a city are publicly reviewed. The process is connected to environmental review processes and is generally submitted by a developer and reviewed by a city planning commission and eventually a binding decision by a mayor or authority figure and city council.

City Limits. "ULURP Explained." 2020. https://citylimits.org/zonein/ulurp-explained/

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Variability

Divergence of data from the mean value.

Scott, Gordon. “Variability Definition.” Investopedia. Investopedia, July 16, 2020. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/variability.asp.

Vulnerability

Degree to which a system, or part of it, may react adversely during the occurrence of a hazardous event. Vulnerability does not have one standard form of measurement and assessments can incorporate social, economic, systemic and physical circumstances.

Proag, Virendra. "The concept of vulnerability and resilience." Procedia Economics and Finance 18 (2014): 369-376.

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W

Wildfire

Uncontrolled fire that burns in wildland vegetation, especially in rural areas.

National Geographic Society. "Wildfires." National Geographic Society Research Library. 2020. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/wildfires/