Civil engineering takes place in the public sector from municipal through to
national governments, and in the private sector from individual homeowners
through to international companies.
Clari-DAF It is rectangular dissolved air flotation (DAF) clarifier commercially
available from Xylem Water and Wastewater, Zelienople, PA 16063, USA.
Clarifier, settling tank, sedimentation basin A tank or basin in which water or
wastewater is held for a period of time during which most of the heavier solids
settle to the bottom and small amount of the lighter material will float to the water
surface.
Clarifier, flotation tank A tank in which water or wastewater is held for a period of
time during which most of the lighter air-TSS flocs float to the water surface and
small amount of the heavier solids will settle to the tank bottom.
Clean sample A sample of a natural or synthetic matrix containing no detectable
amount of the analyte of interest and no interfering material.
Climate Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the “average weather,” or
more rigorously, as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability
of relevant quantities over a period of time ranging from months to thousands of
years. The classical period is 3 decades, as defined by the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO). These quantities are most often surface variables such as
temperature, precipitation, and wind. Climate in a wider sense is the state,
including a statistical description, of the climate system.
Climate change Climate change refers to any significant change in the measures of
climate lasting for an extended period of time. In other words, climate change
includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns, among
others, that occur over several decades or longer.
Climate feedback A process that acts to amplify or reduce direct warming or
cooling effects.
Climate lag The delay that occurs in climate change as a result of some factor that
changes only very slowly. For example, the effects of releasing more carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere occur gradually over time because the ocean takes a
long time to warm up in response to a change in radiation.
Climate model A quantitative way of representing the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice. Models can range from relatively simple to
quite comprehensive.
Climate sensitivity In Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports,
equilibrium climate sensitivity refers to the equilibrium change in global mean
surface temperature following a doubling of the atmospheric (equivalent) CO 2
concentration. More generally, equilibrium climate sensitivity refers to the equilibrium change in surface air temperature following a unit change in radiative forcing
(degrees Celsius, per watts per square meter). One method of evaluating the
equilibrium climate sensitivity requires very long simulations with Coupled General
Circulation Models (Climate model). The effective climate sensitivity is a related
measure that circumvents this requirement. It is evaluated from model output for
evolving nonequilibrium conditions. It is a measure of the strengths of the feedbacks at a particular time and may vary with forcing history and climate state.
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M.-H. S. Wang and L. K. Wang
national governments, and in the private sector from individual homeowners
through to international companies.
Clari-DAF It is rectangular dissolved air flotation (DAF) clarifier commercially
available from Xylem Water and Wastewater, Zelienople, PA 16063, USA.
Clarifier, settling tank, sedimentation basin A tank or basin in which water or
wastewater is held for a period of time during which most of the heavier solids
settle to the bottom and small amount of the lighter material will float to the water
surface.
Clarifier, flotation tank A tank in which water or wastewater is held for a period of
time during which most of the lighter air-TSS flocs float to the water surface and
small amount of the heavier solids will settle to the tank bottom.
Clean sample A sample of a natural or synthetic matrix containing no detectable
amount of the analyte of interest and no interfering material.
Climate Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the “average weather,” or
more rigorously, as the statistical description in terms of the mean and variability
of relevant quantities over a period of time ranging from months to thousands of
years. The classical period is 3 decades, as defined by the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO). These quantities are most often surface variables such as
temperature, precipitation, and wind. Climate in a wider sense is the state,
including a statistical description, of the climate system.
Climate change Climate change refers to any significant change in the measures of
climate lasting for an extended period of time. In other words, climate change
includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns, among
others, that occur over several decades or longer.
Climate feedback A process that acts to amplify or reduce direct warming or
cooling effects.
Climate lag The delay that occurs in climate change as a result of some factor that
changes only very slowly. For example, the effects of releasing more carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere occur gradually over time because the ocean takes a
long time to warm up in response to a change in radiation.
Climate model A quantitative way of representing the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice. Models can range from relatively simple to
quite comprehensive.
Climate sensitivity In Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports,
equilibrium climate sensitivity refers to the equilibrium change in global mean
surface temperature following a doubling of the atmospheric (equivalent) CO 2
concentration. More generally, equilibrium climate sensitivity refers to the equilibrium change in surface air temperature following a unit change in radiative forcing
(degrees Celsius, per watts per square meter). One method of evaluating the
equilibrium climate sensitivity requires very long simulations with Coupled General
Circulation Models (Climate model). The effective climate sensitivity is a related
measure that circumvents this requirement. It is evaluated from model output for
evolving nonequilibrium conditions. It is a measure of the strengths of the feedbacks at a particular time and may vary with forcing history and climate state.
436
M.-H. S. Wang and L. K. Wang