Inglês para Ciências do Clima: Vocabulário e Frases Essenciais

"radiative forcing"

The change in energy flux in the atmosphere caused by natural or anthropogenic factors, expressed in watts per square metre

"The study quantified the radiative forcing attributed to increased methane concentrations since pre-industrial times."

"carbon budget"

The maximum cumulative amount of CO₂ emissions compatible with limiting warming to a given temperature threshold

"Current projections suggest the remaining carbon budget for 1.5 °C of warming could be exhausted within a decade."

"climate sensitivity"

The equilibrium change in global mean surface temperature following a doubling of atmospheric CO₂

"Estimates of climate sensitivity have narrowed, but uncertainty in cloud feedbacks remains the dominant source of spread."

"albedo"

The fraction of incoming solar radiation reflected by a surface, expressed as a value between 0 and 1

"Melting sea ice reduces Arctic albedo, creating a positive feedback that amplifies regional warming."

"teleconnection"

A statistical relationship between climate anomalies in widely separated regions of the world

"Researchers identified a teleconnection linking El Niño events to drought conditions across southern Africa."

"positive feedback"

A process in which an initial climate perturbation triggers changes that amplify the original perturbation

"Permafrost thaw releasing methane is a well-documented positive feedback in the Arctic carbon cycle."

"paleoclimate"

The climate of the Earth during periods before instrumental records, reconstructed from proxy data

"Ice core paleoclimate records reveal that present CO₂ levels are unprecedented over the past 800,000 years."

"anomaly"

The departure of a climate variable from its long-term average or baseline value

"The 2023 global mean temperature anomaly of +1.45 °C set a new record in the observational period."

"global warming potential (GWP)"

A measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps relative to CO₂ over a specified time horizon

"Methane has a GWP of approximately 84 over a 20-year horizon, making early emission cuts especially impactful."

"CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e)"

A unit expressing the warming impact of a mixture of greenhouse gases in terms of an equivalent amount of CO₂

"The agriculture sector contributes roughly 10% of global emissions when measured in CO₂ equivalent terms."

"atmospheric concentration"

The abundance of a gas in the atmosphere, typically expressed in parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb)

"Monthly measurements at Mauna Loa recorded an atmospheric concentration of CO₂ above 420 ppm for the first time."

"methane (CH₄)"

A potent greenhouse gas produced by livestock digestion, rice cultivation, landfills, and fossil fuel operations

"Satellite monitoring has revealed that methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure are substantially underreported."

"nitrous oxide (N₂O)"

A greenhouse gas with a very high GWP, mainly emitted from agricultural soils and nitrogen-based fertilisers

"Improved fertiliser management could substantially reduce nitrous oxide emissions from croplands worldwide."

"hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)"

Synthetic greenhouse gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning that replaced ozone-depleting substances

"Under the Kigali Amendment, countries agreed to phase down hydrofluorocarbons over the coming decades."

"carbon dioxide removal (CDR)"

The deliberate extraction of CO₂ from the atmosphere using natural or technological processes

"Most IPCC scenarios rely on substantial carbon dioxide removal to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century."

"residence time"

The average time a molecule of a greenhouse gas remains in the atmosphere before being removed by chemical or physical processes

"Because CO₂ has a long residence time, the warming effects of today's emissions will persist for centuries."

"general circulation model (GCM)"

A numerical model representing the physical processes in the atmosphere, ocean, and land surface to simulate the global climate

"Ensembles of general circulation models are used to quantify uncertainty in future temperature projections."

"scenario (SSP)"

A Shared Socioeconomic Pathway describing plausible future greenhouse gas trajectories based on socioeconomic assumptions

"Under SSP5-8.5, the high-emissions scenario, global temperatures could rise by more than 4 °C by 2100."

"downscaling"

The process of deriving high-resolution local or regional climate information from coarser global model output

"Statistical downscaling was applied to translate GCM projections into daily rainfall estimates for river basins."

"model ensemble"

A set of multiple climate model simulations used to sample uncertainty and produce probabilistic projections

"The model ensemble spans a range of 2 to 5 °C warming, reflecting differing parameterisations of cloud processes."

"parameterisation"

The representation of sub-grid processes (such as convection or turbulence) using simplified mathematical equations

"Improving the parameterisation of boundary layer turbulence reduced biases in simulated surface temperature."

"bias correction"

A post-processing technique that adjusts raw model output to remove systematic errors relative to observations

"Before the impact assessment, bias correction was applied to the precipitation data from the regional model."

"transient climate response (TCR)"

The global mean temperature increase at the time of CO₂ doubling in a simulation with a 1% per year increase in CO₂

"Models with a higher transient climate response tend to project more near-term warming under emission scenarios."

"model validation"

The process of evaluating a climate model by comparing its output against independent observational data

"Model validation against satellite sea-surface temperatures confirmed that the ocean module performed well in the tropics."

"attribution science"

The field that quantifies the contribution of human-caused climate change to specific extreme weather events or trends

"Attribution science has shown that recent marine heat waves were made at least five times more likely by climate change."

"sea level rise"

The increase in the mean global ocean surface height due to thermal expansion and melting of land ice

"Projections indicate that sea level rise of one metre or more by 2100 is possible under high-emission scenarios."

"compound event"

A combination of multiple climate hazards occurring simultaneously or in close sequence that produces greater impact than any single event

"The concurrent heatwave and drought constituted a compound event that overwhelmed local emergency response capacity."

"tipping point"

A threshold in the climate system beyond which a self-sustaining change occurs that is difficult or impossible to reverse

"Scientists warn that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may already be approaching a tipping point for irreversible collapse."

"ocean acidification"

The decrease in seawater pH resulting from the absorption of atmospheric CO₂ by the ocean

"Ocean acidification threatens coral reef ecosystems by impairing the ability of organisms to build calcium carbonate shells."

"heat stress"

Physiological strain on humans or animals resulting from exposure to high temperatures and humidity

"Without adaptation measures, heat stress is projected to reduce outdoor labour productivity in tropical regions by 30%."

"drought index"

A quantitative measure of drought severity based on precipitation, temperature, and soil moisture data

"The Palmer Drought Index showed that multi-year drought conditions in the western US intensified between 2020 and 2023."

"storm surge"

An abnormal rise in sea level caused by the low pressure and winds of a tropical cyclone or intense storm

"The storm surge associated with Hurricane Ida inundated coastal communities before peak wind speeds arrived onshore."

"nationally determined contribution (NDC)"

A country's self-set climate action plan submitted under the Paris Agreement, describing emission reduction targets and adaptation measures

"Several nations submitted revised NDCs ahead of COP28, with more ambitious 2030 emission reduction targets."

"loss and damage"

Climate-related harm to human and natural systems that cannot be fully adapted to or mitigated, often central to negotiations for vulnerable nations

"Developed nations finally agreed to establish a dedicated fund for loss and damage at the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh."

"carbon pricing"

A policy mechanism that attaches a monetary cost to greenhouse gas emissions to incentivise reductions

"The EU Emissions Trading System is the world's largest carbon pricing scheme, covering power and heavy industry sectors."

"just transition"

A framework ensuring that the shift to a low-carbon economy is fair and inclusive, particularly for workers and communities dependent on fossil fuels

"The government's just transition plan includes retraining subsidies for coal miners and investment in renewable energy jobs."

"net zero"

A state in which greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by equivalent removals from the atmosphere

"More than 130 countries have now pledged to reach net zero emissions, most targeting mid-century as their deadline."

"adaptation finance"

International funding provided to developing countries to help them cope with the adverse impacts of climate change

"Scaling up adaptation finance to $40 billion per year is a key goal under the Paris Agreement work programme."

"common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR)"

A principle stating that all countries share responsibility for addressing climate change but to different degrees based on their historical emissions and capabilities

"Negotiators from the Global South invoked common but differentiated responsibilities to argue for greater financial support from wealthier nations."

"carbon leakage"

The increase in greenhouse gas emissions in one country or sector as a result of stringent climate policies in another

"The carbon border adjustment mechanism is designed to prevent carbon leakage by pricing imports from less-regulated markets."

"carbon capture and storage (CCS)"

The process of capturing CO₂ from industrial or power generation sources and storing it underground to prevent atmospheric release

"The new power plant incorporates carbon capture and storage technology, reducing its net emissions by over 90%."

"nature-based solutions (NbS)"

Actions that protect, restore, or sustainably manage ecosystems to address societal challenges including climate change

"Restoring coastal mangroves as nature-based solutions delivers both carbon sequestration and storm surge protection."

"renewable energy capacity"

The installed potential of energy generation from renewable sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower, measured in gigawatts

"Global renewable energy capacity additions in 2023 broke records, driven largely by solar photovoltaic deployment."

"energy efficiency"

Reducing energy consumption while delivering the same or greater levels of service, a key strategy for cutting emissions

"Upgrading building insulation and heating systems remains one of the most cost-effective energy efficiency measures available."

"direct air capture (DAC)"

Technology that extracts CO₂ directly from ambient air using chemical sorbents or solid materials

"The world's largest direct air capture plant began operations in Iceland, removing 4,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year."

"bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)"

A process combining biomass energy production with carbon capture, intended to deliver net-negative emissions

"Many integrated assessment models rely heavily on bioenergy with carbon capture and storage to achieve deep decarbonisation."

"decarbonisation pathway"

A roadmap of emission reduction measures and timelines that a sector or economy must follow to reach net-zero targets

"The steel industry's decarbonisation pathway includes switching to green hydrogen-based direct reduced iron by 2040."

"carbon sequestration"

The long-term removal and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide in oceans, soils, forests, or geological formations

"Old-growth forests provide significant carbon sequestration services that are lost permanently when they are cleared."