Glossary of climate change

This article serves as a glossary of the most common terms and how they are used. Fairly obvious terms with wiki articles are simply linked.

The glossary used by the IPCC [1] is a useful reference.

Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Antarctic oscillation (AAO)
Anthropogenic: literally, man-made: but avoids the uncomfortable use of "man" to mean "men and women".
Anthropogenic climate change: climate change with the presumption of human influence, usually warming
Arctic oscillation (AO): see NAO
Atmospheric sciences
Attribution: see attribution of recent climate change: the study of what has caused climate change

Carbon sequestration - Proposals for removing CO2 from the atmosphere, or for preventing CO2 from fossil fuel use ever being released.
Carbon tax
Climate
Climate commitment studies - How much future warming is "committed", even if greenhouse gas levels do not rise.
Climate change - changes of climate in general, usually with no presumption of human influence. Note, however, that there is one important exception to this: the UNFCCC defines "climate change" as anthropogenic [2].
Climate variability - climate change, with definitely no presumption of cause.

Global cooling - the possibility of cooling, mostly about the 1970's
Global dimming - the observed decrease in surface insolation, that may have recently reversed
Global warming — usually: the warming trend over the past century or so; also: any period in which the temperature of the earth's atmosphere increases; also the theory of such changes.
Global warming controversy — socio-political issues surrounding the theory of global warming.
Global warming period - any period in which the temperature of the earth's atmosphere increases
Global warming potential
Greenhouse effect — both natural and anthropogenic
Greenhouse gases — cause the greenhouse effect
Gulf Stream

Ice age
Ice core
Impact of global climate changes on agriculture
Insolation amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the Earth.
Instrumental temperature record - quasi-global since 1850
Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) - a cycle of 15-30 years between warm or cool waters in the north and south Pacific.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intertropical convergence zone - belt of low pressure caused by the convergence of warm, moist air from the latitudes above and below the equator.

Maunder Minimum
Mauna Loa: home to the longest instrumental CO2 record
Medieval climate optimum: warm period from about the 10th century to about the 14th century
Meteorology: some of the basic science underlying climate
Methane: a greenhouse gas

Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) - a 23-year pattern of warm or cool water in the north Pacific.
Parameterization
Phenology
Proxy - a variable that can be related to one of interest (e.g. tree rings can be proxies for temperature variations)