Glossary
I would like to share the meaning of some terms in the academic fields, including hydrology, climatology, water resources management, and environmental studies/engineering, and data science. They are important, but sometimes confusing. They are listed alphabetically:
-A
-B
Bias: The degree of correspondence between the mean forecast (<f>) and the mean observation (<x>). This type of bias is also known as overall bias, systematic bias, or unconditional bias. The mean error is a measure of the overall forecast bias for continuous and probabilistic forecasts. A measure of bias for categorical forecasts is equal to the total number of event forecasts (hits + false alarms) divided by the total number of observed events. With respect to the 2x2 verification problem example outlined in the definition of contingency table, bias= (A+B)/(A+C). <reference> (posted on 05/02/2023)
-C
Crossdisciplinarity: intersecting knowledge from two or more disciplines, viewing one discipline from the perspective of another. <reference> (posted on 3/30/2023)
Conterminous/Contiguous United States: used for the 48 states. <reference> (posted on 12/21/2021)
Continental United States: U.S. land continuously stretching from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans plus the state of Alaska. <reference> (posted on 12/21/2021)
Continuous permafrost extends under all surfaces except large bodies of water in the area. The part of Russia known as Siberia has continuous permafrost. <reference> (posted on 03/18/2023)
-D
Discontinuous permafrost is broken up into separate areas. Some permafrost, in the shadow of a mountain or thick vegetation, stays all year. In other areas of discontinuous permafrost, the summer sun thaws the permafrost for several weeks or months. The land near the southern shore of Hudson Bay, Canada, has discontinuous permafrost. <reference> (posted on 03/18/2023)
Dissertation: Long essay on a particular subject, especially one written as a requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. The goal of a dissertation is not only to prove the student’s own knowledge and skills but also to add to the existing body of knowledge in their field. <reference> (posted on 08/23/2023)
Drought: A period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently long enough to cause a serious hydrological imbalance. <reference> (posted on 12/02/2021)
Dry spell: A period of precipitation below a specified amount. <reference> (posted on 12/02/2021)
-E
-F
Flash drought: An unusually rapid onset drought event characterized by a multiweek period of accelerated intensification that culminates in impacts to one or more sectors (agricultural, hydrological, etc.). <reference> (posted on 03/17/2022)
-G
-H
Hot Spot: An area on Earth over a mantle plume or an area under the rocky outer layer of Earth, called the crust, where magma is hotter than surrounding magma. <reference> (posted on 04/24/2023)
-I
Interdisciplinarity: concerns the transfer of methods from one discipline to another. Like multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity overflows disciplines, but its goal remains within the framework of disciplinary research. <reference> (posted on 12/02/2021)
Intermittently frozen ground: a layer of soil that freezes between one and 15 days a year. <reference> (posted on 03/18/2023)
-J
Jet stream: Relatively narrow bands of strong wind in the upper levels of the atmosphere. <reference> (posted on 04/24/2023)
-K
-L
Lake: A place where surface-water runoff (and mabybe some groundwater seepage) have accumlated in a low spot, relative to the surroudning countryside and the water entering a lack comes in fater than it can escap, eight via outflow in a river, seepage into the ground, or by evporation.
-M
Multidisciplinarity: involves in studying a research topic in not just one discipline but in serveral at the same time. Any topic will ultimately be enriched by the incorporation of the perspectives of several disciplines. The multidisciplinary approach overflows disciplinary boundaries but its goal remains limited to the framework of disciplinary research. <reference> (posted on 12/02/2021)
-N
-O
-P
Permafrost: A permanently frozen layer on or under Earth's surface. It consists of soil, gravel, and sand, usually bound together by ice. Permafrost usually remains at or below 0°C (32ºF) for at least two years. Permafrost is frozen for two years or more. <reference> (posted on 03/18/2023)
-Q
-R
Reservoir: A manmade lake that is created when a dam is built on a river.
Runoff: That portion of precipitation or irrigation on an area which does not infiltrate or evaporate, but instead is discharged from the area. <reference> (posted on 12/02/2021)
Retrospective forecast: It's acting as if we're forecasting an event that has yet to occur when we in fact know whether it took place or not. <reference> (posted on 08/12/2023)
-S
Seasonally frozen ground: A layer of soil that freezes for more than 15 days per year. <reference> (posted on 03/18/2023)
Streamflow (a.k.a. river discharge/flow rate): the volumetric flux through rivers/stream channels per unit time. <reference> (posted on 12/02/2021)
-T
Transdisciplinarity: concerns that which is at once between the disciplines, across the different disciplines, and beyond all disciplines. Its goal is the understanding of the present world, of which one of the imperatives is the unity of knowledge. <reference> (posted on 12/02/2021)
Thesis: A thesis is an academic paper completed near the end of a student’s course of study for a master’s degree program. <reference> (posted on 08/23/2023)