| Accretion: |
increase
or extension of land by natural forces, such as waves, currents, and winds;
a build-up of sand. |
| Algae: |
class
of almost exclusively aquatic plants including seaweeds and their fresh-water
allies. They range in size from single cell forms to giant seaweeds several
metres long. |
| Anthropogenic: |
caused
by man. |
| Archipelago: |
large
group of islands. |
| Artifact: |
object
made by human workmanship, usually for a practical purpose. |
| Atmosphere: |
the mixture
of gases that surround the earth or other planetary body. |
| Atoll: |
circular,
or near circular coral reef appearing as a low coral island or a ring
of closely spaced coral islets encircling a shallow lagoon in which there
is no pre-existing land, and surrounded by deep water of the open sea,
formed above an underwater volcano. |
| Barometric
pressure: |
a measure
of the force exerted by the atmosphere used to forecast the weather. |
| Barrier
reef: |
coral
reef roughly parallel to the shore and separated from it by a lagoon of
considerable depth and width, or in some cases by several kilometres of
open sea. |
| Beach: |
a zone
of loose material extending from the low water mark to a point landward
where either the topography abruptly changes or permanent vegetation first
appears. Beaches may be composed of clay, silt, sand, gravel, cobbles,
boulders, coral pieces or any combination of these. |
| Beach
nourishment: |
artificial
process of replenishing a beach with material from another source which
lies either inland or may be dredged from offshore. |
| Beach
structure: |
man-made
construction to protect beaches from erosion. |
| Biodiversity: |
totality
of genes, species and ecosystems in a region. |
| Bivalve: |
mollusc
with a shell composed of two distinct and usually movable parts that open
and shut. |
| Brackish
water: |
freshwater
mixed with seawater. |
| Bulkhead: |
structure
that retains or prevents the sliding of land or protects land from water
damage. |
| Catalyst: |
an agent
which helps forward a chemical reaction without itself suffering any chemical
change. |
| Chlorophyll: |
green
pigment contained in the leaves of plants. |
| Chromosome: |
minute
thread-shaped body, which carries the genetic code, found in the nuclei
of all living cells. |
| Cliff: |
high steep
bank at the water’s edge, usually composed primarily of rock. |
| Climate: |
general
weather conditions of a region. |
| Cobble: |
naturally
rounded stone, 77-256 mm (3-10 inches) in diameter, or a size between
that of a tennis ball and that of a volleyball. |
| Commensalism: |
a type
of interaction involving the joint utilisation of food, although the relationship
is rarely equal, generally one member provides the food and the other
consumes some part of it. |
| Conservation: |
the political/social/economic
process by which the environment is protected and resources are used wisely. |
| Convection: |
transfer
of heat through a liquid or gas by the actual movement of the liquid or
gas; associated with large-scale, vertical movements within the atmosphere,
or movement and mixing of water masses in the ocean, or vertical and lateral
movements of a subcrustal material in the earth’s mantle. |
| Convention: |
formal
agreement, often involving different countries. |
| Convergence: |
come together
and meet at a point. |
| Coral
reef: |
complex
tropical marine ecosystem dominated by soft and hard (stony) corals, anemones
and sea fans. Stony corals are microscopic animals with an outer skeleton
of calcium carbonate that form colonies and are responsible for reef building. |
| Coralline: |
made of
coral. |
| Crustacean: |
animal,
usually aquatic, with two pairs of antennae on the head, jointed legs
and a hard shell. |
| Current: |
flow of
air, water or other fluid in a given direction. |
| Deforestation: |
clearing
of trees. |
| Delta: |
fan-shaped,
depositional area formed at the mouth of a river. |
| Demersal: |
(fish)
found near the sea/ocean bottom. |
| Diatom: |
unicellular
algae with shells made of silica. |
| Dinoflagellate: |
marine
plankton that include luminescent forms, important in marine food chains. |
| Divergence: |
act of
going in different directions, branching off. |
| Dredging: |
excavation,
scraping, digging, draglining, suction dredging to remove sand, silt,
rock or other underwater sea bottom material. |
| Drift
net: |
fishing
net often miles in extent arranged to drift with the tide or current and
buoyed-up by floats or attached to a boat. |
| Dune: |
accumulation
of wind-blown sand in ridges or mounds that lie landward of the beach
and usually parallel to the shoreline. |
| Earthquake: |
violent
tremor of the earth’s crust which originates naturally and below the surface. |
| Ecosystem: |
organisation
of the biological community and the physical environment in a specific
geographical area. |
| Environmental
impact assessment: |
detailed
studies, which predict the effects of a development project on the environment.
They also provide plans for the mitigation of the adverse impacts. |
| Equator: |
imaginary
circle on the surface of the earth, lying midway between the poles. |
| Erosion: |
wearing
away of the land, usually by the action of natural forces. |
| Extinction: |
dying
out of a species. |
| Famine: |
desperate
shortage of food in an area; starvation, hunger. |
| Fault: |
a fracture
plane in rocks, along which the rock-mass on the one side has been moved
relative to the rock-mass on the other side. |
| Fertiliser: |
substance
added to the soil to increase its productivity. |
| Food
chain: |
linear
scheme of feeding relationships, which unites members of a biological
community. The number of stages in a chain does not usually exceed five,
and usually involve plants, herbivores and one or two successive sets
of predators. |
| Food
pyramid: |
pyramid-shaped
diagram which shows feeding relationships within a food chain, e.g. that
herbivores are smaller, more numerous and faster breeding than the predators
that feed on them. |
| Food
web: |
scheme
of feeding relationships, resembling a web, which unite the member species
of a biological community, and within which species may occupy different
positions during their lives. |
| Flotsam: |
wreckage
or discarded material e.g. garbage, found floating on the surface of the
sea or washed up on the beach. |
| Frigate: |
vessel
smaller than destroyer; cruiser; fast sailing ship smaller than ship of
line. |
| Fringing
reef: |
coral
reef closely associated with the land; it may be joined directly to the
beach or separated from the beach by a shallow, narrow lagoon. |
| Frontal
system: |
weather
system where there is a line of separation between cold and warm air masses,
usually associated with strong winds. |
| Furrow: |
narrow
trench cut by a plough. |
| Gabion: |
wire mesh
rectangular container filled with stones, often used in sea defense structures
or to provide slope stability. |
| Gene: |
unit of
hereditary material, which make up a chromosome. |
| Geology: |
science
of the composition, history and structure of the earth’s crust. |
| Global
warming: |
an increase
in the earth’s temperature due to man’s activities e.g. the use of fossil
fuels, and/or natural processes e.g. air pollution resulting from volcanic
eruptions, thus increasing the Greenhouse
effect. |
| Greenhouse
effect: |
term for
the role the earth’s atmosphere plays in insulating and warming the earth’s
surface. Without this effect the earth would be a frozen planet with an
average temperature on the surface of about -18°C (about 0°F). The greenhouse
effect is a natural function; however, it is impacted by man’s activities,
which are leading to an increase in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor, the so-called “greenhouse
gases”, which contribute to Global
warming. |
| Groyne: |
shore
protection structure built perpendicular to the shore, designed to trap
sediment. |
| Habitat: |
usual
natural surroundings and conditions of plants and animals. |
| Heritage: |
something
possessed as a result of one’s natural situation or birth; something transmitted
by or acquired from a predecessor. |
| Hurricane: |
intense,
low pressure weather system with sustained surface wind speeds that exceed
118 km/hr (74 mph). |
| Hurricane
surge: |
a rise
in the sea surface on an open coast, often resulting from a hurricane. |
| Indentureship: |
state
of being such that a person is bound to an employer for a given period
of time. |
| Indigenous: |
native,
belong naturally to. |
| Jetty: |
structure
projecting into the sea for the purpose of mooring boats. |
| Land
reclamation: |
process
of creating new, dry land on the seabed. |
| Long
lining: |
type of
fishing involving a heavy fishing line, which may be several miles long
and has baited hooks in series. |
| Limestone: |
sedimentary
rock consisting essentially of calcium carbonate. |
| Magma: |
naturally
occurring molten rock, generated within the earth’s crust or in the upper
mantle and capable of intruding (being thrust into) the earth’s crust
or penetrating it and erupting through volcanic craters. |
| Metamorphic
rocks: |
igneous
or sedimentary rocks, which have been altered by high temperature, strong
pressure or by a combination of these. |
| Meteorology: |
scientific
study of the weather and of atmospheric processes. |
| Midden: |
pile of
refuse. |
| Middle
Passage: |
the Atlantic
crossing between Africa and the Americas where countless enslaved Africans
died en route. |
| Mid-ocean
ridges: |
a common
name for a 60,000 km-long system of ridges on the sea floor separating
crustal plates; divergent boundaries (see Divergence)
in Plate
tectonics. |
| Migration: |
act of
moving from one region to another especially at regular seasonal intervals. |
| Millennium: |
one thousand
years. |
| Mitigation
plan: |
a proposal
to reduce or alleviate potentially harmful impacts. |
| Mollusc: |
common
name for members of a phylum (sub-section of the animal kingdom) of soft-bodied
animals, with bodies usually covered by a hard external shell. Some molluscs,
like the octopus, do not possess a shell. |
| Monitoring: |
systematic
recording over time. |
| Mythology: |
system
of traditional stories embodying ancient religious ideas. |
| Neap
tide: |
tide of
small range occurring twice per lunar month during quarter moon phases.
See also Tide. |
| North-east
Trade Winds: |
dominant
wind regime in the Caribbean region, the winds blow from directions between
north and southeast. |
| Nuée
ardente: |
cloud
of superheated gases generated during a volcanic eruption. |
| Nutrient: |
dissolved
salts essential to life. |
| Ozone
layer: |
a layer
of the atmosphere between 10 and 40 km above the earth’s surface, called
the stratosphere, where ozone molecules absorb dangerous ultraviolet radiation
from the sun. |
| Peat: |
fibrous
substance formed of partly decayed plant material. |
| Pelagic: |
(fish)
which inhabit the main body of the water mass. |
| Pesticides: |
chemical
substances used for destroying animal pests in agriculture, forestry,
warfare and home gardens. |
| Petroglyphs: |
drawings
or carvings, usually on the surface of rock or caves, created by past
civilisations. |
| Photosynthesis: |
process
by which green plants form organic compounds from water and carbon dioxide
in the presence of sunlight. |
| Plate
tectonics: |
geological
theory whereby the earth’s crust and the upper mantle is divided into
seven large and a few tens of small plates, which float on the middle
mantle and much of the earth’s seismic and volcanic activity occurs at
convergent (see Convergence)
or divergent (see Divergence)
boundaries of these plates. |
| Pollution: |
the action
of contaminating (an environment) especially with man-made waste. |
| Polyp: |
sedentary
form of aquatic animal. |
| Proclamation: |
formal
announcement. |
| Productivity: |
the quantity
of organic matter (in the form of living matter, stored food, waste products,
and material taken by consumers), or its equivalent in dry matter, carbon
or energy content, which is accumulated during a given time period. |
| Protocol: |
first
draft agreement for a treaty; rules of diplomatic procedure. |
| Protozoan: |
animal
consisting only of one cell with a well-defined nucleus. |
| Revetment: |
shore
protection structure made with stones laid on a sloping face. |
| Rift
valley: |
valley
formed by sinking of land between two faults. |
| Salinity: |
proportion
or amount of salt in water. |
| Saltpond: |
low, wet
area periodically or continuously flooded by brackish or salt water to
a low depth, characterised by specific plants such as grasses, low plants
and sometimes mangroves. |
| Sand: |
rock particles,
0.08-4.6 mm (0.003-0.18 inches) in diameter. |
| Sand
mining: |
removal
of large or small quantities of sand from the beach, by machine or by
hand, usually for building purposes. |
| Sea
level: |
average
height of the sea surface, usually measured over a period of years. |
| Seagrass
bed: |
area of
the offshore sea-bottom colonised by seagrasses. |
| Seawall: |
massive
structure built along the shore to prevent erosion and damage by wave
action. |
| Sediment: |
particles
of rock covering a size range from clay to boulders (0.004 mm to 256+
mm). |
| Sedimentary
rocks: |
rocks,
which have been deposited in layers, often by water, and consist of material
worn away from pre-existing rock. |
| Seismology: |
science
of earthquakes. |
| Shore: |
narrow
strip of land in immediate contact with the sea. |
| Silt: |
fine rock
particles, 0.004-0.08 mm (0.00015-0.003 inches) in diameter. |
| Sonar: |
apparatus
emitting high-frequency sounds used in locating objects under water by
measuring direct and reflected sound pulses. |
| Spring
tide: |
tide of
large range occurring twice per lunar month during full and new moon phases.
See also Tide. |
| Storm
surge: |
a rise
in the sea surface on an open coast, often resulting from a hurricane. |
| Subduction: |
the process
whereby the edge of one crustal plate descends below the edge of another. |
| Swamp: |
low-lying
area, frequently flooded and supports vegetation adapted to saturated
soils e.g. mangrove swamp. |
| Swell: |
waves
that have traveled out of the area in which they were generated. |
| Symbiosis: |
association
of dissimilar organisms to their mutual advantage. |
| Tectonic: |
natural
processes that build up the earth’s crust and are responsible for its
various deformations. |
| Tide: |
periodic
rising and falling of large bodies of water resulting from the gravitational
attraction of the moon and sun acting on the rotating earth. |
| Topography: |
configuration
of a surface including its relief and the position if its natural and
man-made features. |
| Toxic
waste: |
poisonous
products. |
| Transform
boundary: |
a boundary
between two crustal plates formed as they slide past one another in opposite
directions without converging (see Convergence)
or diverging (see Divergence). |
| Trawler: |
fishing
vessel that uses an open-mouthed fishing net drawn along the sea bottom. |
| Tropical
storm: |
low pressure
system forming in tropical latitudes with sustained surface wind speeds
between 61 km/hr and 118 km/hr (38 and 73 mph). |
| Tsunami: |
wave caused
by underwater earthquake or landslide, can rise to great heights and cause
catastrophic damage near coasts. |
| Turbulence: |
a state
or quality of being violently disturbed or agitated. |
| Volcano: |
mountain
or hill built up by the eruption of molten rock and ash from the earth’s
interior. |
| Weather: |
condition
of the atmosphere at a certain time and a certain place. |
| Wind
waves: |
waves
formed in the area in which the wind is blowing. |
