Earth and Space Sciences

Lithosphere

Earth’s crust, including mountains, continents, and the ocean floor.

Atmosphere

The layer of gases surrounding the Earth.

Hydrosphere

All the water on Earth, including oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, and ice caps.

Biosphere

All living things on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and humans.

Carbon Cycle

The process through which carbon is exchanged between the atmosphere, land, water, and organisms.

Nitrogen Cycle

The series of processes through which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms.

Phosphorus Cycle

The biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

Water Cycle

The continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.

Photosynthesis

The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight and chlorophyll to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.

Respiration

The biochemical process in which organisms convert glucose and oxygen into energy, releasing carbon dioxide and water.

Greenhouse Effect

The warming of Earth’s surface caused by greenhouse gases absorbing and emitting infrared radiation.

Southern Oscillation Index (SOI)

An index used to measure the strength of the El Niño and La Niña events, indicating water temperature changes in the Pacific Ocean.

El Niño

A climate pattern characterized by cooler water temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in less evaporation and less rainfall. The period is characterized by droughts, fires and heatwaves.

La Niña

A climate pattern characterized by warmer water temperatures in eastern Australia, often resulting in increased rainfall, storms, cyclones and floods.

Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)

A climate mode of variations in sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean that affects weather patterns in Australia.

Biodiversity

The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

Astrological Unit (AU)

The average distance from the Earth to the Sun, approximately 150 million kilometers.

Light Year (ly)

The distance that light travels in one year, approximately 9.5 trillion kilometers.

Parsec (pc)

A unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to 3.26 light-years.

Binary Star

A system of two stars that orbit around a common center of mass.

Galaxy

A vast collection of billions of stars, gas, and dust bound together by gravity.

Nebula

An cloud of gas and dust in outer space often visible as an indistinct and hazy area. It is between stars, and is where new stars are born.

Globular Cluster

A large number of stars, grouped closely together.

Supernova

A powerful and luminous explosion of a star, marking the end of its life cycle.

Big Bang Theory

The predominant cosmological model explaining the origin of the universe as having expanded from a singular point roughly 13.7 billion years ago.