| Aquatic Ecosystem | An ecosystem in a body of water. Communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment, live in aquatic ecosystems. The two main types of aquatic ecosystems are marine ecosystems and freshwater ecosystems. |
| Aquatic Network | A sensor network specifically designed for aquatic monitoring. |
| Biogeochemistry | The scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment. These include: the biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere. In particular, biogeochemistry is the study of the cycles of chemical elements, such as carbon and nitrogen, and their interactions with and incorporation into living things transported through earth scale biological systems in space through time. |
| Climate Change | A significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have also been identified as significant causes of recent climate change. |
| Ecosystem Services | Humankind benefits from a multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by ecosystems. Collectively, these benefits are known as ecosystem services and include products like clean drinking water and processes such as the decomposition of wastes. |
| FDOM | Fluorescent Dissolved Organic Matter; fluorescence-based optical sensors designed specifically to measure dissolved organic matter (DOM) in freshwater and coastal systems. DOM includes a broad range of organic molecules of various sizes and composition that are released by all living and dead plants and animals. In-situ FDOM sensors have been used in many different environments to provide a relatively inexpensive high resolution proxy for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration. |
| Nitrate | A polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO3− and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. Nitrate is an important constituent in aquatic biogeochemistry. |
| Sensor Network | Consists of spatially distributed autonomous sensors to monitor physical or environmental conditions and to cooperatively pass their data through the network to a main location. The more modern networks are bi-directional, also enabling control of sensor activity. |
| Terrestrial Ecosystem | An ecosystem found only on landforms. Six primary terrestrial ecosystems exist: tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, grassland, and desert. |