Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chinook
A dry downflow in the lee of the Rocky Mountains, warming adiabatically on
descent and warmer in absolute terms at any given altitude than on its windward
ascent.
Chionophilous
Able to survive very long winter seasons completely covered by snow;
snow-loving.
Chlorite
A 2:1 : 1 clay mineral with 2:1 mica units held together by an aluminium
(gibbsite) sheet.
Chlorosis
Yellowing of green leaves caused by lack of an essential plant nutrient or by
toxic amounts of acid rain.
Chute
A narrow channel containing a fast-flowing stream in a braided river; or a steep,
rock-lined channel between rock pinnacles which funnels debris on to lower slopes.
Cinder
A vesicular
pyroclastic
fragment ejected during volcanic eruption.
Circular sliding
A slope failure whose failure surface is along the arc of a circle.
Cirque
A rock basin excavated into a mountainside by the erosive power of a
cirque
glacier
and possessing some or all of the following: steep retaining rock walls, a
gently inclined floor or rock basin and barrier, abundant signs of glacial scour and a
terminal moraine.
Cirque glacier
A small mountain glacier which excavates and occupies a
cirque
; its
diminutive size renders it particularly sensitive to local climate and climatic change.
Clast
A rock fragment derived by weathering and erosion from existing rock mass;
individual clasts more than 2 mm in diameter are often distinguished from smaller
fragments, which form a rock matrix.
Clastic sediment
A sediment composed of rock fragments, regardless of their individual
size, rather than chemical precipitates or biogenic material; it may become lithified by
the precipitation of a chemical cement.
Clay minerals
Crystalline colloids smaller than 2 µm in diameter; mostly new minerals
formed by
weathering
and
soil formation processes
, and very important in
determining the properties of soils.
CLEAR (Climate & Environment in Alpine Regions)
a research project established in
1992 by the Swiss National Science Foundation to explore the potential impacts of
climate change on alpine regions.
Cleavage
A rock texture in fine-grained materials with parallel microplanes or fractures,
dependent on individual
platy
crystal structure or the alignment of platy minerals in
rock mass; the term is also used to describe the tendency for such rocks to split along
these planes.
Climax community
The
plant community
which marks the end point of a
succession
; it
is relatively stable and in equilibrium with prevailing environmental conditions.
Climax pattern
The pattern of climax communities which develop in a defined area.
Coastal cell
A discrete unit of coastline identified for management purposes, recognizing
the integration of coast-parallel as well as coast-normal water and sediment transfers
and multiple use by human socioeconomic activity.
Coastal plain
A gently sloping land surface which forms a continuum with the
continental shelf
and is susceptible to small sea-level changes; it is likely to be wide
on
trailing-edge
(
passive margin
) coasts and narrow on
leading-edge
(convergent
margin) coasts.
