There are lots of confusing terms in the world of climate science, meteorology, and the world of NOAA and the National Weather Service. Often somebody new to the arena can get overwhelmed by it all. So this should help.
This list was started by Philip Mulholland, posted on Dr. Roger Pielke’s website, and brought to my attention by Evan Jones in comments. I’ve added some terms relevant to this blog and I will continue to add to it.
Feel free to suggest additions/corrections in the comments below.
Climate Science Acronyms
AAAS American Academy of Arts and Sciences
AAS American Astronomical Society
AASC American Association of State Climatologists
ACIA Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
AGU American Geophysical Union
AMB Australian Meteorological Bureau
AMS American Meteorological Society
AR4 IPCC Working Group 1 report: The Physical Basis of Climate Change
BAMS Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
BOM-A Bureau of Meteorology, aka Australian Meteorological Bureau
CA Climate Audit website operated by Steve McIntyre
CDIAC Carbon Dioxide Information and Analysis Center (Oak Ridge, TN)
CCSP Climate Change Science Program
CERN Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire
CIRES Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
CLOUD Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets
ECMWF European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
EUMETSAT European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
GCOS Global Climate Observing System
GECC UK Global Environmental Change Committee
GISS Goddard Institute for Space Studies
GFDL Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
GFSC Goddard Space Flight Center not to be confused with GISS
GHCC Global Hydrology & Climate Center
GOOS Global Ocean Observing System
GTOS Global Terrestrial Observing System
IASC International Arctic Science Committee
ICECAP International Climate and Environmental Change Assessment Project
ICSU International Council for Science
IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
MBL Marine Biological Laboratory (aka Woods Hole)
METHC Met Office Hadley Centre
NAMMA NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses
NAS National Academy of Sciences
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research
NCDC National Climatic Data Center
NCEP National Centers for Environmental Prediction
NSF National Science Foundation
NSIDC National Snow and Ice Data Center
NOAA National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service
RC Real Climate website, operated by NASA GISS
RMetS Royal Meteorological Society
RSS Remote Sensing Systems – satellite data company
SAR Second Assessment Report IPCC 1995
SPPI Science and Public Policy Institute
TAR Third Assessment Report IPCC 2001
TRMM Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
UAH University of Alabama in Huntsville, Atmospheric Science Department
UCAR University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
USGCRP US Global Change Research Program
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UW University of Washington Department of Atmospheric Sciences
WGMS World Glacier Monitoring Service
WMO World Meteorological Organisation
Climate Science Abbreviations
ACIA Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
ADRF Aerosol Direct Radiative Forcing
AEW African Easterly Waves
AGHG Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas (Anthro- man made)
AGW Anthropogenic Global Warming (Anthro- man made)
AIRF Aerosol Indirect Radiative Forcing
AMO Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation
AO Arctic Oscillation (aka NAM)
AOD Aerosol Optical Depth
AOGCM Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model
ARF Aerosol Radiative Forcing
ARIMA AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average
BT Brightness Temperature
CAGW Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming (Anthro- man made)
CAPE Convective Available Potential Energy
CAS Climate Analysis System
CRS Cotton Region Shelter, another name for a Stevenson Screen
CCN Cloud Condensation Nuclei
CINE Convection Inhibition Energy
CO2 Carbon dioxide
CONUS Conterminus United States
COT Cloud Optical Thickness
CRE Cloud Radiative Effect
CRF Cosmic Ray Flux
CRII Cosmic Ray Induced Ionisation
CRN Climate Reference Network
DEAD Dust Entrainment and Deposition
DLF Downward Longwave Flux
DTR Diurnal Temperature Range
DVI Dust Veil Index
ENSO El Nino Southern Oscillation
EOF Empirical Othogonal Function
FACE Free Air Carbon Enrichment
FAR First Assessment Report IPCC 1990
FOIA Freedom of Information Act
GCM General Circulation Model
GCM Global Circulation Model
GCM Global Climate Model
GCR Galactic Cosmic Ray
GHCN Global Historical Climate Network
GHG Greenhouse Gas
GISS Goddard Institute for Space Studies (Columbia Univ, NYC. Dr. Gavin A. Schmidt)
GMST Global Mean Surface Temperature
GOSTA Global Ocean Surface Temperature Atlas
GRL Geophysical Research Letters
GW Global Warming
HadCRUT Hadley Center – Climate Research Unit Temperature
HadSST Hadley Center – Climate Research Unit Sea Surface Temperature
HMF Heliospheric Magnetic Field
IR Infra Red
IRD Ice-Rafted Debris
ISO IntraSeasonal Oscillations
LACC Low Altitude Cloud Cover
LCC Land-Cover Change
LCL Lifting Condensation Level
LFC Level of Free Convection
LFO Low-Frequency Oscillation
LGM Last Glacial Maximum
LI Lifted Index
LIA Little Ice Age
LNB Level of Neutral Bouyancy
LTS Lower-Tropospheric Stability
LUC Land-Use Change
LW LongWave aka LWIR, below
LWC Liquid Water Content
LWIR Long Wave Infra Red
MAGICC Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse gas Induced Climate Change
MAT Marine Air Temperature
MEP Member of European Parliment
MJO Madden-Julian Oscillation
MMTS Max Min Temperature System (thermometer used in USHCN)
MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
MPA Mobile Polar Anticyclone
MSD Mean Square Differences
MSLP Mean Sea-Level Pressure
MSU Microwave Sounding Unit
MWP Medieval Warm Period
NADW North Atlantic Deep Water
NARR North American Regional Reanalysis
NAM Northern Annular Mode (aka AO)
NAO North Atlantic Oscillation
NATL North Atlantic Tropical Latitude
NH Northern Hemisphere
NPO North Pacific Oscillation
NWP Numerical Weather Prediction
OMR Observation Minus Reanalysis
OPAC Optical Properties of Aerosol and Cloud
PDF Probability Distribution Function
PDO Pacific Decadal Oscillation
PDI Palmer Drought Index (Moisture)
PDI Power Dissipation Index (Hurricanes)
POD Period of Data
QBO Quasi-Biennial zonal wind Oscillation
RCM Regional Climate Model
SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar
SAT Surface Air Temperature
SCENGEN A regional climate SCENario GENerator
SLP Sea Level Pressure
SOI Southern Oscillation Index
SRES Special Report on Emissions Scenarios
SST Sea Surface Temperature
STS Sub Tropical Storms
SW ShortWave
THC Thermo-Haline Circulation (wow, look at the colors)
TOA Top of Atmosphere
TSI Total Solar Irradiance
UHI Urban Heat Island
USHCN US Historical Climate Network
maybe ECS should be included in the glossary. i see it from time to time in posts. thanks