Proxy data is indirect information on climate variability collected from various climate sensitive recorders (tree rings, corals, ice and marine cores, lake sediments, historical data, etc). See secti [..]

Dry air is air without its water vapour. Air (or moist air) is composed of dry air plus water vapour. See sections 1.2.1.

The obliquity ( εobl) is the angle between the equator and the ecliptic. It corresponds to the angle between the axis of rotation of the Earth and the perpendicular to the ecliptic plane. See sections [..]

The thermal radiation emitted by the Earth in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. See sections 2.1.1, 2.1.4, 2.1.6 and 4.1.3.

The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is a band close to the Equator where the trades wind of the two hemispheres meet, resulting in a convergence, rising air and heavy precipitation. See section [..]

Zooplankton is the type of plankton that consumes (or grazes) phytoplankton.

Wien's law states that the wave length at which the radiant energy of a black body is greatest is only a function of temperature. For the Sun, this maximum is located in the visible part of the s [..]

Westerlies are winds coming from the west that are typically found at mid latitudes. See section 1.2.2.

Weathering is the decomposition of rocks and soils at or near the Earth's surface. See sections 2.3.2, 4.3.1, 4.3.2 and 5.3.2.

Oceanographers talk about water mass formation when a volume of water acquires specific properties, such as temperature and salinity, in interactions with the atmosphere and keeps them while being tra [..]