TERMINOLOGY OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE ARCTIC

Худяков Н.А.

студент Высшей школы социально-гуманитарных наук и международной коммуникации, [email protected]

Научный руководитель: Лютянская М. М.,к. фил. н., доцент кафедры перевода и прикладной лингвистики ВШСГНиМК

In recent decades, the Arctic is receiving increasing attention on the part of the international community. Processes, taking place in the region, are becoming global. This, in turn, contributes to increasing international cooperation and growing volume of communication.

Notably, the Arctic became a focus of international agenda more recently. Until the end of the XX century arctic issues were considered as regional and were addressed through different scientific areas. Today, however, a number of issues, taking place in the region, are becoming interdisciplinary and attract attention not only among researches, but also among policymakers and civil society. This contributes to use of common terminology and a growing number of texts devoted to this topic. The aim of our study was to analyze the terminology of climate change in the Arctic as the first step for more comprehensive research of the Arctic discourse.

Empirical basement of this research is presented by the following texts:

1. Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet;

2. Summary for Policy-makers Arctic Climate Issues 2015 Short-lived Climate Pollutants;

3. Summary for Policy-makers Arctic Pollution Issues 2015 Persistent Organic Pollutants; Radioactivity in the Arctic; Human Health in the Arctic;

4. ACIA, Impacts of a Warming Arctic: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment;

5. IPCC, 2014: Annex II: Glossary

Adaptation - the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects. In human systems, adaptation seeks to moderate or avoid harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. In some natural systems, human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effects. [3]

Albedo - the fraction of solar radiation reflected by a surface or object, often expressed as a percentage. Snow-covered surfaces have a high albedo, the albedo of soils ranges from high to low and vegetation-covered surfaces and oceans have a low albedo. The Earth’s planetary albedo varies mainly through varying cloudiness, snow, ice, leaf area and land cover changes. [3]

Black carbon emissions – emissions of soot produced from coal burning, diesel engines, cooking fires, wildfires, and other combustion sources. These particles absorb solar energy and have a warming influence on the climate. This effect is particularly strong on snow and ice, which otherwise reflect most solar radiation (i.e., black carbon reduces surface albedo). [4]

Decarbonization - the process by which countries or other entities aim to achieve a low-carbon economy, or by which individuals aim to reduce their consumption of carbon. [3]

Ecosystem stewardship - a strategy to respond to and shape social–ecological systems under conditions of uncertainty and change to sustain the supply and opportunities for use of ecosystem services to support human well-being. [2]

Environmental impact assessment – a report based on a comprehensively researched, fully referenced, and independently reviewed evaluation of environmental change and its impacts for the region and for the world. [1]

Global warming – the gradual increase, observed or projected, in global surface temperature, as one of the consequences of radiative forcing caused by anthropogenic emissions [3].

Human well-being - quality of life in terms of material needs, freedom and choice, good social relations and personal security. [2]

Mitigation – measures to reduce the amount and speed of future climate change by reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases and particles or removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. [4]

Offshore drilling – a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled through the seabed. Most commonly, the term is used to describe drilling activities on the continental shelf, though the term can also be applied to drilling in lakes, inshore waters and inland seas.

Permafrost degradation – a naturally or artificially caused decrease in the thickness and/or areal extent of permafrost. [3]

Persistent organic pollutants – long-lasting chemicals that pose health risks to ecosystems and humans. They tend to accumulate in the fatty tissues, milk and blood of living organisms, and can have effects on health. [5]

Resilience of a social-ecological system – capacity of a social-ecological system to absorb a spectrum of shocks or perturbations and to sustain and develop its fundamental function, structure, identity and feedbacks as a result of recovery or reorganization in a new context. [2]

Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPS) – gases and particles that have atmospheric lifetimes ranging from a few days to a decade and that exert a warming influence on climate. The main short-lived climate pollutants are black carbon, methane and tropospheric ozone, which are the most important contributors to the human enhancement of the global greenhouse effect after carbon dioxide. Some SLCPs are also dangerous air pollutants, with various detrimental impacts on public health, agriculture, and ecosystems. [4]

Sustainability – use of the environment and resources to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs [2].

Transformation – fundamental change in a social–ecological system resulting in different controls over system properties, new ways of making a living and often changes in scales of crucial feedbacks. Transformations can be purposefully navigated or unintended [2].

To sum up, most of these terms are widely spread and stay clear among the Arctic researches and policy-makers. But the more attention the topic of the Arctic climate change attracts, the more complicated and specified terminology becomes. It includes specific scientific expressions and indigenous peoples’ vocabulary. Therefore, there is an essential importance to study the terminology from the linguistics point of view. And our next step will be the study of translation issues in the Arctic discourse.

REFERENCES

1. ACIA, Impacts of a Warming Arctic: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

2. Chapin 3rd FS. Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet // Trends in Ecology & Evolution - Volume 25 (4) - 2010 - pp.241-249.

3. IPCC: Annex II: Glossary [Mach, K.J., S. Planton and C. von Stechow (eds.)] IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 2014;

4. Summary for Policy-makers Arctic Climate Issues 2015 Short-lived Climate Pollutants. AMAP, 2015.

5. Summary for Policy-makers Arctic Pollution Issues 2015 Persistent Organic Pollutants; Radioactivity in the Arctic; Human Health in the Arctic. AMAP, 2015.