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El Niño–Southern Oscillation

(Encyclopedia)El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) ĕl nēnˈyō [key], large-scale climatic fluctuation of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the overlying atmosphere. The El Niño [Span.,=the child] is the South Am...

canoe

(Encyclopedia)canoe kəno͞oˈ [key], long, narrow watercraft with sharp ends originally used by most peoples. It is usually propelled by means of paddles, although sails and, more recently, outboard motors are als...

vineyard

(Encyclopedia)vineyard, land on which cultivation of the grape—known as viticulture—takes place. As many as 40 varieties of grape, Vitis vinifera, are known. The few that grow wild are generally not used; all d...

coal

(Encyclopedia)coal, fuel substance of plant origin, largely or almost entirely composed of carbon with varying amounts of mineral matter. Coal is found in beds or seams interstratified with shales, clays, sands...

cloud

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Approximate heights of some types of clouds cloud, aggregation of minute particles of water or ice suspended in the air. Cloudiness (or proportion of the sky covered by any form of cloud),...

Stravinsky, Igor Fedorovich

(Encyclopedia)Stravinsky, Igor Fedorovich ēˈgər fyôˈdərôˌvyĭch strəvĭnˈskē [key], 1882–1971, Russian-American composer. Considered by many the greatest and most versatile composer of the 20th cent., ...

Shelley, Percy Bysshe

(Encyclopedia)Shelley, Percy Bysshe bĭsh [key], 1792–1822, English poet, b. Horsham, Sussex. He is ranked as one of the great English poets of the romantic period. Most of Shelley's poetry reveals his philos...

air navigation

(Encyclopedia)air navigation, science and technology of determining the position of an aircraft with respect to the surface of the earth and accurately maintaining a desired course (see navigation). Basic to air ...

ocean

(Encyclopedia)ocean, interconnected mass of saltwater covering 70.78% of the surface of the earth, often called the world ocean. It is subdivided into four (or five) major units that are separated from each other i...

chromosphere

(Encyclopedia)chromosphere krōˈməsfērˌ [key] [Gr.,=color sphere], layer of rarefied, transparent gases in the solar atmosphere; it measures 6,000 mi (9,700 km) in thickness and lies between the photosphere (th...