This glossary defines a number or words, expressions and acronyms used in the description of the impact of nuclear war on the environment, and associated issues. Selected additional words related to the problems of armaments, disarmament, and nuclear war in general have also been added for convenience, although terms and expressions specifically related to the medical aspects of the problem have not been included. This glossary is an enlarged and updated version of the glossary that was published as part of the SCOPE-Enuwar study on the same subject, and published by Wiley (Pittock et al., 1986). It is based on the references listed at the end. Some acronym definitions are taken verbatim (with permission) from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences report on Nuclear Arms Control. These are clearly indicated by a ‡. The environmental impacts of a nuclear war are so vast and complex that their study is naturally and necessary of an interdisciplinary nature. Indeed, the SCOPE-Enuwar study mentioned above was the result of consultations between hundreds of scientists from all continents working in many different disciplines. For various reasons, different authors tend to use different-although equivalent-sets of units; but the reader of the literature on this subject may often have to perform conversions between different systems of units. For this reason, the precise definitions of a number of units of measurement, both within and outside of the Systeme International d'Unites (SI) have been included in an appendix, together with the appropriate conversion factors. The symbol adopted for each is indicated in brackets after the name of the unit. There are extensive cross-references within the glossary: Any word printed in italics, whether in the text or in the 'See also' sections, refers to a concept defined elsewhere in the glossary. When such a cross-reference is indicated in the text, it is not repeated in the 'See also' section.
