INFRARED YELLOWSTONE GLOSSARY

absorb - to take in

electromagnetic radiation - another term for light which includes x-rays, gamma rays, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, microwave and radio waves.

emit - to put out

false-color - assigning color to an image to reveal features or convey information.

false-color map - a map which is displayed in false (not true-to-life) colors to enhance certain features.

fumerole - a hole from which superheated gas and steam discharges under pressure.

geothermal feature - of or relating to the Earth's internal heat.

geyser - a hot spring that shoots jets of hot water and steam into the air.

heat - the energy an object has because of the movement of its atoms and molecules

hot spring - a pool of hot water that has seeped to the Earth's surface to form a small pond.

hot spring terraces - hot spring terraces are created when hot water containing carbonic acid rises through ancient limestone deposits causing some of the limestone to dissolve. As the water reaches the surface and flows, the dissolved limestone that it carries, solidifies forming beautiful terraces.

infrared - electromagnetic radiation that we can feel as heat. Infrared has wavelengths longer than the red end of visible light and shorter than microwaves.

mudpot - a hot spring which does not have much water. The water in a mudpot is very acidic and it dissolves nearby rock into small pieces of clay. This clay then mixes with the hot water to create mud.

radiate - to send out light or electromagnetic radiation

remote sensing - collection and interpretation of information about an object without being in physical contact with the object.

temperature - a measure of how hot or cold something is - how much heat energy it has. Temperature is essentially a measure of how fast the particles in a body are moving (or vibrating).

visible light - electromagnetic radiation that human eyes can detect; also known as the visible spectrum. The visible colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, along with various combinations and shades of these colors.

wavelength - a characteristic of light, it is the distance between two wave crests.