| 1,25(OH)2D | 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D |
| 25(OH)D | 25-Hydroxyvitamin D |
| Airshed | Airshed; an area where the movement of air (and therefore air pollutants) can be hindered by local geographical features such as mountains |
| AK | Actinic keratosis |
| AMD | Age-related macular degeneration |
| AMP | Anti-microbial peptide |
| ANSI | American National Standards Institute |
| AO | Arctic oscillation; a large-scale variation in Arctic wind patterns |
| AOD | Aerosol optical depth |
| APase | Alkaline phosphatase |
| APC | Antigen presenting cell |
| ASL | Above sea level |
| BCC | Basal cell carcinoma(s) |
| Br | Bromine (an ozone depleting chemical) |
|
BRAF
| B-Rapidly Accelerated Fibrosarcoma; a gene that is commonly mutated in melanoma |
| BrO | Bromine monoxide |
| BSWF | Biological spectral weighting functions |
| BWF | Biological weighting function |
| CAS | Chemical Abstracts Service |
| CAT | Catalase |
| CC | Cortical cataract(s) |
| CCl4 | Carbon tetrachloride (an ozone depleting gas) |
| CCM | Chemistry-climate model (used to predict future changes in atmospheric composition) |
| CDFA | Chlorodifluoroacetic acid |
| CDK | Climatic droplet keratopathy |
|
CDKN2A
| Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A; a gene commonly mutated in melanoma |
|
CDK4
| Cyclin-dependent kinase 4; mutations in the gene are found in melanoma |
| CDOC | Coloured dissolved organic carbon |
| CDOM | Coloured (or chromophoric) dissolved organic matter |
| CDR | Carbon dioxide reduction |
| CFC | Chlorofluorocarbon; ozone depleting substance (e.g. CFC12, dichlorodifluoromethane: CCl2F2), now controlled under the Montreal Protocol |
| CH | Contact hypersensitivity |
| CH4 | Methane (a greenhouse gas) |
| CHCl3 | Chloroform (an ozone depleting gas) |
| CIE |
Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (International Commission on Illumination) |
| Cl | Chlorine (an ozone depleting substance) |
| CMF | Cloud modification factor |
| CMM | Cutaneous melanoma |
| CO | Carbon monoxide |
| CO2 | Carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) |
| COS | Carbonyl sulfide |
| COT | Cloud optical depth |
| CPD | Cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer |
| Cu | Copper (Cu(I) and Cu(II) being different oxidation states) |
| DIC | Dissolved inorganic carbon |
| DMS | Dimethylsulfide |
| DMSP | Dimethylsulfoniopropionate |
| DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid |
| DOC | Dissolved organic carbon |
| DOM | Dissolved organic matter |
| DON | Dissolved organic nitrogen |
| DSB | Double strand break |
| DTH | Delayed type hypersensitivity |
| DU | Dobson unit; used for the measurement of total column ozone (1 DU = 2.69 × 1016 molecule cm−2) |
| DVM | Daily vertical migration |
| EAE | Experimental allergic encephalitis |
| EDUCE | European Database for Ultraviolet Radiation Climatology and Evaluation |
| EESC | Equivalent Effective Stratospheric Chlorine; a term used to represent the total chlorine concentration in the stratosphere from all sources of ozone depleting substances (including CFCs, HCl, Cl2, ClONO2, etc.) and a scaled contribution from other halocarbons and bromine, taking its ODP into account |
| ENSO | El Niño Southern Oscillation; a large-scale climate variability in the Pacific region |
| EP | Earth Probe (a NASA satellite) |
| EPA | Environmental Protection Agency |
| EV |
Epidermodysplasia verruciformis, a rare recessive genetic hereditary skin disorder associated with a high risk of carcinoma of the skin |
| Fe | Iron (Fe(II) and Fe(III) being different oxidation states) |
| FMI | Finnish Meteorological Institute |
| GHG | Greenhouse gas |
| Glu I | A pathogenesis-related (PR) protein |
|
GNA11
| Guanine nucleotide-binding protein subunit alpha-11; a gene coding for proteins involved in various transmembrane signaling systems |
| GNAQ | Guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(q) |
| GST | Glutathione-S-transferase |
| GWP | Global warming potential; a measure of the warming effectiveness of a gas compared with CO2 |
| HALS | Hindered amine light stabilizer |
| HCFC | Hydrochlorofluorocarbon; interim replacements for CFCs with small ozone depletion potential (e.g. R22: chlorodifluoromethane, CHClF2) to be phased out |
| HFC | Hydrofluorocarbon; long-term replacements for CFCs |
| HFO | Hydrofluoro-olefin; replacements for CFCs. An example is 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234-yf) |
| Hg | Mercury (Hg(0)aq and Hg(II) being different oxidation states) |
| HIV | Human immunodeficiency virus |
| H2O2 | Hydrogen peroxide |
| HNV | Hematopoietic necrosis virus |
| HONO | Nitrous acid |
| HPV | Human papillomavirus |
| HSV | Herpes simplex virus |
| HY5 | Transcription factor HY5; which is a key downstream effector of the UVR8 (UV-regulatory protein) pathway |
| IBD | Inflammatory bowel disease |
| Ig | Immunoglobulin |
| IL | Interleukin |
| Ink4a | Murine inhibitor of kinase 4a protein (gene when in italics) |
| IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
| IPF | Immune protection factor |
| kDa | Kilodalton |
| KNMI | Dutch National Institute for Weather, Climate and Seismology (Netherlands) |
| L˙ | Lipid radical |
| LER | Lambertian equivalent reflectivity |
| MAAs | Mycosporine-like amino acids |
| Mb | Megabase; equal to 1 million base pairs |
|
MC1R
| Melanocortin 1 receptor; a gene coding for proteins involved in regulating colour of mammalian skin and hair |
| MDD | Minimal vitamin-D dose |
| MED | Minimal erythemal dose |
| MCC | Merkel cell carcinoma |
| MHC | Major histocompatibility complex |
| MS | Multiple sclerosis |
| mtDNA | Mitochondrial DNA |
| N2O | Nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas that is also a source of NO2) |
| NAO | North Atlantic Oscillation; a large-scale variation and redistribution of atmospheric mass in the Atlantic region producing large changes in the Northern hemisphere dynamics |
| NASA | National Aeronautic and Space Administration (USA) |
| NaTFA | Sodium trifluoroacetate |
| NC | Nuclear cataract(s) |
| NCAR | National Centre for Atmospheric Research (USA) |
| NH | Northern Hemisphere |
| NIMBUS-7 | A NASA satellite |
| NIVR | Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes |
| NMHCs | Non-methane hydrocarbons |
| NMSC | Non-melanoma skin cancer |
| NO | Nitric oxide (an ozone depleting gas) |
| NO2 | Nitrogen dioxide (an ozone depleting gas) |
| NOAA | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA) |
| NOAEL | No observed adverse effect level; a level of exposure below which no adverse effects are observed in a test organism, similar to NOAEC |
| NOEC | No observed effect concentration; a concentration of exposure below which no effects of any kind are observed in a test organism |
| NOEL | No observed effect level; a level of exposure below which no effects of any kind are observed in a test organism, similar to NOEC |
| NOX | Nitrogen oxides |
| NP | Nanoparticle |
| O3 | Ozone |
| OA | Organic aerosol |
| OCA | Oculocutaneous albinism |
| OCS | Carbonyl sulfide |
| ODP | Ozone depletion potential; the ratio of the impact on ozone of a chemical compared to the impact of a similar mass of CFC-11. Thus, the ODP of CFC-11 is defined to be 1.0 |
| ODS | Ozone depleting substance(s) (e.g. CFCs) |
| ˙OH | Hydroxyl radical (an important atmospheric cleaning agent) |
| OMI | Ozone Monitoring Instrument (on board the Aura satellite) |
| OTR | Organ transplant recipient |
| P | Phosphorous |
| PAH | Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon |
| PAM | Pulse amplitude modulated (fluorescence); a measure of the efficiency of photosynthesis |
| PAR | Photosynthetically Active Radiation; 400–700 nm waveband |
| PAUR II | Photochemical Activity and solar Ultraviolet Radiation campaign 2 |
|
pCO2 | Partial pressure of carbon dioxide |
| PEC | Predicted environmental concentration |
| PER | Photoenzymatic repair |
| PFBI | Perfluoro-n-butyl iodide; a substitute for CFCs used as a solvent for cleaning during the maintenance of aircrafts |
| Pg | Peta gram (1 × 1012 grams) |
|
PHR1
| The gene encoding CPD photolyase |
| PLE | Polymorphic light eruption |
| PM | Particulate matter (aerosols in the atmosphere) |
| PM2.5 | Particulate matter in air that is smaller than 2.5 μm and is inhaled deeper into the lungs than larger particles (PM10) |
| PM10 | Particulate matter in air that is smaller than 10 μm |
| PNEC | Predicted no effect concentration |
| POC | Particulate organic carbon |
| POM | Particulate organic matter |
| POP | Persistent organic pollutant |
| ppm (ppb) | Parts per million; a mixing ratio of 1 molecule of a substance per million molecules of air. Similarly, ppb is parts per billion, one molecule per billion molecules of air |
| PR | Pathogenesis-related protein |
| PS | Polysulphone; a thermoplastic that contains sulfur and is resistant to high temperatures |
| PSC | Posterior subcapsular cataract(s) |
| PSC | Polar stratospheric cloud (ice crystals which form at high altitudes in Polar regions when the temperature is below a critical threshold) |
| PSI | Photosystem I |
| PSII | Photosystem II |
| Ptc | Murine patch protein (gene when in italics) |
| PTCH | Human patch protein (gene when in italics) |
| QBO | Quasi biennial oscillation (a shift in wind patterns – especially over the tropics – with a period of approximately 2.2 years) |
| RA | Rheumatoid arthritis |
| RAC1 | Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate (gene when in italics); mutations of the gene are found in melanoma |
| Radiative forcing | A measure of the influence a factor (e.g. GHGs, ice albedo, tropospheric aerosols, etc.) has in altering the balance of incoming solar and outgoing infrared irradiance (W m−2) in the Earth–atmosphere system. It is an index of the importance of the factor as a potential climate change mechanism. Radiative forcing is approximately proportional to temperature changes at the Earth's surface, so a positive radiative forcing is associated with heating in the troposphere |
| RAF | Radiation amplification factor (a measure of sensitivity to ozone change) |
| RCP | Representative concentration pathways; scenarios for future climate resulting from different combinations of economic, technological, demographic, policy, and institutional futures, defined by their total radiative forcing (cumulative measure of human emissions of GHGs from all sources expressed in W m−2) pathway and level by 2100 |
| ROS | Reactive oxygen species (˙OH for example) |
| RR | Relative risk; usually of increased risk above background of contracting a disease. The RR of background incidence of the disease is 1 |
| RT | Radiative transfer |
| SAGE | Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment; a satellite-based instrument |
| SCC | Squamous cell carcinoma |
| SCCC | Squamous cell carcinoma of the cornea and conjunctiva |
| SD (SE) | Standard Deviation; a measure of the variance of a value. Standard Error is a similar term |
| SED | Standard erythemal dose |
| SH | Southern Hemisphere |
| SPF | Sun protection factor |
| SOD | Superoxide dismutase |
| SODIS | Solar disinfection |
| SOX | Oxides of sulfur |
| SSA | Single scattering albedo; quantifies the absorption efficiency of aerosols |
|
STAT
| Signal transducer and activator of transcription; a gene that regulates many aspects of growth, survival and differentiation in cells |
| SZA | Solar zenith angle in degrees (= 90°, the solar elevation angle from the horizontal) |
| TB | Tuberculosis |
| TFA | Trifluoroacetic acid |
| Th1 | T-helper 1 |
| Th2 | T-helper 2 |
| TiO2 | Titanium dioxide |
| TOC | Total ozone column |
| TOMS | Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer; a satellite-based instrument |
| Treg cell | T-regulatory cell |
| Troposphere | Lowest part of the Earth's atmosphere (0–16 km) |
| UCA | Urocanic acid |
| UML | Upper mixed layer; of water in lakes or the ocean |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme |
| UV | Ultraviolet; wavelengths from 100 nm to 400 nm. Ozone and other atmospheric gases progressively absorb more and more of the radiation at wavelengths less than 320 nm. Only those greater than 290 nm are transmitted to the Earth's surface |
| UV-A | Electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths in the 315 to 400 nm range (weakly absorbed by ozone) |
| UV-B | Electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths in the 280 to 315 nm range (strongly absorbed by ozone) |
| UV-C | Electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths in the 100 to 280 nm range (solar UV-C is not transmitted to the Earth's surface) |
| UVeff | UV irradiance weighted by the spectral sensitivity of an effect, integrated over wavelength |
| UVery | Erythemally-weighted UV irradiance; where the irradiance is weighted by the erythemal action spectrum |
| UVI | UV index; a measure of erythemally-weighted UV for providing information to the public. UVI values greater than 10 are considered “extreme” by the WHO. If UVery is specified in units of W m−2, then UVI = 40 × UVery) |
| UVR | Ultraviolet radiation |
| UVR8 | UV-regulatory protein |
| VDR | Vitamin D receptor |
| VOC | Volatile organic compound(s) |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
| WMO | World Meteorological Organization |
| WOUDC | World Ozone and UV Data Centre |
| XP |
Xeroderma pigmentosum; recessive genetic disorder of DNA repair in which the ability to repair damage caused by UV radiation is compromised |
| ZnO | Zinc oxide |
