There are currently 8 terms in this directory beginning with the letter G.
Gabion
Steel wire-mesh basket to hold stones or crushed rock to protect a bank or bottom from erosion. Structures composed of masses of rocks, rubble or masonry held tightly together usually by wire mesh so as to form blocks or walls. Sometimes used (although not recommended) on heavy erosion coastal areas to retard wave action.
Geographical Information System (GIS)
Database of information which is geographically referenced, usually with an associated visualization system.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
A navigational and positioning system developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, by which the location of a position on or above the Earth can be determined by a special receiver at that point interpreting signals received simultaneously from several of a constellation of special satellites.
Gravel
Unconsolidated natural accumulation of rounded rock fragments coarser than sand but finer than pebbles (2-4 mm diameter).
Greenhouse Gases
Gases that trap heat radiating from the Earth's surface, thereby warming the lower atmosphere.
Groundwater
Water that occupies pores and crevices in rock and soil, below the surface of the Earth. The upper limit of the groundwater is the water table, whose level varies according to the quantity of water entering and extracted from the groundwater. (See also aquifers).
Groyne
Narrow, roughly shore-normal structure built to reduce longshore currents, and/or to trap and retain littoral material. Most groins are of rock and extend from the backshore, well onto the foreshore and rarely even further offshore.