{"thcode":2,"term":{"code":168,"name":"climate change","parent":63,"scope":"Long-term alteration in the characteristic weather conditions of a region, such as changes in precipitation and temperature."},"uf":[{"name":"climate history","usewith":false},{"name":"climate variability","usewith":false},{"name":"climatic change","usewith":false},{"name":"global climate change","usewith":false},{"name":"global warming","usewith":false},{"name":"paleoclimate","usewith":false}],"bt":[{"code":63,"name":"atmospheric and climatic processes","parent":101,"scope":"Phenomena affecting or occurring within the mass of gases that surrounds the earth, including its physics, chemistry, dynamics, and weather conditions."},{"code":101,"name":"biological and physical processes","parent":1174,"scope":"All continuing activities, functions, and phenomena associated with organisms and non-living matter."},{"code":1174,"name":"topics","parent":1,"scope":"Themes, subjects, and concerns for which USGS information resources are relevant."},{"code":1,"name":"Categories","parent":null,"scope":"Thematic terms for categorizing information resources.  This thesaurus is intended to support finding and understanding scientific information."}],"nt":[{"code":246,"name":"desertification","parent":168,"scope":"The alteration of arable land to dry, barren land due to prolonged drought or the deleterious effects of human intervention including overgrazing, overpopulation, or destructive agricultural practices."}],"rt":[{"code":170,"name":"climatology","parent":68,"scope":"Scientific study of the characteristic weather conditions of geographic areas."},{"code":485,"name":"effects of climate change","parent":1174,"scope":"Characteristics and behaviors of organisms and earth systems that are modified as a result of changes in global, regional, or local climate."},{"code":2278,"name":"environmental proxies","parent":734,"scope":"Biological, chemical, or physical features whose presence, characteristics, or behavior reflect environmental parameters of interest that cannot be readily or efficiently observed or measured directly."},{"code":506,"name":"greenhouse gases","parent":65,"scope":"Atmospheric gases, including carbon dioxide, fluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, ozone, and water vapor, that trap radiant (infrared) energy keeping the earth's surface warmer than it would otherwise be."}]}