Outdoor Glossary: H
habitat The area where a plant or animal lives and grows under
natural conditions.
habitat The locality i.e., environment in which an organism lives;
the place where a species normally lives and grows; the native environment or
usual dwelling place of an animal or group of animals
habitat The place where an organism lives.
habitat capability The ability of a land area or plant community to
support a given species of wildlife.
habitat diversity A number of different types of wildlife habitat
within a given area.
habitat diversity index A measure of improvement in habitat
diversity.
habitat type A way to classify land area . A habitat type can
support certain climax vegetation, both tree and undergrowth species. Habitat
typing can indicate the biological potential of a site.
hackle The part of a fly that imitates the legs of an insect. It is
generally made from bird feathers and greatly aids in a dry fly's ability to
floa
half-tide level A plane midway between mean high water and mean low
water, also called mean tide level.
halocline A layer in which the salinity changes significantly
(relative to the layers above and below) with depth.
handle The extension of a reel that forces the spool to turn and
retrieve line once it has been turned
harbor A water area nearly surrounded by land, sea walls,
breakwaters or artificial dikes, forming a safe anchorage for ships.
hard defenses A general term applied to impermeable coastal defense
structures of concrete, timber, steel, masonry, etc, which reflect a high
proportion of incident wave energy.
harmonic analysis The mathematical process by which the observed
tide or tidal current at any place is separated into basic harmonic
constituents.
harmonic analyzer A machine designed for the resolution of a
periodic curve into its harmonic constituents. Now performed by electronic
digital computer.
harmonic constants The amplitudes and epochs of the harmonic
constituents of the tide or tidal current at any place.
harmonic constituent See constituent.
harmonic function In its simplest form, a quantity that varies as
the cosine of an angle that increases uniformly with time. It may be expressed
by the formula:y = A cos at in which y is a function of time (t), A is a
constant coefficient, and a is the rate of change in the angle at.
harmonic prediction Method of predicting tides and tidal currents
by combining the harmonic constituents into a single tide curve. The work is
usually performed by electronic digital computer.
harmonic reduction Same as harmonic analysis.
harmonic tide plane Same as Indian spring low water.
hatch The act of an immature insect transforming into its adult
form; also used to describe a large number of adult insects on, near or above
the water at the same time (a hatch of insects).
hatching The process when a fish larva frees itself from the egg
membrane
head (1) A comparatively high promontory with either a cliff or
steep face. It extends into a large body of water, such as a sea or lake. An
unnamed head is usually called a headland. (2) The section of rip current which
has widened out seaward of the breakers, also called head of rip.
head of tide The inland or upstream limit of water affected by the
tide. For practical application in the tabulation for computation of tidal
datums, head of tide is the inland or upstream point where the mean range
becomes less than 0.2 foot. Tidal datums (except for mean water level) are not
computed beyond head of tide.
head stripes Bold lines on the head.
headland A land mass having a considerable elevation.
heave (1) The vertical rise or fall of the waves or the sea. (2)
The translational movement of a craft parallel to its vertical axis. (3) The net
transport of a floating body resulting from wave action.
heavy sea A sea in which the waves run high.
hemostats Surgical pliers
herbivores wildlife species that eat vegetation.
hibernation a state of deep "sleep" in which heart beat,
respiration, and other bodily functions slow down to conserve energy. Hibernate,
vb
hiding area/cover Vegetation capable of hiding 90% of an adult elk
or deer from human's view at a distance of 200 feet or less.
high tide Same as high water.
high water (HW) The maximum height reached by a rising tide. The
high water is due to the periodic tidal forces and the effects of
meteorological, hydrologic, and/or oceanographic conditions. For tidal datum
computational purposes, the maximum height is not considered a high water unless
it contains a tidal high water.
high water inequality See diurnal inequality.
high water interval (HWI) See lunitidal interval.
high water line The intersection of the land with the water surface
at an elevation of high water.
high water mark A line or mark left upon tide flats, beach, or
along shore objects indicating the elevation of the intrusion of high water. The
mark may be a line of oil or scum on along shore objects, or a more or less
continuous deposit of fine shell or debris on the fore shore or berm. This mark
is physical evidence of the general height reached by wave run up at recent high
waters. It should not be confused with the mean high water line or mean higher
high water line.
high water, full and change (HWF&C) Same as establishment of
the port.
high-output Highly breathable clothing that offers some amount of
weather protection
higher high water (HHW) The highest of the high waters (or single
high water) of any specified tidal day due to the declination Al effects of the
Moon and Sun.
higher low water (HLW) The highest of the low waters of any
specified tidal day due to the declination Al effects of the Moon and Sun.
hindcasting In wave prediction, the retrospective forecasting of
waves using measured wind information. See also wave hindcasting.
hindhead Rear portion of crown. Synonym(s): occiput.
hindneck Back of the neck. Synonym(s): nape, collar.
hinterland The region lying inland from the coast.
historic event analysis Extreme analysis based on hindcasting
typically ten events over a period of 100 years.
hog An exceptionally large fish; also known as a "lunker";
sometimes spelled "h-a-w-g."
home range the area that an animal uses throughout its lifetime to
eat, find shelter, and reproduce.
honey hole The prime piece of water on a lake or stream; always
loaded with fish and usually requiring an oath of sworn secrecy before your
buddy takes you to it.
hook A spit or narrow cape, turned landward at the outer end,
resembling a hook in form.
horizon (1) The line or circle which forms the apparent boundary
between Earth and sky. (2) (Geological) A plane in rock strata characterized by
particular features, as occurrence of distinctive fossil species. One of the
series of distinctive layers found in a vertical cross-section of any
well-developed soil.
horizontal diversity The distribution and abundance of different
plant and animal communities or different stages of plant succession across an
area of land; the greater the numbers of communities in a given area, the higher
the degree of horizontal diversity.
horns Paired contour feathers arising from head.
Humboldt Current Same as Peru Current.
hurricane A cyclonic storm, usually of tropic origin, covering an
extensive area, and containing winds in excess of 75 miles per hour.
hydraulic current A current in a channel caused by a difference in
the surface elevation at the two ends. Such a current may be expected in a
strait connecting two bodies of water in which the tides differ in time or
range. The current in the East River, New York, connecting Long Island Sound and
New York Harbor, is an example.
hydrographic datum A datum used for referencing depths of water and
the heights of predicted tides or water level observations. Same as chart datum.
See datum.
hydrography (1) The description and study of seas, lakes, rivers
and other waters. (2) The science of locating aids and dangers to navigation.
(3) The description of physical properties of the waters of a region.
hydrologic cycle Also called the water cycle, this is the process
of water evaporating, condensing, falling to the ground as precipitation, and
returning to the ocean as run-off.
hydrology The science dealing with the study of water on the
surface of the land, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the
atmosphere.
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