M-Z

MAB Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO
MDG Millennium Development Goals
Meteosat Satellite observing system (EUMETSAT)
MJO Madden-Julian Oscillation

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration (United
States)
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (United
States)
NWP Numerical Weather Prediction

OBIS Ocean Biogeographic Information System
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
OGC Open Geospatial Consortium

PAGE Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems
PCBs Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PDO Pacific Decadal Oscillation
PHIN Public Health Information Network (United States)
POPs Persistent Organic Pollutants

QA/QC Quality Assessment/Quality Control
QZSS Quasi-Zenith Satellite System

RADARSAT Satellite observing system (Canada)
RRR Rolling Review of Requirements

SADC Southern Africa Development Committee
SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar
SCOPE Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment
SDI Spatial Data Infrastructure
SFCG Space Frequency Coordination Group
SLR Satellite Laser Ranging
SOLAS Surface Ocean – Lower Atmosphere Study
SPOT Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre (France, Sweden,
Belgium)
SRTM Shuttle Radar Topography Mission of NASA
SST Sea-Surface Temperature

TEMS Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring Sites

UDDI Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration
UML Unified Modelling Language
UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UV-B Ultraviolet radiation at wavelengths of 290-320 nanometers

VLBI Very Long Baseline Interferometry

WCRP World Climate Research Programme
WFS 1996 World Food Summit
WHO World Health Organization
WHYCOS World Hydrological Cycle Observing System
WMO World Meteorological Organization
WSDL Web Services Definition Language
WSSD World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002
WWF Worldwide Fund for Nature or World Wildlife Fund

XML Extensible Markup Language