gigaton
Colossal weight unit
A gigaton is a unit of mass equal to one billion metric tons, used primarily to measure extremely large quantities like carbon dioxide emissions or the explosive yield of nuclear weapons.
Climate scientists frequently cite gigatons when discussing annual global carbon output: Human activities release roughly 40 gigatons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.
The related gigaton of TNT equivalent measures explosive energy, with the largest nuclear weapons tested yielding around 50 megatons, far short of a full gigaton.
Standard of measurement
- kilogramBase unit of mass
- tonneThousand-kilogram mass unit
- scaleMeasure of relative size
- magnitudeSize or scale
quantity · mass · weight · unit · calibration · conversion · prefix · billion
Powerful blasting compound
- yieldProduce or relinquish
- blastSudden forceful burst
- megatonsMillion-ton explosive units
- kilotonsUnits of explosive force
detonation · equivalent · warhead · thermonuclear · hydrogen bomb · atomic · fission · fusion
Sixth element, atomic symbol C
- emissionsSubstances released into air
- methaneSimplest alkane fuel
- greenhouseClimate-controlled plant enclosure
- warmingIncreasing in temperature
atmosphere · pollution · fossil · iceberg · melting · sea-level · deforestation · acidification
metric
Standard of measurement
magnitude · quantity · mass · weight · unit · calibration · conversion · prefix · billion · standard
TNT
Powerful blasting compound
kilotons · detonation · equivalent · warhead · thermonuclear · hydrogen bomb · atomic · fission · fusion · mushroom cloud
carbon
Sixth element, atomic symbol C
- emissionsSubstances released into air
- methaneSimplest alkane fuel
- greenhouseClimate-controlled plant enclosure
warming · atmosphere · pollution · fossil · iceberg · melting · sea-level · deforestation · acidification · sustainability
glacier
Slow-moving ice mass
landmass · sediment · crust · mantle · tectonic · ice sheet · permafrost · continental · volcanic · erosion