Residence time

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-023998",
  "term": "Residence time",
  "field": "Environment",
  "term_source": "Residence Time",
  "definition": "1. Length of time that a pollutant remains within a section of a stream or river. The residence time is determined by the streamflow and the volume of the river reach or the average stream velocity and the length of the river reach.\n\n2. Length of time that a pollutant remains with a section of a stream or river. Residence time is determined by streamflow and volume of the body in question.\n\n3. The average time spent in a reservoir by an individual atom or molecule. With respect to greenhouse gases, residence time refers to how long on average a particular molecule remains in the atmosphere. For most gases other than methane and carbon dioxide, the residence time is approximately equal to the atmospheric lifetime.\n\n4. Average time spent in a reservoir by an individual atom or molecule. Also, this term is used to define the age of a molecule when it leaves the reservoir. With respect to greenhouse gases, residence time usually refers to how long a particular molecule remains in the atmosphere. See lifetime.",
  "subject": "Water",
  "references": [
    "Sediment Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) Glossary",
    "Chesapeake Bay TMDL Glossary",
    "Glossary of Climate Change Terms",
    "Greenhouse Gas Emissions"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/residence-time/"
}