Timescale

Abstract

Described very generally, a “time scale” is the time taken by a process or sequence of events (OUP, 2013). However, there exist many shades of meaning and usage of this term, which is ubiquitous in engineering and increasingly so in environmental science. Typically, a “time scale” implies a time estimate, not a precise value. Comparison of time scales for two or more coincident processes (be they physical, biological, or chemical) provides a diagnostic tool for assessing the processes’ relative importance and, potentially, for simplifying complex equations.