sensitivity

The relationship of the change of a response to the corresponding change of a stimulus, or the value of the stimulus required to produce a response exceeding, by a specified amount, the response already present due to other causes. In hydrology this concept is used with respect to measuring devices, catchment models, etc.

The degree to which a system or species is affected, either adversely or beneficially, by climate variability or change. The effect may be direct (e.g., a change in crop yield in response to a change in the mean, range, or variability of temperature) or indirect (e.g., damages caused by an increase in the frequency of coastal flooding due to sea level rise).