The Atmosphere. An Introduction to Meteorology

Front Cover
Title...
...Page
Copyright Page
Brief Contents
Preface
	Digital & Print Resources
	Walkthrough
Media
CONTENTS (with direct page links)
1. Introduction to the Atmosphere
	Focus on Concepts
	1.1 Focus On the Atmosphere
	1.2 The Nature of Scientific Inquiry
	Box 1.1 Monitoring Earth from Space
	1.3 Earth as a System
	1.4 Composition of the Atmosphere
	Box 1.2 Origin and Evolution of Earth’s Atmosphere
	1.5 Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere
	Eye on the Atmosphere 1.1
	Eye on the Atmosphere 1.2
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
2. Heating Earth’s Surface and Atmosphere
	Focus on Concepts
	2.1 Earth–Sun Relationships
	Box 2.1 Calculating the Noon Sun Angle
	Box 2.2 When Are the Seasons?
	Eye on the Atmosphere 2.1
	2.2 Energy, Temperature, and Heat
	2.3 Mechanisms of Heat Transfer
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 2.3: The Ultraviolet Index
	2.4
	Eye on the Atmosphere 2.2
	2.5 The Role of Gases in the Atmosphere
	2.6 Earth’s Energy Budget
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
3. Temperature
	Focus on Concepts
	3.1 For the Record: Air-Temperature Data
	Box 3.1 North America’s Hottest and Coldest Places
	3.2 Why Temperatures Vary: The Controls of Temperature
	Eye on the Atmosphere 3.1
	3.3 World Distribution of Temperatures
	Eye on the Atmosphere 3.2
	3.4 Cycles of Air Temperature
	Box 3.2 Latitude and Temperature Range
	Eye on the Atmosphere 3.3
	Box 3.3 How Cities Influence Temperature: The Urban Heat Island
	3.5 Temperature Measurement
	3.6 Applying Temperature Data
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 3.4: Heat Waves
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
4. Moisture and Atmospheric Stability
	Focus on Concepts
	4.1 Water on Earth
	4.2 Water’s Changes of State
	4.3 Humidity: Water Vapor in the Air
	Eye on the Atmosphere 4.1
	4.4 Relative Humidity and Dew-Point Temperature
	Box 4.1 Dry Air at 100 Percent Relative Humidity?
	Box 4.2 Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers
	What’s Your Forecast? Humidity and Human Comfort
	4.5 Adiabatic Temperature Changes and Cloud Formation
	4.6 Processes That Lift Air
	Box 4.3 Precipitation Records and Mountainous Terrain
	Eye on the Atmosphere 4.2
	4.7 The Critical Weathermaker: Atmospheric Stability
	4.8 Stability and Daily Weather
	Eye on the Atmosphere 4.3
	Box 4.4 Orographic Effects: Windward Precipitation and Leeward Rain Shadows
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
5. Forms of Condensation and Precipitation
	Focus on Concepts
	5.1 Cloud Formation
	5.2 Cloud Classification
	Eye on the Atmosphere 5.1
	5.3 Types of Fog
	5.4 How Precipitation Forms
	Eye on the Atmosphere 5.2
	5.5 Forms of Precipitation
	5.6 Precipitation Measurement
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 5.1: Worst Winter Weather
	Eye on the Atmosphere 5.3
	What’s Your Forecast? Space-based Measurement of Precipitation
	5.7 Planned and Inadvertent Weather Modification
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
6. Air Pressure and Winds
	Focus on Concepts
	6.1 Atmospheric Pressure and Wind
	6.2 Why Does Air Pressure Vary?
	Box 6.1 Air Pressure and Aviation
	6.3 Factors Affecting Wind
	6.4 Winds Aloft Versus Surface Winds
	Eye on the Atmosphere 6.1
	6.5 How Winds Generate Vertical Air Motion
	Eye on the Atmosphere 6.2
	Eye on the Atmosphere 6.3
	6.6 Wind Measurement
	Box 6.2 Wind Energy: An Alternative with Potential
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
7. Circulation of the Atmosphere
	Focus on Concepts
	7.1 Scales of Atmospheric Motion
	Box 7.1 Dust Devils
	7.2 Local Winds
	7.3 Global Circulation
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 7.2: Santa Ana Winds and Wildfires
	Eye on the Atmosphere 7.1
	7.4 Pressure Zones Drive the Wind
	7.5 Monsoons
	7.6 The Westerlies
	7.7 Jet Streams
	7.8 Global Winds and Ocean Currents
	Eye on the Atmosphere 7.2
	7.9 El Niño, La Niña, and the Southern Oscillation
	7.10 Global Distribution of Precipitation
	Eye on the Atmosphere 7.3
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
8. Air Masses
	Focus on Concepts
	8.1 What Is an Air Mass?
	8.2 Classifying Air Masses
	8.3 Air-Mass Modification
	8.4 Properties of North American Air Masses
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 8.1: The Siberian Express
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 8.2: An Extraordinary Lake-Effect Snowstorm
	Eye on the Atmosphere 8.1
	Eye on the Atmosphere 8.2
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
9. Midlatitude Cyclones
	Focus on Concepts
	9.1 Frontal Weather
	Eye on the Atmosphere 9.1
	9.2 Midlatitude Cyclones and the Polar-Front Theory
	What’s Your Forecast? Constructing and Analyzing a Surface Weather Map and Forecast
	Eye on the Atmosphere 9.2
	9.3 Idealized Weather of a Midlatitude Cyclone
	9.4 Flow Aloft and Cyclone Formation
	What’s Your Forecast? Winds as a Forecasting Tool
	9.5 Where Do Midlatitude Cyclones Form?
	Eye on the Atmosphere 9.3
	9.6 A Modern View: The Conveyor Belt Model
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 9.1: The Midwest Flood of 2008
	9.7 Anticyclonic Weather and Atmospheric Blocking
	9.8 Case Study of a Midlatitude Cyclone
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
10. Thunderstorms and Tornadoes
	Focus on Concepts
	10.1 What’s in a Name?
	10.2 Thunderstorms
	10.3 Air-Mass Thunderstorms
	10.4 Severe Thunderstorms
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 10.1: Flash Floods
	10.5 Lightning and Thunder
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 10.2: Downbursts
	Eye on the Atmosphere 10.1
	10.6 Tornadoes
	10.7 Development and Occurrence of Tornadoes
	10.8 Tornado Destruction and Tornado Forecasting
	Eye on the Atmosphere 10.2
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 10.3: Surviving a Violent Tornado
	What’s Your Forecast? Putting the Ingredients Together to Forecast Severe Thunderstorms
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
11. Hurricanes
	Focus on Concepts
	11.1 Profile of a Hurricane
	Box 11.1 Conservation of Angular Momentum
	11.2 Hurricane Formation and Decay
	Box 11.2 Naming Tropical Storms and Hurricanes
	11.3 Hurricane Destruction
	Eye on the Atmosphere 11.1
	What’s Your Forecast? More to the Story than the Category
	11.4 Estimating Hurricane Intensity
	Eye on the Atmosphere 11.2
	11.5 Detecting, Tracking, and Monitoring Hurricanes
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 11.1: Super Typhoon Haiyan
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
12. Weather Analysis and Forecasting
	Focus on Concepts
	12.1 The Weather Business: A Brief Overview
	12.2 Acquiring Weather Data
	12.3 Weather Maps: Depictions of the Atmosphere
	Eye on the Atmosphere 12.1
	12.4 Modern Weather Forecasting
	12.5 Other Forecasting Methods
	12.6 Weather Satellites: Tools in Forecasting
	Eye on the Atmosphere 12.2
	12.7 Types of Forecasts
	12.8 The Role of the Forecaster
	Box 12.1 Thermodynamic Diagrams
	12.9 Forecast Accuracy
	What’s Your Forecast? Severe Weather Forecasting
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
13. Air Pollution
	Focus on Concepts
	13.1 The Air Pollution Threat
	13.2 Sources and Types of Air Pollution
	Box 13.1 Air Pollution Changing the Climate of Cities
	Eye on the Atmosphere 13.1
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 13.2: The Great Smog of 1952
	13.3 Trends in Air Quality
	13.4 Meteorological Factors Affecting Air Pollution
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 13.3: Viewing an Air Pollution Episode from Space
	13.5 Acid Precipitation
	Eye on the Atmosphere 13.2
	Eye on the Atmosphere 13.3
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
14. The Changing Climate
	Focus on Concepts
	14.1 The Climate System: A Key to Detecting Climate Change
	14.2 Natural Causes of Climate Change
	Box 14.1 Volcanism and Climate Change in the Geologic Past
	Eye on the Atmosphere 14.1
	14.3 Human Impact on Global Climate
	Eye on the Atmosphere 14.2
	What’s Your Forecast? Modeling the Impact of Aerosols
	14.4 Climate-Feedback Mechanisms
	14.5 Some Consequences of Global Warming
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
15. World Climates
	Focus on Concepts
	15.1 Climate Classification
	15.2 Climate Controls: A Summary
	15.3 Humid Tropical (A) Climates
	Box 15.1 Clearing the Tropical Rain Forest—The Impact on Its Soils
	15.4 The Dry Climates (B)
	15.5 Humid Middle-Latitude Climates with Mild Winters (C)
	Eye on the Atmosphere 15.1
	15.6 Humid Continental Climates with Severe Winters (D)
	Severe & Hazardous Weather Box 15.2: Drought—A Costly Atmospheric Hazard
	15.7 The Polar Climates (E)
	15.8 Highland Climates
	Eye on the Atmosphere 15.2
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
	Problems
16. Optical Phenomena of the Atmosphere
	Focus on Concepts
	16.1 Interactions of Light and Matter
	16.2 Mirages
	Box 16.1 Are Highway Mirages Real?
	Eye on the Atmosphere 16.1
	16.3 Rainbows
	16.4 Halos, Sun Dogs, and Solar Pillars
	Box 16.2 Glories
	16.5 Other Optical Phenomena
	Eye on the Atmosphere 16.2
	Concepts in Review
	Give it Some Thought
APPENDICES
	A: Metric Units
	B: Explanation and Decoding of the Daily Weather Map
	C: Relative Humidty and Dew-Point Tables
	D: Laws Relating to Gases
	E: Newton’s Laws, Pressure–Gradient Forces, and Coriolis Force
	F: Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale
	G: Climate Data
Glossary
	A
	B
	C
	D
	E
	F
	G
	H
	I
	J
	K
	L
	M
	N
	O
	P
	R
	S
	T
	U
	V
	W
Credits
INDEX (with direct page links)
	A
	B - C
	D
	E - F
	G - H
	I - J - K
	L - M
	N
	O
	P
	Q - R
	S
	T
	U - V
	W - Y - Z
Cloud Guide
Temperature Change 2081-2100 (Projected)
Temperature and Precipitation Extremes (spread over 2 pages)