Cloud Dynamics (Volume 53) (International Geophysics, Volume 53) - Hardcover

Houze Jr., Robert A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0123568803 ISBN 13: 9780123568809

Publisher: Academic Press Inc, 1993

Synopsis

Clouds play a critical role in the earth's climate, the atmospheric general circulation and the global water balance. They are also essential to an understanding of weather forecasting, atmospheric chemistry, air pollution, the atmospheric radiation balance, remote sensing of the environment and potential weather modification. This book provides a comprehensive view of the nature of clouds - their appearance, how they are observed, the basic physics required to understand them and a comprehensive discussion of the mechanisms governing each type of cloud that occurs in the earth's atmosphere. This book is aimed specifically at graduate students, advanced undergraduates, practicing researchers either already in atmospheric science or moving in from a related scientific field, and operational meteorologists. Some prior knowledge of atmospheric dynamics and physics is helpful, but a thorough overview of the necessary prerequisites is supplied. "Cloud Dynamics" is a complete treatment of clouds - it emphasizes the air motions associated with clouds, but at the same time presents a comprehensive physical picture that integrates the analysis of the air motions with cloud structure, micro-physics and precipitation mechanics. All the basic types of clouds and systems of clouds that occur in the atmosphere are described and explained - fog, stratus, stratocumulus, altoculumus, altostratus, cirrus, thunderstorms, tornados, water-sprouts, orographically-induced clouds, mesoscale convection complexes, hurricanes, fronts and extratropical cyclones. The examination of each type of cloud is linked to a photographic guide, presented in the first chapter, so that the descriptions and explanations given in later chapters do not become dissociated from what clouds actually look like. To allow each type of cloud to be examined in depth, both observationally and theoretically, several chapters summarize the fundamentals of atmospheric dynamics, thermodynamics, cloud microphysics, and radar meteorology that are necessary to the in-depth study of clouds. The in-depth descriptions and explantions of each type of cloud, presented in several chapters, integrates the latest field observations, numerical model simulations and theory - the theoretical treatment is at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level.

About this title

Review:

"The focus of this book is on the air motions associated with clouds. The complex interaction between the microphysical processes in the clouds and the dynamics is a theme throughout the text. It provides a comprehensive summary of the current understanding of this highly complex field...This book gives a comprehensive summary of the dynamics associated with clouds in the atmosphere...The book reads easily and is well structured. As such, I believe it will be an excellent text for a graduate course on the subject." --AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY

About this edition

• Publisher: Academic Press Inc
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0123568803
• ISBN 13: 9780123568809
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 573
• Editor: Dmowska Renata