Weather: How it Works and Why it Matters - Hardcover

Upgren, Arthur R.; Stock, Jurgen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738202940 ISBN 13: 9780738202945

Publisher: Perseus Books, 2000

Synopsis

An insightful look at the science of weather and the human role in climate change.. Scientists have delved deep into the smallest particles of matter and have extended their view to the far reaches of the universe, but still seem unable to predict the temperature five days hence. In this intriguing book, two scientists examine recent progress in the fields of meteorology and climatology. Amid colorful anecdotes of the Galpagos, Siberia, and places closer to home, they describe the earth's atmosphere, its origin and structure, and the forces that have shaped and continue to affect it. They explore temperature, pressure, and other properties of air and weather, including warm and cold fronts, highs and lows, clouds, trade winds, prevailing westerlies, and sky phenomena such as rainbows, halos, coronae, and sun dogs. The authors end with a discussion of the major threats to earth's atmosphere brought on by human activity, including global warming and ozone depletion, and argue that pure science--not politics--should dictate our policy responses.

About this title

Review

It's all around us, no matter how we try to escape. The turbulent air, carrying storms, cold and heat, is almost unbearably complex, yet we must understand it if we hope to undo some of the damage we've done to Earth's climate over the past century. Atmospheric scientists Arthur Upgren and Jurgen Stock make the case for this understanding and lay the groundwork for readers' learning with Weather: How It Works and Why It Matters. The writing is elegant and low-key, given the gravity of the situation; the authors take care to base their claims and explanations only on solid evidence.

Exploring the history of atmospheric science, the nature of storms, weather on other planets, paleoclimatology, and the current trend toward global warming, the authors masterfully express the simple principles that give rise to such wonderfully complex systems. From El Niño to Old Man Winter, the complete cast of meteorological characters travels across the stage, each adding a bit of insight before moving on. The closing chapters cover with the increasingly urgent greenhouse symptoms we have experienced, and ask for calm as we explore means to turn back the clock a bit. Readers looking for a quiet, rational guide to our planet's climate couldn't ask for better than Weather: How It Works and Why It Matters. --Rob Lightner

About the Author

Arthur Upgren is Professor of Astronomy at Wesleyan University and has been director of its Van Vleck Observatory. He is the author of Night Has a Thousand Eyes: A Naked-Eye Guide to the Sky, Its Science, and Lore.Jurgen Stock has been on the faculty of Hamburg and Case-Western Reserve Universities. He has also been director of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory at La Serena, Chile, as well as founding director of CIDA, the Venezuelan National Observatory at Mérida.

Edition details

• Publisher: Perseus Books
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738202940
• ISBN 13: 9780738202945
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240