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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > Meteorology > General
Marine biogeography, the study of the spatial distribution of organisms in the world's oceans, is one of the most fascinating branches of oceanography. This book continues the pioneering research into the distributions of molluscan faunas, first studied by biologists over 160 years ago. It illustrates 1778 species of gastropods in full color, many of which are extremely rare and poorly known endemic species that are illustrated for the first time outside of their original descriptions. The spatial arrangements of malacofaunas shown in this book can be considered proxies for worldwide oceanic conditions and used as tools for determining patterns of global climate change. The book's documentation of evolutionary "hot spots" and geographically restricted endemic faunas can also be used as a base line for future studies on patterns of environmental deterioration and extinction in the marine biosphere. Documenting the evolution of the amazingly rich worldwide gastropod fauna, this book will appeal to physical and chemical oceanographers, systematic and evolutionary biologists, historical geologists, paleontologists, climatologists, geomorphologists, and physical geographers. The authors incorporate aspects of all of these disciplines into a new classification system for the nomenclature of biogeographical spatial units found in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate seas.
The portending process of climate change, induced by the anthropogenic accumulations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is likely to generate effects that will cascade through the biosphere, impacting all life on earth and bearing upon human endeavors. Of special concern is the potential effect on agriculture and global food security.Anticipating these effects demands that scientists widen their field of vision and cooperate across disciplines to encompass increasingly complex interactions. Trans-disciplinary cooperation should aim to generate effective responses to the evolving risks, including actions to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases and to adapt to those climate changes that cannot be avoided.This handbook presents an exposition of current research on the impacts, adaptation, and mitigation of climate change in relation to agroecosystems. It is offered as the first volume in what is intended to be an ongoing series dedicated to elucidating the interactions of climate change with a broad range of sectors and systems, and to developing and spurring effective responses to this global challenge. As the collective scientific and practical knowledge of the processes and responses involved continues to grow, future volumes in the series will address important aspects of the topic periodically over the coming years.
This book is intended to give an introduction into the meteorological boundary conditions for power generation from the wind, onshore and offshore. It is to provide reliable meteorological information for the planning and running of this important kind of renewable energy. This includes the derivation of wind laws and wind profile descriptions, especially those above the logarithmic surface layer. Winds over complex terrain and nocturnal low-level jets are considered as well. A special chapter is devoted to the efficiency of large wind parks and their wakes.
Written by internationally recognized experts in atmospheric research, this book focuses on the state of the art in topical environmental issues such as global change, forest decline, ozone depletion and acid rain. Our present knowledge of forest damage is summarized as an example of atmospheric impact on nature. Paul Crutzen, winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, tackles the question of how the changing chemical composition of the atmosphere influences global chemistry and climate. The future environmental impact of traffic is described from the point of view of the motor industry. These and other contributions illustrate the interaction which exists between atmosphere, technology and nature.
This unique book includes 250 maps related to various factors of meteorology and climate and their effects on the African continent. It provides detailed coverage of fundamentally important issues concerning African meterology, climatology, tropical circulation, rainfall, drought and climate change.
Volume 1 of a three-volume final report describes, synthesizes and analyzes the results of the four-year Integrated Research Project CIRCE - Climate Change and Impact Research: Mediterranean Environment, funded by the EU 6th Framework Programme. Conducted under the auspices of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Rome, Italy, CIRCE was designed to predict and to quantify the physical impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean, and to assess the most influential consequences for the region's population. This volume incorporates the first two parts of the report, reviewing current knowledge of observed climate variability and trends in the Mediterranean, and including descriptions of available temperature and precipitation station and gridded data sets.
This book is a completely rewritten, updated and expanded new edition of the original Global Perspectives on Tropical Cyclones published in 1995. It presents a comprehensive review of the state of science and forecasting of tropical cyclones together with the application of this science to disaster mitigation, hence the tag: From Science to Mitigation.Since the previous volume, enormous progress in understanding tropical cyclones has been achieved. These advances range from the theoretical through to ever more sophisticated computer modeling, all underpinned by a vast and growing range of observations from airborne, space and ocean observation platforms. The growth in observational capability is reflected by the inclusion of three new chapters on this topic. The chapter on the effects of climate change on tropical cyclone activity is also new, and appropriate given the recent intense debate on this issue. The advances in the understanding of tropical cyclones which have led to significant improvements in forecasting track, intensity, rainfall and storm surge, are reviewed in detail over three chapters. For the first time, a chapter on seasonal prediction is included. The book concludes with an important chapter on disaster mitigation, which is timely given the enormous loss of life in recent tropical cyclone disasters.World Scientific Series on Asia-Pacific Weather and Climate is indexed in SCOPUS.
Originally published in 1955 Atmospheric Turbulence examines dynamic meteorology and the fundamental part it plays in the overall science of meteorology. The book examines the theory of atmospheric turbulence as a more mathematically developed area than largescale motions of the atmosphere and examines its significance in economic, military and industrial spheres. The book focuses on the effect and importance of atmospheric turbulence, not only to meteorologists, but the designers of large aircraft. The book addresses the effects of turbulence and the properties of the atmosphere that can be found closer to the ground. This book will be of interest to atmospheric physicists and meteorologists.
Within the realm of the newly evolving discipline of environmental sciences, the stable-isotope methodology is being used to an ever-increasing extent, especially in the study of the water cycle and of paleo-climatology. This book introduces the rules of the game, by reviewing the natural variability of stable isotopes in the hydrosphere, describing the physico-chemical basis of isotope fractionation, and applying this knowledge to natural waters as they move through the hydrologic cycle from the ocean to the atmosphere, the biosphere and the lithosphere. There is a special focus on the processes at the surface-atmosphere and land-biosphere-atmosphere interfaces, since these are the sites of major changes in isotope composition. In response to the increasing awareness of our changing climate, a discussion on the global view of the changing water cycle, in the past and future, winds up the presentation.
This overview of global warming and its human causes examines the international agreements regarding climate change and the U.S. response to those agreements, as well as key provisions of the Kyoto Protocol, to explain the difficulties of any subsequent treaties. Framing the scientific debate against moral, ethical, and religious considerations, the book offers potential solutions. It features seven maps and tables, index, bibliography, and notes.
This book presents a comprehensive introduction to weather processes and climatic conditions around the world, their observed variability and changes, and projected future trends. Extensively revised and updated, this ninth edition retains its tried and tested structure while incorporating recent advances in the field. From clear explanations of the basic physical and chemical principles of the atmosphere, to descriptions of regional climates and their changes, the book presents a comprehensive coverage of global meteorology and climatology. In this new edition the latest scientific ideas are again expressed in a clear, non-mathematical matter. New features include:
Atmosphere, Weather and Climate continues to be an indispensable source for all those studying the earth s atmosphere and world climate, whether from environmental and earth sciences, geography, ecology, agriculture, hydrology, or related disciplinary perspectives. Its pedagogic value is enhanced by several features: learning points at the opening of each chapter and discussion topics at their ending, boxes on topical subjects and on twentieth century advances in the field.
This book proposes the tool change methods for the excessive tool wear in the construction rules of shield tunnel construction in China. From the perspective of shield tunneling, atmospheric pressure tool change, pressure opening and tool change, and other special techniques, the tool change technologies are proposed. It highlights a number of tool-changing techniques and research and development work, including pressure-changing tools, tool-changing tools in the tool-cylinder arm, and cutter-tooth cutter inter-change since the beginning of the construction of the Nanjing Yangtze River Tunnel.
The Erice International Seminars are multidisciplinary seminars attended by over 100 eminent participants from all fields of science. Each year, a few scientific issues are selected and experts are invited to present contrasting views during the plenary multidisciplinary sessions of the seminar. General debates soon follow. These sessions offer a unique opportunity for specialists to broaden their perspectives after being confronted with ideas and suggestions from high level scientists in complementary domains of science. Associated workshops allow the experts to further refine and process the ideas evoked during the seminar. This year's topics are focused on the World Energy Crisis and more specifically on the future of nuclear power, the sustainability of biofuels and nuclear waste. On Global Monitoring of the Planet we have focused on the climate change issue and specifically on the theoretical basis for model calculations, on vector-borne and air-borne particulates disseminating diseases and the crisis in internet security. A full day session was devoted to the Disarmament and Proliferation Regime, in collaboration with the Government of Italy and international institutions.
The Earth's magnetosphere is part of our environment, and physical processes in the magnetosphere and coupling between the solar energy stream, the solar wind, and the magnetosphere are important to our understanding of our environment. Variations in the electromagnetic and particle energy output of the Sun have a significant effect on global changes. The energy transfer mechanisms at the dayside magnetospheric boundary layers and their ionospheric signatures may be even more important to solar-terrestrial research than the nightside processes. The dayside boundary layer and the polar cusps are the Earth's windows to outer space.
Global change due to natural processes and anthropogenic activity as well as the natural variability of the climate system will impact all areas of the globe. However, the impact will not be uniform and different impacts of differing magnitude and nature will be felt in various regions of the globe. The Mediterranean region, like other regions of the world, will face some unique and different impacts. The uniqueness and difference in the Mediterranean are to be expected given some special dynamical, chemical, biological, and land characteristics of the region. The Mediterranean region is often exposed to multiple stresses, such as a simultaneous water shortage and air pollution. This is a consequence of its unique location and emissions. One of the common stresses in North Africa is water shortage and distribution amongst the seasons. Air pollution can often add to the water stress. Air pollution occurs due to emissions in the region as well as from those transported from other areas and can occur when there is low water availability. Multiple stresses are likely to grow in the future when human induced stress is likely to increase due to the rapid industrialization of the region. This NATO workshop was set up to discuss these issues in general, and the influence of chemical emissions and transformation in particular. This workshop was special because it involved a very large number of scientists (>75%) from the region, either from North Africa or the Mediterranean Europe. Many key issues, some of which are specific to this region, were identified. Details of the findings and suggestions are presented in the articles in this volume. The workshop was held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 23rd to 26th November 2006.
Die vorliegende Publikation thematisiert aktuelle Probleme integrativer Modellierung vor dem Hintergrund des Ziels der Forschung zum globalen Wandel. Dabei werden insbesondere Fragen der Modellbildung und Szenarienentwicklung wie auch die Beurteilung ihrer qualitAtssichernden Kriterien erArtert. Das Ziel ist eine umfassende Analyse von Chancen und Limitationen integrativer Forschungs- und Modellierungsarbeit, die im Rahmen der Global Change-Forschung geleistet wird. Durch Einbringung von Erfahrungen aus der Forschungspraxis, ihrer theoretischen Fundierung und methodischen Reflexion soll dieses Ziel erreicht werden. Die resultierenden Erkenntnisse sollen der Standortbestimmung und dem Fortschritt integrativer Forschung zum globalen Wandel dienen - auf strategischer Ebene auch der Gewinnung von Perspektiven fA1/4r die weitere Entwicklung und Schwerpunktsetzung in Deutschland.
Can you read the skies? Clouds produce an ever-changing skyscape and a vital clue to predicting whether it's going to rain or shine. This handy little cloud-spotting guide explains: * How to identify each type of cloud * The processes are at work to produce them * The significance they have for our weather * Optical phenomena produced by certain clouds Learn the lost countryside art of cloud reading and understand the most essential of nature's clues and signs.
Terrestrial carbon balance is uncertain at the regional and global scale. A significant source of variability in mid-latitude ecosystems is related to the timing and duration of phenological phases. Spring phenology, in particular, has disproportionate effects on the annual carbon balance. However, the traditional phenological indices that are based on leaf-out and flowering times of select indicator species are not universally amenable for predicting the temporal dynamics of ecosystem carbon and water exchange. Phenology of Ecosystem Processes evaluates current applications of traditional phenology in carbon and H2O cycle research, as well as the potential to identify phenological signals in ecosystem processes themselves. The book summarizes recent progress in the understanding of the seasonal dynamics of ecosystem carbon and H2O fluxes, the novel use of various methods (stable isotopes, time-series, forward and inverse modeling), and the implications for remote sensing and global carbon cycle modeling. Each chapter includes a literature review, in order to present the state-of-the-science in the field and enhance the book's usability as an educational aid, as well as a case study to exemplify the use and applicability of various methods. Chapters that apply a specific methodology summarize the successes and challenges of particular methods for quantifying the seasonal changes in ecosystem carbon, water and energy fluxes. The book will benefit global change researchers, modelers, and advanced students.
Climate change is now upon us. While mitigation is essential to reduce the future severity of climate change, it will take time and some effects will inevitably continue for centuries. Consequently, more attention is now being directed to adaptation as a means of reducing losses. As the importance of adaptation becomes more apparent, there is need for wider appreciation and understanding of the concept and its potential, as well as the obstacles to its effective deployment. This reader, the first of its kind, gathers some of the most significant writings on adaptation to climate change from the past two decades. Following an introduction tracing the evolution of adaptation from a biological concept into a policy objective, the book is divided into five parts: * Adaptation Theory * Adaptation, Vulnerability and Resilience * Adaptation and Disaster Risk * Adaptation and Development * Adaptation and Climate Change Policy This is the ideal collection for students, policymakers, researchers, activists and NGOs, and all people who need a solid grounding in all aspects of climate change adaptation.
This book provides valuable lessons that will improve public policy and the quality of decisions that will affect generations to come. Richard Moss, Senior Director Climate and Energy, United Nations Foundation An excellent addition to the body of knowledge on adaptation to climate change from the developing world, which has been largely missing until now. Saleemul Huq, Director, Climate Change Programme, International Institute for Environment and Development This important volume is a valuable effort on adaptation to climate change that needs to be on the desks of those seeking coping strategies for longer term responses to evolving climate changes. Roger Kasperson, Emeritus, Clark University, USAThe IPCC, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007, makes clear that while climate change mitigation is vital, the world must also begin to adapt. But how best can this be achieved? This authoritative volume (along with its companion on vulnerability), resulting from the work of the Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change (AIACC) project launched with the IPCC in 2002, is the first to provide an in-depth investigation of the stakes in developing countries. It covers current practices for managing climate risks, deficits between current practices and needs, the changing nature of the risks due to human caused climate change, strategies for adapting to changing risks, and the need to integrate these strategies into development planning and resource management. The book also identifies obstacles to effective adaptation and explores measures needed to create conditions that are favourable to climate change adaptation.Published with TWAS and START
Empirical-statistical downscaling (ESD) is a method for estimating how local climatic variables are affected by large-scale climatic conditions. ESD has been applied to local climate/weather studies for years, but there are few - if any - textbooks on the subject. It is also anticipated that ESD will become more important and commonplace in the future, as anthropogenic global warming proceeds. Thus, a textbook on ESD will be important for next-generation climate scientists.
The Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is the next-generation multispectral imaging instrument to fly on US operational, polar-orbiting meteorological satellites. VIIRS will gather data across 22 spectral bands and be used to create products for a variety of applications including weather forecasting and climate change studies. VIIRS consolidates the best features of heritage instruments, including near-constant resolution and nighttime visible imagery. Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite: A New Operational Cloud Imager provides the first comprehensive guide on the design and exploitation of cloud data collected by the VIIRS. Expert researchers Hutchison and Cracknell discuss the fundamental principles necessary to interpret surface and cloud features in multispectral meteorological satellite imagery. They begin by tracing the evolution of satellite meteorology and detailing previous instruments on which VIIRS is based. Next, they examine the user requirements for VIIRS data products and the studies used to convert these requirements into sensor design parameters. The focus then shifts to the principles and techniques used to exploit VIIRS cloud data. The book ends with a comprehensive discussion of automated processes to retrieve 3-dimensional cloud fields from a variety of algorithms, some of which were developed for the VIIRS. Supplying material for both experienced researchers and those new to the field, Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite is a must-read for anyone interested in evaluating and using the data gathered from the VIIRS project.
Only a few laboratories in the world have taken the bold step to attempt the integration of sub-models of the climate system, the global biogeochemical cycles and the human/societal components. This volume reports on such a major undertaking and provides a step towards an integrated approach to global change science. The IMAGE 2 model is important in demonstrating our current ability to model the complex global system. |
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