These results from the National Research Programme on Climate Change of the Netherlands offer a synthesis of present knowledge in the fields of: source and sinks of greenhouse gases and aerosols; land-atmosphere interactions; the global energy balance; and radiative forcing and climate variability.

This text brings together meteorology and the theory of glacier flow, providing a fundamental understanding of how glaciers respond to climate change. Attention is paid to the microclimate of glaciers and the physical processes regulating the exchange of energy and mass between glacier surface and atmosphere. Simple analytical and numerical models are used to:
investigate glaciers sensitivity to climate change
estimate response times
make an interpretation of historical glacier records
assess the contribution of glacier melt to sea-level rise
Modern developments in glacier research, including satellite measurements are discussed in detail, making this a valuable reference source.

Global Climate Change and Cold Regions Ecosystems provides information on soil processes and the carbon cycle in cold ecoregions as well as the soil carbon pool and its fluxes in the soils of cold ecoregions. Filling a void in this area of soil science, this resource explains soil processes influencing C dynamics under natural and disturbed ecosystems. The soils of the cold region ecosystems serve as a net sink of atmospheric C. However, an increase in global temperature could render them a net source. In the event of global warming, the cold regions ecosystems-arctic, sub-arctic, alpine, Antarctic, boreal forests, and peatlands-will undergo radical changes. Potential environmental change could drastically increase the active soil layer and influence the large C pool found in them. Topics include: soil C pools in different cold ecoregions, the impact of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on the soil C pool, the method of assessment of C and other properties of soils of the cold regions ecosytems while focusing on the fate of C in permafrost soils. Global Climate Change and Cold Regions Ecosystems covers the current and possible future effects of the cold ecoregions soil C pool on the global carbon pool.

This book focuses on different aspects of initiatives-to check pollution and to reduce consumption of fossil fuels-by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The chapters examine climate change projections for ASEAN, the relationship between income inequality and environmental sustainability, greening initiatives pursued by microfinance institutions, farmers' awareness and perceptions of climate change, potential introduction of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Malaysia, the impact of Euro-4 automobile emission regulations on the development of technological capabilities and the threats and vulnerability people face from climate change and national disasters. The United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change's Conference of Parties meetings to cap temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius over the next century has set the steering and the interventions essential for mitigating global warming. There is increasing recognition that initiatives must be taken across the globe regardless of the state of development of each individual country, and so this book has important practical implications. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy.

'Hyde shows in this book that comfortable living is entirely achievable without air conditioning in many regions by appropriate architecture design ... The book is well illustrated both with photographs of successful (and some unsuccessful) buildings.' - The Architectural Science Review

General Circulation Models (GCMs) are rapidly assuming widespread use as powerful tools for predicting global events on time scales of months to decades, such as the onset of EL Nino, monsoons, soil moisture saturation indices, global warming estimates, and even snowfall predictions. While GCMs have been praised for helping to foretell the current El Nino and its impact on droughts in Indonesia, its full power is only now being recognized by international scientists and governments who seek to link GCMs to help them estimate fish harvests, risk of floods, landslides, and even forest fires.
Scientists in oceanography, hydrology, meteorology, and climatology and civil, ocean, and geological engineers perceive a need for a reference on GCM design. In this compilation of information by an internationally recognized group of experts, Professor Randall brings together the knowledge base of the forerunners in theoretical and applied frontiers of GCM development. General Circulation Model Development focuses on the past, present, and future design of numerical methods for general circulation modeling, as well as the physical parameterizations required for their proper implementation. Additional chapters on climate simulation and other applications provide illustrative examples of state-of-the-art GCM design.
Key Features
* Foreword by Norman Phillips
* Authoritative overviews of current issues and ideas on global circulation modeling by leading experts
* Retrospective and forward-looking chapters by Akio Arakawa of UCLA
* Historical perspectives on the early years of general circulation modeling
* Indispensable reference for researchers and graduate students

This topical textbook provides a bridge between technical and popular texts on global warming within the broader context of climate change. Written at an introductory level, it explains the interacting components of this system: what the greenhouse effect is; and how scientists seek to predict climate change. It makes accessible the technical and heavy science literature to the 'non-science' student.Global warming is one of the major environmental problems facing the world today. But it is an issue surrounded by great contention because it is based largely on scientific prediction and has yet to be proven. Opinion is divided regarding whether global warming will occur and, if it does, what the effects will be. In order to appreciate the uncertainties surrounding this issue, it is necessary to understand the workings of the climate system and the methods by which scientists seek to predict climate change.'Global Warming' aims to make accessible the heavily technical literature to the non-science student, providing a bridge between the highly scientific and the popular non-academic texts. Placing global warming within the broader context of climate change, this textbook details the interacting components of the climatic system, reviewing the importance of changing carbon dioxide levels for the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere and climate. Utilising observed and modelled data, it presents the latest evidence for and against global warming whilst highlighting the difficulties involved with analysing both types of data and introducing areas of controversy within research. The book also addresses the important problem of making policy decisions for the future, based on the uncertain science of global warming.

First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The Great Ice Age documents and explains the natural climatic and palaeoecologic changes that have occurred during the past 2.6 million years, outlining the emergence and global impact of our species during this period. Exploring a wide range of records of climate change, the authors demonstrate the interconnectivity of the components of the Earths climate system, show how the evidence for such change is obtained, and explain some of the problems in collecting and dating proxy climate data.
One of the most dramatic aspects of humanity's rise is that it coincided with the beginnings of major environmental changes and a mass extinction that has the pace, and maybe magnitude, of those in the far-off past that stemmed from climate, geological and occasionally extraterrestrial events. This book reveals that anthropogenic effects on the world are not merely modern matters but date back perhaps a million years or more.

Understanding and predicting the Earth's climate system, particularly climate variability and possible human-induced climate change, presents one of the most difficult and urgent challenges in science. Climate scientists worldwide have responded to that challenge over the past decade by creating a wide variety of ever more sophisticated climate models that are beginning to show considerable ability to replicate many aspects of the climate system. At the same time, to fully understand climate change, one also has to look to past climates. For this purpose five eminent scholars who span the disciplines of modeling and observation, including elements of past, present and future climate studies came together at this Les Houches school. They presented a systematic development of each of their respective subjects which provided a comprehensive overview of this vast and complex subject. These core lectures were supplemented by a set of shorter lectures and of seminars.

This textbook documents and explains the natural climatic and ecological changes that have occurred during the past 2.6 million years. It also outlines the emergence and global impact of humans during this period. Exploring a wide range of records of climate change, the authors demonstrate the connections between the components of the Earth's climate system, show how the evidence for such change is obtained, and explain some of the problems in collecting and dating proxy climate data.
The book reveals how the rise of humankind coincided with the beginnings of major environmental changes and a mass extinction. It shows that human effects on the world are not merely modern matters but date back a million years or more.

The high predictability of the atmosphere and ocean depends on the existence of a 'slow manifold', which contains the solutions of equations describing only large-scale motions. This unique compendium succinctly describes major recent advances in showing that these equations can be solved independently.The book is a new edition of a similar book published 15 years ago. The explanation of the mathematical techniques has been expanded. Many new theoretical results are included. Illustrations derived from production atmosphere and ocean models are also incorporated to cover the full range between rigorous mathematics and state-of-the-art numerical modelling.The author is a dynamical meteorologist with long experience and international standing. The mathematical results in the book were proved by many of the world's leading analysts. The results come from the Met Office Unified Model, which is one of the world's leading weather and climate models.Related Link(s)

Reading Weather provides a quick and simple way to understand how the atmosphere works, how to interpret and use weather forecasts before venturing outdoors, and also how to make your own forecast in the field by observing the changes in the weather. This fully updated and revised reference will arm you with the meteorological knowledge necessary to make good decisions on whether to proceed or retreat in the face of a storm. Also included are helpful definitions, tables, and simplified graphics of common weather features.

Mountains are water towers of our world, but their role in global water resources may be altered due to changing climate. This book provides an integrated assessment of the spatial and temporal variability of both recent and future climate change impacts in the Yellow River source region (YRSR) with specific focus on extremes. The book is structured across four different topics from detecting contemporary hydro-climatic changes, comparing three different statistical downscaling methods, assessing elevation dependency of expected changes in temperature, and projecting future climate-induced hydrologic changes in the YRSR. The detection of historical hydro-climatic changes in recent decades indicates that climate change may already be happening and may pose a serious threat to water availability in this region. However, an ensemble of climate change projections for the periods 2046-2065 and 2081-2100 based on two GCMs and three emission scenarios demonstrates that the future water availability of this region would increase due to climate change. This discrepancy suggests that contemporary hydro-climatic experience based on past records alone may not always provide a reliable guide to the future. This study makes an important contribution toward an improved understanding of climate change impacts in the YRSR. The knowledge generated has major implications for water resources management in the Yellow River and will be instructive for climate change impacts studies in other mountain areas.

Atmospheric and climatological studies are becoming more and more important in day-to-day living. Winds and ocean current owe their existence to the thermodynamic imbalances that arise from the differential heating of the Earth and air by the sun. Accounting for heat exchanges with the atmosphere and ocean is essential in any predictive model of the ocean and/or atmosphere. Thermodynamic feedback processes in the atmosphere and ocean are critical to understanding the overall stability of the Earth's climate and climate change. Water and its phase changes make the thermodynamics of the atmosphere and ocean uniquely interesting and challenging.
Written by leading scientists in the field, Thermodynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans incorporates all the relevant information from the varying fields of dynamics meteorology, atmospheric physics and cloud physics, into a comprehensive, self-contained guide ideal for students and researchers of atmospheric thermodynamics. At the moment, courses in atmospheric thermdynamics typically have to use one or two chapters in textbooks on dynamic meteorology, atmospheric physics or cloud physics. This book combines these topics in one text.

Global climate change has emerged as one of today's most challenging and controversial policy issues. In this significant new contribution, a roster of premier scholars examines economic and social aspects of that far-reaching phenomenon. Although the 1997 "summit" in Kyoto focused world attention on climate, it was just one step in an ongoing process. Research by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been ongoing since 1988. An extensive IPCC Working Group report published in 1995 examined the economic and social aspects of climate change. In this new volume, eminent economists assess that IPCC report and address the questions that emerge. The result is a reasoned, cogent look at the realities of climate change and some methods (and difficulties) of dealing with them.

William Nordhaus's introduction establishes the context for this book. It provides basic scientific background, reviews the IPCC's activities, and explains the genesis of the project. Subsequent contributions fall into two categories. Early chapters review analytical issues critical to social and economic understanding of climate change. For example, Granger Morgan looks at how typical decisionmaking frameworks relate to this topic. Other chapters in this section discuss discounting and intergenerational equity, the possible role of cost-benefit analysis, and the institutional architecture needed to address the problem effectively.

A second set of chapters address specific economic questions surrounding climate-change policy. For example, John Weyant and Tom Kram look at the costs of slowing climate change. Weyant agrees with the IPCC that the economic cost is high, relative to othereconomic and environmental policies. There is tremendous uncertainty in these estimates, however, and different approaches to modeling -- economic, engineering, and social-psychological -- yield very different interpretations and prognoses. In another chapter, Robert Mendelsohn examines the costs of not slowing climate change. What impacts can we expect, how might they vary among different nations and regions, and how likely are we to encounter catastrophic results?

Global climate and the effects of global warming are commanding unprecendented interest as climates grow more dynamic and changeable. How does global warming change patterns of climate? Why is the weather and climate of the British Isles so variable? Regional Climates of the British Isles presents a comprehensive survey of the diverse climate of the British Isles. Examining the ways in which regional climates evolve from the interplay of meteorological conditions and geography of the British Isles, leading climatologists provide detailed explanations of the climatic characteristics of 11 regions of the British Isles. Climatic distinctiveness and local weather contrasts are described for each region, together with a summary of climatic data from 1961 to the present. Reviewing the history and causes of climatic change and evaluating regional models, Regional Climates of the British Isles offers an analysis of climatic variations. Examining future climatic change and its likely consequences, the authors acknowledge the need for regionally diverse responses to the greenhouse effect.

Contents:
Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: The Scientific and Ethical Dimensions of the Greenhouse Effect Chapter Three: State Responsibility for Environmental Harm Chapter Four: International Liability of Injurious Consequences Arising Out of Acts Not Prohibited by International Law Chapter Five: Human Rights ane the Environment Chapter Six: Common Heritage of Mankind Chapter Seven: Rio: An Opportunity Lost? Chapter Eight: Conclusion

These proceedings record the results of climate change in many areas which are hyper-arid deserts today but which, almost cyclically, at intervals of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, have had a much more humid climate.

'Dynamic Meteorology: A Basic Course' is an introduction to the physics of the atmosphere. Starting from the basics, it provides students with an awareness of simple mathematics and enthusiastically proceeds to provide a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of meteorology. The authors lead students to a scientifically rigorous understanding of the behaviour of weather systems such as highs, lows, fronts, jet streams and tropical cyclones. From the 'ABC' of the laws of Avogrado, Boyle and Charles to the powerful omega equation and beyond, this is a simple exposition of dynamic meteorology. Why does the wind blow along the lines of isobars rather than across them? Why are low pressure systems on the weather map more intense than high-pressure systems? Why is there much less constraint on the strength of the wind around a cyclone than an anticyclone? An international team of academic experts in meteorology answer these and many other fundamental questions with simple mathematical equations. Covering both northern and southern hemispheres, 'Dynamic Meteorology' equips students of earth and environmental sciences with proper understanding of the essential mathematics necessary to unlock the mysteries of the natural world.

This text presents a comprehensive and up-to-date survey of the diverse climate of the British Isles. Examining the ways in which regional climates evolve from the interplay of meteorological conditions and geographies of the British Isles, leading climatologists provide detailed explanations of the climatic characteristics of eleven regions of the British Isles. Climatic distinctiveness and local weather contrasts are described for each region, together with a summary of climatic data from 1961 to the present.

Series Information:
Physical Environment Series

This book is a collection of papers presented in the 30th International Geological Congress, held in Beijing, on structure of the lithosphere and deep processes. The papers deal with topics on the measurement of P-wave velocities in rocks, and elastic properties of crust and upper mantle.

This volume presents the results on contemporary geodynamic model, crustal stress field, active faults, folds and volcanoes. It discusses the tectonophysical environments of earthquake generation and the methodology of earthquake prediction.

This textbook develops a fundamental understanding of geophysical fluid dynamics by providing a mathematical description of fluid properties, kinematics and dynamics as influenced by earth's rotation. Its didactic value is based on elaborate treatment of basic principles, derived equations, exemplary solutions and their interpretation. Both starting graduate students and experienced scientists can closely follow the mathematical development of the basic theory applied to the flow of uniform density fluids on a rotating earth, with (1) basic physics introducing the "novel" effects of rotation for flows on planetary scales, (2) simplified dynamics of shallow water and quasi-geostrophic theories applied to a variety of steady, unsteady flows and geophysical wave motions, demonstrating the restoring effects of Coriolis acceleration, earth's curvature (beta) and topographic steering, (3) conservation of vorticity and energy at geophysical scales, and (4) specific applications to help demonstrate the ability to create and solve new problems in this very rich field. A comprehensive review of the complex geophysical flows of the ocean and the atmosphere is closely knitted with this basic description, intended to be developed further in the second volume that addresses density stratified geophysical fluid dynamics.