Precipitation plays a significant role in the climate system, and this is the first book to provide a comprehensive examination of the processes involved in the generation of clouds, rain, snow and hail, how precipitation is measured, how its distribution has changed over time, and how we still need to make improvements to the way precipitation is measured. It traces our attempts to understand what clouds are, from ancient Greeks to the present day. It also discusses developments in the measurement of precipitation, from rain gauges to satellite techniques, and how these measurements have enabled researchers to estimate global trends, totals, variability and extremes of precipitation. This will be a valuable and fascinating reference for academic researchers in the fields of environmental science and climatology. It will also be of great interest to professionals in water resource and flood management.

This new edition has been brought completely up-to-date and expanded considerably. It has five new chapters covering visibility, clouds, lightning, atmospheric composition, and the upper atmosphere. The chapter on barometric pressure has been rewritten and expanded, while the chapter on oceans and polar regions has been split into two separate and expanded chapters. In addition, the final chapter--Forward Look--has been rewritten. This volume will be important reading for all professionals involved in pure environmental research or in the day-to-day management of the environment. First Edition Hb (2000): 0-521-57310-6

Precipitation plays a significant role in the climate system, and this book is the first to provide a comprehensive examination of the processes involved in the generation of clouds, rain, snow and hail; how precipitation is measured; how its distribution has changed over time; and how we still need to make improvements to the way precipitation is measured. It traces our attempts to understand what clouds are, from ancient Greeks to the present day. It also discusses developments in the measurement of precipitation, from rain gauges to satellite techniques, and how these measurements have enabled researchers to estimate global trends, totals, variability and extremes of precipitation. This will be a valuable and fascinating reference for academic researchers in the fields of environmental science and climatology. It will also be of great interest to professionals in water resource and flood management.

Temperature is probably the most influential of all climatic variables. Our only direct, quantitative knowledge of global temperatures comes from instruments operated over the last 150 or so years. Yet as crucial and as central as these data are to our understanding of the climate, they are largely taken for granted, even by many of those using them. Measuring Global Temperatures will fill this gap by explaining how global temperatures are measured, how the data are analyzed, what the potential errors are, and what needs to be done to improve temperature measurement in the future. The book is of great interest to all meteorologists, climatologists, and hydrologists, and especially those concerned with climate change and global warming. It is written in accessible language with little mathematics, and so will appeal to students and amateur meteorologists with a strong interest in weather and climate.