Despite major advances in the observation and numerical simulation of the atmosphere, basic features of the Earth's climate remain poorly understood. Integrating the available data and computational resources to improve our understanding of the global circulation of the atmosphere remains a challenge. Theory must play a critical role in meeting this challenge. This book provides an authoritative summary of the state of the art on this front. Bringing together sixteen of the field's leading experts to address those aspects of the global circulation of the atmosphere most relevant to climate, the book brings the reader up to date on the key frontiers in general circulation theory-including the nonlinear and turbulent global-scale dynamics that determine fundamental aspects of the Earth's climate. While emphasizing theory, as expressed through relatively simple mathematical models, it also draws connections to simulations with comprehensive general circulation models. Topics include the dynamics of storm tracks, interactions between wave dynamics and the hydrological cycle, monsoons, tropical and extratropical dynamics and interactions, and the processes controlling atmospheric humidity. An essential resource for graduate students in atmospheric, ocean, and climate sciences and for researchers seeking an overview of the field, The Global Circulation of the Atmosphere sets the standard for future research in a science that stands at a critical juncture. With a foreword by Edward Lorenz, the book includes chapters by Christopher Bretherton; Kerry Emanuel; Isaac Held; David Neelin; Raymond Pierrehumbert, Helene Brogniez, and Remy Roca; Alan Plumb; Walter Robinson; Tapio Schneider; Richard Seager and David Battisti; Adam Sobel; Kyle Swanson; and Pablo Zurita-Gotor and Richard Lindzen.

This volume, number 109 of the Les Houches Summer School series, presents the lectures held in August 2017 on the subject of turbulent flows in climate dynamics. Leading scientists in the fields of climate dynamics, atmosphere and ocean dynamics, geophysical fluid dynamics, physics and non-linear sciences present their views on this fast growing and interdisciplinary field of research, by venturing upon fundamental problems of atmospheric convection, clouds, large scale circulation, and predictability. Climate is controlled by turbulent flows. Turbulent motions are responsible for the bulk of the transport of energy, momentum, and water vapor in the atmosphere, which determine the distribution of temperature, winds, and precipitation on Earth. The aim of this book is to survey what is known about how turbulent flows control climate, what role they may play in climate change, and to outline where progress in this important area can be expected, given today's computational and observational capabilities. This book reviews the state-of-the-art developments in this field and provides an essential background to future studies. All chapters are written from a pedagogical perspective, making the book accessible to masters and PhD students and all researchers wishing to enter this field.