Comprehensive overview of research on clouds and their role in our present and future climate, for advanced students and researchers.

An essential primer on atmospheric processes and their important role in the climate system The atmosphere is critical to climate change. It can amplify shifts in the climate system, and also mitigate them. This primer offers a short, reader-friendly introduction to these atmospheric processes and how they work, written by a leading expert on the subject. Giving readers an overview of key atmospheric processes, David Randall looks at how our climate system receives energy from the sun and sheds it by emitting infrared radiation back into space. The atmosphere regulates these radiative energy flows and transports energy through weather systems such as thunderstorms, monsoons, hurricanes, and winter storms. Randall explains how these processes work, and also how precipitation, cloud formation, and other phase changes of water strongly influence weather and climate. He discusses how atmospheric feedbacks affect climate change, how the large-scale atmospheric circulation works, how predicting the weather and the climate are fundamentally different challenges, and much more. This is the ideal introduction for students and nonspecialists. No prior experience in atmospheric science is needed, only basic college physics. Authoritative and concise, Atmosphere, Clouds, and Climate features a glossary of terms, suggestions for further reading, and easy-to-follow explanations of a few key equations. This accessible primer is the essential introduction to atmospheric processes and the vital role they play in our climate system.

"Clouds have always fascinated humans, but never has the need to understand them been so vital. As global surface temperature increases, human activities influence particulate matter in the atmosphere, and the properties of the land surface, clouds are expected to change, with manifold consequences for the climate. Clouds influence climate through their regulation of radiant energy transfer, through their role in convective energy transport, and in mediating the water cycle. Cloud research has never been so exciting. It is a topic with many new opportunities. New satellite observations from space with active instruments such as lidar and radar allow for the first time to reconstruct the three-dimensional distribution of clouds across Earth. Likewise, numerical simulations are beginning to globally resolve the three spatial dimensions of clouds as well as their dynamic evolution. This is enabling researchers, for the first time, to link the smallscale cloud processes and the basic laws that govern them to the general circulation of the atmosphere. These new types of observations, and simulation, are enabling researchers to distinguish how different cloud types influence the climate, and are guiding conceptual representations of their collective behaviour"--

An Introduction to Clouds provides a fundamental understanding of clouds, ranging from cloud microphysics to the large-scale impacts of clouds on climate. On the microscale, phase changes and ice nucleation are covered comprehensively, including aerosol particles and thermodynamics relevant for the formation of clouds and precipitation. At larger scales, cloud dynamics, mid-latitude storms and tropical cyclones are discussed leading to the role of clouds on the hydrological cycle and climate. Each chapter ends with problem sets and multiple-choice questions that can be completed online, and important equations are highlighted in boxes for ease of reference. Combining mathematical formulations with qualitative explanations of underlying concepts, this accessible book requires relatively little previous knowledge, making it ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in atmospheric science, environmental sciences and related disciplines.

Aerosol and clouds play important roles in determining the earth's climate, in ways that we are only beginning to comprehend. In conjunction with molecular scattering from gases, aerosol and clouds determine in part what fraction of solar radiation reaches the earth's surface, and what fraction of the longwave radiation from the earth escapes to space. This book provides an overview of the latest research on atmospheric aerosol and clouds and their effects on global climate. Subjects reviewed include the direct and indirect effects of aerosol on climate, the radiative properties of clouds and their effects on the Earth's radiation balance, the incorporation of cloud effects in numerical weather prediction models, and stratospheric aerosol and clouds.

Discover the science behind wild and wonderful weather in this fact-packed book! From heatwaves and big freezes to tornadoes and fog, this science book gives your budding meteorologist a glimpse into all the action that happens in the sky. Learn about all kinds of weather and marvel at how powerful it can be! At a time when extreme weather is becoming more and more common, this eco-focused book is perfect for getting your little one clued up about the environment. Throughout the pages of this colorful and energetic STEM book, your child will discover fun facts about the weather. They will also gain insight into serious topics such as global warming and how our climate is changing. Inside the pages of this beautifully illustrated children's science book, you'll learn all about the weather, and discover: - Fascinating illustrations that introduce scientific topics in a simple and accessible way - Stand out facts, presented clearly on each spread - Easy to understand text that teach children about climate change, meteorology, and geography - Bright photos and stunning illustrations that show how weather forms, what's going on inside clouds, and why we have heatwaves The easy-to-follow text and bite-sized facts will keep young climate activists engaged and inspire them to do whatever they can to turn things around and fight climate change! Become a Weather Expert in No Time This educational science book tells a riveting story about how big, amazing, and wonderful our weather really is - but it's told from the child's perspective. The book itself has also been produced as sustainably as possible, made with responsibly sourced materials and soy inks. It's the perfect gift for environmentally conscious kids aged 7-9.

Humanity has long been fascinated by the planet Mars. Was its climate ever conducive to life? What is the atmosphere like today and why did it change so dramatically over time? Eleven spacecraft have successfully flown to Mars since the Viking mission of the 1970s and early 1980s. These orbiters, landers and rovers have generated vast amounts of data that now span a Martian decade (roughly eighteen years). This new volume brings together the many new ideas about the atmosphere and climate system that have emerged, including the complex interplay of the volatile and dust cycles, the atmosphere-surface interactions that connect them over time, and the diversity of the planet's environment and its complex history. Including tutorials and explanations of complicated ideas, students, researchers and non-specialists alike are able to use this resource to gain a thorough and up-to-date understanding of this most Earth-like of planetary neighbours.