Synoptic Climatology in Environmental Analysis


Book Description

This book introduces the methods of synoptic climatology - the relationship between the atmospheric circulation and the surface environment - and shows the vital importance of this approach in the understanding of environmental systems. This innovative and up-to-date text is both a primer for environmental scientists and a text in applied climatology for students of atmosphere science and geography. This book is constructed around the principal analytical methods of synoptic climatology: manual classification, correlation-based map-pattern classification, eigenvector-based classifications, composites and circulation indices. Four environmental scenarios illustrate the application of the synoptic climatological methods: these are urban air quality, acid rain, crop yield and fluvial hydrology.




Synoptic and Dynamic Climatology


Book Description

Synoptic and Dynamic Climatology provides the first comprehensive account of the dynamical behaviour and mechanisms of the global climate system and its components, together with a modern survey of synoptic-scale weather systems in the tropics and extratropics, and of the methods and applications of synoptic climate classification. It is unrivalled in the scope and detail of its contents. The work is thoroughly up to date, with extensive bibliographies by chapter. It is illustrated with nearly 300 figures and plates. *Part 1 provides an introduction to the global climate system and the space-time scales of weather and climate processes, followed by a chapter on climate data and their analysis *Part 2 describes and explains the characteristics of the general circulation of the global atmosphere and includes the nature and causes of global teleconnection patterns *Part 3 discusses synoptic weather systems in the extratropics and tropics and satellite-based climatologies of synoptic features. It also describes the applications of synoptic climatology and summarises current climatic research and its directions.




Encyclopedia of World Climatology


Book Description

Today, given the well-publicized impacts of events such as El Niño, there is an unequaled public awareness of how climate affects the quality of life and environment. Such awareness has created an increasing demand for accurate climatological information. This information is now available in one convenient, accessible source, the Encyclopedia of World Climatology. This comprehensive volume covers all the main subfields of climatology, supplies information on climates in major continental areas, and explains the intricacies of climatic processes. The level of presentation will meet the needs of specialists, university students, and educated laypersons. A successor to the 1986 Encyclopedia of Climatology, this compendium provides a clear explanation of current knowledge and research directions in modern climatology. This new encyclopedia emphasizes climatological developments that have evolved over the past twenty years. It offers more than 200 informative articles prepared by 150 experts on numerous subjects, ranging from standard areas of study to the latest research studies. The relationship between climatology and both physical and social science is fully explored, as is the significance of climate for our future well-being. The information is organized for speedy access. Entries are conveniently arranged in alphabetical order, thoroughly indexed, and cross-referenced. Every entry contains useful citations to additional source materials. The Editor John E. Oliver is Professor Emeritus at Indiana State University. He holds a B.Sc. from London University, and a MA and Ph.D from Columbia University. He taught at Columbia University and then at Indiana State where he was formerly Chair of the Geography-Geology Department, and Assoc iate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences. He has written many books and journal articles in Climatology, Applied Climatology and Physical Geography.




Essentials of the Earth's Climate System


Book Description

A concise, non-mathematical, full-color introduction to modern climatology, covering the key topics of climate science for intermediate undergraduate students.




Selected Readings in Applied Climatology


Book Description

Over the last 40 years, applied climatologists have been producing increasingly sophisticated and insightful research which has led to the current level of recognition that climate and particularly climatic changes have important environmental, economic, and recreational impacts. Furthermore, as societal needs for optimizing the use of resources increase, applied climatology will continue to grow in importance. Selected Readings in Applied Climatology is a collection of academic-style vignettes of research over the past 40 years that represents the evolution of this important subfield, and, therefore, provides a framework for appreciating the impacts of climate on society. After an introductory editorial chapter placing the development of applied climatology in its historical context, the book is divided into topical sections on applied climatological research in atmospheric circulation variability; the biosphere; water and energy resources; agriculture; and human health, comfort and behavior. The final section includes a collection of essays on communicating climatic information to the public. Selected Readings in Applied Climatology will be beneficial to those whose field of interest affects, and is affected by, climate, such as meteorologists, ecologists, water resource planners, energy demand forecasters, commodities brokers, agriculturalists, sociologists, and media consultants.




Circulation Weather types as a tool in atmospheric, climate and environmental research


Book Description

Classifications of circulation weather systems have a long history in meteorology and climatology. Starting with manual classifications over specific regions of the globe, these tools (generally called “catalogs of synoptic types”) were restricted mainly to weather forecasting and historical climate variability studies. In the last decades, the advance of computing resources and the availability of datasets have fostered the development of fast and objective methods that process large amount of data. In recent years numerous methods of circulation type classification have been designed, showing their usefulness on a wide range of applications in scientific domains related to weather, climate, and environment. This Research Topic highlights methodological advances in circulation weather types and also their applications to different research areas. The articles included in this research topic show that circulation weather types can be used not only in Europe, where they have been always more frequent, but also applied to other regions of the world.




Encyclopedia of Environmental Change


Book Description

Accessibly written by a team of international authors, the Encyclopedia of Environmental Change provides a gateway to the complex facts, concepts, techniques, methodology and philosophy of environmental change. This three-volume set illustrates and examines topics within this dynamic and rapidly changing interdisciplinary field. The encyclopedia includes all of the following aspects of environmental change: Diverse evidence of environmental change, including climate change and changes on land and in the oceans Underlying natural and anthropogenic causes and mechanisms Wide-ranging local, regional and global impacts from the polar regions to the tropics Responses of geo-ecosystems and human-environmental systems in the face of past, present and future environmental change Approaches, methodologies and techniques used for reconstructing, dating, monitoring, modelling, projecting and predicting change Social, economic and political dimensions of environmental issues, environmental conservation and management and environmental policy Over 4,000 entries explore the following key themes and more: Conservation Demographic change Environmental management Environmental policy Environmental security Food security Glaciation Green Revolution Human impact on environment Industrialization Landuse change Military impacts on environment Mining and mining impacts Nuclear energy Pollution Renewable resources Solar energy Sustainability Tourism Trade Water resources Water security Wildlife conservation The comprehensive coverage of terminology includes layers of entries ranging from one-line definitions to short essays, making this an invaluable companion for any student of physical geography, environmental geography or environmental sciences.







Meteorology of Tropical West Africa


Book Description

Meteorology of tropical West Africa: the Forecasters’ Handbook presents the science and practice of weather forecasting for an important region of the tropics. Connecting basic theory with forecasting practice, the book provides a unique training volume for operational weather forecasters, and is also suitable for students of tropical meteorology. The West African region contains a number of archetypal climatic zones, meaning that the science of its weather and climate applies to many other tropical regions. West Africa also exhibits some of the world’s most remarkable weather systems, making it an inspiring region for students to investigate. The weather of West Africa affects human livelihoods on a daily basis, and can contribute to hardship, poverty and mortality. Therefore, the ability to understand and predict the weather has the potential to deliver significant benefits to both society and economies. The book includes comprehensive background material alongside documentation of weather forecasting methods. Many examples taken from observations of West African weather systems are included and online case-studies are referenced widely.




Weather, Climate and Climate Change


Book Description

A timely and accessible analysis of one of the most crucial and contentious issues facing the world today – the processes and consequences of natural and human induced changes in the structure and function of the climate system. Integrating the latest scientific developments throughout, the text centres on climate change control, addressing how weather and climate impact on environment and society.