Physics of the Atmosphere and Climate

by Murry L. Salby

Overview

Murry Salby's new book provides an integrated treatment of the processes controlling the Earth-atmosphere system, developed from first principles through a balance of theory and applications. This book builds on Salby's previous book, Fundamentals of Atmospheric Physics. The scope has been expanded into climate, with the presentation streamlined for undergraduates in science, mathematics, and engineering. Advanced material, suitable for graduate students and as a resource for researchers, has been retained but distinguished from the basic development. The book provides a conceptual yet quantitative understanding of the controlling influences, integrated through theory and major applications. It leads readers through a methodical development of the diverse physical processes that shape weather, global energetics, and climate. End-of-chapter problems of varying difficulty develop student knowledge and its quantitative application, supported by answers and detailed solutions online for instructors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521767187
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/16/2012
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	718
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Murry Salby holds the Chair of Climate Science at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. He was previously a Professor at the University of Colorado, where he served as Director of the Center for Atmospheric Theory and Analysis. Before that he was a researcher at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research and at Princeton University. Professor Salby has authored more than 100 scientific articles in major international journals, as well as the textbook Fundamentals of Atmospheric Physics (1996). His research focuses on changes of the atmospheric circulation in relation to global structure, energetics and climate. Involving large-scale computer simulation and satellite data, Salby's research has provided insight into a wide range of phenomena in the Earth-atmosphere system.

Table of Contents

1. The Earth-atmosphere system; 2. Thermodynamics of gases; 3. The second law and its implications; 4. Heterogeneous systems; 5. Transformations of moist air; 6. Hydrostatic equilibrium; 7. Static stability; 8. Radiative transfer; 9. Aerosol and cloud; 10. Atmospheric motion; 11. Atmospheric equations of motion; 12. Large-scale motion; 13. The planetary boundary layer; 14. Atmospheric waves; 15. The general circulation; 16. Dynamic stability; 17. Influence of the ocean; 18. Interaction with the stratosphere.

Editorial Reviews

"The first edition is a classic. As a textbook it is unequalled in breadth, depth and lucidity. It is the single volume that I recommend to every one of my students in atmospheric science. The new edition improves over the previous edition, if that is possible at all, in three aspects: beautiful illustrations of global processes … from newly available satellite data, new topics of current interest … and a new chapter on the influence of the ocean on the atmosphere. These changes make the book more useful as a starting point for studying climate change." - Professor Yuk Yung, California Institute of Technology

" … an informative and insightful tour through the contemporary issues in the atmospheric sciences as they relate to climate. … a valuable resource for educators and researchers alike, serving both as a textbook for the graduate or advanced undergraduate student with a physics or mathematics background and as an excellent reference and refresher for practitioners. … a welcome addition to the field." - Professor Darin W. Toohey, University of Colorado at Boulder

" … an essential reference for researchers and graduate and advanced undergraduate students who wish to have a rigorous source for a wide range of fundamental atmospheric science topics. Atmospheric and climate scientists will find this book to be an essential one for their libraries." - Associate Professor Hampton N. Shirer, Pennsylvania State University

"I recommend it as a foundation for anyone who wants to do research on the important open questions about aerosols, radiation, biogeochemisty, and ocean-atmosphere coupling." - Professor Jim McWilliams, University of California, Los Angeles

From the Publisher