Essentials of Meteorology: An Invitation to the Atmosphere 8th Edition, ISBN-13: 978-1305628458

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Essentials of Meteorology: An Invitation to the Atmosphere 8th Edition, ISBN-13: 978-1305628458

[PDF eBook eTextbook] – Available Instantly

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cengage Learning
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 2017
• Edition ‏ : ‎ 8th
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ‎508 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781305628458
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1305628458

NOTE: This book is a standalone book and will not include any access codes.

ESSENTIALS OF METEOROLOGY, 8th Edition, is written for students interested in gaining insights into the dynamic workings of the atmosphere. The authors’ ability to explain relatively complicated ideas in an easy-to-understand way lets both science and nonscience majors visualize the principles of meteorology. Online animations help you to immediately apply the text material and understand the underlying meteorological principles, and appendices allow you to explore meteorological data such as world temperature extremes and precipitation extremes over a 30-year period.

Table of Contents:

Cover Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Preface

To the Student

Acknowledgments

Explore the Concept Animations

Chapter 1. Earth’s Atmosphere

The Atmosphere and the Scientific Method

Weather, Climate, and Meteorology

Meteorology—The Study of the Atmosphere

A Glimpse at a Weather Map

Weather and Climate in Our Lives

Components of Earth’s Atmosphere

The Early Atmosphere

Composition of Today’s Atmosphere

Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere

A Brief Look at Air Pressure and Air Density

Layers of the Atmosphere

Summary

Key Terms

Questions for Review

Questions for Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 2. Warming and Cooling Earth and Its Atmosphere

Temperature and Heat Transfer

Temperature Scales

Latent Heat—The Hidden Warmth

Conduction

Convection

Radiant Energy

Radiation—Absorption, Emission, and Equilibrium

Selective Absorbers and the Atmospheric Greenhouse Effect

Enhancement of the Greenhouse Effect

Warming the Air from Below

Shortwave Radiation Streaming from the Sun

Earth’s Annual Energy Balance

Why Earth Has Seasons

Seasons in the Northern Hemisphere

Seasons in the Southern Hemisphere

Local Seasonal Variations

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 3. Air Temperature

Daily Warming and Cooling Air Near the Surface

Daytime Warming

Extreme High Temperatures

Nighttime Cooling

Cold Air Near the Surface

Protecting Crops from the Cold Night Air

Extreme Low Temperatures

Daily Temperature Variations

Regional Temperature Variations

Applications of Air Temperature Data

Air Temperature and Human Comfort

Measuring Air Temperature

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 4. Humidity, Condensation, and Clouds

Circulation of Water in the Atmosphere

Evaporation, Condensation, and Saturation

Humidity

Vapor Pressure

Relative Humidity

Relative Humidity and Dew Point

Relative Humidity and Human Discomfort

Measuring Humidity

Dew and Frost

Fog

Foggy Weather

Clouds

Classification of Clouds

High Clouds

Middle Clouds

Low Clouds

Clouds with Vertical Development

Some Unusual Clouds

Clouds and Satellite Imagery

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought And Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 5. Cloud Development and Precipitation

Atmospheric Stability

Determining Stability

A Stable Atmosphere

An Unstable Atmosphere

A Conditionally Unstable Atmosphere

Cloud Development and Stability

Convection and Clouds

Topography and Clouds

Precipitation Processes

Collision and Coalescence Process

Ice-Crystal Process

Cloud Seeding and Precipitation

Precipitation in Clouds

Precipitation Types

Rain

Snow

Sleet and Freezing Rain

Snow Grains and Snow Pellets

Hail

Measuring Precipitation

Instruments

Doppler Radar and Precipitation

Summary

Key Terms

Questions for Review

Questions For Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 6. Air Pressure and Winds

Atmospheric Pressure

Horizontal Pressure Variations—A Tale of Two Cities

Measuring Air Pressure

Pressure Readings

Surface and Upper-Air Charts

Why the Wind Blows

Newton’s Laws of Motion

Forces That Influence the Wind

Straight-Line Flow Aloft

Curved Winds Around Lows and Highs Aloft

Winds on Upper-Level Charts

Surface Winds

Winds and Vertical Air Motions

Determining Wind Direction and Speed

The Influence of Prevailing Winds

Wind Instruments

Summary

Key Terms

Questions for Review

Questions for Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 7. Atmospheric Circulations

Scales of Atmospheric Motion

Eddies—Big and Small

Local Wind Systems

Thermal Circulations

Sea and Land Breezes

Mountain and Valley Breezes

Katabatic Winds

Chinook (Foehn) Winds

Santa Ana Winds

Desert Winds

Seasonally Changing Winds—The Monsoon

Global Winds

General Circulation of the Atmosphere

Single-Cell Model

Three-Cell Model

Average Surface Winds and Pressure: The Real World

The General Circulation and Precipitation Patterns

Westerly Winds and the Jet Stream

Atmosphere-Ocean Interactions

Global Wind Patterns and Surface Ocean Currents

Winds and Upwelling

El Niño, La Niña, and the Southern Oscillation

Other Atmosphere-Ocean Interactions

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 8. Air Masses, Fronts, and Middle-Latitude Cyclones

Air Masses

Source Regions

Classification

Air Masses of North America

Fronts

Stationary Fronts

Cold Fronts

Warm Fronts

Drylines

Occluded Fronts

Mid-Latitude Cyclonic Storms

Polar Front Theory

Where Do Mid-Latitude Cyclones Tend to Form?

Developing Mid-Latitude Cyclones and Anticyclones

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 9. Weather Forecasting

Weather Observations

Acquisition of Weather Information

Weather Forecasting Tools

Weather Forecasting Methods

The Computer and Weather Forecasting: Numerical Weather Prediction

Why Computer-Based Forecasts Can Go Awry and Steps to Improve Them

Other Forecasting Techniques

Time Range of Forecasts

Accuracy and Skill in Weather Forecasting

Weather Forecasting Using Surface Charts

Determining the Movement of Weather Systems

A Forecast for Six Cities

Using Forecasting Tools to Predict the Weather

Help from the 500-mb Chart

The Models Provide Assistance

A Valid Forecast

Satellite and Upper-Air Assistance

A Day of Rain and Wind

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 10. Thunderstorms and Tornadoes

Thunderstorms

Ordinary Cell Thunderstorms

Multicell Thunderstorms

Squall-Line Thunderstorms

Supercell Thunderstorms

Thunderstorms and Flooding

Distribution of Thunderstorms

Lightning and Thunder

Tornadoes

Tornado Life Cycle

Tornado Occurrence and Distribution

Tornado Winds

Tornado Outbreaks

Tornado Formation

Supercell Tornadoes

Nonsupercell Tornadoes

Waterspouts

Observing Tornadoes and Severe Weather

Storm Chasing and Mobile Radar

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 11. Hurricanes

Tropical Weather

Anatomy of a Hurricane

Hurricane Formation and Dissipation

The Right Environment

The Developing Storm

The Storm Dies Out

Hurricane Stages of Development

Investigating the Storm

Hurricane Movement

Naming Hurricanes and Tropical Storms

Devastating Winds, the Storm Surge, and Flooding

Classifying Hurricane Strength

Hurricane-Spawned Tornadoes

Hurricane Fatalities

Some Notable Hurricanes

Galveston, 1900

New England, 1938

Camille, 1969

Hugo, 1989

Andrew, 1992

Katrina and Rita, 2005

Sandy, 2012

Devastating Tropical Cyclones around the World

Hurricane Watches, and Warnings

Hurricane Forecasting Techniques

Modifying Hurricanes

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 12. Global Climate

A World with Many Climates

Global Temperatures

Global Precipitation

Climatic Classification—The Köppen System

The Global Pattern of Climate

Tropical Moist Climates (Group A)

Dry Climates (Group B)

Moist Subtropical Mid-Latitude Climates (Group C)

Moist Continental Climates (Group D)

Polar Climates (Group E)

Highland Climates (Group H)

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 13. Earth’s Changing Climate

Reconstructing Past Climates

Climate Throughout the Ages

Temperature Trends During the Past 1000 Years

Temperature Trends During the Past 100-Plus Years

Climate Change Caused by Natural Events

Climate Change: Feedback Mechanisms

Climate Change: Plate Tectonics and Mountain Building

Climate Change: Variations in the Earth’s Orbit

Climate Change: Variations in Solar Output

Climate Change: Atmospheric Particles

Climate Change Caused by Human (Anthropogenic) Activities

Climate Change: Aerosols Injected into the Lower Atmosphere

Climate Change: Greenhouse Gases

Climate Change: Land Use Changes

Climate Change: Global Warming

Recent Global Warming: Perspective

Future Climate Change: Projections

Consequences of Climate Change: The Possibilities

Climate Change: Efforts to Curb

Climate Change: A Final Note

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought And Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 14. Air Pollution

A Brief History of Air Pollution

Types and Sources of Air Pollutants

Principal Air Pollutants

Ozone in the Troposphere

Air Pollution: Trends and Patterns

Factors That Affect Air Pollution

The Role of the Wind

The Role of Stability and Inversions

The Role of Topography

Severe Air Pollution Potential

Air Pollution and the Urban Environment

Acid Deposition

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought And Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Chapter 15. Light, Color, and Atmospheric Optics

White and Colors

Clouds and Scattered Light

Blue Skies and Hazy Days

Red Suns and Blue Moons

Twinkling, Twilight, and the Green Flash

The Mirage: Seeing Is Not Believing

Halos, Sundogs, and Sun Pillars

Rainbows

Coronas and Cloud Iridescence

Summary

Key Terms

Questions For Review

Questions For Thought and Exploration

Global Geoscience Watch

Appendix A. Units, Conversions, Abbreviations, and Equations

Appendix B. Equations and Constants

Appendix C. Weather Symbols and the Station Model

Appendix D. Average Annual Global Precipitation

Appendix E. Köppen’s Climatic Classification System

Appendix F. Humidity and Dew-Point Tables [Psychrometric Tables]

Appendix G. Standard Atmosphere

Appendix H. Beaufort Wind Scale [Over Land]

Additional Reading Material

C. Donald Ahrens is an emeritus professor at Modesto Junior College in Modesto, California. He has influenced countless professionals in the field of atmospheric science as well as hundreds of thousands of students who use his books to better understand weather and climate. In 2007, the National Weather Association awarded him a lifetime achievement award for these accomplishments. The best-selling author of three Cengage texts — METEOROLOGY TODAY, ESSENTIALS OF METEOROLOGY and EXTREME WEATHER AND CLIMATE — Professor Ahrens received the Textbook and Academic Authors Association’s McGuffey Longevity Award for the 9th edition of METEOROLOGY TODAY. Professor Ahrens completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in meteorology at San Jose State University and his doctorate at the University of Northern Colorado.

Robert Henson is among the nation’s most widely read writers on weather and climate. He is a regular contributor to the Yale Climate Connections website and a contributing editor at the Texas Climate News website and Weatherwise magazine. Prior to his freelance career, Henson was a staff writer and editor at Weather Underground and at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, which manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research. An expert on tornadoes, thunderstorms and hurricanes, Henson has also analyzed how TV weathercasters cover major storms and report on climate change. His books include THE THINKING PERSON’S GUIDE TO CLIMATE CHANGE, whose original edition was shortlisted for the UK Royal Society Prize for Science Books.

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