Book Description

Midwesterners love to talk about the weather, approaching the vagaries and challenges of extreme temperatures, deep snow, and oppressive humidity with good-natured complaining, peculiar pride, and communal spirit. Such a temperamental climate can at once terrify and disturb, yet offer unparalleled solace and peace.

Leaning into the Wind is a series of ten intimate essays in which Susan Allen Toth, who has spent most of her life in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, reveals the ways in which weather has challenged and changed her perceptions about herself and the world around her. She describes her ever-growing awareness of and appreciation for how the weather marks the major milestones of her life. Toth explores issues as large as weather and spirituality in "Who Speaks in the Pillar of Cloud?" and topics as small as a mosquito in "Things That Go Buzz in the Night." In "Storms," a severe thunderstorm becomes a continuing metaphor for the author's troubled first marriage. Two essays, one from the perspective of childhood and one from late middle age, ponder how the weather seems different at various stages of life but always provides unexpected opportunities for self-discovery, change, and renewal.

The perfect entertainment for anyone who loved Toth's previous books on travel and memoir, Leaning into the Wind offers engaging and personal insights on the delights and difficulties of Midwest weather.

Susan Allen Toth is the author of several books, including Blooming: A Small-Town Girlhood (1981), My Love Affair with England (1992), England As You Like It (1995), and England for All Seasons (1997). She has contributed to the New York Times, the Washington Post, Harper's, and Vogue. She lives in Minneapolis. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

This is a wonderful book!
Toth's reflections on Midwestern weather, and the way it seals and enriches memory for the people who live in it, are astute, poignant, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.No one who has experienced the ambivalent thrill of the eerie calm before a tornado, the grand spectacle of clouds gathering on the prairie sky, the hush of a newfallen snow, or the cleansing effect of a walk by the water on a windy day, will fail to appreciate this book.And those who haven't may well be intrigued that a subject often considered mundane is able to inspire such a fascinating combination of personal memories and deep, universal insights.The epigraphs that introduce each essay are an elegant reminder that Toth is continuing a fine tradition--the Midwestern writer standing in awe of the power, drama, and extraordinary beauty of nature as it unfolds before our eyes.

Essays on the seasons from autumn
An Anglophile myself, Susan Allen Toth first came to my attention with her three 5-star travel narratives about England (MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ENGLAND, ENGLAND AS YOU LIKE IT, ENGLAND FOR ALL SEASONS), and then her reminiscences of growing up in Iowa (BLOOMING) and off to college (IVY DAYS).LEANING INTO THE WIND comes across as a stream of musings about the rest of her life, all given unity by their strong or loose association with Midwestern climatology.

Many of Susan's weather references are symbolic, as alluding to the "storms" that troubled the eleven years of her failed first marriage to Lawrence, or equating Life in general to the "storm" into which we all must step. Indeed, many of the author's insights come from the philosophical viewpoint of one in the autumn of life. Born in the early 40s, if Susan isn't already sixty, she closing on it fast. There are numerous sentences prefaced with "I used to feel", "over my lifetime", "as I've grown older", "when I was young", and "these days".For that reason, LEANING INTO THE WIND will perhaps not appeal to younger readers. One might have to be of "that certain age", or a die-hard Toth fan.

Having lived in Southern California, where the climate is monotonously temperate 24/356, for fifty of my fifty-four years, I can't relate to Susan's description of weather's excesses. I've never personally seen a frozen lake, or had to take refuge in a storm cellar, or experienced eight inches of rain in as many hours. But the beauty of the author's prose is that I can immediately empathize when our experiences do intersect, as when she talks of leaping into an ice-cold pool from cement broiling under the July sun. Or, as sensitive to mosquito bites as she is, listening with dread to the drone of the summer pest in a dark room. Or reveling in the green, cool lushness of an English spring garden. Or smelling burning leaves in fall's nippy air. Toth brings it all back, no matter at what age I experienced the original. For the rest, of which I know nothing, I happily go along for the ride and trust in my guide.

LEANING INTO THE WIND is perhaps not the author's best book; its twelve chapters, though all under the Midwestern weather umbrella, are disparate from one another. And, at only 124 pages, it's overpriced in the hardback format. However, Toth has previously provided me with many hours of congenial reading, so I'll not be too begrudging. Love ya, Susan!

Weather Is Wonderful
A wonderful use of weather as metaphor.These personalized essays have universal appeal as it relates the time of the year with changes in one's life.Toth's style allows the reader into her world.This intimate essays are touching, warm and funny.This book is an engaging journey through the always changing Midwestern weather and the ups and downs of life.I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to everyone.

Weather as Metaphor: An Engaging Memoir
I LOVED THIS BOOK. Toth writes with such color, poignancy and humor that I feel like I am also experiencing the storms, heat, and calms in her life. Toth uses weather as markers for different times and events in her life.The stories of often tempestuous and unpredictable midwest weather unfold into even larger pictures of this fasinating woman's life and experiences.Her tone is unassuming and welcomes me directly into her life.Like a close friend I watch pieces from her life evolve: a troubled first marriage, motherhood, and eventually a happy second marriage.

Because Toth's style is so unassuming and unpretentious, at first you might overlook the fact that this woman really knows how to write.Her language is intelligent and musical, and brimming, like the weather she writes about, with quiet intensity.I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Coping with life and weather
This book arrived from Amazon.com just as my husband and I were about to leave for Newark Airport for a flight to San Antonio to visit our son.While thunderstorms were predicted, Continental Airlines confirmed that our flight would depart on time.This was not to be though as weather delayed us almost three hours.How fitting then to start Susan Allen Toth's book on weather while coping with it ourselves.

Toth's three books on England are superb writings on a country that I too love and visit often.Her newest book stays closer to home though it too did not disappoint me.Toth deals with midwest weather in these essays at the same time that she shares personal scenes from her life with us.I not only felt for her remembrances of love lost, love found, and mother/daughter relationships but actually felt the hot summers, severe winters, and sudden winds of her part of America.

And, since we all deal with weather no matter where we live or what our stories, Toth's book provides a gentle breeze and high hopes that tomorrow will be another day--in spite of today's weather!

I enjoyed this book and recommend it to fans of Susan Allen Toth's earlier books as well as to those unfamiliar with her works. ... Read more

Book Description

Award-winning science writer takes you where only the bravest souls have ventured, and survived - into the frightening path of these violent twisters. He also gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Warner Bros. film from the creators of Jurassic Park and the director of Speed. In collaboration with the makers of the film, Davidson explores the many challenges faced by the producers, the stars, the director and the special effects experts who re-created this wild, mysterious experience. Through fascinating interviews, you'll come to understand just how these incredible storms came to life on the big screen.

Of all the atmospheric storms, tornadoes are the fiercest, concentrating as much energy into a small space and time as numerous atomic-bomb blasts, and posing grave danger to the scientists who study this incredible phenomenon. Swirling at speeds of up to three hundred miles per hour and spewing debris as far as two hundred files away, a writhing tornado leaves behind a trail of tragedy: lives are ruined, families are wiped out, and entire towns are erased from the face of the Earth.

Enhanced with spectacular close-up photographs and easy-to-grasp graphics, TWISTER offers an enthralling profile of these powerful storms, including an in-depth look at the leading tornado-monitoring project, VORTEX. You'll discover a fascinating world of science and mystery, where storm chasers risk their lives for their work. And you'll hear from those who have experienced close encounters with tornadoes as they tell their unforgettable stories. Embark on a journey filled with terror, grief, triumph, and hope -- hope that scientists will soon be able to reliably predict, and in the distant future control, nature's most devastating force: tornadoes.

Reviews (4)

An Interesting Book
The main idea of the book is to narrate a scientist who studied and carried out about twister through out her life. She hoped that she could predict when the twister would come in order to reduce the loss and rescued people from twister. The story also contained some love element.
The leading man and woman both were scientists, and they had the same dreams. I felt that they were very great and brave because analyzing twister was not an easy job. It must spend a lot of time and it was very dangerous. They knew that there were many difficulties but they stilled sacrifice their lives to approach the danger.
After reading this book, I knew that how powerful the twister is. It can destroy all the things within a few minutes. Human is very weak and a lot of events cannot be control by us. We don¡¦t know what will happen, therefore we must cherish the things we have and to do more meaningful things to make our life colourful, just like the character.

INTERESTING, BUT A LITTLE LIGHTWEIGHT
Davidson certainly doesn't deceive anyone with the title of his book. It is about tornado science and the movie, although coverage of the movie making process was a bit spotty. Many will enjoy the tornado stories within; in one a woman is suspended high over a church steeple, afraid that she will collide with a horse suspended likewise.

Overall, though, I was less than fully pleased with this book for two reasons. First of all, it never flows neatly from topic to topic but jumps around instead. Davidson will be telling us about our tornado history and then abruptly switch to talk about the life of a meteorologist or the physics of airflows. There is a lot to cover when writing about tornadoes, but the chapters could have been organized a bit better.

Secondly, the writing style made me feel like a small child in school again. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seemed at times as though Davidson were writing for an audience no older than thirteen. Readers can judge for themselves.

This book will blow your mind!
I was very impressed with this book. It gives in-depth detail about the world of tornado research, and how the movie "Twister" was created. It discusses what VORTEX was, along with personal interviews with the admirable Dr. Erik N. Rasmussen. The stories the victims share are quite amazing as well.

~Laura Duchesne (Storm Chaser)

ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIONAL FROM COVER TO COVER!
MY HUSBAND GAVE ME THIS BOOK FOR MY BIRTHDAY, AND IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST GIFTS I EVER RECEIVED. THE SECTIONS ON PEOPLES PAST TORNADO EXPERIENCES WERE WRITTEN SO WELL, I FELT I WAS LIVING IT AS I READ ... Read more

Book Description

Atmospheric chemistry has been the focus of much research activity in recent years, and there is now heightened public awareness of the environmental issues in which it plays a part.

In a clear, readable style, this important book looks at the insights and interpretations afforded by the research, and places in context the exciting, dramatic, and sometimes disturbing findings.

Like its highly successful predecessor, this new edition lays down the principles of atmospheric chemistry and provides the necessary background for more detailed study. The text has been thoroughly revised and expanded throughout to take into account recent advances in atmospheric science that include a host of new atmospheric measurements, extended laboratory experiments, ever more sophisticated models, and ingenious interpretations of the phenomena.Heterogeneous processes are now known to be of great significance in the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere, and new sections of the book discuss the influence of such processes on both the stratosphere and the troposphere. A major eruption, that of Mount Pinatubo, has highlighted how volcanoes can influence 'natural' atmospheric chemistry, and the opportunity is taken to examine the effects of the gases and particles produced in such eruptions. The startling discovery of the 'Antarctic ozone hole' has now been matched by observations of similar ozone losses in the Arctic; both phenomena are explored in more depth than before, and the whole question of trends in stratospheric ozone concentrations is updated. New topics in tropospheric chemistry that are discussed in this edition for the first time include the atmospheric chemistry of biogenic hydrocarbons, of aromatic compounds, and of halogens and halogen-containing species.

Severalaspects have been added to the examination of air pollution, including the effects of biomass burning.Rapid changes in the composition of the Earth's atmosphere, apparently a result of man's activities, are apparently even having an effect on global climate, and recent assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are presented in this context. Air transport continues to expand, and the influence of aircraft on atmospheric chemistry and, indeed, on climate has excited interest that is explained here. Moving away from Earth, information gathered by the Voyager, Galileo, and other space missions, which have provided a new understanding of the atmosphere of the planets other than our own, is also discussed and brought up to date.

This book does not attempt to suggest answers to the environmental problems facing us, but it lays the foundations for the study of atmospheric chemistry on which rational decisions will need to be based. A multidisciplinary approach is taken throughout in order to highlight the interplay between the atmosphere of a planet and other parts of the environment.This feature makes the book full of interest for chemists, physicists, biologists, and other scientists alike, and accessible to all of them. Readers will find the book an excellent introduction to an exciting topic, and a fascinating source of information about a part of science that is proving to be of key importance. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Solid and engaging read
I read this book as part of a class I took on environmental chemistry. It is thorough and extensive in the subject matter it covers, and was not too difficult to read. Alas, I find the subject matter boring before reading this book, and left with my opinions unchanged. ... Read more

Book Description

This new edition of the premier air pollution textbook is completely updated and revised to include all components of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Fundamentals of Air Pollution, Third Edition covers the spectrum of topics pertinent to the study of air pollution: elements, sources, effects, measurement, monitoring, meteorology, and regulatory and engineering control. In addition, the textbook features new chapters on atmospheric emissions from hazardous waste sites, air pathways from hazardous waste sites, and the long-term effects of air pollution on the earth. It also presents updated information on acidic development, long-distance transport, atmospheric chemistry, and mathematical modeling. With extensive references, suggested reading lists, questions, and new figures and tables, this text will serve as an invaluable resource for students and practitioners alike.

* This new edition features coverage of:Regulatory requirements of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 New developments in the modelling of air qualityAir pollution control Air pollution engineering/atmospheric chemistry ... Read more

Book Description

Before you hike, rock climb, mountain bike, cross-country ski, or canoe far from shelter, you probably better check the weather forecast-yet almost everyone has been caught out in a storm unexpectedly.In Reading Weather, meteorologist Jim Woodmencey gives you the tools you need to help you stay out of the storm's path when you head out for a long trip or even an afternoon hike.In an easy-to-read, informative style, Woodmencey explains weather basics and how to make your own forecasts once you are miles from home by reading clouds, understanding changes in the wind and humidity, and using a barometer.Helpful black-and-white illustrations, tables, and charts make this book a "must read" before your next outdoor adventure and an essential item to carry with you every time you wander far from home. ... Read more

Book Description

In recent years, Earth systems science has advanced rapidly, helping to transform climate change and other planetary risks into major political issues. Changing the Atmosphere strengthens our understanding of this important link between expert knowledge and environmental governance. In so doing, it illustrates how the emerging field of science and technology studies can inform our understanding of the human dimensions of global environmental change.

Incorporating historical, sociological, and philosophical approaches, Changing the Atmosphere presents detailed empirical studies of climate science and its uptake into public policy. Topics include the scientific, political, and social processes involved in the creation of scientific knowledge about climate change; the historical and contemporary role of expert knowledge in creating and perpetuating policy concern about climate change; and the place of science in institutions of global environmental governance such as the World Meteorological Organization, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Together, the essays demonstrate fundamental connections between the science and politics of planet Earth. In the struggle to create sustainable forms of environmental governance, they indicate, a necessary first step is to understand how communities achieve credible, authoritative representations of nature.

Contributors
Paul N. Edwards, Dale Jamieson, Sheila Jasanoff, Chunglin Kwa, Clark Miller, Stephen D. Norton, Stephen H. Schneider, Simon Shackley, Frederick Suppe. ... Read more

Book Description

The new edition of this successful textbook has been completely updated, with extensive new material on thermohaline processes in the ocean and their link to both abrupt and longer-term climate change. It will be an appropriate course and reference book for students studying earth and environmental sciences, oceanography, meteorology and climatology. The book will also be useful for students and teachers of geography, physics, chemistry and biology. First Edition Hb (1996): 0-521-45212-0First Edition Pb (1996): 0-521-58268-7 ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for Clouds in a Glass of Beer — "… informative and engagingly idiosyncratic … brings the subject down to earth with offbeat, everyday examples and easy-to-follow experiments … Both professionals and laymen can learn from this book …" —The New York Times Book Review "A delightful book.…" —Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society "A brilliant collection of intriguing examples of the physics of everyday phenomena, with the examples presented as puzzles." —Discover "We highly recommend Craig Bohren’s book; you will certainly enjoy yourself while learning from the best. "—The Daily Mercury, Guelph (Ontario) Here is the sequel to Craig Bohren’s popular Clouds in a Glass of Beer—the book that opened up the fascinating world of atmospheric physics to nonscientists. Like its predecessor—selected one of the "100 Best Products of the Year" by Curriculum Product News—its lively writing, fun, easy-to-perform experiments, and many photographs and illustrations offer you a great way to learn about a fascinating branch of science. And while it is an entertaining diversion for science enthusiasts, this book is something more. As David Jones—author of the renowned, "Daedalus" column, regularly appearing in Nature magazine—writes in his foreword, "Above all you will learn something of the scientist’s approach to the world, that powerful combination of practical curiosity and developed skepticism." ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Everyday science at its best
A variety of everyday phenomena are explained in this little book (185 pages). Most of it is optics and thermal physics, like frost and dew on the window, interference colors, mirages, heating and cooling (of LA smog, the greenhouse effect) origin of seasons, ...

Quite complex concepts like optical thickness are illustrated with nice experiments (pouring milk in water) and by foot steps in the snow. Don't be afraid of refractive index gradients or polarization upon reflection, Bohren will explain them marvelously.

I hope more physics textbooks would be like this: this is intriguing science whereas geometrical optics, the school book stuff, is mostly boring. Besides, these experiments and observations can be carried out by anybody with commonly available stuff: you only need a light bulb, a ruler and some volunteers to measure solar irrandiance, with 10-20% accuracy. ... Read more

Book Description

This is a new edition of the successful and comprehensive textbook on the atmospheric processes, numerical methods, and computational techniques required for advanced students and scientists to successfully study air pollution and meteorology. ... Read more

Book Description

Weather and climate extremes can significantly impact the economics of a region.This book examines how weather and climate forecasts can be used to mitigate the impact of the weather on the economy. Interdisciplinary in scope, it explores the meteorological, economic, psychological, and statistical aspects of weather prediction. Chapters by area specialists provide a comprehensive view of this timely topic.They encompass forecasts over a wide range of temporal scales, from weather over the next few hours to the climate months or seasons ahead, and address the impact of these forecasts on human behavior. Economic Value of Weather and Climate Forecasts seeks to determine the economic benefits of existing weather forecasting systems and the incremental benefits of improving these systems, and will be an interesting and essential text for economists, statisticians, and meteorologists. ... Read more

Book Description

Cirrus clouds are high, thin, tropospheric clouds composed predominately of ice. In the last ten years, considerable work has shown that cirrus is widespread--more common than previously believed--and has a signigicant impact on climate and global change. As the next generation weather satellites are being designed, the impact of cirrus on remote sensing and the global energy budget must be recognized and accommodated. This book, the first to be devoted entirely to cirrus clouds, captures the state of knowledge of cirrus and serves as a practical handbook as well. Each chapter is based on an invited review talk presented at Cirrus, a meeting hosted by the Optical Society of America and co-sponsored by the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society. All aspects of cirrus clouds are covered, an approach that reaches into diverse fields. Topics include: the definition of cirrus, cirrus climatologies, nucleation, evolution and dissipation, mixed-phase thermodynamics, crystallinity, orientation mechanisms, dynamics, scattering, radiative transfer, in situ sampling, processes that produce or influence cirrus (and vice versa), contrails, and the influence of cirrus on climate. ... Read more

Book Description

Earth's atmosphere, common IFR procedures, high-altitude weather, and special area weather considerations are thoroughly discussed. This is FAA handbook AC00-6A, the first revision since 1975. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Poor
I had to buy this book for one of my classes and fell asleep many times while trying to read the assigned chapters. I have seen books that are much more interesting and do a better job explaining weather (Jeppesen: Aviation Weather).

What the FAA requires you to know as a pilot.
Published as an official FAA Advisory Circular, Aviation Weather (and the accompanying book AC 00-45 Aviation Weather Services) contains the info you will be required to know to pass the FAA private, commercial, and instrument rating written examinations. Aviation Weather is written in an easy-to-understand manner. It discusses the various cloud formations, formation of warm, cold, occluded, and stationary fronts, the life cycle of thunderstorms, winds (both surface and aloft), icing, and many other weather phenomena. Profusely illustrated with charts, graphs, photos, and diagrams. Understand this and you will know how to "fly the weather" competently. A classic book that all pilots should have in their library, with info that will never become outdated. ... Read more

Book Description

This second edition retains the general structure of the first edition, but
has been updated in the light of recent oceanographic research, and improved
as a teaching text on the basis of feedback from past students and other
readers.

Notable additions include new sections addressing the topic of
numerical modelling, and more discussion of natural oscillations in the
ocean-atmosphere system (previously confined to the El Ni¤o phenomenon). In
particular, the Chapter on the North Atlantic now includes a discussion of
the North Atlantic Oscillation, as well as of the Great Salinity Anomaly. In
the final Chapter, treatment of water mass formation has been updated to
reflect recent ideas about the processes involved and how they relate to
climatic change over different time-scales, from decades to millennia.

High quality full colour diagrams
Substantial chapter summaries ideal for revision
Answers, hints and notes for questions at back of the book ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great introduction and background
The Open University series of books on Oceanography is excellent. I would recommend them for anyone wanting a background on the subject, all the way from lay readers to 1st year grad students. As an oceanographer, I still use mine from time to time to refresh my memory! There are intermediate texts, such as Intro to Dynamical Oceanography, but you really can't beat the illustrations and simple explanatory problems of this text for someone's first introduction to the material.

An excellent and comprehensive introduction
This book provides a very accessible introduction to a topic that is often confusing to newcomers. It introduces the concepts and equations of oceanography in a step-by-step manner, with self-quizzes and problems to assist the reader in grasping the concepts. The book is good for people exploring an education in oceanography, or for people who are not oceanographers but need to understand the concepts for their own research. The book takes you from being a novice to understanding the different issues, terminology, and methods of data presentation typical of the field. A grasp of the material puts you in a position to dive into the oceanographic literature and pull out the information relevant to your own field of study. ... Read more

Book Description

An Instant Guide to Weather is an ideal compact identification guide to a subject which preoccupies and affects us all.
From sunshine to snow, hurricanes to holes in the ozone layer, freak conditions to daily forecasting, this user-friendly guide covers the atmosphere, weather systems, clouds, winds, climate and other features of the weather in easy-to-understand terms.Detailed full-color illustrations with informative text and diagrams make it simple to recognize different types of weather and understand their causes. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Chock full of info
I was a little unsure of the book because the description says it has illustrations instead of photographs, but these illustrations far exceeded my expectations. Because they are so good, they probably convey the information better than a photo because the conditions for the clouds can be exact. When it comes to the cloud section, you might not even notice that they are drawings at first.

There is a lot of good information in this little book. It is divided into several sections: atmosphere, weather systems, clouds, precipitation, winds, optical and atmospheric phenomena, climate, and forecasting. When you look at the price, and if it is a topic you are interested, it is hard not to be please with it's purchase. It even has detailed information and a drawing of something called a Brockenspecter. I mean really, what more could you ask for from a little book under five dollars!

Very well illustrated!
The Instant Guide to Weather is one of the best beginning guides for amateur meteorologists. It can also come in handy for advanced weather watchers. Since cumulonimbus clouds are some of the most fascinating clouds to watch, an illustration of this cloud is included on the cover of the jacket.
Now for the pinpoint details: The guide is quite concise and easy to use, especially for the beginning weather watcher. The pictures are beautiful, particularly the cumulus congestus and cumulonimbus ones. The authors should have drawn more pics of cumulus clouds. I feel must deduct one star for this detail, since the Audubon Guide has seven or more pictures of cumulus and cumulonimbus. However, this won't matter to one who has never seen the unabridged Audubon Field Guide. Don't bother wasting your money on this if you already own the full fledged Peterson, Audubon, or Simon and Schuster's guides to weather. It will make this Instant Guide look mediocre.
Otherwise, purchase this to get started on your exciting weather trip! It will prove useful. ... Read more

Book Description

The scope of this book, prepared for the Air Weather Service of the United States Air Force, is to cover all sorts of information in the literature and experience which appear to have a direct utility for forecasters throughout the tropics. The emphasis and point of view are consistently on the practical application. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

excellent
It will be good studing from this boo ... Read more

Book Description

Extreme environmental events, such as floods, droughts, rainstorms, and high winds, have severe consequences for human society.Regional frequency analysis helps to solve the problem of estimating the frequency of these rare events at one site by using data from several sites.This book is the first complete account of the L-moment approach to regional frequency analysis. Regional Frequency Analysis comprehensively describes the theoretical background to the subject, is rich in practical advice for users, and contains detailed examples that illustrate the approach.This book will be of great value to hydrologists, atmospheric scientists and civil engineers, concerned with environmental extremes. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

First complete account on RFA with L-Moments
Hosking and Wallis have succeeded in their book to give a complete overview of the methodology for doing a regional frequency analysis with estimation methods based on L-Moments. They have subdivided the methodology in 4 parts: screening data (using the Wilks discordancy measure), formation of homogeneous regions (using grouping methods with fine tuning by a heterogeneity measure), and selection and estimation of a regional frequency distribution (using a goodness-of-fit measure). In all 4 steps the L-Moments of the available data sets are used for parameter estimation and for deciding on discordancy, heterogeneity and goodness-of-fit. H&W have shown (in their 1980 to 1996 papers and summarizing it in this book) that the approach works well and that it is robust against intersite dependence (certainly present between neighboring sites), robust against small heterogeneity between the sites, and robust against a possible misspecification of the regional distribution. Two large case studies show the methodology in practice.This book will be appreciated by hydrologists and civil engineers in general, because the whole RFA-methodology is contained in one single book (224 pages) added with lots of references for the interested reader. I am sure that H&W may expect quite a number of citations to this work in the near future (they will have mine...)! ... Read more

Book Description

Called the firebox of the atmosphere, the tropics absorb more energy from the Sun than they lose through longwave emissions. The excess energy activates processes across the globe. This book examines the interactions between the surface of the Earth and the atmosphere and considers how the planet's fluid systems accommodate the radiation imbalance between the tropics and the cooler regions of the Earth. ... Read more