Book Description

The Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. Over the next 100 years, climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social, and economic changes, many of which have already begun. Changes in arctic climate will also affect the rest of the world through increased global warming and rising sea levels. Impacts of a Warming Arctic is a plain language synthesis of the key findings of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), designed to be accessible to policymakers and the broader public. The ACIA is a comprehensively researched, fully referenced, and independently reviewed evaluation of arctic climate change. It has involved an international effort by hundreds of scientists.This report provides vital information to society as it contemplates its responses to one of the greatest challenges of our time. It is illustrated in full-color throughout. ... Read more

Book Description

This Peterson First guide contains easy-to-understand answers to questions about the weather, such as why the sky is blue, what makes it rain, and what causes rainbows. The book also features 116 color photographs that show how to identify clouds, with explanations of what each cloud type tells about the weather to come. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great for beginners!
This is an extremely handy book for making super quick predictions on the skies. Shows all sorts of different cloud formations and what they're bringing with them. Also nice photos of thunderstorms, lightning, etc. Good one to pick up just because.

Simple, easy to read
This is a nice, simple, easy to read book on different types of clouds and weather conditions. Fast reference when you need 'em!

Great book for fledgling meteorologists
This book is a great beginners book. The text is easy to read and the pictures are beautiful. It came in particularly handy for my cloud physics class in which I had to keep a cloud journal. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is an extensive yet self-contained reference of single microparticle studies as they have been performed for many years by the authors. With the range of theoretical and experimental tools available it has become possible to use the many unique properties of droplets and small particles to investigate phenomena as diverse as, linear and nonlinear optics, solution thermodynamics, gas/solid and gas/liquid chemical reactions, transport properties such as gas phase diffusion coefficients, rate processes in the continuum and non-continuum regimes, trace gas uptake by aerosol droplets related to atmospheric chemistry and ozone depletion, phoretic phenomena, Raman spectroscopy, particle charge, evaporation and condensation processes. Throughout the book the main concern of the authors was to provide the reader with a visualization of the significance and application of the theory by experimental results. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive text and reference work on numerical weather prediction covers for the first time, not only methods for numerical modeling, but also the important related areas of data assimilation and predictability. It incorporates all aspects of environmental computer modeling including an historical overview of the subject, equations of motion and their approximations, a modern and clear description of numerical methods, and the determination of initial conditions using weather observations (an important new science known as data assimilation). ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great reference
If you need a good solid reference for the world of weather, you want thisbook.The pictures are excellent.The review questions and sections onapplying your knowledge are relevant to the chapter material and arethought provoking.

The writing is not your typical dry, stuffy textbooklecture.The writing is light, easy to read and interesting.The authorsuse real life experiences to illustrate their discussions.

Anyone canrelate to the illustrations and examples used in this book as nearly everyindividual has some experience with these weather phenomena. ... Read more

Book Description

Rapid progress during the last twenty years has created a host of new technologies for studying electrical storms, including lightning mapping systems, new radars, satellite sensors, and new ways of measuring electric field and particle charge. This book explains how these advances have revolutionized our understanding.The books provides enough background material to make it accessible to a wide audience. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Part of the Problem
The book, THE ELECTRICAL NATURE of STORMS, appears oblivious to interpretation of simple evidence that the earth is negatively charged. (It would be most unlikely for the sun to leave us with a perfect balance, with thermionic emission, solar wind, etc.) Such comprehension would then suggest how electrons leach their way down from the ionosphere as part of negatively charged ions to produce the prevailing lightning to ground that remains uncontested. These ions cluster up during the condensation of moisture and continue to intensify in density as raindrops combine because of their confinement to raindrop surface areas. This sometimes raises high voltages sufficient for thunderbolt production, using energy tapped from convectional forces of storms. Note that new ion production is definitely not required for lightning to be formed. How can experts so presume to explain a technology without mastering the bottom line? Not to kill the messenger: The authors did not create the admittedly flawed technology, and may have been simply reporting it.

With respect to the book: It is suggested here that little more need be spent speculating how storms might proceed to manufacture ionic material (Ch 3, Ch 4): The violent winds have all they can do to spawn sufficient high voltage from existing raw materials before the game is all over. The fact that the vertical mileage embraced by a thunderstorm covers broad temperature ranges does not necessarily establish temperature as a major player in lightning formation (Ch 3). The capacitance between solid/liquid earth and the ionosphere has nothing to do with sustained dc current in the global electrical circuit (Ch 1). Positively charged clouds are no mystery to the casual electronics technician (Ch 3): A good thunderbolt or so from a negatively charged cloud can easily produce a good one by flywheel effect aka inductive kick. An electron in air, being pulled or pushed by other charges, will travel: Conductance be damned (Ch 1).

Contemplate the Faraday cage, in its static state, and in its dynamic formative state. Overcome the subconscious kink that readily supposes repulsive force would alienate all free electrons from each other forever. Earth nets them into an array at the edge of space where they nab molecules that ballast them for descent back into our atmosphere. Scattered ions of moisture are gathered together during rain formation absorbing wind energy that accounts for the consequential increased potentials of static electricity.

The bottom line: The fair weather current; upward negative current flow of some 2 picoamps per square meter is that simple evidence of negative earth charge as mentioned above. All agree that prevailing thunderbolts bring electrons to ground (they strike earth "all of the time"). Naturally, these electrons go back up to complete the circuit. Tell your weatherman that this doesn't require a positive sky. Electrons always travel toward the cathode (negative terminal) inside a power supply! Those electrons are already almost home within the radius of the ionosphere as they emerge. Electrons above push back at them, but not as hard as the greater sky below/behind (ignore the solid earth for now). The electrons above push less against our fair weather electron than all those behind it. For that reason, a positive ionosphere would call an electron down to the center (keep ignoring solid earth) where attractions would balance out. Hence, we have a dynamic Faraday cage. Our electron needn't shun the journey, none of those already up there did.

Here is a tip of the hat to the profound tome under discussion for all its fine detail, but connecting the dots just didn't get me to where they were going. Methinks they chopped the chicken feathers too fine to ever get them put back together again. Where it is here affirmed that the endothermic kernel of lightning formation is compression of like charges, THE ELECTRICAL NATURE of STORMS professes separation of opposite charges for such conversion. What do they do for an encore? The separation concept leads to dispersal (and early termination) of charged particles without a shot at concatenation, whereas the necessary convergence of energy and reiterations of the process are conspicuous advantages of the compression theory. Nevertheless, there is strong reason to believe that our taxes support pursuit of false doctrine conveyed in this book. The writer hereby makes an appeal for thinking people to enlighten our government on this matter. The National Science Foundation apparently faults my theory on the basis of its noncompliance with doctrine from THE ELECTRICAL NATURE of STORMS. Another thing, I hate the pathetic perennial disclaimer that scientists cannot agree on what causes lightning. Show your kids the truth I bring you here. It took me 72 years to stumble upon it! ... Read more

Book Description

Regions with Mediterranean-type climates include parts of California, South America, Australia, and of course, Europe. The effect of global climate change on these heavily populated areas will have major social and political ramifications. This volume addresses issues in these areas, from processes at the leaf level to the individual, ecosystem, and landscape levels. This book will serve to raise awareness on the significance of these types of ecosystems, and on their sensitivity to the threat that global change represents. ... Read more

Book Description

WINNER, 2004 NATIONAL OUTDOOR BOOK AWARD! (Nature & Environment)

Snowflakes may be an everyday, common subject, but you’ve never seen them like this! A collection of amazing photography of snow crystals using a unique system designed to take super-detailed micro images of these miniature ice masterpieces, "The Snowflake" is an extraordinary look at a seemingly ordinary object.

The general public is interested in popular science subjects, weather, and amazing photography. "The Snowflake" has elements of all these, and with its appealing combination of informative text and fascinating photography, there is no other book like it on the market. Author Kenneth Libbrecht, an executive officer of physics at CalTech and the pre-eminent snow-crystal researcher, discusses the physics and mythology of snow and how snow crystals are made. Photographer Patricia Rasmussen presents remarkable color micro-photography of snowflakes, and also discusses the history of snow-crystal micro-photography as invented by farmer Wilson Bentley. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Stunning Photographs. Readable, Informative Text.
The first thing that anyone will notice upon opening "The Snowflake" is Patricia Rasmussen's incredible photographs. I am something of a snowflake enthusiast, and I have never seen such stunning photographs of snow before. There are over 100 exquisitely detailed photographs of snow crystals and snowflakes that will take your breath away. Fans of "The Snowflake Man", W. A. Bentley, will love this book. But it isn't just pretty pictures. The photographs illustrate a text by physicist Kenneth Libbrecht. Dr. Libbrecht is a snow crystal researcher, and his fluid prose successfully communicates the depth of knowledge and enthusiasm he has for his subject. "The Snowflake" has eight chapters, all of which are generously illustrated with photographs and most of which are short. The first seven chapters explain how and why snow crystals form the way they do, as well as the history of our understanding of snow. Libbrecht's text is detailed and technical, but it is very readable and easily understood by a lay person. And he moves onto the next topic before you have a chance to become bored by the particulars of the last. Chapter 8, which is by far the longest chapter at 32 pages, is a "Field Guide to Falling Snow". All types of snow crystal, both common and rare, are described and pictured so that the reader will be able to identify just about anything he/she might encounter falling from the winter sky. "The Snowflake" is a thoroughly enjoyable and genuinely inspiring book. Patricia Rasmussen's photographs are a testament to the extraordinary beauty that can be found is such a small natural wonder as a snowflake. And Kenneth Libbrecht's writing is sure to inspire many of his readers to abandon their cozy living rooms and head outside with a magnifying glass the next time it snows. I think that Dr. Libbrecht succeeds in the seemingly absurd task of making us understand why snow crystals are so fascinating that a person might dedicate his professional life to understanding them. "The Snowflake" is a great winter read, a lovely "coffee table" book, an informative scientific text for enthusiasts of all ages, and it might even cheer you up during the next snow storm. If your car is stuck, your walk needs shoveling, and you are tired of all that white stuff, a chapter of "The Snowflake" and an inexpensive magnifying glass will surely put things in a better light. Fans and practitioners of macro photography will also find this book irresistible.

Beautiful Photos and Inspired Science
It is hard to think of a natural phenomenon that has more intrinsic delight and fascination than a snowflake. Sure, the things pile up and please skiers and dismay drivers, but taken one by one, each snowflake is not only pretty, it has enough complexity and mystery about it to delight any careful observer. In _The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty_ (Voyageur Press), two careful observers have documented what intrigues them about snowflakes. Kenneth Libbrecht is head of the physics department of Caltech, and he not only rushes out with a magnifying glass when it snows, he grows snowflakes artificially in his lab. Patricia Rasmussen is a photographer who started taking pictures of snowflakes with her own equipment and then used Libbrecht's special apparatus. This is a book a little larger than a hundred pages, but the pictures are elegant, and the text tells the current explanations, as far as we now know them (there are still mysteries), of why snowflakes look the way they do.

The famous snowflake pictures of William Bentley inspired Rasmussen to start taking pictures of snow. Bentley's pictures are carefully reproduced white-on-black images, but Rasmussen has experimented with colored light to give multicolored pastels that shine on and through the hundreds of crystals depicted here. There are plenty of the six-armed variety, but also triangular snowflakes, and twelve, eighteen, or twenty-four armed ones, as well as tiny ice crystals shaped like needles, prisms, barrels, or bullets. can form at the right conditions. Different humidity and temperature produces the shapes. For the familiar snowflake, each arm experiences the same microclimate, so each changes in the same way. One arm of a flake thus does not "know" what the other arms are doing so it can turn itself out identically; they are all simply products of identical environmental history. As can be suspected, snowflakes that develop in the same regions have the same general design. But of course, everyone knows that no snowflakes are identical. Libbrecht considers whether this question is really true, and finds it cannot be answered without close considerations of "What is a snowflake?" and "What is identical?"

Snowflake science is here presented clearly and with good humor by someone who obviously loves his work. Libbrecht demonstrates that since a snowflake is a billion billion water molecules grabbed from the atmosphere, some of them are from your own exhalations. He does the calculations to show that about a thousand of the water molecules in every snowflake you see in this book (and of course, any other snowflake) come from you. "Thank you for your contribution," he says, "and keep up the good work." Jaunty and illuminating scientific descriptions, plus the most beautiful pictures of snowflakes ever made, make this a volume that can be valued for eye-catching brilliance or mind-engaging elucidation.

Beautiful and educational
This is a beautiful book that also has solid informative content. It's a great bargain at the Amazon price. Everyone in my family enjoyed it thoroughly.

Wow
This is a terrific book. The photographs are spectacular and even inspiring. After mindlessly shoveling mounds of the stuff this book got me thinking about the incredible confluence of events that go into creating each snowflake.

Breathtaking!
I received this wonderful book as a Christmas present and I didn't put it down, from the moment I unwrapped it, until I finished reading. It is truly a fascinating piece and one that will have you wishing for snow.

Like other reviewers, I thought the photographs were just breathtaking and I was please to see a description of the process used, as well as the equipment, which answered the "How did they do that" question I had throughout the entire work.

The science behind the crystals is just as fascinating as the pictures themselves. This book certainly prompted me to dig out my magnifying glass and has me wishing for snow!

"Tight Lines!"
~..~..~.. ><((((*> ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (4)

Global Warming from Two Cultures.
To most of us Global Warming is a distant and sketchy thing. We don't really know what to believe (although in recent years we haven't had nearly as much snow as before). In Alaska steady warming 'everybody knows is a fact.'

The title comes from the interplay between the whale hunting Inupiaq Eskimos and the visiting scientists trying to get a better understanding of what's happening to the climate of the world. Indeed the strength of the book is in Mr. Wohlforth's understanding of both cultures and with his gift in writing so that he is able to explain the world view of both cultures.

I feel a need to Shout
This Charles man is possessed. This book should be banned from all public libraries. No further comment.

Highly Recommended - Great Read, Lots of Information
I read The Whale and The Supercomputer in one day. It reads like a novel, not like a science book. And yet the information is not skimpy. The science is presented in a clear and engaging fashion.

I enjoyed the book very much, particularly the way the author interweaves stories with technical information. He does a great job of comparing the different cultures, beliefs, and attitudes of the people he met during his research without making judgments or being condescending towards anyone. All points-of-view contribute equally to the discussions. The Whale and The Supercomputer presents a very well-rounded look at the issues of global warming while making the characters come alive. To create change, I believe we need to address issues in both grass-roots bottom-up and political top-down processes. This book gives examples of both ends of the spectrum.

If you are interested in the science of climate, or about Alaska, buy this book.

A MUST read !
In my twenty+ years of working with enviromental issues and the hundreds and hundreds of books I've read on those topics, none have been as good a read as The Whale and the Supercomputer!

There is a clear need, no matter the science, of relating the science to the real world. This book does of great job of doing that on a topic that is so important to our world today and for our kids of tomorrow.

Be entertained as you learn, understand a world so few are fortunate enough to explore. Read this book! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Storm Chaser is a marvelous book about the awesome beauty of atmospheric violence, the people who seek it, and the stunning photographs captured of our turbulent atmosphere at its most dramatic. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Exciting stories with detailed, accurate information.
I've had an avid interest in meteorology since I was a small child, and my bookcase is full of various weather-related books. However, Warren Faidley's "Storm Chaser: In Pursuit of Untamed Skies" is among my most favorite. The breathtaking images coupled with detailed trip logs and weather information make for a very informative, yet interesting read.

Warren Faidley is a very experienced and highly regarded weather photographer. This book definitely does his work justice as he takes you through some of his adventures with a log-style format. Inserted among the stories are his own photographs, which are in full color and are top-notch in quality. All of his accounts are technically accurate and offer a plethora of knowledge about the subject of severe weather and the discipline needed to accomplish the task of chasing storms. In the rear of the book, he also gives a few pages of information on how to photograph your own weather events. From cameras to lenses to technical specs, he covers it all.

Overall, this book is extremely informative for everyone, whether you're a novice or you've been in the field of meteorology for 50 years. I highly reccommend it to anyone wishing to expand their collection of weather reference.

5 star photography, text a little dated
"Strorm Chaser in pursuit of untamed Skies" contains some of the most awesome weather photography you will find anywhere. Lightning, tornadoes cloud formations there all here in incredable photo's.The slightly weaker part of this book is the text (makes for good reading none the less) written mostly in a diary type format that takes you on the chase from warren faidley's earliest days starting as a news photographer to the first attempts at lighting photography to the professional storm chaser. The best reading in the book is the "chase" of hurricane Andrew. Chase is not realy the proper word here it's more like "Lets set up here in this seventh story parking lot and wait" still I found this chapter to be the most adventurest of the book. Interestinly it had the weakest photography in the book, (I'm partial to the lightning and tornado photos).A few points in the book will have you checking the publication date, most noteabley pg 72 "Oklahoma City is located in one of the most potentialy dangerous locations within the (tornado) alley. It has been struck at least 33 times in the past 90 years although NO MAJOR TORNADO HAS STRUCK" (emphass mine) Of couse that all changed forever on May 3rd 1999, when one of the greatest outbreaks of tornados ever stuck the oklahoma city area with dozens of tornados including several F4's and f5's. Still if you ever find yourself channel surfing and realize you spend a lot of time on the weather channel or love to wacth those specials about wild weather on the discovery channel like I do, you will throughly enjoy this book.

The best for beginer or future storm chaser's
The very best book on storm photography! If you like the idea of storm chasing as a carrer, than this book is for you! I plan to become a storm photographer after I finish college. Hands down, Warren Faidley is one heck of a photo jurnalist!

100% Faidley
Warren Faidley, the world's only full-time storm-chasing journalist and his bestselling book are known by many in the small storm chasing community. Storm Chaser is perfect for the coffee table and for those who enjoy great weather photography but do not intend to study the scientific part of it seriously. This is a true-blue Faidley product: glossy, full color photos, excellent book layout, a sense of fun, but not much attention paid to meteorological aspects of storm chasing. For those who want some serious stuff, try Prof. Bluestein's "Tornado Alley".

Batton Down The Hatches!
Ever been in a tornado? I have, well not actually in one, but Warrien Faidley put you in the vortex of some of the best severe weather situations! This book is a must for any weather enthusaist. Even if you don't like to read, look at the coolest pictures of Lighting and Tornados. Follow Warren through his chase diary, you will honestly feel like you are with him on his chase! Check it out, it's worth the money! ... Read more

Book Description

The Second Edition of Roland Stull's METEOROLOGY FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS lets professors quantify the concepts in Ahren's METEOROLOGY TODAY, SEVENTH EDITION like never before. This book can serve as a technical companion to Ahren's text or as a stand-alone text. It provides the mathematical equations needed for a higher level of understanding of meteorology. The organization is mapped directly to the Ahrens book, making Stull's text a perfect companion. More than a lab manual or workbook, this text contains detailed math and physics that expand upon concepts presented in Ahrens' text, as well as numerous solved problems. This text demonstrates how to use mathematical equations (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and finite differential equations) to explain the dominant characteristics of certain atmospheric phenomena and processes. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Must have reference!
Want to know a little more about hurricanes? Air pollution? Thunderstorms? Stull presents terrific synopses of many meteorological topics. He doesn't try to be the expert in every sub-specialty in the field; instead, he provides the basic material and encourages the reader to seek additional information from expert books and web sites. I'm currently taking a class in atmospheric transport and diffusion. Stull summarizes the course material and leads me to references I didn't know existed. I'm ordering this book as a reference now and as a starting point for future study.

Excellent all-encompassing book!
This is the most complete introductory-advanced book I have seen to date. It covers many pertinient subjects. Important meteorological concepts are explained in enough detail to satisfy even the more advanced users, but simple enough to give the beginner excellent insight. These concepts do not have to be presented in a difficult fashion to make the author appear intelligent - he makes a bold, simple statement by taking tough concepts and making them understandable to the masses! ... Read more

Book Description

Oceans play a pivotal role in our weather and climate. Ocean-borne commerce is vital to our increasingly close-knit global community. Yet we do not fully understand the intricate details of how they function, how they interact with the atmosphere, and what the limits are to their biological productivity and their tolerance to wastes. While satellites are helping us to fill in the gaps, numerical ocean models are playing an important role in increasing our ability to comprehend oceanic processes, monitor the current state of the oceans, and to a limited extent, even predict their future state.
Numerical Models of Oceans and Oceanic Processes is a survey of the current state of knowledge in this field. It brings together a discussion of salient oceanic dynamics and processes, numerical solution methods, and ocean models to provide a comprehensive treatment of the topic. Starting with elementary concepts in ocean dynamics, it deals with equatorial, mid-latitude, high latitude, and coastal dynamics from the perspective of a modeler. A comprehensive and up-to-date chapter on tides is also included. This is followed by a discussion of different kinds of numerical ocean models and the pre- and post-processing requirements and techniques. Air-sea and ice-ocean coupled models are described, as well as data assimilation and nowcast/forecasts. Comprehensive appendices on wavelet transforms and empirical orthogonal functions are also included.
This comprehensive and up-to-date survey of the field should be of interest to oceanographers, atmospheric scientists, and climatologists. While some prior knowledge of oceans and numerical modeling is helpful, the book includes an overview of enough elementary material so that along with its companion volume, Small Scale Processes in Geophysical Flows, it should be useful to both students new to the field and practicing professionals.

* Comprehensive and up-to-date review
* Useful for a two-semester (or one-semester on selected topics) graduate level course
* Valuable reference on the topic
* Essential for a better understanding of weather and climate ... Read more

Reviews (3)

overpriced and not necessarily useful
This is a suprisingly overpriced and depth-lacking
book. I am stunned, definitely stunned.

It may probably be used to some advantage by beginners
and/or practitionners of ocean modeling, but as an in
depth guide it just does not do.

I found myself wanting to use it when I picked up knowledge
on the Bryan-Semtner-Cox ocean model from the perspective
of an independent model developer and I found out that
the book was on the whole pretty useless in its content
and structure (i.e. layout).

It probably deserves more than one star, but the
massively exaggerated price just isn't justified.

Instead I would recommend the books by Haidvogel,
Beckman or Kowalik and Murty (both at WSPC) in
addition to some OGCM user guides and papers on the
WEB.

Anyway, similar remarks do apply to Kantha's other
book on Small-scale processes in GFD, although I
found that slightly more useful.

Nevertheless, I should acknowledge the authors' great
courage in attempting so ambitious and potentially
most useful projects. Maybe getting together in a
larger team with better articulated competences would
have helped here.

the best example to buid a model
This book is not only for ocean's specialists but all people concerned with environemental activities. Anyway I'am a teacher in advanced economics in France and I use this book as the best example of complex and multivariables model. The authors demonstrate clearly (read the foreword) the necessity for students to enlarge the field of their scientifics investigations to biochemical, numerical analysis, computing, climate. This book could be read by anyone with a little background in mathematics and with a lot of curiosity.

A great book in modeling
This book is amazing. You can learn basic physics from chapter, you can learn powerful analysis techiques from appendixs. Obviously authors can clearify very complicate physics phenomena in a simple way, with the help of modeling work. ... Read more

Book Description

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize

The early years of the nineteenth century saw an intriguing yet little-known scientific advance catapult a shy young Quaker to the dizzy heights of fame. The Invention of Clouds tells the extraordinary story of an amateur meteorologist, Luke Howard, and his groundbreaking work to define what had hitherto been random and unknowable structures—clouds.

In December 1802, Luke Howard delivered a lecture that was to be a defining point in natural history and meteorology. He named the clouds, classifying them in terms that remain familiar to this day: cirrus, stratus, cumulus, and nimbus. This new and precise nomenclature sparked worldwide interest and captured the imaginations of some of the century's greatest figures in the fields of art, literature, and science. Goethe, Constable, and Coleridge were among those who came to revere Howard's vision of an aerial landscape. Legitimized by the elevation of this new classification and nomenclature, meteorology fast became a respectable science.

Although his work is still the basis of modern meteorology, Luke Howard himself has long been overlooked. Part history of science, part cultural excavation, The Invention of Clouds is a detailed and informative examination of Howard's life and achievements and introduces a new audience to the language of the skies.
... Read more

Reviews (16)

Excellent book regarding clouds and their names
This oddly shaped (5.5 inches tall by 8 inches long) historical volume deftly captures the societal context and impact of pharmacist Luke Howard's classification of cloud types in the early 1800s. Hamblyn, a British historian of geophysical sciences, superbly limns the self-improving scientific ethos of Howard's Quaker working-class milieu. This portion of the book is excellent history, not just excellent history of science. However, the center of the book does not quite hold: Howard and the invention of his cloud scheme can be covered in far fewer than 403 pages. The last quarter of The Invention of Clouds strays farther and farther from the title, e.g., with a diverting chapter on the Beaufort wind scale. Hamblyn's failure to fully examine Howard's classification scheme in light of modern cloud observations will frustrate meteorologists. Even more frustrating for the general reader is the lack of any cloud photographs--despite the fact that the design of the book is perfect for landscape-oriented plates. Nevertheless, Hamblyn's prose brings Luke Howard, his time, and his clouds to life for the first time, a praiseworthy accomplishment. Suitable for most readers; the meteorology is explained at the introductory level.

The Man Who Named the Clouds
"The Invention of Clouds" is an endearing little book about a generally forgotten moment in the history of science. It seems obvious to us today but until Englishman Luke Howard, a chemist with an interest in the then-young science of meteorology, gave a public lecture on cloud classification in London in 1802, nobody had been able to categorize cloud formations in an easily-understood and consistent manner. The terms we take for granted-cumulus, cirrus, stratus and so forth-were applied by the 30 year-old Howard for the first time. He drew upon his classical education to find suitable Latin names for what he termed "the modifications of clouds." He understood that clouds pass through stages and in his lecture he described the changes they underwent. His audience understood immediately the importance of his lecture and it was published soon afterwards to great acclaim.

Luke Howard became famous throughout the world. It is clear that he must have viewed this with mixed feelings. As a modest Quaker, he did not seek celebrity but as a scientist he was undoubtedly proud of his accomplishment. It is a beautiful achievement. By naming that which was ever-present but unnamed, Luke Howard helped forge the language of meteorology and provided some of the most important tools for weather observation and forecasting. His Latin names speak to the universality of climate and his detractors, who felt that the classifications should have been in English, were soon silenced. The book describes the reaction of artists as well. On the one hand, there were those who believed that clouds, as objects of great natural beauty and a symbol of freedom, would lose something by being systematically classified, as if they were species of beetles, but others, including the painter Constable, used the classification of the clouds as a basis for their art. The great genius of the period, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, completely enchanted by Luke Howard's work and personality, dedicated a series of marvellous poems to him, with each stanza based on one of the new cloud-forms.

But even having poetry dedicated to you by Goethe is not enough to claim enduring fame. Luke Howard seems to have lived a quiet existence, marked by some success in business and a happy family life. He died at the age of 91, remembered fondly by only his relatives. Richard Hamblyn, in writing this book, must have struggled to develop enough material as it appears that the lecture of 1802 was the high point of Luke Howard's scientific life and his attention was then taken up more by commerce and religious issues. Mr. Hamblyn gives us a history of the earlier attempts to define clouds, reaching back to Aristotle. He throws in the story of the Beaufort Wind Scale, which was inspired by but not as readily-accepted as Luke Howard's cloud system. He deals with the subsequent amendments to the cloud classifications and we learn of the International Meterological Conference and its winsomely-named Cloud Committee, which was to produce the International Cloud Atlas.

All very interesting, but it is in the sections about Luke Howard and his contemporaries, fascinated by the rapid progress in science at the end of the 18th Century, where the book is most alive. Richard Hamblyn ably paints a picture of London's crowded lecture halls where science was popular culture, of dangerous experiments and fantastic personalities. Men of brilliant and adventurous minds, often denied higher education due to their religion, could look into the future and stake a claim. The author, in sharing Luke Howard's triumph with us, has written an elegant work brimming with enthusiasm.

A look at how early 19th-century science worked
This book takes you to England of around 1800, when a young amateur scientist managed to come up with the nomenclature we use to this day to classify clouds. The life of Luke Howard is fascinating in and of itself as he goes about his scientific and business dealings. The author also notes why Mr. Howard's system became the system used today, even though it was only one of several major attempts to classify clouds as meteorology became more systematic. The book covers its topic well and would be of interest to anyone interested in the history of meteorology or scientific inquiry.

The creation of a new language of science and art.
A young man, obsessed with clouds and their formation, makes a detailed study of them. All this has been done before, but never in such a concise, visionary way, nor with a naming convention as brilliant in its simplicity, expressiveness and utility as Luke Howard's.

His story is dealt with in a series of chapters that digress from the main thrust of the book to outline the history of the philosophical changes that were taking place, in Europe particularly. Almost any cockeyed idea found a ready audience, who were equally ready to dismiss ideas out-of-hand. The trick was presentation. Many of the famous names in science at the end of the 18th century were showmen, financing their researches by giving displays or private shows... getting your name known was half the battle.
Luke Howard was born into a world where being in the right place at the right time meant more than any social connections or political clout.
But, being a Dissenter, he had no formal education, no political clout and no social connections - not much chance for him to get his ideas aired, it seemed. Nor was he a showman - his Quaker upbringing saw to that - so luck, and dedication, came to his assistance.

Philosophical societies and journals were in their infancy, and were ready to embrace anyone who could increase membership or circulation. This was the chance, and in an hour-long presentation, young Howard captivated his audience and introduced a naming system for clouds, which is still in use today, 200 years on. This was what meteorology had been waiting for - a standard method of logging cloud formations. This was invaluable too for poets and writers, who suddenly found a new addition to their descriptive vocabulary. Small wonder that cirrus, cumulus and nimbus quickly entered everyday conversation (the Englishman's main topic being the weather).

The book is very well written, giving us a feel for the social, political and philosophical climate in the Napoleonic era. By various pertinent descriptions of people and events directly and indirectly connected with Howard, we are introduced to some of the greats of the Age of Enlightenment; but none of it feels contrived or beside the point, nor is it ever boring.

This is an enthralling read, illustrating how easily a single person or idea can change the direction and thrust of a science... Well worth reading.

Reading Atop Cloud Nine
Luke Howard was an amateur in the true sense of the word; Luke Howard named the clouds for the love of them. Richard Hamblyn does a fine job telling the story of Luke Howard's life, his naming of the clouds, and Howard's milieu in the book The Invention Of Clouds. Howard, a Quaker and a pharmacist, went from unknown working man to celebrity when he presented his paper "On The Modifications Of Clouds" to the Askesian Society in London on a night in December of 1802. The paper had the right combination of insights, poetry, and luck to insure that the terms cirrus, stratus, cumulus, and nimbus [or derivatives] are still being used by meteorologists today. Hamblyn's weave of biography, history, art, and science was enjoyable to read and held together most of the time [Chapter 10: The Beaufort Scale was not as well connected to book as the rest of the material]. The hardback is such a beautiful and unusual book, I shelved my copy, waited for the paperback to read it, and then donated the paperback to the high school library. I highly recommend The Invention Of Clouds to anyone with an interest in meteorology, history, Quakerism, or biography. ... Read more

Book Description

John Houghton explores the scientific basis of global warming and the likely impacts of climate change on human society in this comprehensive guide to the subject. He then addresses the action that could be taken by governments, industry and individuals to mitigate the effects of global warming. Previous Edition Hb (1997): 0-521-62089-9 Previous Edition Pb (1997): 0-521-62932-2 ... Read more

Reviews (3)

confusing
This is the first book I've read on global warming. I'm writing an argumentative essay for my college english class about global warming, and this book isn't helping me much. I haven't finished reading it, but what I have read just confuses me. It is, however, very informative.

Much ado about nothing
Houghton writes well, of course, but his book misses the actual point of the global warming debate. Global warming is probably not man-made. It matters little how many arguments for this view can be amassed, what matters is that the evidence against anthropogenic climate influence is studiously ignored.

A book should strive to tell the truth. The truth does not come through if it is avoided. The author should have been careful to meet all arguments against belief in anthropogenetic climate alteration, but chose not to. That is cheap and less than honest, intellectually and otherwise.

The book does not even give alternatives a chance to be reviewed, nor does it accept the fact that the minority view normally tends to be the correct one in scientific matters. These are not popularity contests. A majority of scientists believe that...etc. That is horsemanure. The truth matters, not a democratic majority, for in the end truth should be all that matters. Most ground breaking scientists were a woeful minority consisting of themselves. Yet they were often right.

In fact, this book simply misleads rather than educates, which is a shame.

Informative and stimulating overview of global warming issue
This is the first book I have read on global warming. Sir John Houghton has provided a carefully written account, with good explanations, fairly thorough referencing, and informative charts and figures. The subject of global warming is presented from a multifaceted perspective, with both informative factual material as well as elements of a personal perspective, introduced in a non-forceful but persuasive manner.

The book is aimed at those who know little about climatology or global warming. It will help to have some general scientific background. The pertinent facts - how much we have increased the atmosphere's CO2 concentration, in what way this gas effects the earth's energy balance, etc. - are available here, and the information is referenced to primary scientific sources. The prognosis for a warming of the atmosphere is gently asserted in the affirmative, but the uncertainties are also presented. Without being a climatologist, I found most of my qestions of this nature were answered. The only point I was curious about but found missing was what recent changes in glaciers tell us about the present tendency of global temperature.

After presenting the data, the models and arguing gently for a moderate warming tendency, Houghton presents several nice chapters on effects (potentially severe) and responses to the problem, with a particular emphasis on energy. The suggested responses leave one with the sense that Houghton is an optimist. He incites to action, where it is hard to imagine today's politicians asking us to change our habits so fundamentally.

This book is stimulating, both on the subject of global warming (whether or not it is occurring, how much, what is our role), as well as on the potential consequences and suitable responses. Considering that a response is advisable - a point of view which Houghton advances - one is left with a sense of the large scale of the responses which are necessary to reverse the accumulation of CO2: is mankind's ability to improvise its way out of a fix capable of dealing with a problem whose solution would require changes of this magnitude? ... Read more

Book Description

Complete with numerous exercise sets and solutions, this work is written for advanced students of meteorology and related sciences as well as professional meteorologists and researchers.The first part of the book presents the mathematical tools needed for a thorough understanding of the topics covered in the second.These topics include kinematics of the atmosphere; inertial and dynamic stability; turbulent systems; and novel weather prediction methods with potential for extending the forecasting range. ... Read more

Book Description

Richard Alley, one of the world's leading climate researchers, tells the fascinating history of global climate changes as revealed by reading the annual rings of ice from cores drilled in Greenland. In the 1990s he and his colleagues made headlines with the discovery that the last ice age came to an abrupt end over a period of only three years. Here Alley offers the first popular account of the wildly fluctuating climate that characterized most of prehistory--long deep freezes alternating briefly with mild conditions--and explains that we humans have experienced an unusually temperate climate. But, he warns, our comfortable environment could come to an end in a matter of years.

The Two-Mile Time Machine begins with the story behind the extensive research in Greenland in the early 1990s, when scientists were beginning to discover ancient ice as an archive of critical information about the climate. Drilling down two miles into the ice, they found atmospheric chemicals and dust that enabled them to construct a record of such phenomena as wind patterns and precipitation over the past 110,000 years. The record suggests that "switches" as well as "dials" control the earth's climate, affecting, for example, hot ocean currents that today enable roses to grow in Europe farther north than polar bears grow in Canada. Throughout most of history, these currents switched on and off repeatedly (due partly to collapsing ice sheets), throwing much of the world from hot to icy and back again in as little as a few years.

Alley explains the discovery process in terms the general reader can understand, while laying out the issues that require further study: What are the mechanisms that turn these dials and flip these switches? Is the earth due for another drastic change, one that will reconfigure coastlines or send certain regions into severe drought? Will global warming combine with natural variations in Earth's orbit to flip the North Atlantic switch again? Predicting the long-term climate is one of the greatest challenges facing scientists in the twenty-first century, and Alley tells us what we need to know in order to understand and perhaps overcome climate changes in the future. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Timely and important information about climate change
The whole issue of global warming has seemed confusing to the ordinary punter. On the one hand we hear dire warnings, on the other we also hear that "the jury is still out". This book was written by a scientist who was involved in analysing the information provided by ice cores during "three trips to Antarctica, five trips to Greenland, and countless hours in frozen laboratories". He knows what he is talking about. In this book he explains for the lay reader why the two-mile ice cores obtained from Greenland are so important, what they tell us about the Earth's climate in the past (and how this information is supported by other climate records), and what they suggest about the Earth's climate in the future.

The ice core data is recent and very important. I think that anyone having read this book will be up to date with the latest scientific data on climate change and its scientific justification. While some of the information is rather technical, the author has successfully attempted to make it understandable, interesting and relevant for the non-scientist.

Not like the cubes in your fridge
Alley joins the growing number of field scientists relating their experiences and the research performed by them. In his case the field is the top of the Greenland Ice Cap. The research is the study of ice patterns stretching back over 100 000 years. What do these patterns tell us? Need we care? He explains detail with clarity and detail how the research is done, and describes what has been revealed by it. What those finds tells us of the past, present and might mean in the future become the remainder of the book. One thing stands out vividly - climate not only varies more than we believe, it changes far more rapidly than we expected.

The Greenland Ice Cap bears an astonishingly detailed record of environmental events. Far more than simply packed snow, this massive archive keeps information about distant volcanic events, how much salt is in the sea water and what kind of winds played over the Earth's surface. Even conditions in distant Asia are recorded here in the dust layered within the ice. There are records of long periods of cold and announcements about continental drifting. Alley explains all the elements that must be examined in the layered ice, how they came about and why they occurred. Earth's solar orbit, its tilting angle to the sun, and the slow precessional rotation of the poles. All these motions are further complicated by oceanic currents, wind patterns and humidity levels. Alley describes tracking some of the variations as "following a roller-coaster with a man bouncing on a bungee cord while spinning a yo-yo". It's a dizzying picture and he's quick to point out that many points remain unexplained.

Is this an issue that should concern us? Human history from the onset of agriculture has been a period of unusual stability. The future, Alley tells us, is highly uncertain. The only certainty is that climate will change - it must. Global warming is a fact, not a supposition, he asserts. One result of it will be the addition of fresh water into the "conveyor belt" of oceanic water exchange. The North Atlantic is the key site. Interruption of that exchange by extra meltwater from North America will intrude - chilling northern Europe. Human populations will be affected differently in various places. There will be winners and losers in this situation, but the losers will certainly outnumber the winners. How severe will the changes be? "I don't know". How fast will the changes come about? "I don't know". His lack of knowledge doesn't stem from lack of effort. He reminds us that the information gleaned from Greenland is still new. There's much to learn and do. He calls to us: "Send us your brightest students to help, and cheer them on!". A good piece of advice, but not one likely to be taken by a people choosing business instead of science.
[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Superb presentation of solid (ice) science
The remarkable discovery of abrupt climate change is presented at what I considered just the right level. The annotated bibliography refers the reader to the original research papers. The acknowledgements are a graceful and detailed tribute to the author's colleagues. No superfluous material. The author's scientific personality shines through. This is the most enjoyable science book I've read in the past few years.

No unifying theme
While this book is a nice quick read, I find that it lacks unity. Alley spends much time discussing the 'conveyor belt' of ocean currents, and how it's shutdown causes world cooling. However, in later sections he states that greenhouse gases will likely warm the planet. This contradicts his earlier statements that short term warming causes ice melting, shutting down the ocean currents, and utimately _cooling_ the earth - possibly even putting it in an ice age.

If anything, the book is a mosaic of the tools scientists use to try and study earth's climate. However, what one takes away from this book is that we really don't know how it works -we just have good ideas. The final chapters are laden with comments about how we have no idea what the future holds in terms of climate. This detracts from the earlier discussion since it seems like we have no reason to believe Alley.

The analogies used in this book are also quite poor. Please give your readers some credit. The analogies are so dummed down that they are outright ridiculous. They would be appropriate for a 10-year old (or younger).

Covers a lot in a small space
Although I never completed the degree, I have most of a baccalaureate in geology. Since paleontology and earth history were my main interests, the title Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future by Richard B. Alley naturally caught my eye. The book is an excellent exposition on the recent data collection from ice cores obtained from the more stable portions of the Greenland ice sheet. I had come across this data source before while on a geologic field trip on Santorini helping with research on the volcanic activity that occured there during the Minoan period. It had been information from this source that had helped to date the volcanic event, so I was particularly interested in learning more about how it was obtained and about its reliability.

In part two of the text, the author lucidly describes the rationale behind the selection of ice and of Greenland as an "archival" source. He discusses the methods in and problems of obtaining and preserving the material intact and uncontaminated and the methods of analysis that produced the data. Throughout the following chapters, he lays out for the reader the thinking that went into its interpretation and how this information can be used as a paradigm with which future outcomes of climate change might be predicted. Because Alley, a professor of geoscience at Penn State, took an actual part in all of these proceedings and is an active scientist himself, he is well positioned to give an informative account of the topic. He also has a readable writing style which many such individuals do not.

Although I felt that his attempt to "get down to" the level of his non-technical audience was sometimes a little patronizing, I did think that his explanations of some of the physical systems was very clear. The description of the events leading to and during the Younger Dryas got a little confusing with the comparison to a roller coaster with a bungee jumper and a yo-yo, but by the end of the chapter one still had a fair idea of what he was trying to convey.--I think he was just trying a little too hard. His explanations of important environmental cycles with which I was already familiar--like those of the carbon, the water, the heat distribution, the oceanic and lake water overturn, and atmospheric cycles and those of the Coriolis and Milankovich effects--were very clear. In fact they were clearer than some textbook descriptions I've read. Although I had read of the effects of fresh water on the North Atlantic "conveyor belt" and its subsequent effect on global climate, I had not encountered the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycle or the Heinrich-Bond oscillations in my reading in the past. The author's presentation was therefore of interest to me.

For most readers, part five will probably be of greatest interest. Here the author puts what is known or suspected of climatic mechanics to work in predicting possible impacts of human activity on global climate and the world's population. Here too he points out the nature of the scientific method and its limitations. He is quite clear that some of what he states in his final analysis with respect to the future is personal opinion and not science.

As an earlier reviewer points out, the book is an excellent portrayal of how science works, particularly in the aspects of framing a problem and a means of approaching it experimentally, and interpreting the data that arises therefrom. I found it a very entertaining book. ... Read more