Most of us have heard the dire predictions about global warming. Some experts insist that warming has already started, and they warn of such impending disasters as the sea level rising to flood coastal cities. Others, however, have issued loud counterclaims, assuring us that global warming is a myth based on misleading data. How can we tell who is right, and how we should respond? And why is there no scientific consensus on a matter of such vital importance? George Philander addresses these questions in this book, as he guides the nonscientific reader through new ideas about the remarkable and intricate factors that determine the world's climate.
In simple, nontechnical language, Philander describes how the interplay between familiar yet endlessly fascinating phenomena--winds and clouds, light and air, land and sea--maintains climates that permit a glorious diversity of fauna and flora to flourish on Earth. That interplay also creates such potent weather disrupters as El Nińo and La Nińa, translates modest fluctuations in sunlight into global climate changes as dramatic as the Ice Age, and determines the Earth's response to the gases we are discharging into the atmosphere, such as those that led to the ozone hole over Antarctica and those that are likely to cause global warming. In his discussion of these matters, Philander emphasizes that our planet is so complex that the scientific results will always have uncertainties. To continue to defer action on environmental problems, on the grounds that more accurate scientific results will soon be available, could lead to a crisis. To make wise decisions, it will help if the public is familiar with the geosciences, which explore the processes that make ours a habitable planet.
The book is an excellent introduction to the basics of the Earth's climate and weather, and will be an important contribution to the debate about climate change and the relationship between scientific knowledge and public affairs.
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Preface | ||
1 | Between the Idea and the Reality | 3 |
2 | Is Our Planet Fragile or Robust? | 11 |
3 | Light and Air | 31 |
4 | Why the Peak of a Mountain Is Cold | 55 |
5 | Capricious Clouds | 76 |
6 | The Climate Tapestry | 89 |
7 | Weather, the Music of Our Sphere | 106 |
8 | The Ocean in Motion | 125 |
9 | El Nino, La Nina, and the Southern Oscillation | 143 |
10 | The Paradox of the Faint Sun but Warm Earth | 161 |
11 | Why Summer Is Warmer than Winter: The Cycles of Seasons and of Ice Ages | 170 |
12 | The Ozone Hole, a Cautionary Tale | 183 |
13 | Global Warming, Risky Business | 191 |
App. A1.1 | Exponential Growth and Decay | 209 |
App. A1.2 | Establishing a Chronology | 210 |
App. A2.1 | Gaia | 214 |
App. A2.2 | Chaos | 215 |
App. A3.1 | Earthshine | 217 |
App. A3.2 | The Scattering of Light | 217 |
App. A3.3 | Blackbody Radiation | 218 |
App. A3.4 | Effective Temperatures of the Planets | 219 |
App. A3.5 | The Greenhouse Effect | 221 |
App. A4.1 | The Scale Height of the Atmosphere | 226 |
App. A4.2 | The Adiabatic Lapse Rate | 228 |
App. A5.1 | Measuring Moisture in the Atmosphere | 231 |
App. A5.2 | Earth's Energy Budget | 232 |
App. A5.3 | How Many of Your Molecules Have Been to the Moon? | 233 |
App. A6.1 | Conservation of Angular Momentum | 234 |
App. A6.2 | The Coriolis Force | 235 |
App. A6.3 | Shape of Earth | 237 |
App. A6.4 | Gradient Winds | 237 |
App. A7.1 | Predicting the Weather | 240 |
App. A8.1 | The Seasonal Thermocline | 242 |
App. A8.2 | The Perpetual Salt Fountain | 242 |
App. 9 | El Nino, La Nina, and the Southern Oscillation | 244 |
App. A10.1 | Weathering | 246 |
App. A10.2 | Properties of the Planets | 247 |
App. 11 | Earth's Sensitivity to Perturbations | 248 |
App. 12 | The Ozone Layer | 249 |
App. 13 | Global Warming | 250 |
Glossary | 251 | |
References | 257 | |
Index | 259 |
Le informazioni nella sezione "Su questo libro" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
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Da: Irlanda a: Italia
Descrizione libro Condizione: New. How can we tell who is right, and how we should respond? And why is there no scientific consensus on a matter of such vital importance? This work addresses these questions. It describes how the interplay between familiar phenomena, winds and clouds, light and air, maintains climates that permit a diversity of fauna and flora to flourish on Earth. Num Pages: 240 pages, 5 tables, 85 line illus. BIC Classification: PDZ; RBP; RNPG. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 229 x 152 x 17. Weight in Grams: 399. . 2000. Paperback. . . . . Codice articolo V9780691050348
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Descrizione libro PAP. Condizione: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000. Codice articolo WP-9780691050348
Descrizione libro paperback. Condizione: New. Language: ENG. Codice articolo 9780691050348
Descrizione libro Condizione: New. How can we tell who is right, and how we should respond? And why is there no scientific consensus on a matter of such vital importance? This work addresses these questions. It describes how the interplay between familiar phenomena, winds and clouds, light and air, maintains climates that permit a diversity of fauna and flora to flourish on Earth. Num Pages: 240 pages, 5 tables, 85 line illus. BIC Classification: PDZ; RBP; RNPG. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 229 x 152 x 17. Weight in Grams: 399. . 2000. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Codice articolo V9780691050348
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Descrizione libro Paperback / softback. Condizione: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. How can we tell who is right, and how we should respond? And why is there no scientific consensus on a matter of such vital importance? This work addresses these questions. It describes how the interplay between familiar phenomena, winds and clouds, light and air, maintains climates that permit a diversity of fauna and flora to flourish on Earth. Codice articolo B9780691050348
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Descrizione libro Condizione: New. Codice articolo 400980-n