Author(s): John P. Rafferty
Language: English
Pages: 367
BOOK COVER......Page 1
TITLE......Page 4
COPYRIGHT......Page 5
CONTENTS......Page 6
INTRODUCTION......Page 11
CHAPTER 1 CLIMATE......Page 22
THE DISTRIBUTION OF RADIANT ENERGY FROM THE SUN......Page 23
THE EFFECTS OF THE ATMOSPHERE......Page 24
AVERAGE RADIATION BUDGETS......Page 27
SURFACE-ENERGY BUDGETS......Page 28
TEMPERATURE......Page 30
THE GLOBAL VARIATION OF MEAN TEMPERATURE......Page 31
DIURNAL, SEASONAL, AND EXTREME TEMPERATURES......Page 32
TEMPERATURE VARIATION WITH HEIGHT......Page 34
CIRCULATION, CURRENTS, AND OCEAN-ATMOSPHERE INTERACTION......Page 35
SHORT-TERM TEMPERATURE CHANGES......Page 38
ATMOSPHERIC HUMIDITY......Page 39
PRECIPITATION......Page 51
ATMOSPHERIC PRESS URE AND WIND......Page 77
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE......Page 78
WIND......Page 80
MONSOONS......Page 103
UPPER-LEVEL WINDS......Page 107
CHAPTER 2 CLIMATIC CLASSIFICATION......Page 123
APPROACHES TO CLIMATIC CLASSIFICATION......Page 126
GENETIC CLASSIFICATIONS......Page 127
EMPIRICAL CLASSIFICATIONS......Page 129
TYPE A CLIMATES......Page 135
TYPE B CLIMATES......Page 139
TYPE C AND D CLIMATES......Page 144
TYPE E CLIMATES......Page 151
TYPE H CLIMATES......Page 154
CHAPTER 3 CLIMATE AND LIFE......Page 156
THE GAIA HYPOTHESIS......Page 157
THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE AND THE ATMOSPHERE......Page 159
THE BIOSPHERE AND EARTH’S ENERGY BUDGET......Page 161
THE CYCLING OF BIOGENIC ATMOSPHERIC GASES......Page 164
BIOSPHERE CONTROLS ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE......Page 171
BIOSPHERE CONTROLS ON THE PLANETARY BOUNDARY LAYER......Page 172
BIOSPHERE CONTROLS ON MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES BY EVAPORATION AND TRANSPIRATION......Page 174
BIOSPHERE CONTROLS ON MINIMUM TEMPERATURES......Page 175
CLIMATE AND CHANGES IN THE ALBEDO OF THE SURFACE......Page 178
THE EFFECT OF VEGETATION PATCHINESS ON MESOSCALE CLIMATES......Page 179
BIOSPHERE CONTROLS ON SURFACE FRICTION AND LOCALIZED WINDS......Page 180
BIOSPHERE IMPACTS ON PRECIPITATION PROCESSES......Page 181
CLIMATE, HUMANS, AND HUMAN AFFAIRS......Page 185
CHAPTER 4 CLIMATE CHANGE......Page 189
THE EARTH SYSTEM......Page 190
EVIDENCE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE......Page 195
SOLAR VARIABILITY......Page 197
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY......Page 198
TECTONIC ACTIVITY......Page 200
ORBITAL (MILANKOVITCH) VARIATIONS......Page 201
FEEDBACK WITHIN THE EARTH SYSTEM......Page 203
HUMAN ACTIVITIES......Page 205
CLIMATE CHANGE WITHIN A HUMAN LIFE SPAN......Page 207
SEASONAL VARIATION......Page 208
INTERANNUAL VARIATION......Page 210
DECADAL VARIATION......Page 213
CLIMATE CHANGE SINCE THE EMERGENCE OF CIVILIZATION......Page 218
CENTENNIAL-SCALE VARIATION......Page 219
MILLENNIAL AND MULTIMILLENNIAL VARIATION......Page 221
CLIMATE CHANGE SINCE THE EMERGENCE OF HUMANS......Page 225
RECENT GLACIAL AND INTERGLACIAL PERIODS......Page 226
GLACIAL AND INTERGLACIAL CYCLES OF THE PLEISTOCENE......Page 230
THE LAST GREAT COOLING......Page 233
CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH GEOLOGIC TIME......Page 234
CENOZOIC CLIMATES......Page 235
PHANEROZOIC CLIMATES......Page 238
THE CLIMATES OF EARLY EARTH......Page 240
ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGES IN EARTH HISTORY......Page 244
CHAPTER 5 GLOBAL WARMING......Page 248
THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT......Page 251
RADIATIVE FORCING......Page 254
THE INFLUENCES OF HUMAN ACTIVITY ON CLIMATE......Page 255
NATURAL INFLUENCES ON CLIMATE......Page 273
FEEDBACK MECHANISMS AND CLIMATE SENSITIVITY......Page 281
CLIMATE RESEARCH......Page 286
MODERN OBSERVATIONS......Page 287
PREHISTORICAL CLIMATE RECORDS......Page 289
THEORETICAL CLIMATE MODELS......Page 290
POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING......Page 295
SIMULATIONS OF FUTURE CLIMATE CHANGE......Page 297
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING......Page 303
SOCIOECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL WARMING......Page 307
GLOBAL WARMING AND PUBLIC POLICY......Page 311
THE IPCC AND THE SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS......Page 315
THE UN FRAMEWORK CONVENTION AND THE KYOTO PROTOCOL......Page 317
FUTURE CLIMATE-CHANGE POLICY......Page 320
GREEN ARCHITECTURE......Page 326
ELECTRIC AND HYBRID VEHICLES......Page 337
BIOFUELS......Page 344
CONCLUSION......Page 349
GLOSSARY......Page 351
CLIMATE......Page 353
CLIMATE AND LIFE......Page 354
CLIMATE CHANGE......Page 355
GLOBAL WARMING SCIENCE......Page 357
GLOBAL WARMING POLICY......Page 358
INDEX......Page 360
BACK COVER......Page 367
