Human Impacts on Weather and Climate

Written for undergraduates, graduates in atmospheric and environmental science, this 2007 text examines impacts on the Earth's climate.

William R. Cotton (Author), Roger A. Pielke, Sr (Author)

9780521600569, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 1 February 2007

332 pages, 84 b/w illus. 20 colour illus.
24.5 x 17.5 x 1.7 cm, 0.66 kg

'… a good contribution to the present debate about humans' influence on climate; it brings in many different and valid view points.' Meterorologische Zeitschrift

This 2007 edition of Human Impacts on Weather and Climate examines the scientific and political debates surrounding anthropogenic impacts on the Earth's climate and presents the most recent theories, data and modeling studies. The book discusses the concepts behind deliberate human attempts to modify the weather through cloud seeding, as well as inadvertent modification of weather and climate on the regional scale. The natural variability of weather and climate greatly complicates our ability to determine a clear cause-and-effect relationship to human activity. The authors describe the basic theories and critique them in simple and accessible terms. This fully revised edition will be a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in atmospheric and environmental science, and will also appeal to policy makers and general readers interested in how humans are affecting the global climate.

Part I. The Rise and Fall of the Science of Weather Modification: 1. The rise of the science of weather modification
2. The glory years of weather modification
3. The fall of the science of weather modification
Part II. Inadvertent Human Impacts on Regional Weather and Climate: 4. Anthropogenic emissions of aerosols and gases
5. Urban-induced changes in precipitation and weather
6. Other land-use/land-cover changes
7. Concluding remarks
8. Overview of global climate forcings and feedbacks
9. Climatic effects and anthropogenic aerosols
10. Nuclear winter
11. Global effects of land-use/land-cover changes and vegetation dynamics
Epilogue
Index.

Subject Areas: Social impact of environmental issues [RNT], The environment [RN], Meteorology & climatology [RBP]