Atmosphere

The book entitled  "Atmospheric science and Global Warming" covers a wide area of the atmospheric science, focussing particularly on those physical and dynamical aspects of our environment which tend to create heat sources and sinks in the earth-atmosphere system and which it seeks to balance through circulation at different time and space scales. The processes of heat transfer in the atmosphere and ocean by general circulation and by waves and oscillations are discussed in detail. The heat balance of the atmosphere is discussed after taking into consideration the role of various types of greenhouse gases that may be present. In this context, the publication of the book will be very timely and is bound to be welcome by all those interested in knowing more about our atmosphere and the way it works, especially in the matter of such a contentious issue as global warming by greenhouse gases released by human activities on earth. Starting with the origin, composition and structure of the atmosphere, the physics part deals with the laws of heat and thermodynamics of dry and moist air, water vapour and its transformation into different phases and formation of cloud and rain under different stability conditions, solar and terrestrial radiation and their impact on the gaseous envelope in different layers of the atmosphere which create sources and sinks in different parts of the atmosphere especially in its boundary layers. The dynamics part discusses the various types of motion systems including the general circulation and waves and oscillations that operate in order to achieve heat balance in the earth-atmosphere system. The book entitled " The Earth's Atmosphere - an introduction to its physics and dynamics" covers within its 19 Chapters and in about 450 pages a wide area of the atmospheric science, focussing particularly on those physical and dynamical aspects of our environment which tend to create heat sources and sinks in the earth-atmosphere system and which it seeks to balance through circulation at different time and space scales. The processes of heat transfer in the atmosphere and ocean by general circulation and by waves and oscillations are discussed in detail. The heat balance of the atmosphere is discussed after taking into consideration the role of various types of greenhouse gases that may be present. In this context, the publication of the book will be very timely and is bound to be welcome by all those interested in knowing more about our atmosphere and the way it works, especially in the matter of such a contentious issue as global warming by greenhouse gases released by human activities on earth. Starting with the origin, composition and structure of the atmosphere, the physics part deals with the laws of heat and thermodynamics of dry and moist air, water vapour and its transformation into different phases and formation of cloud and rain under different stability conditions, solar and terrestrial radiation and their impact on the gaseous envelope in different layers of the atmosphere which create sources and sinks in different parts of the atmosphere especially in its boundary layers. The dynamics part discusses the various types of motion systems including the general circulation and waves and oscillations that operate in order to achieve heat balance in the earth-atmosphere system. Between the two parts, the book offers a comprehensive treatment of the science of our atmosphere.  

All life depends on the layers of gases that surround the Earth.

For 65 million years dinosaurs ruled the Earth--until a deadly asteroid forced their extinction. But what accounts for the incredible longevity of dinosaurs? A renowned scientist now provides a startling explanation that is rewriting the history of the Age of Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were pretty amazing creatures--real-life monsters that have the power to fascinate us. And their fiery Hollywood ending only serves to make the story that much more dramatic. But fossil evidence demonstrates that dinosaurs survived several mass extinctions, and were seemingly unaffected by catastrophes that decimated most other life on Earth. What could explain their uncanny ability to endure through the ages? Biologist and earth scientist Peter Ward now accounts for the remarkable indestructibility of dinosaurs by connecting their unusual respiration system with their ability to adapt to Earth's changing environment--a system that was ultimately bequeathed to their descendants, birds. By tracing the evolutionary path back through time and carefully connecting the dots from birds to dinosaurs, Ward describes the unique form of breathing shared by these two distant relatives and demonstrates how this simple but remarkable characteristic provides the elusive explanation to a question that has thus far stumped scientists. Nothing short of revolutionary in its bold presentation of an astonishing theory, Out of Thin Air is a story of science at the edge of discovery. Ward is an outstanding guide to the process of scientific detection. Audacious and innovative in his thinking, meticulous and thoroughly detailed in his research, only a scientist of his caliber is capable of telling this surprising story.

This book is a multi-author treatise on the most outstanding research problems in the field of the aeronomy of the Earth "s atmosphere and ionosphere, encompassing the science covered by Division II of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA). It contains several review articles and detailed papers by leading scientists in the field. The book is organized in five parts: 1) Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere Dynamics and Chemistry; 2) Vertical Coupling by Upward Propagating Waves; 3) Ionospheric Electrodynamics and Structuring; 4) Thermosphere- Ionosphere Coupling, Dynamics and Trends and 5) Ionosphere-Thermosphere Disturbances and Modeling. The book consolidates the progress achieved in the field in recent years and it serves as a useful reference for graduate students as well as experienced researchers.