Weather: A Concise Introduction

Description

From a world-renowned team at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington, Seattle, Weather: A Concise Introduction is an accessible and beautifully illustrated text covering the foundations of meteorology in a concise, clear, and engaging manner. Designed to provide students with a strong foundation in the physical, dynamical, and chemical processes taking place in the atmosphere, this introductory textbook will appeal to students with a wide range of mathematical and scientific backgrounds. This textbook features: a single case study of a mid-latitude cyclone which is referred to throughout the whole book to illustrate the basic principles driving atmospheric dynamics and phenomena; boxes on more advanced topics; appendices for additional coverage; chapter summaries listing the 'take-home' points discussed; and colour figures and charts illustrating the fundamental concepts. Key terms are evident throughout, and a glossary explains the terms that students will need to understand and become familiar with.

Gregory J. Hakim has undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Atmospheric Science and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from the State University of New York, Albany. He joined the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington in 1999, where he served as Department Chair from 2012 to 2017 and is currently a Professor. He is also a leading scientist in the areas of weather analysis, predictability, and dynamics, and his research interests include weather and climate prediction, hurricanes, past climates, and polar circulation patterns. He has served on the advisory panel for the Directorate of Geosciences at the National Science Foundation, as Chair of the advisory panel for the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), as a member of the NCAR Advisory Panel, as a member of the NCAR Strategic Planning Council, and as Chair of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research's President's Advisory Committee on University Relations. Jerome Patoux earned a Master in Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas, Austin and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Washington. He has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He has taught undergraduate introductory meteorology for many years, and has been funded by the NSF to develop weather and climate curriculum. He is a former faculty member from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington, and currently teaches meteorology at the University of Nantes in France.

'In these days of dumbed down science curricula, it's heartening to see this serious, lucid, and engaging textbook for non-majors: concise, yet containing a wealth of interesting material, well explained and beautifully illustrated. Rather than focusing on scientific laws and principles, the authors help readers to observe, interpret and understand atmospheric phenomena, stimulating their curiosity about the natural world and exercising their critical thinking skills. By making good choices about what and what not to include in the book and making extensive use of boxes for presenting more advanced material, the authors have produced a book that serious students should be able to read and digest over the course of a semester and instructors ought to be able to use as a framework within which they can embed their own course notes. John M. Wallace, University of Washington 'This is a wide ranging and beautifully illustrated book that would be an ideal text to accompany a University introductory course on Weather and Climate science. The book is also accessible to those with a more general interest in the weather, who could skip the text boxes which explain the scientific aspects in more detail.' Pete Inness, University of Reading 'This book would work very well with my meteorology course, better than any other textbook I've tried. I appreciate the layout and progression of material as it matches almost exactly how I teach meteorology. I find the use of case studies throughout the book especially useful.' William B. Cade, Baylor University, Texas 'This textbook is an authoritative and clearly written introductory meteorology text that should have a broad appeal to faculty and students engaged in introductory meteorology courses as well anyone with an interest in how our atmosphere works.' Fred Rogers, Franklin Pierce University, New Hampshire 'Understanding water is key to meteorology studies, yet students are mystified by most textbooks' coverage of water. Hakim and Patoux have written a comprehensive and approachable treatment of water's role in the atmosphere suitable for both beginning meteorology students and advanced students desiring a refresher on fundamental concepts.' Rachel Mauk, Ohio State University 'Hakim and Patoux have succeeded in creating a text that manages to be both brief yet comprehensive in coverage at a reasonable price. Neither flashy nor pretentious, the scholarship is sound and the material is presented in a way that students who come to the course with no specific knowledge of meteorology but with some level of comfort with math and the way that scientists think, will be comfortable approaching the material. Sufficient depth of coverage is provided to provide challenges and encourage further exploration. The flexible organization of the chapters will allow instructors to tailor the readings according to their particular class needs.' Langdon D. Clough, Northeastern University, Massachusetts 'Weather: A Concise Introduction is aptly named and provides exactly that. This text presents the fundamental concepts of meteorology ... an excellent starter for those students just entering the field as well as a welcoming overview for students taking a general education course.' Tim Canty, University of Maryland