Snow and Climate: Physical Processes, Surface Energy Exchange and Modeling

Description

The extent and variability of seasonal snow cover are important parameters in the climate system, due to their effects on energy and moisture budgets, and because surface temperature is highly dependent on snow cover. In turn, snow cover trends serve as key indicators of climate change. Many distinct techniques have become available to study snow-climate relationships. Satellites provided the first capability for monitoring snow cover extent at continental and hemispheric scales, and there have been rapid advances in snow modeling physics to represent snow cover and snow processes in Global Climate Models (GCMs). These advances have changed the way we look at snow cover. The main goal of this book is to provide a synthesis of the prevailing state of snow-climate science that reflects this distinct perspective. This volume provides an excellent synthesis for researchers and advanced students.

Richard Armstrong is a Senior Research Scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the World Data Center for Glaciology and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science at the University of Colorado. His current research includes remote sensing and evaluation of fluctuations in snow cover and glaciers as indicators of climate change. Eric Brun is Head of Research at Meteo-France and Director of the Centre National de Recherche Meteorologiques. He is a specialist in snow and avalanches and developed original methods to assess the impact of climate change on snow cover and alpine rivers.

Review of the hardback: '...very readable ... a very good overview of what every serious climate scientist, both modeller or experimentalist, should know about snow and its interaction with the atmosphere.' Antarctic Science