Visualizing Weather and Climate [Loose-leaf]

Visualizing Weather and Climate Change will capture the reader's interest in weather and climate and then use that interest to engage them in activities that demonstrate the science that serves as the basis of the discipline. Sections such as Eye on the Atmosphere use beautiful imagery to help them see the atmosphere through the eyes of a meteorologist and ask scientific questions that place significant features in atmospheric context. It also includes expanded coverage of global change and recent phenomena. Chapter summaries, self-tests and critical thinking questions help prepare readers for quizzes and tests while the illustrated case studies offer a wide variety of in-depth examinations that address important issues in the field of environmental science.

1 Introducing Weather and Climate 2

Introducing Weather and Climate 4

Weather 7

Climate 7

What a Scientist Sees: Actual Temperatures and Temperature Departures 10

Weather and Climate 13

Visualizing Weather and Climate 15

Graphs 15

Maps 17

Standard Measurements in Weather and Climate 21

2 The Earths Atmosphere 28

Composition of the Atmosphere 30

Radiatively and Chemically Inactive Gases 30

Radiatively and Chemically Active Gases 31

Ozone in the Upper Atmosphere 37

Ozone in the Lower Atmosphere 38

Temperature Structure of the Atmosphere 39

What a Scientist Sees: Temperature Changes Along a Mountain Slope 39

Troposphere 40

Stratosphere 41

The Ionosphere 41

Atmospheric Pressure and Density 43

How Air Pressure and Density ClC-