Comprehensive overview of research on clouds and their role in our present and future climate, for advanced students and researchers.

An essential primer on atmospheric processes and their important role in the climate system The atmosphere is critical to climate change. It can amplify shifts in the climate system, and also mitigate them. This primer offers a short, reader-friendly introduction to these atmospheric processes and how they work, written by a leading expert on the subject. Giving readers an overview of key atmospheric processes, David Randall looks at how our climate system receives energy from the sun and sheds it by emitting infrared radiation back into space. The atmosphere regulates these radiative energy flows and transports energy through weather systems such as thunderstorms, monsoons, hurricanes, and winter storms. Randall explains how these processes work, and also how precipitation, cloud formation, and other phase changes of water strongly influence weather and climate. He discusses how atmospheric feedbacks affect climate change, how the large-scale atmospheric circulation works, how predicting the weather and the climate are fundamentally different challenges, and much more. This is the ideal introduction for students and nonspecialists. No prior experience in atmospheric science is needed, only basic college physics. Authoritative and concise, Atmosphere, Clouds, and Climate features a glossary of terms, suggestions for further reading, and easy-to-follow explanations of a few key equations. This accessible primer is the essential introduction to atmospheric processes and the vital role they play in our climate system.

"Clouds have always fascinated humans, but never has the need to understand them been so vital. As global surface temperature increases, human activities influence particulate matter in the atmosphere, and the properties of the land surface, clouds are expected to change, with manifold consequences for the climate. Clouds influence climate through their regulation of radiant energy transfer, through their role in convective energy transport, and in mediating the water cycle. Cloud research has never been so exciting. It is a topic with many new opportunities. New satellite observations from space with active instruments such as lidar and radar allow for the first time to reconstruct the three-dimensional distribution of clouds across Earth. Likewise, numerical simulations are beginning to globally resolve the three spatial dimensions of clouds as well as their dynamic evolution. This is enabling researchers, for the first time, to link the smallscale cloud processes and the basic laws that govern them to the general circulation of the atmosphere. These new types of observations, and simulation, are enabling researchers to distinguish how different cloud types influence the climate, and are guiding conceptual representations of their collective behaviour"--

An Introduction to Clouds provides a fundamental understanding of clouds, ranging from cloud microphysics to the large-scale impacts of clouds on climate. On the microscale, phase changes and ice nucleation are covered comprehensively, including aerosol particles and thermodynamics relevant for the formation of clouds and precipitation. At larger scales, cloud dynamics, mid-latitude storms and tropical cyclones are discussed leading to the role of clouds on the hydrological cycle and climate. Each chapter ends with problem sets and multiple-choice questions that can be completed online, and important equations are highlighted in boxes for ease of reference. Combining mathematical formulations with qualitative explanations of underlying concepts, this accessible book requires relatively little previous knowledge, making it ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in atmospheric science, environmental sciences and related disciplines.

This module introduces basic features and classifications of clouds and cloud cover, explains how clouds form and what they are made of, describes the role they play in determining climate, and considers how they both cause - and are affected by - climate

The objective of this NATO Advanced Research Workshop was to discuss our current understanding of the role of clouds in climate and chemistry. The range of topics dis cussed during the workshop included: modeling of clouds in GCMs; observations of the cloud micro physical properties; the water vapor cycle; troposphere-stratosphere exchange; role of in-cloud transport in tropospheric ozone; regulation of current and paleo climate by clouds; and anthropogenic sulfate aerosols and modification of cloud properties. The essence of the discussions is captured in the accompanying summary by the rapporteurs and the chapters by some of the speakers. The underlying message is that significant progress has been made, resulting in exciting new developments in our perception of the role of clouds in the global system . .. The tropical convective-cirrus cloud systems emerge as a major influence on the climate system. Micro physical processes, such as the rate of precipitation and re evaporation of ice particles, seem to regulate the large scale vertical distribution of water vapor which is the dominant greenhouse gas. Water vapor data collected during the Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment (CEPEX), document the large moistening effect of deep convection on scales of thousands of kilometers. A major chemical finding in the same region was the observation of extremely low ozone 8 volume mixing ratios of less than 10- in the entire troposphere of the central equatorial Pacific extending over a distance of about 2000 km. This finding establishes the Pacific as a major chemical sink region for tropospheric ozone.

See how snowflakes and lightning storms form and learn the real effects of climate change in this kids ebook about weather. At a time when extreme weather is becoming more and more common, get clued up on the science behind it and the ways in which it's changing. Learn about all kinds of weather and marvel at how powerful it can be. Discover what the weather was like when the Earth was born and what it could be like in the future. Find out how weather is predicted and the inventions that harness its power. This eco-focussed ebook includes facts and illustrations showing how weather forms, the ways in which it changes over time, and how we can use its power.

Clouds and Their Climatic Impacts Clouds are an influential and complex element of Earth’s climate system. They evolve rapidly in time and exist over small spatial scales, but also affect global radiative balance and large-scale circulations. With more powerful models and extensive observations now at our disposal, the climate impact of clouds is receiving ever more research attention. Clouds and Their Climatic Impacts: Radiation, Circulation, and Precipitation presents an overview of our current understanding on various types of clouds and cloud systems and their multifaceted role in the radiative budget, circulation patterns, and rainfall. Volume highlights include: Interactions of aerosol with both liquid and ice clouds Surface and atmospheric cloud radiative feedbacks and effects Arctic, extratropical, and tropical clouds Cloud-circulation coupling at global, meso, and micro scales Precipitation efficiency, phase, and measurements The role of machine learning in understanding clouds and climate The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals.