Climate change the science of global warming and our energy future
Edmond A. Mathez ; student companion by Jason E. Smerdon.
- New York : Columbia University Press, 2009.
- xvii, 318 p. : ill. (chiefly col.), maps (chiefly col.) ; 27 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [257]-276) and index.
1. Climate in context -- Weather and climate -- The climate system -- Climate change : separating facts from fears -- The story -- 2. The character of the atmosphere -- The structure and composition of the atmosphere -- The circulation of the atmosphere -- Some climate phenomena -- Ozone : a stratosphere story -- Perspective -- 3. The world ocean -- The important properties of water -- The ocean's layered structure -- The ocean's surface currents -- Global flows of water through the ocean and atmosphere -- The ocean-atmosphere interaction of El Niņo-Southern oscillation -- Perspective -- 4. The carbon cycle and how it influences climate -- Reservoirs of carbon -- The carbon cycle -- The acidification of the ocean -- Perspective : uncertainties in the carbon cycle -- 5. A scientific framework for thinking about climate change -- Energy balance -- Radiative forcing -- The greenhouse effect -- Aerosols -- Changes in land use -- Natural forcings -- Important features of the climate system -- Perspective -- 6. Learning from climates past -- A Lesson from the distant past : the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum -- The Ice Age -- Fluctuations in ancient climate -- The climate of the past 100,000 years -- The climate of the Holocene : the past 12,000 years -- Lessons learned -- 7. A century of warming and some consequences -- A century of warming and its causes -- Precipitation and drought -- Severe storms and other extreme events -- More lessons from the American West : ecosystem responses -- Perspective -- 8. More consequences : the sensitive Arctic and sea-level rise -- The shrinking Arctic Ice Cap -- Melting permafrost and changing tundra -- Ice loss beyond the Arctic and sea-level rise -- Lessons for sea-level rise from the most recent interglacial period -- 9. Climate models and the future -- What are climate models? -- Are climate models credible? -- Simulating the twentieth century : Anthropogenic versus natural causes of climate change -- Peering into the future -- Perspective -- 10. Energy and the future -- Coal : a vast enterprise -- The nuclear option -- Wind and solar power : icons for the future -- Solutions -- Notes -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Student companion -- Index.