Observing Global Climate Change

This collaborative book aims to offer a comprehensive introduction to global climate, the way it is currently changing, the role of earth, air and satellite observation and monitoring, and subsequent climate modelling. It focuses on the interaction between natural and anthropogenic human- made change factors. The book emphasizes the importance of capturing climatic data and the use of that data in computer-based climatic modelling.

Part 1 Introduction: background; the factors involved in climate change; natural factors affecting climate change; nuclear war and climate; on the perspective concept and climate change studies. Part 2 The observed regularities of climate: the CO2 cycle and global-scale climate changes from observational data; detecting the CO2 signal; a global system of observations. Part 3 The World Climate Research Programme WCRP: fundamental principles of the WCRP; the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment GEWEX. Part 4 Principal climatically-important processes: cloudiness and radiation; processes in the ocean; the Arctic, the Antarctic and climate; land surface processes; optically-active minor gaseous compounds; aerosols and climate; solar-terrestrial interrelations; development, verification and application of climate models; the comparative climatology of planets. Part 5 The internal variability of the climate system: climate diagnostics; the theory of short-period climate changes; the sections programme; the world ocean and climate; nested climate models. Part 6 External impacts on the climactic system: CO2 and climate; the multifaceted nature of the atmospheric greenhouse effect; volcanoes and climate. Part 7 Conclusion.

Professional

This important book combines the consideration of physical principles and the results of observation and numerical modelling.