Atmosphere, Clouds, and Climate

David Randall is professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University.

• Preface vii Chapter 1: Basics 1 Chapter 2: Radiative Energy Flows 27 Chapter 3: How Turbulence and Cumulus Clouds Carry Energy Upward 55 Appendix to Chapter 3: More about Eddy Fluxes 96 Chapter 4: How Energy Travels from the Tropics to the Poles 103 Appendix to Chapter 4: Conservation of Momentum on a Rotating Sphere 134 Chapter 5: Feedbacks 140 Chapter 6: The Water Planet 160 Chapter 7: Predictability of Weather and Climate 183 Chapter 8: Air, Sea, Land 206 Chapter 9: Frontiers 227 Notes 233 Glossary 239 Suggestions for Further Reading 247 Bibliography 253 Index 261

"Readers ready for a book-length treatment of [the role of clouds in climate] may find the right level of detail in Atmosphere, Clouds, and Climate, a new book by Dr. Randall."--Justin Gillis, NYTimes.com's Green blog "In four chapters and a mere 139 pages, Randall provides readers with an impressively thorough conceptual understanding of the atmosphere's central role in climate... His passion consistently shines through."--Spencer Hill, Science "This book, part of the Princeton Primers in Climate series, is a very lucid and enjoyable introduction to weather and climate. Randall provides basic technical details, usually in the appendixes, but he devotes considerable effort to making the nine-chapter text accessible to a wide audience by including intuitive explanations for the concepts presented... Suitable for academic students and interested professionals who wish to have a basic understanding of the atmosphere."--Choice "[T]his primer does exactly what it sets out to do--provide a concise but rigorous introduction to a complex subject that affects us all on all scales."--John Brittan, Leading Edge