Human Impacts on Weather and Climate

by William R. Cotton , Roger A. Pielke, Sr

• ISBN13: 9780521600569
• ISBN10: 0521600561
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-04-09
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This new edition of Human Impacts on Weather and Climate examines the scientific and political debates surrounding anthropogenic impacts on the Earth's climate and presents the most recent theories, data and modeling studies. The book discusses the concepts behind deliberate human attempts to modify the weather through cloud seeding, as well as inadvertent modification of weather and climate on the regional scale. The natural variability of weather and climate greatly complicates our ability to determine a clear cause-and-effect relationship to human activity. The authors describe the basic theories and critique them in simple and accessible terms. This fully revised edition will be a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate courses in atmospheric and environmental science, and will also appeal to policy makers and general readers interested in how humans are affecting the global climate.

Table of Contents

Part I. The Rise and Fall of the Science of Weather Modicification

1. The rise of the science of weather modification

2. The glory years of weather modification

3. The fall of the science of weather modification

Part II. Inadvertent Human Impacts on Regional Weather and Climate

4. Anthropogenic emissions of aerosols and gases

5. Urban-induced changes in precipitation and weather

6. Other land-use/land-cover changes

7. Concluding remarks

8. Overview of global climate forcings and feedbacks

9. Climatic effects and anthropogenic aerosols

10. Nuclear winter

11. Global effects of Land-use/land-cover changes and vegetation dynamics

Epilogue

Index.