Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Overview of climate variability and climate science
- 2 Basics of global climate
- 3 Physical processes in the climate system
- 4 El Niño and year-to-year climate prediction
- 5 Climate models
- 6 The greenhouse effect and climate feedbacks
- 7 Climate model scenarios for global warming
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Overview of climate variability and climate science
- 2 Basics of global climate
- 3 Physical processes in the climate system
- 4 El Niño and year-to-year climate prediction
- 5 Climate models
- 6 The greenhouse effect and climate feedbacks
- 7 Climate model scenarios for global warming
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Summary
Climate change and climate variability have become important topics in atmospheric, oceanic and environmental sciences. Recent developments in understanding, modeling and prediction of El Niño have brought seasonal-to-interannual climate predictions into everyday life. Projections of global warming as a consequence of human activity have been in the public consciousness for some time, even if the understanding of the scientific issues may not be as deep as would be desirable. There is a need to prepare science students for participation in environmental decision making by teaching the physics of the phenomena and the physical basis of computational climate models. This text aims to teach students current scientific understanding of global warming and of important natural climate variations such as El Niño, while laying out the essentials of how climate models are constructed.
Most of these students are not likely to become climate model builders. Some may become users of climate model output, others simply need to be aware of the strengths and limitations of climate modeling. Thus a course need not be so specialized that it aims only at future climate modelers, but should be at a level where some science background can be assumed. The treatment does not shy away from writing down the equations for a climate model, but they are explained in a way that students with calculus for biologists as a background have no trouble following.
This book arises from a course I have taught and continuously revised over the past dozen years at UCLA.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Climate Change and Climate Modeling , pp. xiii - xviPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010