Fundamentals of Physics and Chemistry of the Atmospheres

This book is an introductory course to the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere and to climate dynamics. It covers the basics in thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, radiation, and chemistry and explains the most intriguing problems that currently exist in the study of the atmospheres of the Earth and planets. A particular effort is made to approach the different topics intuitively. Among the themes covered are the most recent evolution concerning the chemistry of polluted troposphere, the global warming problem, and chaos and nonlinear theory. The book is almost completely rewritten in comparison to the previous edition, with a more logical organization of the chapters. The fundamentals of thermodynamics, radiation, fluid dynamics and chemistry are introduced in the first six chapters, including a new chapter on remote sensing. Also there is an additional chapter on geoengineering. A significant addition to the new edition, at the end of each chapter, are examples where the topics introduced in the chapter are further discussed with application to classical problems or new research items. Many of these examples are accompanied by computer programs. The most important updates deal with the theory of the general circulation, the methods to evaluate GCM, the detailed discussion of the urban troposphere and the chaos and nonlinear phenomena. This book is an introductory course to the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere and to climate dynamics. It covers the basics in thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, radiation, and chemistry and explains the most intriguing problems that currently exist in the study of the atmospheres of the Earth and planets. A particular effort is made to approach the different topics intuitively. Among the themes covered are the most recent evolution concerning the chemistry of polluted troposphere, the global warming problem, and chaos and non linear theory. The book is almost completely rewritten in comparison to the previous edition, with a more logical organization of the chapters. The fundamentals of thermodynamics, radiation, fluid dynamics and chemistry are introduced in the first six chapters including a new chapter on remote sensing. Also there is an additional chapter on Geoengineering. A significant addition to the new edition, at the end of each chapter, are the Examples where the topics introduced in the chapter are further discussed with application to classical problems or new research items. Many of these examples are accompanied by computer programs. The most important update deals with the theory of the general circulation, the methods to evaluate GCM, the detailed discussion of the urban troposphere and the chaos and non linear phenomena Front Matter....Pages i-xxiii Fundamentals: Thermodynamics of the Atmosphere....Pages 1-35 Fundamentals: Radiation in the Atmosphere....Pages 37-69 The First Laws of Motion....Pages 71-103 Dynamics: Few Simple Applications....Pages 105-140 Atmospheric Chemistry....Pages 141-160 Introduction to Remote Sensing....Pages 161-180 The Atmospheric Motions....Pages 181-224 The Planetary Boundary Layer....Pages 225-260 Aerosols and Clouds....Pages 261-295 Waves in the Atmosphere....Pages 297-337 The Data on the Atmospheric Circulation....Pages 339-363 Theories on the General Circulation of the Atmosphere....Pages 365-415 Radiation for Different Uses....Pages 417-460 Simple Climate Models....Pages 461-502 The Application of Climate Models....Pages 503-567 Chemistry of the Troposphere....Pages 569-613 Dynamics of the Middle Atmosphere....Pages 615-669 Stratospheric Chemistry....Pages 671-714 Chaos and Nonlinearities....Pages 715-764 Geoengineering....Pages 765-793 Back Matter....Pages 795-803