Principles of Planetary ClimateThis book introduces the reader to all the basic physical building blocks of climate needed to understand the present and past climate of Earth, the climates of Solar System planets, and the climates of extrasolar planets. These building blocks include thermodynamics, infrared radiative transfer, scattering, surface heat transfer and various processes governing the evolution of atmospheric composition. Nearly four hundred problems are supplied to help consolidate the reader's understanding, and to lead the reader towards original research on planetary climate. This textbook is invaluable for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students in atmospheric science, Earth and planetary science, astrobiology, and physics. It also provides a superb reference text for researchers in these subjects, and is very suitable for academic researchers trained in physics or chemistry who wish to rapidly gain enough background to participate in the excitement of the new research opportunities opening in planetary climate. |
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Contents
1 | |
2 Thermodynamics in a nutshell | 81 |
3 Elementary models of radiation balance | 134 |
4 Radiative transfer in temperaturestratified atmospheres | 187 |
5 Scattering | 316 |
6 The surface energy balance | 386 |
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Common terms and phrases
absorbed solar radiation absorption coefficient adiabat affect albedo assume blackbody boundary calculation carbon Chapter climate cloud compute concentration condensable constant convection cooling defined density determine different diffusion dry adiabat Early Mars Earth Earthlike emission equation escape exobase exponential exponential sum field find first fit fixed flow fluid frequency function gases gray gas greenhouse effect greenhouse gas ground temperature heat flux hydrogen impactor increases infrared isothermal isotopic latent heat liquid mass methane mixed layer moist adiabat molecules ocean off optically thick orbit oxygen particles planet planetary Problem radiative equilibrium Rayleigh scattering reflected saturation saturation vapor pressure scattering seasonal cycle significant significantly Snowball Snowball Earth solar absorption solar constant solar radiation solution specific spectrum star stellar stratosphere sufficient surface pressure surface temperature temperature profile thermal inertia Titan tropical tropopause troposphere Venus warming water vapor wavelength wavenumber