Product Description
Covers essential parts of cloud and precipitation physics and has been extensively rewritten with over 60 new illustrations and many new and up to date references. Many current topics are covered such as mesoscale meteorology, radar cloud studies and numerical cloud modelling, and topics from the second edition, such as severe storms, precipitation processes and large scale aspects of cloud physics, have been revised. Problems are included as examples and to supplement the text.


... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Revisions Needed
While this is the 'stand alone' book on cloud physics it could use an update.Some of the answers to problems in the back are incorrect and the problems are very difficult/hard to process based on information given in the text.Variables are defined once in-text with no other reference unless they change and no nomenclature section is given.While the content is good this makes it hard to follow, but this could be easily remedied!

Concise and comprehensive textbook for Cloud microphysics.
R. R. Rogers and M. K. Yau develop and demonstrate the concepts of thermodynamics and transport processes that control formation of rain, hail, snow and fog. The book is concise, yet precise, and provides a coherent course material for cloud physics. The book introduces the essential thermodynamics in first four chapters. The next four chapters describe the journey from water vapor phase to initiation of rain. Next two chapters deal with formation of ice crystals and snow, again borrowing from knowledge imparted in first eight chapters. The next four chapters deal with weather, weather modification, storms and hail. The last chapter introduces numerical cloud models, which have proved to be increasingly useful in studying precipitation processes.

For an engineer or a physicist, the first few chapters demonstrate how their knowledge can be translated into understanding of atmospheric physics. The mathematics in the book, as well as examples, are limited to dealing with the essential concepts. The language is simple, even when concepts are far-ranging, showing how complex phenomenon can be assimilated and described through knowledge of key principles.

"A History of Theories of Rain" by Middleton shows how cloud physics progressed through centuries and benefited from misunderstandings and geniuses of some of the best minds of past centuries: Clausius,Atkins, Lord Rayleigh, Hutton, Langmuir, Weller, Arab scholars of Xth century, Aristotle, Stokes, and so on. The text by Rogers and Yau presents the essence of understanding developed through contributions from innumerable thinkers, experimentalists and scientists. Highly recommended for beginners and for curious minds interesting in understanding the physics of rain, hail and snow.

recommended by my professor
The homework problems at the end of the chapter are impossible o figure out form the text, but at least they give you some solutions.

Good introductory book on cloud physics
There are very few stand-alone cloud physics text books on the market.More often than not only a chapter is devoted to clouds in a general atmospheric sciences text book, which grossly neglects the complexity of the subject.Fortunately this one does provide a terrific introduction for students/researchers in atmospheric sciences/physics/engineering who want to learn more about clouds.Basic concepts are presented in a consice but often mathy way.Sometimes the empirical equations can throw the readers off a bit.Unfortunately these catches are almost inevitable in cloud physics.

A great merit of this book is its size.A well-designed undergraduate course can definitely go through most of the topics.At the same time there is enough detailed information that the interested instructors and students can develop term projects or simple models using the book as a reference.In all I highly recommend this text as an introduction to cloud physics.Advanced researchers in the field, however, will need a more extensive reference, such as Pruppacher and Klett.

Best introductory text on cloud physics
As an engineer trying to come up to speed on cloud physics, this book was absolutely essential. It covers essentials such as the thermodynamics of dry air, water vapor and its thermodynamic effects, parcel buoyancy and atmospheric stability, mixing and convection, observed properties of clouds, formation of cloud droplets, droplet growth by condensation, initiation of rain in nonfreezing clouds, formation and growth of ice crystals, rain and snow, weather radar, precipitation processes, severe storms and hail, weather modification, and numerical weather models.

This is the best introductory text one can buy. ... Read more

Product Description
X ... Read more

Product Description
This textbook covers the essentials of atmospheric radiation at a level appropriate to advanced undergraduates and first-year graduate students. It was written specifically to be readable and technically accessible to students having no prior background in the subject area and who may or may not intend to continue with more advanced study of radiation or remote sensing. The author emphasizes physical insight, first and foremost, but backed by the essential mathematical relationships.The second edition adds new exercises, improved figures, a table of symbols, and discussions of new topics, such as the Poynting vector and the energy balance within the atmosphere.The book web page includes additional resources for courses taught using this book, including downloadable/printable PDF figures as well as solutions to most problems (for instructors of recognized courses only). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Good overview for the layman
This is the clearest of several books that I purchased to learn how climate scientists calculate radiative forcing as a function of atmospheric CO2 concentration. The author's prose and illustrations excel. Undergraduate level math and physics are prerequisites. In my case, I needed to relearn some of what I studied over 40 years ago. That was part of the fun.

Explanation and Instruction of Atmospheric Radiation at its Best!
Great text book for a intro to radiation or physical meteorology course. The author provides wonderful explanations and applications of subjects dealing with atmospheric radiation.

Masterful Exposition
This is among the best scientific textbooks I have read. I wish I could give it six stars. There are interesting points scattered throughout the book, I even got a couple of new perspectives from an early chapter on electromagnetism. The section on radiative heating and cooling due to trace gases (Chapter 10) particularly grabbed me, because of its implications for Global Warming (excuse me, Climate Change). I liked the book so much I even read the Appendix, and sure enough, there was an interesting discussion of the rigorously correct but counterintuitive and computationally troublesome Extinction Paradox. A thouroughly excellent book.

Excellent book!
An excellent introductory book on atmospheric radiation that fills a previously huge void in the books available on this topic.Written in a style that differs from any textbook I've ever experienced.The book covers a wide spectrum of issues related to atmospheric radiation, but doesn't overwhelm the reader in the process.Practical examples and applications of the theories and ideas presented abound.A very refreshing...dare I say enjoyable...scientific book.

Perfect book for an introductory level
This book was used in my graduate atmospheric radiation class.It was far supperior to the book used in my undergrad class (wallace and hobbs introduction to atmospheric sciences) not that W&H was a bad book but this book is much more focused since it is not as broad as W&H book.

Good aspects of this book is that it starts with a good fundemental background before it delves into the real meat of the course (being radiative calculations for both long wave and short wave theory).The book is very easy to read for someone with introductory knowledge of radiative theory and is not much tougher without this introductory knowledge.The figures are clear and concise and the topics are well organized.

Downfall of this book is the excersices presented to reinforce topics.Most of the excercises are just plug and chug or are descriptive problems that really only require one to read the previous section.more problems and problems that require more thinking would be benificial but the author already aknowledges that this was a week point of the book.

Over all the book was written very well and was easy to understand.It is a great tool for anyone interested in atmospheric radiation, either on an introductory level or as a complement to ones library.Given the other books available for acourse on radiation this one ranks near or on the top.

And as a University of Oklahoma Meteorology alumni, I must say, Boomer Sooner. ... Read more

Product Description

This book presents the lecture notes of the 34th Saas-Fee Advanced Course "The Sun, Solar Analogs and the Climate" given by leading scientists in the field. Emphasis is on the observed variability of the Sun and the present understanding of the variability’s origin as well as its impact on the Earth's climate. The solar variability is then studied in the broader context of solar-type stars, allowing for better understanding of the solar-activity cycle and the magnetic activity in general. This book provides an accessible and up-to-date introduction to the field for graduate students and serves as a modern source of reference for active researchers in this field.

Product Description
This book describes the basic physical images of the space environment extending from the sun to the earth asa well as series of phenomena caused by its solar activities. Special emphasis is placed on how fluctuations in the space environment affect space itself and our social systems here on earth. Contents An overview of the Space Environment/The Sun and Solar Winds/The Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation/The Magnetosphere and Particle Activity/The Space Radiation Environment and Utilizing Cosmic Information/The Geospace Radio Environment ... Read more

Product Description
The need for three-dimensional measurements of velocity and atleast its first derivatives is increasing in science as well as intechnology. Moreover, velocity field measurements are necessary inmany fields of fluid mechanics and related disciplines. In the firstchapter of this volume recent developments in the traditional methodof hot-wire anemometry are presented. Optical methods are increasinglyused for velocity field measurements. Among them, Particle ImageVelocimetry is, in practice, the best established. The state of theart in commercially available systems and a look at futuredevelopments are described in Chapter Two.
Novel approaches to this topic, based on videogrammetric principles,are treated in Chapters Three and Four. Chapter Three treats theapplication of videogrammetry in Particle Tracking Velocimetry. Thebasic principles and their implementation are described in somedetail. Performance tests show that the accuracy of the method iscomparable to that of LDA. It is, however, a fully three-dimensionalmeasuring technique, capable of determining long particle trajectorieswhich are needed for the study of particle dispersion in turbulentflows and the associated Lagrangian statistics.
Least Squares Matching is applied in Chapter Four to track in spacethree-dimensional patterns in small cuboids obtained by Laser-InducedFluorescence Tomography. The method yields fully three-dimensionalinformation on the velocity field, the vorticity field and the fieldof the rate of strain tensor. In addition, concentration distributionand its derivatives can be determined. It is a powerful, novel methodfor the study, not only of flow, but also of mixing processes. Specialattention is given to presenting the basic theoretical aspects ofthese new methods as well as practical information needed for theirapplication.
This book is aimed at scientists and engineers involved inexperimental work. ... Read more

Product Description
Natural disasters have existed throughout the world's history. However, the increase of those catastrophes created by the increased influence of man represent a real danger. Within the last years humanity has been startled by a concentration of catastrophes (Mount St. Helens, hurricane Andrew, the earthquake in Kobe, floods along the Mississippi) where many people died and thousands became homeless. Using striking examples and specific use of multi-media elements the user learns everything about the causes of earthquakes, volcanism, storms, floods and erosion. The alarming scale of such incidents is shown in numerous pictures and movies. In addition interactive chapters allow the simulation of the possible dimensions of rising sea-level or shifting climate zones. ... Read more