Cloud Dynamics

Clouds play a critical role in the Earth's climate, general atmospheric circulation, and global water balance. Clouds are essential elements in mesoscale meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, air pollution, atmosphericradiation, and weather forecasting, and thus must be understood by any student or researcher in the atmospheric sciences. "Cloud Dynamics" provides a skillful and comprehensive examination of the nature of clouds - what they look like and why, how scientists observe them, and the basic dynamics and physics that underlie them. This book describes the mechanics governing each type of cloud that occurs in Earth's atmosphere, and the organization of various types of clouds in larger weather systems such as fronts, thunderstorms, and hurricanes. This book is aimed specifically at graduate students, advanced undergraduates, practicing researchers either already in atmospheric science or moving in from a related scientific field, and operational meteorologists. Some prior knowledge of atmospheric dynamics and physics is helpful, but a thorough overview of the necessary prerequisites is supplied.
It provides a complete treatment of clouds integrating the analysis of air motions with cloud structure, microphysics, and precipitation mechanics. It describes and explains the basic types of clouds and cloud systems that occur in the atmosphere - fog, stratus, stratocumulus, altocumulus, altostratus, cirrus, thunderstorms, tornadoes, waterspouts, orographically induced clouds, mesoscale convection complexes, hurricanes, fronts, and extratropical cyclones. It presents a photographic guide, presented in the first chapter, linking the examination of each type of cloud with an image to enhance visual retention and understanding. It summarizes the fundamentals, both observational and theoretical, of atmospheric dynamics, thermodynamics, cloud microphysics, and radar meteorology, allowing each type of cloud to be examined in depth. It integrates the latest field observations, numerical model simulations, and theory, and supplies a theoretical treatment suitable for the advanced undergraduate or graduate level.