Introducing meteorology : a guide to weather / Jon Shonk.

Includes bibliographical references (page 149).

1. Watching the weather. 1.1. The influence of weather -- 1.2. Weather watchers -- 2. From seaweed to supercomputers. 2.1. The age of seaweed -- 2.2. Early meteorological advances -- 2.3. The first forecasts -- 2.4. Looking up into the atmosphere -- 2.5. Towards modern forecasting -- 3. The weather station. 3.1. Surface observations -- 3.2. Inside the Stevenson screen -- 3.3. Outside the Stevenson screen -- 3.4. Watching the skies -- 3.5. Automatic weather stations -- 4. Gauging the atmosphere. 4.1. Measuring the upper air -- 4.2. Radar and lidar -- 4.3. Observations from space -- 5. Anatomy of the atmosphere. 5.1. Composition of the atmosphere -- 5.2. Pressure, temperature and density -- 5.3. The atmospheric profile -- 6. Water in the atmosphere -- 6.1. The hydrological cycle -- 6.2. Humidity and moisture -- 6.3. Water droplets and rain -- 6.4. Ice crystals and snowflakes -- 7. It all starts with the Sun. 7.1.Our local star -- 7.2. The Earth in equilibrium -- 7.3. The effect of the atmosphere -- 7.4. The effect of clouds -- 8. Hot and cold. 8.1.Surface temperature -- 8.2. Adiabatic ascent -- 8.3. Clouds, fog, dew and frost -- 8.4. The spherical Earth -- 8.5. Variation of total solar irradiance -- 8.6. The Earth in non-equilibrium -- 9. The atmosphere in motion. 9.1. Highs, lows and circulation of air -- 9.2. The coriolis effect -- 9.3. Hadley cells -- 9.4. Heat transport in the mid-latitudes -- 9.5. The global circulation -- 10. Mid-latitude weather systems. 10.1.The westerly flow -- 10.2. Anticyclones and air masses -- 10.3. Low-pressure systems -- 10.4. Fronts and conveyor belts -- 10.5. When storms become severe -- 11. Weather in the tropics. 11.1. The easterly flow -- 11.2. Intertropical convergence zone and monsoons -- 11.3. Tropical depressions and hurricanes -- 11.4. El niño, la niña and the southern oscillation -- 12. Convective systems, tornadoes and thunderstorms. 12.1. Unstable conditions -- 12.2. Cumulonimbus, thunder and lightning -- 12.3. Organised convective systems -- 12.4. Supercells and tornadoes -- 13. Local weather effects. 13.1. Coastal weather -- 13.2. Mountain weather -- 13.3. Desert weather -- 13.4. Urban weather -- 14. Forecasting the weather. 14.1. Numerical weather prediction -- 14.2. The initial conditions -- 14.3. Running the model -- 14.4. Global and regional models -- 14.5. Ensemble forecasting -- 15. The forecaster's challenge. 15.1. Making a weather forecast -- 15.2. Forecasting hazardous weather -- 15.3. Users of forecasts -- 15.4. When forecasts go wrong -- 16. The changing climate. 16.1. Past records of climate -- 16.2. Increasing greenhouse gas concentrations -- 16.3. Climate models -- 16.4. Simulating past and future climate -- 16.5.Adaptation versus mitigation.

In many parts of the world, the weather forms a daily topic of conversation. In other parts, the weather hardly changes from one week to the next. However, human life is governed by the weather, which affects much of our activity, from farming to fishing and from shopping to holiday-making. For students and interested amateurs wanting a topical guide to this complex area of study, Introducing Meteorology provides a succinct overview of the science of the weather. Copiously illustrated, the book describes the development of the science, weather observation, the atmosphere, and the forces which govern the weather. It then discusses weather influences at global and local scales before describing the science of weather forecasting.