by Ulrich Achatz (Author)
This textbook is intended for both undergraduate and graduate
courses in meteorology and atmospheric sciences, as well as for
researchers working on theoretical and numerical aspects of weather and
climate or on geophysical fluid dynamics. The treatment is concise,
thorough, and self-contained. All necessary concepts are introduced, and
the reader is given explicit guidance on all mathematical steps.
The
book begins with a derivation of the equations of motion. These are
then used to discuss fundamental aspects of weather and climate. The
mechanisms behind vortical motions, that are known from the daily
weather map, are discussed. Shallow-water theory is introduced as a tool
for an efficient analysis of key concepts, such as atmospheric waves
and synoptic-scale vortices. Quasigeostrophic theory is described and
then used to explain the occurrence and mechanisms of extratropical
weather by means of baroclinic instability. The specific properties of
the atmospheric boundary layer are discussed, with a focus on the
interaction between turbulence and mean flows. This is followed by a
detailed look at the global atmospheric circulation, highlighting its
control by Rossby waves and gravity waves.
At the same
time, the reader is introduced to essential concepts that find
applications in the field, such as balance by geostrophic and
hydrostatic equilibrium, the role of entropy and potential temperature,
potential vorticity, the Kelvin theorem, instability theory, the
Reynolds equations, Eliassen-Palm and pseudo-momentum flux, multi-scale
asymptotics, WKB theory, wave action, the transformed Eulerian mean,
critical layers, and wave refraction.
The text is supplemented by
appendices on important mathematical concepts and further elaborations
of the main text. Chapter summaries and reading recommendations help the
reader not merely to keep focus on the essentials, but just as well to
broaden the horizon.
