ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: Preface. - 1 The climate system. - 1.1 Solar radiation. - 1.1.1 The effective temperature of the Earth. - 1.2 The atmosphere. - 1.2.1 The greenhouse effect. - 1.2.2 Reflected radiation. - 1.3 The oceans. - 1.3.1 Chemical composition of the oceans. - 1.3.2 Ocean circulation. - 1.4 The cryosphere. - 1.5 The biosphere. - 1.6 The geosphere. - 1.7 Timescales and feedbacks. - 1.8 Variation of the climate system over time. - Further reading. - 2 Physical interaction between the ocean and atmosphere. - 2.1 Radiation. - 2.1.1 Solar radiation. - 2.1.2 Long-wave radiation. - 2.2 Heat exchange through latent and sensible heat. - 2.2.1 Latent heat. - 2.2.2 Sensible heat. - 2.3 The oceanic heat balance. - 2.4 Oceanic forcing by air-sea exchange of moisture and heat. - 2.4.1 Moisture exchange. - 2.4.2 Heat exchange. - 2.5 Basic forces within the atmosphere and ocean. - 2.5.1 Hydrostatic balance. - 2.5.2 The Coriolis force. - 2.5.3 Geostrophy. - 2.6 Tidal forces and their influence. - 2.7 Momentum transfer and drag. - 2.8 Waves, the production of aerosols and condensation nuclei. - 2.8.1 Wave formation and characteristics. - 2.8.2 Breaking waves and marine aerosols. - 2.8.3 Condensation nuclei. - 2.9 The Ekman spiral and Langmuir circulation. - 2.9.1 The Ekman spiral. - 2.9.2 Langmuir circulation. - 2.10 Wind-driven circulation of the ocean. - 2.10.1 The ocean gyres. - 2.10.2 Coastal upwelling. - 2.10.3 The tropical surface circulation. - 2.10.4 The Indian Ocean monsoonal circulation. - 2.10.5 The polar regions. - 2.10.6 Oceanic eddies. - 2.11 Oceanic impact on the marine atmospheric circulation. - 2.11.1 Hurricanes. - Further reading. - 3 Chemical interaction of the atmosphere and ocean. - 3.1 Solubility of gases. - 3.2 Gas exchange across the air-sea interface. - 3.3 The carbon cycle. - 3.3.1 The carbon cycle. - 3.3.2 Oceanic control of carbon dioxide - principal processes. - 3.3.3 Oceanic control of carbon dioxide - geographical variations. - 3.4 Oxygen in the ocean. - 3.5 The transfer of particles. - 3.5.1 Aerosols, plankton, and climate. - 3.5.2 Sea spray, clouds, and climate. - 3.5.3 Mechanisms for preciptitation formation. - 3.6 Photochemical reactions in seawater. - 3.7 Chemical tracers. - Further reading. - 4 Biochemical interaction of th e atmosphere and ocean. - 4.1 Phytoplankton. - 4.1.1 Phytoplankton growth. - 4.1.2 Geographical variation. - 4.1.3 Vertical variation and ocean colour. - 4.2 Climatically active products of marine biological processes. - 4.2.1 Carbon compounds other than CO2. - 4.2.2 Nitrogeneous compounds. - 4.2.3 Sulphureous compounds. - 4.2.4 Methylcompounds. - 4.3 Bio-geochemical cycles. - 4.3.1 The carbon cycle. - 4.3.2 The nitrogen cycle. - 4.3.3 The phosphorus cycle. - 4.3.4 The oxygen cycle. - 4.3.5 The sulphur cycle. - 4.4 DMS and climate. - Further reading. - 5 Large-scale air-sea interaction. - 5.1 Tropospheric pressure systems and the ocean. - 5.1.1 The physics of large-scale extra-tropical interaction. - 5.1.2 Maritime climates. - 5.1.3 Interannual variability in the atmosphere and ocean. - 5.1.4 Oceanic influence on extra-tropical cyclogenesis. - 5.2 ENSO: Ocean-atmosphere interaction in the tropics. - 5.2.1 Characteristics of ENSO. - 5.2.2 ENSO and air-sea coupling. - 5.2.3 The ENSO cycle. - 5.2.4 The impact of ENSO in the tropics beyond the Pacific Basin. - 5.2.5 The impact of ENSO in the extra-tropics. - 5.2.6 ENSO and the Indian Monsoon. - 5.2.7 The extra-tropics and other tropical air-sea interaction. - Further reading. - 6 The ocean and natural climatic variability. - 6.1 The oceanic role in the geological evolution of climate. - 6.1.1 The Palaeozoic and early Mesozoic. - 6.1.2 The Cretaceous: a case study. - 6.1.3 Tertiary climates. - 6.2 The ocean and Quaternary glaciation. - 6.2.1 Interglacial termination. - 6.2.2 Glacial termination. - 6.3 The ocean and Holocene climate. - 6.3.1 The climatic optimum. - 6.3.2 The last 5000 years. - 6.4 Marine climatic change during the twentieth century. - 6.4.1 The instrumental record. - 6.4.2 Global trends in marine climate. - 6.4.3 Marine climatic change over the Pacific Ocean. - 6.4.4 Marine climatic change over the Indian Ocean. - 6.4.5 Marine climatic change over the Atlantic Ocean. - Further reading. - 7 The ocean and climatic change. - 7.1 Natural variability. - 7.1.1 Solar variability. - 7.1.2 Orbital changes. - 7.1.3 Volcanic impact on climate. - 7.1.4 Cometary impact. - 7.1.5 Internal climatic instability. - 7.2 Anthropogenic forcing of climate. - 7.2.1 Trace gases. - 7.2.2 Aerosols. - 7.2.3 Land surface changes. - 7.2.4 Climatic feedbacks. - 7.3 The climate of the future. - 7.3.1 Numerical models of the atmosphere and ocean. - 7.3.2 Climate with doubled CO2. - 7.3.3 Modelling the transient response to CO2 increase. - 7.3.4 Detection of climatic change. - Further reading. - Appendixes. - A Useful constants and the electromagnetic spectrum. - B Periodic table and electron orbital configuration. - C Stability, potential temperature and density. - D Rossby waves in the atmosphere and ocean. - Glossary. - Bibliography. - Index.

Description / Table of Contents: The oceans are an integral and important part of the global climate system. It is now widely accepted that human activities are inducing global climatic change. However, definitive evidence for climatic change driven by mankind remains elusive, despite extensive research. One reason for this is the significant role that oceans play in regulating the climate system's response to change. The oceans store immense amounts of heat and moisture, acting as a giant flywheel to the climate system, moderating change but prolonging it once change commences. The oceans also store vast amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide, thus having a possible regulating effect on greenhouse warming driven by human activity. How is carbon dioxide and heat stored in the ocean? Are these mechanisms sensitive to climatic change? Could they interact with climatic change itself to accentuate or regulate such change? The exploration of these questions, among others, underlies this book. The interaction between the oceans and the atmosphere - and hence the climate - is complex and multi-faceted, requiring an understanding of many processes bridging conventional scientific disciplines. After a general introduction to the climate system, successive chapters describe how physical, biological and chemical processes combine to affect the ocean-atmosphere interaction over timescales from minutes to millenia, and their role in affecting climatic change in the past, present and future. This comprehensive textbook introducing the multi-disciplinary controls on the ocean-atmosphere interaction will prove an ideal course and reference book for undergraduates studying earth and environmental sciences, oceanography, meteorology and climatology. The book will also be useful for students and teachers of geography, physics, chemistry, and biology.