Climate dynamics

To understand the processes, significance and impacts of climate change it is imperative to understand the underlying processes of climate dynamics. Kerry Cook presents us with a well-written textbook to provide a foundation for the understanding of the earth’s physical climate system in the context of atmospheric science. This textbook is accessible, not of a limited technical nature. It does not assume any background in atmospheric or ocean sciences, though a familiarity with basic calculus and calculus-based physics is expected of undergraduate students to make good use of this book. The first section covers the general climate system based on observations and recordings of the mean climate state and its variability. This section introduces vocabulary, dependent variables and the typical approaches taking in displaying those. The second part of the book introduces a quantitative understanding of the processes: radiation, heat balances, and also the basics of geophysical fluid dynamics, assuming that students are familiar with the basics of thermodynamics. Applications for the atmosphere, ocean and hydrologic cycle are then developed. The last section of the book is more directly related to contemporary climate change, starting with pure radiative forcing factors, including changes in insulation and in the chemical composition in the atmosphere, such as CO2, methane, N2O and tropospheric ozone, CFCs, halons and aerosol levels. Climate sensitivity, climate feedback processes, the water vapour-temperature feedback, ice albedo-temperature feedback and cloud feedback processes are all covered, as are extreme hydrological events. The textbook concludes with a chapter on climate simulation and prediction, explaining the nature and process design of different types of climate models, such as zero-dimensional and surface heat balance, and general circulation, regional, earth systems ones, and commenting on the overall uncertainties with those. Each chapter is richly illustrated with useful and clearly annotated figures, and supplied with references and additional reading. There are also helpful exercises for revision work, with both calculations asked for and questions set. An appendix contains units, constants and conversions, and also coordinate systems, as well as Lagrangian and Eulerian derivatives; plus an overall index. The publisher offers a supplementary solutions manual for this book, which is restricted to instructors using the text in courses. I would recommend this book due to its clarity and coverage for library purchase for all institutions teaching courses on climate change, but it might prove to be just a bit pricey for students in this format.