Manfred Wendisch Knihy

Aimed at the senior undergraduate and graduate level, this textbook fills the gap between general introductory texts offering little detail and very technical, advanced books written for mathematicians and theorists rather than experimentalists in the field.The result is a concise course in atmospheric radiative processes, tailored for one semester. The authors are accomplished researchers who know how to reach their intended audience and provide here the content needed to understand climate warming and remote sensing for pollution measurement. They also include supplementary reading for planet scientists and problems.Equally suitable reading for geophysicists, physical chemists, astronomers, environmental chemists and spectroscopists.A solutions manual for lecturers will be provided on www.wiley-vch.de/supplements.

This first comprehensive review of airborne measurement principles covers all atmospheric components and surface parameters. It describes the common techniques to characterize aerosol particles and cloud/precipitation elements, while also explaining radiation quantities and pertinent hyperspectral and active remote sensing measurement techniques along the way. As a result, the major principles of operation are introduced and exemplified using specific instruments, treating both classic and emerging measurement techniques. The two editors head an international community of eminent scientists, all of them accepted and experienced specialists in their field, who help readers to understand specific problems related to airborne research, such as immanent uncertainties and limitations. They also provide guidance on the suitability of instruments to measure certain parameters and to select the correct type of device. While primarily intended for climate, geophysical and atmospheric researchers, its relevance to solar system objects makes this work equally appealing to astronomers studying atmospheres of solar system bodies with telescopes and space probes.

The phenomenon of Arctic amplification originally comprises an enhanced variability and amplified increase of the near-surface air temperature in the Arctic in comparison to the average-near surface warming at lower latitudes. It also implies other serious Arctic climate changes, such as the dramatic summer melting of Arctic sea and the Greenland ice sheet, and the decrease of snow cover and surface albedo of the Greenland ice sheet. Numerous reasons for the Arctic climate change are discussed here.