Gerald R. North

A comprehensive overview of essential statistical concepts, useful statistical methods, data visualization, and modern computing tools for the climate sciences and many others such as geography and environmental engineering. It is an invaluable reference for students and researchers in climatology and its connected fields who wish to learn data science, statistics, R and Python programming. The examples and exercises in the book empower readers to work on real climate data from station observations, remote sensing and simulated results. For example, students can use R or Python code to read and plot the global warming data and the global precipitation data in netCDF, csv, txt, or JSON; and compute and interpret empirical orthogonal functions. The book's computer code and real-world data allow readers to fully utilize the modern computing technology and updated datasets. Online supplementary resources include R code and Python code, data files, figure files, tutorials, slides and sample syllabi.

In a career spanning four decades, Gerald R. North contributed groundbreaking research that continues to shape the modern field of climate science. However, the route he has taken was full of surprising twists and turns that included hate mail, eavesdropping by the KGB, and sometimes acrimonious debate with climate-change deniers.North's significant contributions to the field include his innovative 'toy model' analysis of climate change based on ingeniously simplified models and his lead proposal for and successful approval of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. Launched in 1997, the TRMM's purpose was to collect data on the global climate system. The TRMM operated successfully for 17 years before it was deactivated in 2015.In The Rise of Climate Science, North recounts in detail his life in the vanguard of modern climate science. He offers an insider look at the academic research and government initiatives around global warming and what that means for the planet. He includes stories of conversations with top Soviet climate scientists at the height of the Cold War in the late 1970s - complete with clandestine electronic surveillance. He also describes the experience of testifying before Congress and engaging in public exchanges with those who doubted the reality of the phenomenon his research field described.Climatology today has advanced into a mature phase. This book is an important contribution to understanding its development in the twentieth century and adds a distinctly human face and sensibility to the ongoing societal conversation around climate change and its implications for our future.

Energy Balance Climate Models Written by renowned experts in the field, this first book to focus exclusively on energy balance climate models provides a concise overview of the topic. It covers all major aspects, from the simplest zero-dimensional models, proceeding to horizontally and vertically resolved models. The text begins with global average models, which are explored in terms of their elementary forms yielding the global average temperature, right up to the incorporation of feedback mechanisms and some analytical properties of interest. The eff ect of stochastic forcing is then used to introduce natural variability in the models before turning to the concept of stability theory. Other one dimensional or zonally averaged models are subsequently presented, along with various applications, including chapters on paleoclimatology, the inception of continental glaciations, detection of signals in the climate system, and optimal estimation of large scale quantities from point scale data. Throughout the book, the authors work on two mathematical levels: qualitative physical expositions of the subject material plus optional mathematical sections that include derivations and treatments of the equations along with some proofs of stability theorems. A must-have introduction for policy makers, environmental agencies, and NGOs, as well as climatologists, molecular physicists, and meteorologists.

This textbook presents a uniquely integrated approach in linking both physics and chemistry to the study of atmospheric thermodynamics. The book explains the classical laws of thermodynamics, focuses on various fluid systems, and, recognising the increasing importance of chemistry in the meteorological and climate sciences, devotes a chapter to chemical thermodynamics which includes an overview of photochemistry. Although students are expected to have some background knowledge of calculus, general chemistry and classical physics, the book provides set-aside refresher boxes as useful reminders. It contains over 100 diagrams and graphs to supplement the discussions, and a similar number of worked examples and exercises, with solutions included at the end of the book. It is ideal for a single-semester advanced course on atmospheric thermodynamics, and will prepare students for higher-level synoptic and dynamics courses.