Recent Progress In Atmospheric Sciences

This book contains 22 peer-reviewed articles that cover a spectrum of contemporary subjects relevant to atmospheric sciences, with specific applications to the Asia-Pacific region. The majority of these papers consist of a review of a scientific sub-field in atmospheric sciences, while some contain original contributions. All of the accepted papers were subject to scientific reviews and revisions.The book is divided into 2 traditional fields in atmospheric sciences: atmospheric dynamics and meteorology; and atmospheric physics and chemistry. The authors of these papers are distinguished alumni of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the National Taiwan University, residing in the USA and Taiwan. This book is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences that occurred in 2004.Papers in atmospheric dynamics and meteorology cover the following subjects: El Niño/Southern Oscillation, air/sea interactions, convection in the tropics, meiyu frontal systems, tropical cyclones/typhoons, data assimilations, and mesoscale modeling. In atmospheric physics and chemistry, subjects range from aerosols/clouds interactions, heat budgets in the context of air/sea interactions, atmospheric radiative transfer, remote sensing of the oceans, Asian dust outbreaks and clouds, reviews of cloud microphysics and urban ozone formations, to a satellite GPS system for typhoon studies and weather predictions.

This book contains 22 peer-reviewed articles that cover a spectrum of contemporary subjects relevant to atmospheric sciences, with specific applications to the Asia-Pacific region. The majority of these papers consist of a review of a scientific sub-field in atmospheric sciences, while some contain original contributions. All of the accepted papers were subject to scientific reviews and revisions.

The study of Earth's atmosphere is known as atmospheric science. It deals with the study of Earth's atmospheric processes, the effects other systems have on the atmosphere and vice versa. Meteorology is the branch of atmospheric science which involves atmospheric physics and chemistry with a focus on weather forecasting. The study of atmospheric changes is known as climatology. It involves the study of atmospheric changes which are both long-term and short-term. It also defines average climate and their changes over time due to both natural and anthropogenic climate variability. The study of upper layers of atmosphere where dissociation and ionization are important, fall under aeronomy. Rocketsondes, radiosondes, satellites, lasers and weather balloons are some of the experimental instruments used in atmospheric science. This book contains some path-breaking studies in the field of atmospheric science. The aim of this book is to present researches that have transformed this discipline and aided its advancement. As this field is emerging at a rapid pace, the contents of this book will help the readers understand the modern concepts and applications of the subject.

Atmospheric sciences refer to the study of the Earth's atmosphere and its various processes, as well as the factors affecting it. It integrates varied fields like aeronomy, climatology and meteorology. Climatology or climate science deals with the study of climate. Modern climatology encompasses the areas of oceanography and biogeochemistry. Climatic studies using analog techniques are fundamental to the understanding of short-term weather forecasting. Some of these techniques are the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), etc. Climate models are crucial for the study of weather and climate systems as well as for the projection of future climates. This book aims to shed light on some of the unexplored aspects of atmospheric and climate sciences and the recent researches in these fields. The various sub-fields along with technological progress that have future implications are glanced at. Researchers and students involved in these fields will be assisted by this book.

This book provides readers with a broad understanding of the fundamental principles driving atmospheric flow over complex terrain and provides historical context for recent developments and future direction for researchers and forecasters. The topics in this book are expanded from those presented at the Mountain Weather Workshop, which took place in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, August 5-8, 2008. The inspiration for the workshop came from the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Mountain Meteorology Committee and was designed to bridge the gap between the research and forecasting communities by providing a forum for extended discussion and joint education. For academic researchers, this book provides some insight into issues important to the forecasting community. For the forecasting community, this book provides training on fundamentals of atmospheric processes over mountainous regions, which are notoriously difficult to predict. The book also helps to provide a better understanding of current research and forecast challenges, including the latest contributions and advancements to the field. The book begins with an overview of mountain weather and forecasting chal- lenges specific to complex terrain, followed by chapters that focus on diurnal mountain/valley flows that develop under calm conditions and dynamically-driven winds under strong forcing. The focus then shifts to other phenomena specific to mountain regions: Alpine foehn, boundary layer and air quality issues, orographic precipitation processes, and microphysics parameterizations. Having covered the major physical processes, the book shifts to observation and modelling techniques used in mountain regions, including model configuration and parameterizations such as turbulence, and model applications in operational forecasting. The book concludes with a discussion of the current state of research and forecasting in complex terrain, including a vision of how to bridge the gap in the future.

The National Academies' Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) held a workshop to explore and evaluate current efforts to model physical processes of coupled atmosphere-land-ocean (A-L-O) models. Numerical models of the atmosphere and ocean are central to weather prediction, research, and education. Although great strides have been made over the past few decades in understanding the atmosphere and ocean, modeling capabilities, and numerical A-L-O simulations, some unresolved processes in the models do not adequately represent knowledge of the underlying physics. Moreover, there is evidence that further progress in numerical simulations is being impeded by the slow pace of improvement in the representation of key physical processes in the models and the fact that geophysical flow models are not receiving the attention needed to make these tools more useful and accurate. These models often are used to predict future events, so it is imperative that their underlying physical processes be represented as robustly as possible. During the workshop, the parameterization of physical processes in A-L-O models was addressed, including associated errors, testing, and efforts to improve the use of parameterizations. Participants also examined intellectual and scientific challenges in modeling and highlighted the idea that some of the key impediments to progress in representing physical processes are primarily cultural in nature.

The SpringerBriefs on Atmospheric and Space Sciences in two volumes presents a concise and interdisciplinary introduction to the basic theory, observation & modeling of atmospheric and ionospheric coupling processes on Earth. The goal is to contribute toward bridging the gap between meteorology, aeronomy, and planetary science. In addition recent progress in several related research topics, such atmospheric wave coupling and variability, is discussed. Volume 1 will focus on the atmosphere, while Volume 2 will present the ionosphere-- the plasma environment. Volume 1 is aimed primarily at (research) students and researchers that would like to gain quick insight in atmospheric sciences and current research. It also is a useful tool for professors who would like to develop a course in atmospheric physics.