Alexander J. Dessler – författare

The critical role of trace gases in global atmospheric change makes an improved understanding of these gases imperative. Measurements of the distributions of these gases in space and time provide important information, but the interpretation of this information often involves ill-conditioned model inversions. A variety of techniques have therefore been developed to analyze these problems. Inverse Problems in Atmospheric Constituent Transport is the first book to give comprehensive coverage of work on this topic. The trace gas inversion problem is presented in general terms and the various different approaches are unified by treating the inversion problem as one of statistical estimation. Later chapters demonstrate the application of these methods to studies of carbon dioxide, methane, halocarbons and other gases implicated in global climate change. This book is aimed at graduate students and researchers embarking upon studies of global atmospheric change, biogeochemical cycles and Earth systems science.

This 1995 text is addressed to advanced students in oceanography, meteorology and environmental sciences, as well as to professional researchers in these fields. It aims to acquaint them with advances in experimental and theoretical investigations of ocean-atmosphere interactions, a rapidly developing field in earth sciences. Particular attention is paid to the scope and perspectives for satellite measurements and mathematical modeling. Approaches to the construction of coupled ocean-atmosphere models (from the simplest one-dimensional to the most comprehensive three-dimensional ones) for the solution of key problems in climate theory are discussed in detail. Field measurements and the results of numerical climate simulations are presented, to help understand the variability arising from various natural and anthropogenic factors.

This book gives an account of the modern view of the global circulation of the atmosphere. It brings the observed nature of the circulation together with theories and simple models of the mechanisms which drive it. Early chapters concentrate on the classical view of the global circulation, on the processes which generate atmospheric motions and on the dynamical constraints which modify them. Later chapters develop more recent themes including low frequency variability and the circulations of other planetary atmospheres. The book will be of interest to advanced students and researchers who wish for an introduction to the subject before engaging with the original scientific literature. The book is copiously illustrated, and includes many results of diagnostic and modelling studies. Each chapter includes a set of problems and bibliographical notes.

This is the first monograph to describe the historical development of ideas concerning the plasmasphere by the pioneering researchers themselves. The plasmasphere is a cold thermal plasma cloud encircling the Earth, terminating abruptly at a radial distance of 30,000 km over a sharp discontinuity known as the plasmapause. The volume commences with an account of the difficulties met in USSR by Gringauz to publish his early discoveries from Soviet rocket measurements, and the contemporaneous breakthroughs by Carpenter in the USA from ground-based whistler measurements. The authors then update our picture of the plasmasphere by presenting experimental and observational results of the past three decades, and mathematical and physical theories proposed to explain its formation. The volume will be invaluable for researchers in space physics, and will also appeal to those interested in the history of science.

The ionized material that constitutes plasma permeates almost all of the universe beyond the planets and their atmospheres and satellites. This book describes the linear theory of many different waves and instabilities that may propagate in a collisionless plasma. Electrostatic and electromagnetic fluctuations, and a variety of instability sources are considered. Applications of the theory are discussed with respect to spacecraft observations in the solar wind, terrestrial magnetosheath, magnetosphere and magnetotail and at the bow shock and magnetopause. Tables at the end of most chapters summarize wave and instability nomenclature and properties, and problems for the reader to solve are interspersed throughout the text. Together these make this book of great value to both the student and research worker in space physics.

Gaskinetic Theory is an introductory text on the molecular theory of gases and on modern transport theory. It is suitable for upper division undergraduates in physics and first year graduate students in aerospace engineering, upper atmospheric science and space research. The first part introduces basic concepts, including the distribution function, classical theory of specific heats, binary collisions, mean free path, and reaction rates. Transport theory is used to express coefficients such as viscosity and heat conductivity in terms of molecular properties. The second part of the book covers advanced transport theory. Generalised transport equations are derived from the Boltzmann equation. The Chapman-Enskog and the Grad methods are discussed to obtain higher order transport equations for low density gases. The aerodynamics of solid bodies is explored and the book concludes with the kinetic description of shock waves.

This book presents a comprehensive survey of the climatology and meteorology of Antarctica. The first section of the book reviews the methods by which we can observe the Antarctic atmosphere and presents a synthesis of climatological measurements. In the second section, the processes which maintain the observed climate are considered, from large-scale atmospheric circulation to small-scale processes. The final section reviews our knowledge of the variability of Antarctic climate and the possible effects of 'greenhouse' warming. Links between the Antarctic atmosphere, other elements of the Antarctic climate system (oceans, sea ice and ice sheets), and the global climate system are stressed throughout. This volume will be of greatest interest to meteorologists and climatologists with a specialist interest in Antarctica, but it will also appeal to researchers in Antarctic glaciology, oceanography and biology. Graduates and undergraduates studying physical geography, and the earth, atmospheric and environmental sciences will find much useful background material in the book.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the physical phenomena that result from the interaction of the sun and the planets - often termed space weather. Physics of the Space Environment explores the basic processes in the Sun, in the interplanetary medium, in the near-Earth space, and down into the atmosphere. The first part of the book summarizes fundamental elements of transport theory relevant for the atmosphere, ionosphere and the magnetosphere. This theory is then applied to physical phenomena in the space environment. The fundamental physical processes are emphasized throughout, and basic concepts and methods are derived from first principles. This book is unique in its balanced treatment of space plasma and aeronomical phenomena. Students and researchers with a basic mathematics and physics background will find this book invaluable in the study of phenomena in the space environment.

Physics of Solar System Plasmas provides a comprehensive introduction to the plasma physics and magnetohydrodynamics that are needed to study the solar wind and magnetosphere. The text includes a broad introduction to plasma physics, including important discussions of kinetic theory, single particle motion, magnetohydrodynamics, geomagnetically trapped energetic particles and the physics of magnetic reconnection. This leads into a thorough description of the Sun and the solar wind, and, finally, the author addresses magnetospheric physics. Among the topics covered here are magnetospheric morphology, bow shocks, magnetospheric convection and electrical currents, substorms, ionospheric physics, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, auroral physics and the interaction of the solar wind with the planets. Problem sets at the end of each chapter make this a useful text for advanced undergraduate students in astrophysics, geophysics, or atmospheric sciences. Graduate students and researchers will also find it a valuable source of information.

This book is an introductory textbook on the physical processes occurring in the Earth's radiation belts. The presentation is at the advanced undergraduate or first year graduate level, and it is appropriate for students who intend to work in some aspect of magnetospheric physics. The treatment is quantitative and provides the mathematical basis for original work in this subject. The equations describing the motion of energetic ions and electrons in the geomagnetic field are derived from basic principles, and concepts such as magnetic field representations, guiding centre motion, adiabatic invariance, and particle distribution functions are presented in a detailed and accessible manner. Relevant experimental techniques are reviewed and a summary is given of the intensity and energy spectra of the particle populations in the Earth's radiation belts. Problem sets are included as well as appendices of tables, graphs and frequently used formulas.

In his book, John Green presents a unique personal insight into the fundamentals of fluid mechanics and atmospheric dynamics. Generations of students have benefited from his lectures, and this book, many years in the making, is the result of his wide teaching and research experience. The theory of fluid flow has developed to such an extent that very complex mathematics and models are currently used to describe it, but many of the fundamental results follow from relatively simple considerations: these classic principles are derived here in a novel, distinctive, and at times even idiosyncratic, way. The book is an introduction to fluid mechanics in the atmosphere for students and researchers that are already familiar with the subject, but who wish to extend their knowledge and philosophy beyond the currently popular development of conventional undergraduate instruction.