Textbooks:
We'll draw from a number of different textbooks, but predominantly:
Required-
- The Physics of Atmospheres, J.T. Hougton, Cambridge University Press,
3rd edition, 2002.
Of the available textbooks, this is the
closest to the level of the class. It has good
explanations of many of the basic phenomena. In contrast to W&H
(see below) it
is less grounded in weather observations and is slightly more
theoretical.
Other
useful references:
I will try and point to readings in the following books
when they will be useful (bug me if I do not)
- Atmospheric Science, an Introductory
Survey, J.M.Wallace and P.V. Hobbs, Academic Press, 2005
The latest edition of this useful book
has just been released. It is a substantial update on the previous
edition, and at a lower price. What could be a better bargain that
that? It is a good investment if you
are going to take other climate classes. It is pitched slightly low
for this class, but it covers many more topics (a good thing). I will
suggest readings from it that will be
useful.
- Introduction to Dynamical Meteorlogy, J. Holton,
Academic Press, 4th
Edition, 2004
An absolutely tremendous text, and
one you will certainly use if you pursue atmospheric science any
further. To my mind, often the best source for clear explanations of
concepts. Comes with CD of illustrative MATLAB exercises.
- Global Physical Climatology, D.L. Hartman, Academic Press, 1994.
Much more focussed on climate, but
a good basic introductory text on how the atmosphere interacts with
other bits of the Earth System.