Precipitation: Theory, Measurement and Distribution

by Ian Strangeways

Overview

Precipitation plays a significant role in the climate system, and this book is the first to provide a comprehensive examination of the processes involved in the generation of clouds, rain, snow and hail; how precipitation is measured; how its distribution has changed over time; and how we still need to make improvements to the way precipitation is measured. It traces our attempts to understand what clouds are, from ancient Greeks to the present day. It also discusses developments in the measurement of precipitation, from rain gauges to satellite techniques, and how these measurements have enabled researchers to estimate global trends, totals, variability and extremes of precipitation. This will be a valuable and fascinating reference for academic researchers in the fields of environmental science and climatology. It will also be of great interest to professionals in water resource and flood management.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521851176
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/23/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	302
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

Part I. Past Theories of Rain and Snow: 1. The ancients; 2. A renaissance; Part II. Present Theories of Precipitation: 3. Basic processes; 4. Cloud formation; 5. Cloud droplets, ice particles and precipitation; 6. Lightning; Part III. Measuring Precipitation: 7. Early attempts to measure rainfall; 8. Measuring precipitation with raingauges; 9. Measuring snow; 10. Measuring precipitation with radar; 11. Measuring precipitation from satellites; Part IV. The Global Distribution of Precipitation: 12. Raingauge and satellite datasets; 13. Precipitation means and trends; 14. Precipitation variability and extremes; Part V. Future Developments: 15. The future of precipitation measurement; Appendix. Acronyms and abbreviations; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Any reader of 'Weather' interested in precipitation, any user of precipitation datra and any climate modeller wishing to find out more about the source of precipitation data would benefit from reading [this book]. ... The book...ends with a proposed solution—a new global climatological observing network. This would require a transformation of political will to obtain (and maintain) suitable observing sites. This may sounds like idealism, but it certainly provides a novel crescendo to an interesting book that deserves to be read by anyone interested in precipitation and our ability to observe climatic change." - Julian Mayes, Weather

"...easy, descriptive reading..." - Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

From the Publisher