It is now possible to determine concentrations of trace constituents and pollutants in the lower atmosphere from space, a development which heralds a new era for tropospheric chemistry. The authors describe how to develop and validate methods for determining tropospheric trace constituents from satellite data, to encourage the use of these data by atmospheric chemists, and to explore the undoubted synergism which will develop between satellite and ground-based measurements, and will eventually give rise to a permanent observation system for the troposphere. The book comprises several comprehensive overviews, prepared by acknowledged experts in the field, together with a series of individual reports from investigators whose work represents the cutting edge of the subject. A variety of results, giving global distributions of several species and their modelling are reported. Most results stem from ESA satellite data, but there is also an account of the North American work in this field which has mainly concentrated on global distributions of ozone. It is fair to say that the field, as it develops, will revolutionize the way in which atmospheric chemistry is done. This timely book provides a good introduction for anyone with an interest in the future of the troposphere.

Contributor biographical information for An introduction to atmospheric physics / David G. Andrews. Bibliographic record and links to related information available from the Library of Congress catalog Biographical text provided by the publisher (may be incomplete or contain other coding). The Library of Congress makes no claims as to the accuracy of the information provided, and will not maintain or otherwise edit/update the information supplied by the publisher. -- -- David Andrews has been a lecturer in Physics at Oxford University and a Physics tutor at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, for 20 years. During this time he has had extensive experience of teaching a wide range of physics courses, including atmospheric physics. This experience has included giving lectures to large student audiences and also giving tutorials to small groups. Tutorials, in particular, have given him insights into the kinds of problems that physics students encounter when learning atmospheric physics, and the kinds of topics that excite them. His broad teaching experience has also helped him introduce students to connections between topics in atmospheric physics and related topics in other areas of physics. He feels that it is particularly important to expose today's physics students to the excitements and challenges presented by the atmosphere and climate. He has also published a graduate textbook, Middle Atmosphere Dynamics, with J.R. Holton and C.B. Leovy (1987, Academic Press). He is a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, a Member of the Institute of Physics, and a Member of the American Meteorological Society.

This book describes how measurements can be made of the properties of the Earth and planets using this method. It includes descriptions of the scientific principles, technical implementation, mathematical methods for analysing the measurements, a history of measurements that have been made and discussions of the phenomena that have been discovered and studied using remote sounding.

The incredible story of spaceflight before the establishment of NASA. NASA's history is a familiar story, one that typically peaks with Neil Armstrong taking his small step on the Moon in 1969. But America's space agency wasn't created in a vacuum. It was assembled from pre-existing parts, drawing together some of the best minds the non-Soviet world had to offer. In the 1930s, rockets were all the rage in Germany, the focus both of scientists hoping to fly into space and of the German armed forces, looking to circumvent the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. One of the key figures in this period was Wernher von Braun, an engineer who designed the rockets that became the devastating V-2. As the war came to its chaotic conclusion, von Braun escaped from the ruins of Nazi Germany, and was taken to America where he began developing missiles for the US Army. Meanwhile, the US Air Force was looking ahead to a time when men would fly in space, and test pilots like Neil Armstrong were flying cutting-edge, rocket-powered aircraft in the thin upper atmosphere. Breaking the Chains of Gravity tells the story of America's nascent space program, its scientific advances, its personalities and the rivalries it caused between the various arms of the US military. At this point getting a man in space became a national imperative, leading to the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, otherwise known as NASA.

The impact of anthropogenic activities on our atmospheric environment is of growing public concern and satellite-based techniques now provide an essential component of observational strategies on regional and global scales. The purpose of this book is to summarise the state of the art in the field in general, while describing both key techniques and findings in particular. It opens with an historical perspective of the field together with the basic principles of remote sensing from space. Three chapters follow on the techniques and on the solutions to the problems associated with the various spectral regions in which observations are made. The particular challenges posed by aerosols and clouds are covered in the next two chapters. Of special importance is the accuracy and reliability of remote sensing data and these issues are covered in a chapter on validation. The final section of the book is concerned with the exploitation of data, with chapters on observational aspects, which includes both individual and synergistic studies, and on the comparison of global and regional observations with chemical transport and climate models and the added value that the interaction brings to both. The book concludes with scientific needs and likely future developments in the field, and the necessary actions to be taken if we are to have the global observation system that the Earth needs in its present, deteriorating state. The appendices provide a comprehensive list of satellite instruments, global representations of some ancillary data such as fire counts and light pollution, a list of abbreviations and acronyms, and a set of colourful timelines indicating the satellite coverage of tropospheric composition in the foreseeable future. Altogether, this book will be a timely reference and overview for anyone working at the interface of environmental, atmospheric and space sciences.

A comprehensive and authoritative text on the formation and evolution of planetary atmospheres, for graduate-level students and researchers.