Global Physical Climatology is an introductory text devoted to the fundamental physical principles and problems of climate sensitivity and change. Addressing some of the most critical issues in climatology, this text features incisive coverage of topics that are central to understanding orbital parameter theory for past climate changes, and for anthropogenic and natural causes of near-future changes-- Key Features * Covers the physics of climate change * Examines the nature of the current climate and its previous changes * Explores the sensitivity of climate and the mechanisms by which humans are likely to produce near-future climate changes * Provides instructive end-of-chapter exercises and appendices

This textbook is a first-look at radiative transfer in planetary atmospheres with a particular focus on the Earth's atmosphere and climate. It covers the basics of the radiative transfer of sunlight, treating absorption and scattering, and the transfer of the thermal infrared. The examples included show how the solutions of the radiative transfer equation are used to evaluate changes in the Earth?s energy budget due to changes in atmospheric composition, how these changes lead to climate change, and also how remote sensing can be used to probe the thermal structure and composition of planetary atmospheres. The examples motivate students by leading them to a better understanding of and appreciation for the computer-generated numerical results. Aimed at upper-division undergraduates and beginning graduate students in physics and atmospheric sciences, the book is designed to cover the essence of the material in a 10-week course, while the material in the optional sections will facilitate its use at the more leisurely pace and in-depth focus of a semester course.

Representative energy balance data over corn and alfalfa fields point up the importance that leaf cover (and thus ''surface wetness'') has in effecting the partition of net radiation. In a cornfield sensible heat exchange in the soil and the air was proportionately greater than in an alfalfa field where more energy was exchanged as latent heat. Energy balance studies in a wintertime snowfield under solar radiation intensities comparable to those in a summertime cornfield reveal how important albedo (solar radiation reflection) is to the energy balance. In an investigation of the surface aerodynamic properties of a cornfield, it was found that the elastic properties of the surface cause the ''roughness length'' to increase with windspeed, and the ''crop displacement'' to decrease with windspeed. This suggests that with increasing windspeed the corn crop surface appears to increase in roughness length, and thus act as a greater momentum sink. (Author).

This book provides a comprehensive presentation of Earth’s energy flows and their consequences for the climate. The Earth’s climate as well as planetary climates in general, are broadly controlled by three fundamental parameters: the solar irradiance, the planetary albedo and the planetary emissivity. Space measurements indicate that these three quantities are remarkably stable. A minor decrease in planetary emissivity is consistent with theoretical calculations. This is due to the ongoing increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases making the atmosphere more opaque to long wave terrestrial radiation. As a consequence radiation processes are slightly out of balance as less heat is leaving the Earth in the form of thermal radiation than the incoming amount of heat from the sun. Present space-based systems cannot yet satisfactorily measure this imbalance, but the effect can be inferred from the measurements of the increase of heat in the oceans. Minor amounts of heat are also used to melt ice and to warm the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth. The book brings to fore the complexity of feedback processes of the Earth’s climate system and in particular the way clouds and aerosols affect the energy balance both directly and indirectly through feed-back loops driven by the dynamics of atmospheric, ocean and land surface processes. The book highlights recent scientific progress as well as remaining challenges. Previously published in Surveys in Geophysics, Volume 33, Nos. 3-4, 2012