The Atmosphere: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #518

by Paul Palmer

The atmosphere is the thin, diffuse fluid that envelops the Earth's surface. Despite its apparent fragility, the existence of this fluid is vital for human and other life on Earth.

In this Very Short Introduction, Paul Palmer describes the physical and chemical characteristics of different layers in the atmosphere, and shows how the interactions where the atmosphere is in contact with land, ocean, and ice affect its observed physical and chemical properties. He also looks at how movement in the atmosphere, driven by heat from the sun, transports heat from lower latitudes to higher latitudes, and is a fundamental feature of the general circulation in the atmosphere. Finally, Palmer presents an overview of the types of measurements used to understand different parts of the atmosphere, and identifies the future challenges for atmospheric scientists.

ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics

160 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2017

Reviews

[Étienne de Vignolles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike many VSI books which assume a lot of specialist knowledge, this one is accessible. And it makes weather forecasts, and land features such as deserts and rain forests, much more understandable.

[Maxim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Atmosphere - a short but thorough introduction into atmospheric physics, what’s special about the Earths atmosphere, the greenhouse effect, clouds & atmospheric motion. Very readable and insightful.

[J]

I’m being generous to myself when I say I followed maybe 20% of this.

Still, learned some cool stuff: the corialos force, for example.

Also, the atmosphere is really heated from the ground up? Pretty cool

[Gabe Thornes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite technical in places and a little dry- but not surprising given that meteorology and climate physics arenactually immensely complex. I don’t envy my father for having studied it for his whole career- though it is a fascinating subject area. Four stars.

[Imre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an approachable little book. It truly deserves a second edition, since a lot of research has been done since, and I think an introduction to this subject especially deserves to be well up to date.

[Chance Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

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