Physics of the Atmosphere and Climate

Murry Salby’s new book provides an integrated treatment of the processes controlling the Earth-atmosphere system, developed from first principles through a balance of theory and applications. This book builds on Salby’s previous book, Fundamentals of Atmospheric Physics. The scope has been expanded into climate, with the presentation streamlined for undergraduates in science, mathematics and engineering. Advanced material, suitable for graduate students and as a resource for researchers, has been retained but distinguished from the basic development. The book provides a conceptual yet quantitative understanding of the controlling influences, integrated through theory and major applications. It leads readers through a methodical development of the diverse physical processes that shape weather, global energetics and climate. End-of-chapter problems of varying difficulty develop student knowledge and its quantitative application, supported by answers and detailed solutions online for instructors.

Author Biography

Murry Salby holds the Chair of Climate Science at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. He was previously a Professor at the University of Colorado, where he served as Director of the Center for Atmospheric Theory and Analysis. Before that he was a researcher at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research and at Princeton University. Professor Salby has authored more than 100 scientific articles in major international journals, as well as the textbook Fundamentals of Atmospheric Physics (1996). His research focuses on changes of the atmospheric circulation in relation to global structure, energetics and climate. Involving large-scale computer simulation and satellite data, Salby’s research has provided insight into a wide range of phenomena in the Earth-atmosphere system.