INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, VOL. 17, 225–226 (1997)

BOOK REVIEWS

DYNAMICS OF ATMOSPHERIC MOTION, J. A. Dutton,Dover Publications (Mineola, New York), 1995. No. ofpages: xix + 617. Price: US$17.95. ISBN 0-486-68486-5.

This is a republication of a text that appeared previouslyunder the titleThe Ceaseless Wind: an Introduction to theTheory of Atmospheric Motion, published by Dover in1986. It is unaltered apart from the title.

The book aims to provide an introduction to the theoryof atmospheric dynamics for undergraduate or graduatestudents of atmospheric science. It aims for, and largelyachieves, a high degree of mathematical rigour whilemaintaining a highly readable style. Part One contains fivechapters that provide introductions to the basic mathematicsand thermodynamics required in later chapters. Part Two isconcerned with the equations of fluid motion, theirtransformation into forms commonly used in meteorologyand an account of moist processes in the atmosphere. Inpart Three the basic theory developed in the previoussections is applied to atmospheric dynamics. Chapters areconcerned with principal force balances, vorticity, ener-getics, atmospheric waves, approximate equations of

motion, quasi-geostrophic theory, and atmospheric model-ling.

Problems of varying difficulty appear throughoutalthough solutions are not provided. Each chapter endswith bibliographic notes, which as well as giving referencesto other works, guide the student towards alternativeapproaches. The use of a mixture of mks and cgs units isunfortunate. If there is any particular feature which makesthe book distinctive, it is the combination of mathematicalrigour and comprehensive theoretical description, not onlyof atmospheric dynamics but also of thermodynamics andmoist processes.

I have had a copy of the previous edition of this book onmy shelves since it first appeared and have used itfrequently. I always thought that its most significantshortcoming was the title. Along with this republishedversion comes a much more appropriate title, which canonly help to ensure that the book achieves the success that itdeserves.

STEPHEN MOBBSUniversity of Leeds

MICROCLIMATIC LANDSCAPE DESIGN: CREATINGTHERMAL COMFORT AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.R. D. Brown and T. J. Gillespie, John Wiley & Sons Inc.(New York), 1995. No. of pages: xi + 193. Price: £29.95.ISBN 0-471-05667-7 (paperback).

Books intended for practical climatic use are infrequent.Here we have an example of the application of many of theclimatological principles and processes that are taken forgranted by climatologists. The authors claim that the bookis intended to show landscape architects, architects, andplanners how to work with nature in order to createclimatically pleasant spaces for human activities. From itthey should learn about the scientific background as well asthe design techniques. It is not clear from the introductionwhether this means students of these disciplines or thepractitioners themselves. The approach of the book wouldbe much more appropriate for the students. Importantprinciples and concepts are printed in bold to assist quickreference, and sections are clearly titled. It also possesses avery informal, almost chatty style of writing. We read(p. 30) that ‘Energy deficits at the poles allow the ‘‘blobs’’(or masses) of air in these regions to become cold, and theysit like two gigantic inverted bowls of Jell-O over the topand bottom of the earth’. We also find red cherry juicesplashing around as warm air and meeting the Jell-O alongthe main global ‘front’. Later we are told that Yellowknife

(in Canada) is continuously locked in the cold Jell-O(p. 41). The book is not intended as a source ofclimatological knowledge for readers of this journal.

The content of the book includes the section onclimatological concepts and macroscale aspects of theatmosphere relevant to landscape design. Subsequentlymicroscale elements are described, concentrating onradiation and air flow. Generally the level of explanationis limited. Further chapters examine human thermalcomfort, energy conservation, and modification of micro-climatic elements, which is where the main strength of thebook lies. The authors stress the importance of protectionfrom the wind in winter and from the sun in summer formost aspects of landscape design. Schemes for improvingenvironments are suggested and at the end of each chapterthere is a section containing questions that might be asked.For example, ‘You are working on a project on the NorthAmerican prairies where summers are very hot and dry.What can you do to make the landscape more thermallycomfortable? How can you use water? How can you reducethe air temperature?’

As a book for students of landscape design, planning orarchitecture, I could imagine this would provide a usefulbackground for aspects of the microclimate that affecthabitation. It does provide some important scientific input,particularly of solar radiation. A simple energy budgetmodel of human comfort is worked through, including a

CCC 0899-8418/97/020225-02 $17.50# 1997 by the Royal Meteorological Society

BASIC program to allow calculations to be made. I suspect astudent working on their own would have great difficultycomprehending what was being done, but as part of a classexercise it would be useful. The significance of clothingshould have been stressed.

The diagrams appear to have been drawn by hand priorto printing as they have their own idiosyncratic style. Inmost cases this is no problem, but the sky charts that showthe track of the sun through the sky give the impression that

the sun’s path is not smooth, rather resembling a drunkenspider!

A useful book for students of landscape and planning.Readers of this journal might find it interesting to see howtheir own discipline is applied.

P. A. SMITHSONUniversity of Sheffield

DICTIONARY OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE, (2ndedn), W. John Maunder, UCL Press Ltd (London), 1994.No. of pages: xxvi� 257. Price: £14-95. ISBN 1-85728-284-1 (paperback).

Climate change is arguably the most rapidly developingbranch within the field of climatology. Moreover, the manyfacets of anthropogenic influences, which may very welllead to irreversible global climatic changes in terms ofhuman time-scales, make it imperative to have some kindof a reference book to which students of climatology ingeneral and negotiators of climatic impacts in particular canturn. This volume is such a reference book.

The first edition, namedThe Climate Change Lexicon,was written, above all, for participants at the Second WorldClimate Conference in 1990 at the request of the co-ordinator of that international conference. However, it wasnot published until 1992 so that it only became available forreference to participants at the important United NationsConference on Environment and Development (UNCED)held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. This meeting spawned alarge number of preparatory and follow-up meetings, suchas those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee onthe Framework Convention on Climate Change (INC/FCCC), or the Conference of the Parties to the ClimateConvention (COP). The many new developments made arevision necessary, which was renamedDictionary ofGlobal Climate Changeand published as the secondedition in 1994.

The book has a twofold structure. Much like a dictionaryit runs through from ‘abiotic’ to ‘zooplankton’, giving on257 pages concise definitions of climate-related terms. Thereal value of this book lies, however, in deciphering themyriads of acronyms ranging from names for conferences,projects, and working groups as well as data, modelling,applications, and services programs, to associations,commissions, committees, and councils, etc. The authorgives a good deal of comparative information so thatreaders can draw their own conclusions, for example, on theimportance and relevance of the different conferencestatements.

There are, however, a number of inconsistencies towhich some readers might object. For example, while suchwell-known climate research and climate modelling centresas the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton

and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New Yorkare at least mentioned, and the British Hadley Centre forClimate Protection and Research is given almost half apage, the equally well-known Hamburg ClimateComputation Centre gets no entry at all. These centresare concerned with the development and use of three-dimensional coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulationmodels, and these are covered adequately in the Dictionary.Unfortunately the equally important scenario analysesusing simpler climate models to back-calculate permissiblegreenhouse gas emissions are not even mentioned.

The Villach Conference of 1985 and the follow-upTechnical Workshop of 1987, the Toronto Conference onThe Changing Atmosphere of 1988, the Nordwijk ClimateConference of 1989, and the Saarbruecken InternationalConference on Energy in Climate and Development of1990 were all important milestones toward the SecondWorld Climate Conference in 1990. It would have beenappropriate for the WMO Conference on Climate andDevelopment at Hamburg in 1989 to be included as well.

The Montreal Protocol of 1987 was a major first steptoward controlling substances that deplete the stratosphericozone layer and which contribute to the natural greenhouseeffect. It was soon realized that the proposed emissionreductions were utterly inadequate. The Dictionary presentsthe first enforcement meeting known as the LondonMinisterial Conference on Ozone (1990), but it omits theequally important follow-up meeting held at Copenhagen in1992.

Some national activities, such as those by the ClimateEnquete-Commission of the German Parliament, haveresulted in pioneering work by translating scientificknowledge on global climatic change into policy action.The outcome of the deliberations during two legislativeperiods has been published both in German and in English.Some of it is listed in a reference list in what the authorcalls Sources of Information. It is unfortunate that none ofthe significant results made it into the main body of theDictionary.

Apart from these monita John Maunder has produced aconcise dictionary/lexicon which will be very useful to thegrowing climate change community.

WILFRID BACHUniversity of Muenster

226 BOOK REVIEWS