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Book Reviews

Physics of the Aurora and Airglow, Chamberlain J. W., 1995, 704pp., Classics in Geophysics, Volume 1, AGU, $55.00 ($38.50 AGU member price) pb, ISBN o-87590-857-8.

The American Geophysical Union has instituted a new book series called Classics in Geophysics, and this is the first of the series. It is a reprint of the renowned book which was originally published in 1961. The first two chapters cover the fundamental physics of spectral line radiation, and the scattering of radiation and radiative transfer theory which do not change on a time scale of a third of a century. Some errata are pointed out, using a bold arrow in the margin, and the corrections are listed at the start of the book. Chapter 3 gives background information (using c.g.s. units) on a dipole magnetic field, the geomagnetic field, charged particle motions, electromagnetic wave propagation in a plasma (with frequencies in Mc/sec), Chapman theory of an iono- spheric layer, model atmospheres and the thermosphere. Detailed books have been written on each of these topics, and it is only the last section which appears very dated. Nowadays, much is known about the occurrence of aurorae in space and time which is the topic of Chapter 4 (with Information derived from ground-based observations, and with black and white photographs). Chapter 5 on amoral spectroscopy and photometry, is still a valuable compen- dium. The radio-aurora (Chapter 6) is a term which has rather gone out of use, to be replaced by radar studies --with the equipment having a diversity of acronyms. The discussion of physical processes in the aurora1 atmosphere (Chapter 7) due to proton and electron bombardment is still useful.

It is on topics discussed in the second half of the book (charged particles in space, hydrogen emissions in nightglow, emission height, airglow mechanisms) that current research is going in new directions. using satellite observations and computer modelling and simulation techniques of plasma phenomena. At the start of the book, there are four pages of notes, referring to books and papers published since 1961, and to more recent papers by the author himself.

This is a good book giving background information for a new researcher in observations of the aurora or airglow.

M. J. Rycroft International Space University

France

The Aurora: SutvEarth Interactions, Bone N., 1996, 172pp., John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Wiley-Praxis Series in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Second Edition, E19.99 pb, ISBN O-471. 96024- 1.

In comparison with Chamberlain’s academic tome, this book is a chatty introduction to the subject of the aurora which is put in the context of solar-terrestrial physics and space weather. It benefits from sixteen colour photographs taken

by members of the British Astronomical Association (Aurora Section), including the author.

This is a book to whet the appetite of aurora1 observers by explaining, at a popular level, what the aurora is, what causes it and why studies of it are relevant to humanity. Mentions are made of aurora1 activity throughout history as portents of doom, the great aurorae of 13 and I4 March, 1989, and of 8 and 9 November, 1991, and of ways of invest- igating aurorae since the seventeenth century, culminating in the International Geophysical Year (1957 to 1958) and space age studies. Chapter 4 considers the active Sun, mentioning helioseismology and coronal mass ejections. The behaviour of the Earth’s magnetosphere is outlined in Chapter 5, and other planetary magnetospheres are introduced. Chapter 6 discusses the properties of the atmosphere and ionosphere at heights where aurorae are produced, and the atomic pro- cesses which explain them. Aurorae observed at mid- latitudes and schemes for recording them visually are covered in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 discusses effects associa- ted with aurorae such as geomagnetic field changes, Forbush decreases and radio phenomena; Chapter 9 is on noctilucent clouds.

This is a valuable book for its intended audience. intro- ducing the physics of what lies behind aurora1 observations.

M. J. Rycroft International Space University

France

The Determination of Geophysical Parameters from Space, Fancey N. E., Gardiner I. D. and Vaughan R. A., (eds), l996,364pp., Scottish Universties Summer School in Physics &Institute of Physics Publishing, &105.00, $210.00 hb. ISBN 0-7503-O-350-6

This valuable book arises from a NATO Advanced Study Institute held, as the 43rd Scottish Universities Summer School in Physics, in Dundee in August and September 1994. It covers remote sensing of the Earth’s land and sea surface, the atmosphere and air-sea interactions, primarily using spaceborne instruments. The book’s sixteen chapters are written by different authors,

The first chapter overviews the current status of satellite remote-sensing-the physics, data sets, international pro- grammes, data centres and future missions-all in 15 pages. Current European initiatives are explained in more detail, as are the activities of the Natural Resource Institute of Britain’s Overseas Development Organisation, especially those in Africa, in the next two chapters.

Synthetic aperture radar principles and applications are well reviewed by J. Askne (of Chalmers University of Tech- nology, Sweden, in 58 pages), and then applied to the auto- matic detection of oil spills. Radar altimetry basics, and applications to ocean wave phenomena, to the cryosphere and to desert regions, are well covered by D. Martripp

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