Data assimilation is considered a key component of numerical ocean model development and new data acquisition strategies. The basic concept of data assimilation is to combine real observations via estimation theory with dynamic models. Related methodologies exist in meteorology, geophysics and engineering. Of growing importance in physical oceanography, data assimilation can also be exploited in biological and chemical oceanography. Such techniques are now recognized as essential to understand the role of the ocean in a global change perspective.
The book focuses on data processing...

Reviewed here is the current state of knowledge concerning the relationship between global change and biodiversity of temperate ecosystems. The aim is to improve the ability to conserve biodiversity under conditions of global change.
The book focuses on:
- The threats posed by global change to biodiversity in temperate ecosystems; - Levels and spatial patterns of diversity in temperate ecosystems; - The impact of global change on genetic diversity; - The effects of disturbance (natural and anthropogenic) on temperate ecosystems; - Existing research priorities and programmes.

Presented here are authoritative and up-to-date assessments of the homogenous and heterogenous chemical and physical processes occuring in the troposphere and stratosphere, especially during the "ozone hole" event. The book begins with an overview of atmospheric chemistry, followed by reviews of relevant homogenous reactions in the gas phase and the microphysics and physical chemistry of heterogenous processes that occur on, or in aerosols, rain and ice. Low temperature laboratory studies are compared with related fieldwork measurements, particularly in relation to the formation and...

Climate is the most important component of the Earth's environment and climatic fluctuations have a strong impact on water supplies, vegetation, energy use etc. Thus our understanding of the climatic system is of utmost importance. Leading experts in the field of climate modelling and paleoclimatology present the most recent methods for reconstructing past climatic variations and for modelling the climatic system and its evolution. The first of three parts is devoted to the climatic system and the physical basis for its modelling; the second summarizes the evolution of the global atmosphere,...

Soils will play a central role in mediating the impact of climate change on natural and managed ecosystems.
The book addresses the various responses of soil processes and properties to environmental change and highlights their contribution to the proper understanding of ecosystem behaviour.
Topics include: Soil hydrology; landscape evolution; salinisation; desertification; soil nitrogen dynamics; soil carbon; soil microbiology; soil erosion; crop modelling.

The Earth experienced numerous cold and warm climatic excursions in the past. There is growing evidence that one of the factors that caused these changes was solar variability.
In 35 chapters, leading experts present and discuss the physical mechanisms linking solar forces to the Earth's atmosphere and climate. Among other topics, the solar anomaly in the 17th century and the concomitant little ice age are covered.

In regard to global change, emphasis is generally placed on the increase in global temperature, but large changes in the distribution of precipitation are also likely to occur. Such changes have been redorded in the past by paleoclimatological studies or in the field of climatology. Different approaches to monitoring and forecasting the evolution of climate-scale precipitation are reviewed by paleoclimatologists, hydrologists, satellite meteorologists, and climate modellers.

Fifty million years ago, the Arctic Ocean was a warm sea, bounded by lush vegetation of the warm-temperate shores of Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska and the Northwest Territories. Wind and storms were rare because Atlantic weather systems had not developed but, as today, polar day length added a hostile element to this otherwise tranquil climate.
With the aid of scientists from all the countries close to the Arctic Circle, this book describes the palaeontology, the statistical analysis of vegetational features, comparisons with atmospheric, marine, and geological features and some of the...

Ecosystem health offers a fresh perspective on the management of natural resources and the environment. While some of the root concepts can surely be traced back to Aldo Leopold and even earlier, it is only in the recent decade that a substantial body of work has emerged on this topic. There is no question that a novel approach which is by its nature cross disciplinary, bridging the health and biological sciences, will initially raise a number of questions particularly pertaining to the use of metaphors and the validity of the analogy. This volume however goes beyond merely the philosophical...

This is the first attempt to promote good practice in global change science at schools and universities. Thirty chapters written by practitioners from eleven countries outline present trends, dealing with successful innovations and problems associated with interdisciplinary courses. They are arranged in three principal sections: one setting the scene, the second describing various courses and the third advancing specific teaching strategies and ideas.