This new edition has been brought completely up-to-date and expanded considerably. It has five new chapters covering visibility, clouds, lightning, atmospheric composition, and the upper atmosphere. The chapter on barometric pressure has been rewritten and expanded, while the chapter on oceans and polar regions has been split into two separate and expanded chapters. In addition, the final chapter--Forward Look--has been rewritten. This volume will be important reading for all professionals involved in pure environmental research or in the day-to-day management of the environment. First...

Precipitation plays a significant role in the climate system, and this book is the first to provide a comprehensive examination of the processes involved in the generation of clouds, rain, snow and hail; how precipitation is measured; how its distribution has changed over time; and how we still need to make improvements to the way precipitation is measured. It traces our attempts to understand what clouds are, from ancient Greeks to the present day. It also discusses developments in the measurement of precipitation, from rain gauges to satellite techniques, and how these measurements have...