This user-friendly book makes a current and comprehensive introduction to the atmosphere—its components, problems, and applications. It contains easy-to-understand and everyday examples that reinforce basic concepts and related science principles. Chapter topics include moisture and atmospheric stability; forms of condensation and precipitation; air pressure and winds; weather patterns; thunderstorms and tornadoes; hurricanes; air pollution; and global climate change. For weather watchers who want to know why. Preface There are few aspects of the physical environment that influence our daily lives more than the phenomena we collectively call weather. Newspapers, magazines, and television stations regularly report a wide range of weather events as major news stories—an obvious reflection of people's interest and curiosity about the atmosphere. We also face important environmental problems related to the atmosphere. Such issues as air pollution, ozone depletion, and global warming require our attention. A basic meteorology course can take advantage of our interest and curiosity about the weather as well as our desire to understand the impact that people have on the atmospheric environment. The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology, Eighth Edition, is designed to meet the needs of students who enroll in such a course. It is our hope that the knowledge gained by taking a class and using this book will encourage many to actively participate in bettering the environment, and others may be sufficiently stimulated to continue their study of meteorology. Equally important, however, is our belief that a basic understanding of the atmosphere and its processes will greatly enhance appreciation of our planet and thereby enrich the reader's life. In addition to being informative and up-to-date, a major goal of The Atmosphere is to meet the need of beginning students for a readable and user-friendly text, a book that is a highly usable "tool" for learning basic meteorological principles and concepts. Distinguishing Features Readability The language of this book is straightforward and written to be understood. Clear, readable discussions with a minimum of technical language are the rule. The frequent headings and subheadings help students follow discussions and identify the important ideas presented in each chapter. In the present edition, improved readability was achieved by examining chapter organization and flow and writing in a more personal style. Large portions o) the text were substantially rewritten in an effort to make the material more understandable. Illustrations and Photographs Meteorology is highly visual. Therefore, photographs and artwork are a very important part of an introductory book. The Atmosphere, Eighth Edition, contains dozens, of new high-quality photographs that were carefully selected to aid understanding, add realism, and heighten the interest of the reader. The illustrations in each new edition of The Atmosphere keep getting better and better. In the eighth edition more than 100 pieces of line art are new o> revised. The new art illustrates ideas and concepts more clearly and realistically than ever before. Dennis Tasa, a gifted artist and respected science illustrator, carried out the art program. Focus on Learning New to the eighth edition. To assist student learning, every chapter now concludes with a Chapter Summary. When a chapter has been completed, five useful devices help students review. First, the Chapter Summary recaps all the major points. Next the Vocabulary Review provides a checklist of key terms with page references. Learning the language of meteorology helps students learn the material. This is followed by the Review Questions section, which helps students examine their knowledge of significant facts and ideas. In most chapters, Problems, with a quantitative orientation, follow the review questions. Most problems require only basic mathematical skills and allow students to enhance their understanding by applying skills and principles explained in the chapter. Each chapter closes with some suggested Web sites for further exploration. Moreover, students are reminded to visit the all-new Web site for The Atmosphere, Eighth Edition (prenhall/lutgens). It contains many excellent opportunities for review and exploration. Environmental Issues and Atmospheric Hazards Many of the serious environmental issues that face humanity are related to the atmosphere. This new edition includes up-to-date treatment of air pollution, ozone depletion, global warming, and more. Because atmospheric hazards adversely affect millions of people worldwide every day, coverage of this topic has been expanded. At appropriate places. throughout the book students will have an opportunity to learn more about atmospheric hazards. Two entire chapters (Chapter 10, "Thunderstorms and Tornadoes" and Chapter 11, "Hurricanes") focus almost entirely on hazardous weather. In addition, a number o