Reading List
Students are advised to buy one of the following textbooks:
Stull, R.B. 2000. Meteorology for Scientists and Engineers, 2nd Edition.
Despite the title, this is the best book for the course overall. The text focuses
very much on physical principles, and contains all of the fundamental physical
equations needed to understand the atmosphere. The supporting text is wonderfully
lucid, so that the physics is not nearly as intimidating as it might be. The
book is written as a companion volume for:
Ahrens, D.: Meteorology Today. 5th Edition. A beautifully illustrated and clear review of basic meteorology and climatology. Case studies are heavily biased towards North America, but includes useful summaries of other climatic zones. On its own, the level of coverage is too basic for this course, but in combination with Stull it really brings the subject to life.
Barry, R.G. and Chorley, R.J.: Atmosphere, Weather and Climate,
7th Edition. Contains a fantastic wealth of information and illustrations.
Probably the best single volume for the course, but some of the physical
principles are hard to follow, and parts of the book can be rather intimidating
to read. The coverage of climatology is excellent.
.
McIlveen, R. Fundamentals of Weather and Climate. A detailed
text which is about the best and clearest review of meteorology for the
really keen. Contains quite a bit of maths but is also surprisingly readable.
Henderson-Sellers, A. and Robinson, P.J.: Contemporary Climatology.
A very useful overview of global climate and basic meteorological principles.
Many clear diagrams, with examples drawn from all parts of the world. Somewhat
lacking in detail on some aspects of climatology.
Bader, M.J., Forbes, G.S., Grant, J.R., Lilley, R.B.E. and Waters,
A.J. Images in Weather Forecasting. Lavishly illustrated sourcebook
of satellite images and their interpretation, using mainly UK examples.
Excellent coverage of frontal systems, with some useful discussion of 'conveyor
belt' models.
Barry, R.G. Mountain Weather and Climate. A very interesting review of this specialised field, although the text is a bit cumbersome.
Bigg, G.R. The Oceans and Climate. Useful review of the fascinating territory where atmospheric and oceanic science meet.
Carlson, T.N. Mid-Latitude Weather Systems. A technical book with quite a lot of maths, but contains some very informative chapters on the 3-D structure of frontal systems. Definately only for those with a physics background and/or two brains.
Fein, J.S. and Stephens, P.L. 1987. (Eds.) Monsoons. An excellent collection of papers on all aspects of the South Asian Monsoon. The two chapters by Peter Webster are particularly good reading, and the chapter by Murakami gives a detailed account of the influence of mountains on monsoon circulation.
Gordon, A., Grace, W., Schwerdtfeger, P. and Byron-Scott., R. Dynamic Meteorology: a basic course. This is a thorough and sound review of meteorology, with quite a lot of physics. The maths is more detailed than is required for the course, but it is all clearly explained. Useful for students with a physics backround who want detailed discussions of how the atmosphere works.
McGregor, G.R. and Nieuwolt, S. Tropical Climatology. This is a very readable book, with excellent material on monsoons, the Intertropical Convergence, and Trade Wind circulation.
Oke, T.R. Boundary Layer Climates. A gem of a book, by a respected scientist with a deep feeling for his subject. Excellent and readable coverage of small-scale weather phenomena, plus all kinds of interesting bits and pieces from wind chill effects to the temperature distribution inside a fish. A classic.
Pedgley, D. Mountain Weather. A layman's book, with very clear accounts of weather patterns in Britain's mountains. Not detailed enough for exam revision, but a must for mountaineers with an interest in the weather.
Scorer, R.S. Dynamics of Meteorology and Climate. Quite a technical book, with a lot of maths. The text is quite quirky, and provides a fresh perspective on many topics for those who want to delve more deeply into the physics of the weather.
Stirling, R. The Weather of Britain. This is a really useful overview of Britain's weather, at a good level of detail. Contains fascinating accounts of extreme weather events, plus explanations of why they happen.
Weather: a monthly magazine published by the Royal Meteorological Society,
which contains very readable and interesting articles plus day-by-day weather
maps of the past month. The contents of Weather since 1994 are available from
http://www.royal-met-soc.org.uk/