Global Warming [Paperback]

Danny Harvey (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0582381673 | ISBN-13: 978-0582381674 | Publication Date: April 16, 1999 | Edition: 1

Global Warming: The Hard Science presents a comprehensive, qualitatively rigorous, and critical discussion of the science underlying the global warming issue. The major processes in the climate system needed to understand projected human-induced climatic change are presented in detail. Observational systems used to monitor changes in the climate system and the ways in which the raw data are analyzed in order to produce estimates of current trends are also critically reviewed.

The author discusses the hierarchy of computer models used to project changes in the carbon cycle, in climate, and in sea level and examines the physical principles underlying the greenhouse effect and projected warming. The text also presents a detailed discussion of the carbon cycle, of climate sensitivity, and of projected patterns of climatic change through time. Sea level rise and issues of risk and potential surprises are also critically assessed. Emphasis is placed throughout on developing an intuitive understanding of those results that do not depend on the details of any one computer simulation model. A series of boxes illustrate the key points through step-by-step calculations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"exceptionally good"

"this book is hard to beat"

"an extensive and detailed piece of work"

"the book is very well presented and extensively illustrated with diagrams, graphs and tables"

"a thorough, up-to-date, and extremely detailed presentation"

Gareth Rees, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (April 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582381673
• ISBN-13: 978-0582381674
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #855,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book. Somewhat technical., July 31, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Global Warming (Paperback)

This is a really super book. Much of it may be too involved for non-scientist readers, though there is plenty of material that just about anyone can read profitably. Probably best suited for an introductory graduate course, or senior level course, for earth science students. Has much better coverage of global biogeochemical processes than most climate books. I would combine with Peixoto & Oort or Hartmann's books, which are complementary.

I am a physical oceanographer, but not a climate specialist.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful book..., April 17, 2011

By 

Joel Shore - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Global Warming (Paperback)

As a physicist who has an interest in climate science, I found this book very valuable in helping to give me some basic background. Harvey's approach to the topic is quite physically-based, so I think other physical scientists looking to learn more about the basic science would enjoy this book.

One particular standout was a simple calculation showing how the effect on surface temperature due to the reduction in outgoing emission to space from increased greenhouse gases is more than an order of magnitude larger than the effect due to increasing the radiative flux from the atmosphere to the earth's surface by the same amount. Another was the discussion of the carbon cycle and how to understand the large fluxes back and forth between the atmosphere, biosphere, and ocean mixed layer relative to the flux due to our addition of additional carbon from burning fossil fuels into this tightly-coupled system.