An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, Volume 88, Fourth Edition (International Geophysics) [Hardcover]

James R. Holton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0123540151 | ISBN-13: 978-0123540157 | Publication Date: April 14, 2004 | Edition: 4

This revised text presents a cogent explanation of the fundamentals of meteorology, and explains storm dynamics for weather-oriented meteorologists. It discusses climate dynamics and the implications posed for global change. The Fourth Edition features a CD-ROM with MATLAB® exercises and updated treatments of several key topics. Much of the material is based on a two-term course for seniors majoring in atmospheric sciences.

* Provides clear physical explanations of key dynamical principles
* Contains a wealth of illustrations to elucidate text and equations, plus end-of-chapter problems
* Holton is one of the leading authorities in contemporary meteorology, and well known for his clear writing style
* Instructor's Manual available to adopters

NEW IN THIS EDITION
* A CD-ROM with MATLAB® exercises and demonstrations
* Updated treatments on climate dynamics, tropical meteorology, middle atmosphere dynamics, and numerical prediction

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is very clearly and well written...the author succeeds in presenting the fundamentals while providing a motivating discussion on the full scope of dynamic meteorology and its applications."
-Jorg Matschullat, Interdisciplinary Environmental Research Center, in ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY, VOL. 49, MARCH 2006

Praise for previous edition:

"...reflects the full scope of modern dynamic meteorology, while providing a presentation of the fundamentals." -BULLETIN AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY

"The careful presentation of introductory material and clear discussion of dynamical principles make this an excellent basic account of dynamical meteorology." -JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS

Book Description

The new edition of Holton's bestselling textbook, with 18,000+ sales in the current edition!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 535 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 4 edition (April 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0123540151
• ISBN-13: 978-0123540157
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Underrated Text, September 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, Volume 48, Third Edition (International Geophysics) (Hardcover)

This book, often simply referred to as "Holton", has been roundly cursed by undergraduates since it was first published. I know, because I was one of them. However, as the years went by, and as the number of classes requiring Holton as a text went by, I realized two things. First, that this book was not meant to hold your hand through all the derivations. It requires a competent instructor who can use Holton as a detailed companion to rigorous coursework. This book is NOT for the average person who wishes to study alone. The second thing is that this book was written to fill a gap. There were no similar atmospheric dynamics texts. As a consequence, it must cover a large amount of material in a rather small, college textbook-sized space. It does this well. Yes, the author's writing style is dry to the extreme, and yes, physical explanations are often lacking. However, if you have access to a competent professor, neither of these are problems. One final thought... as we call the book simply "Holton" remember that Frankenstein's monster is often called simply "Frankenstein", but we will leave comparisons to the reader - and to the author!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most exellent textbook in dynamics of the atmopshere, January 17, 2007

By 

Chanh Q. Kieu "kieucq" (College Park) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, Volume 88, Fourth Edition (International Geophysics) (Hardcover)

This book, in my opinion, is the most valuable book on dynamical aspects of the atmosphere insofar, especially from pedagogical point of views. As a foreign student, I understand well Holton's writings. Simple but very concise sentences, no wordy explanations. The first 3 chapters provide you the basic equations used in meteorology and their common approximations. The next 5 chapters, to me, are the most interesting chapters. They give you wide range of knowledge from boundary layer, synoptic scale phenomena, to instabilities. Equations are of great usefulness because THEY bring into the light physical contents of the dynamics of the atmosphere. To me, any analytical equation and its explicit solution provide us a more complete understanding than numerical models do (because you never know some unpredictable behaviour of numerical solutions). So, try to understand carefully the simplest cases that Holton selected. This gives you a lot of deeper understandings. Chapters 9 to 11 provide the dynamics of meso- to large-scale circulations. You will see why the Hadley circulation descends around 35N in very clear way. However, simple Poisson eqn with the argument of "positive forcing, negative solution" that is applied throughout the text should be paid especial attention because this conclusion is not always true. As a whole, the contents, explanations and derivations will be very well constructed if you see the main point of each section.
To get to the heart of this book, read and derive all the skips in Holton's derivations. The gaps are not too hard to fill out in math but require some thinking. DO ALL OF THE EXERCISES at the end by yourself and you will double your knowledge. For any math-related physical book, transparent derivations are the first thing you should figure out, physical explanations will follow subsequently. From my experience, people tend to skip any chapter what they thought they knew it already. If you apply this method here, you may be in trouble. Read carefully the first 5 chapters, understand approximations used in the each situation. Simply apply equations without judgments of their assumptions will take you into the nightmare.

I give this book 5 stars +. It is really classic....

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paramount, February 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, Volume 48, Third Edition (International Geophysics) (Hardcover)

Useful introduction to dynamic meteorology. Covers many fundamental concepts and concisely. It is not a good fluid dynamics book. It is developed for the atmospheric scientist. It contains an exceptional chapter on waves. Also, there are some elementary concepts related to stratospheric dynamics and general circulation that are very well-written.