Aguado/Burt’s Understanding Weather and Climate illustrates meteorology and climatology using everyday occurrences and inspired technology tutorials to engage students in learning about atmospheric processes and patterns. The Seventh Edition extends coverage of global climate change with new and unique sections covering oceans and climate in the Earth system. Each chapter also focuses on the human aspect of weather and climate, covering high interest weather-related hazards that draw students into the course, while incorporating the latest science and the most relevant issues.

MasteringMeteorology with eText for Understanding Weather and Climate is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment product designed to improve results by helping your students quickly master concepts. The book and MasteringMeteorology work together to create a classroom experience that is tightly integrated to help students succeed both in and outside of the classroom.  

Note: If you are purchasing the standalone text or electronic version, MasteringMeteorology does not come automatically packaged with the text. To purchase MasteringMeteorology please visit www.masteringmeteorology.com or you can purchase a package of the physical text + MasteringMeteorology by searching for  0321984439 / 9780321984432.  MasteringMeteorology is not a self-paced technology and should only be purchased when required by an instructor.

Ed Aguado

Ed Aguado is Professor of Geography and Master's Program Advisor in the Department of Geography of San Diego State University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin—Madison, and his M.A. and B.A. from the UCLA. His research interests are in the precipitation and hydrology of western U.S. mountains. He regularly teaches introductory and advanced meteorology, climatology, and physical geography, and often serves as a

consultant and expert witness on climatology and weather.

Jim Burt

Jim Burt is Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography of the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He received his Ph.D. from the UCLA. His research interests are in physical geography, climatology, quantitative methods, and geovisualization. Burt recently served as the co-principal investigator for SoLIM (Soil Land Inference Model) for soil mapping, using recent developments in GIS, artificial intelligence, and information representation theory, and he is currently involved in new NSF funded research using GIS. He regularly teaches advanced geography and atmospheric science courses.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. ENERGY AND MASS

1. Composition and Structure of the Atmosphere

2. Solar Radiation and the Seasons

3. Energy Balance and Temperature

4. Atmospheric Pressure and Wind

II. WATER IN THE ATMOSPHERE

5. Atmospheric Moisture

6. Cloud Development and Forms

7. Precipitation Processes

III. DISTRIBUTION AND MOVEMENT OF AIR

8. Atmospheric Circulation and Pressure Distributions

9. Air Masses and Fronts

IV. DISTURBANCES

10. Midlatitude Cyclones

11. Lightning, Thunder, and Tornadoes

12. Tropical Storms and Hurricanes

V. HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND SPECIAL TOPICS

13. Weather Forecasting and Analysis

14. Human Effects on the Atmosphere

VI. CURRENT, PAST, AND FUTURE CLIMATES

15. Earth's Climates

16. Climate Changes: Past and Future

17. Chapter 17: Atmospheric Optics (online only in MasteringMeteorology)

VII. APPENDICES

Appendix A: Unit of Measurement and Conversions

Appendix B: The Standard Atmosphere

Appendix C: Weather Map Symbols

Appendix D: Weather Extremes