Earth Environments: Past, Present, and Future – Weblinks
Chapter 2 Structure and Composition of the Atmosphere
2.1 - Structure of the atmosphere
University of Cambridge Centre for Atmospheric Sciences Ozone Hole Tour
http://www.atm.ch.cam.ac.uk/tour
Images of the Ozone hole.
US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
http://www.research.noaa.gov/climate.html
Site with archived and current climate data. Links to reports and publications on climate issues such
as El Niňo and La Niňa; Global Carbon Cycle , the Ozone layer.
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
http://www.ucar.edu/learn
Provides an introduction to the Atmosphere: scientific properties, the climate system, the
greenhouse effect and the ozone layer.
Meteorology Class Notes from Lyndon State College Meteorology Department
http://www.apollo.lsc.visc.edu/classes/met130/notes
Website online textbook. Excellent comprehensive notes and diagrams on all aspects of meteorology.
American Meteorological Society Search Engine
http://www.ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=indexhtml&ct=1&SESSID=cfab674c79c4214a5ed4f3b9306979
For all kinds of online journal articles on various aspects of atmospheric science.
Understanding the Atmosphere
http://www.profhorn.aos.wisc.edu/wxwise/AckermanKnox/index.html
Animations and text to explain regional climate and weather processes.
2.2 – Energy in the Atmosphere
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Introduction to the Atmosphere
http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_1_1.htm
2.3 – Moisture in the Atmosphere
UK Meteorological Office Teacher’s Resources (Hydrological Cycle)
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/teachers/lessonplan_ks3_hydrological_cycle.html
Science Daily: More moisture in atmosphere attributed to humans
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090811091832.htm
2.4 – Atmospheric Motion
Local Winds
http://www.tpub.com/content/aerographer/14312/css/1432_80.htm
A discussion of the winds caused by local cooling or heating, land and sea breezes, mountain winds,
katabatic winds and monsoons.
Influence of landscape Structure on local and regional climate
http://www.landscape.forest.wisc.edu/landscapeecology/Articles/v04i23p133.pdf
Article by Pielke, R.A. and Avissar, R. (1990) using observational and modelling data to assess the
relationship between the land surface and climate.
Hurricanes and Tropical Cyclones
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/main.index.html
Many excellent hurricane links and resources.
Hurricane Intensity
http://www.magazine.noaa.gov/stories/mag/84.html
An article on the increase in hurricane intensity and natural variability and relevant hurricane web
sites.
Hurricane Katrina
http://www.cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/archive/2005/storms/katrina/katrina.html
Contains movies, images, storm track details and other information related to Hurricane Katrina.
Meteorology guide provided by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of
Illinois Urbana-Champaign
http://www.ww2010.atmos.uiuc/edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/fw/home.rxml
Covers topics like forces affecting atmospheric circulation, processes of precipitation formation,
weather forecasting.
Hurricane Research Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd
Information on the underlying mechanisms.
Global Circulation
http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eal/Climate/Older/General_Circulation.html
An overview of atmospheric circulation cells.
2.5 – Weather Systems
Imagery and Animations
http://www.earthobservatory.nasa
NASA Visible Earth
http://www.visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_set.php?categoryID=108
Mid-latitude Cyclone
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7s.html
Gives an overview of cyclones, their development and the dynamics of frontal systems.
BBC Weather
http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather
Understanding weather at BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding
UK Meteorological Office
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk
Cairngorm Weather Station
http://www.phy.hw.ac.uk/resrev/weather.htm
One of UK’s highest and longest running mountain weather stations. Online datasets, images,
avalanche information.
2.6 – World Climates
Indian Ocean Monsoon from the Earth Space Research group at the Institute for Computational
Earth Systems Science
http://www.crsepo.ucsb.edu/esrg/10M2/Start2=10M.html
Decsribes what a monsoon is, the physical formation mechanisms and the uniqueness of the Indian
Monsoon.
Heat Island group from Berkeley, California
http://www.eetd.lbl.gov/HeatIsland
Description of the different causes of the urban heat island effect, mthods for its reduction and the
use of current climate data.
Urban Climatology and Air Quality from NASA
http://www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/urban
Project to investigate and model the urban heat island effect.
Urban heat Islands
http://www.cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxwise/heatisl.html
A description of the urban heat island effect and the factors that cause it.
2.7 – Ocean Circulation
El Niňo Tracking
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elnino
Information on this phenomenon and links to other useful sites.
El Niňo Theme page NOAA
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/nino-home.html
Global and regional consequences of El Niňo events and the links to droughts and natural forest fires;
monitoring of these events.
El Niňo and La Niňa from Environment Canada
http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/educator/elnino/index_e.cfm
http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/educator/lamina/index_e.cfm
Comprehensive discussion with time series animations.
El Niňo and La Niňa Watch from NASA
http://www.topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/elnino
Gives in depth sea surface temperature data represented in a time series of global satellite images
during different oceanic conditions , for example during a strong La Niňa event or tracking the
movement of a Kelvin Wave across the ocean.
Current Animations of SST and OLR from the NASA Climate Diagnostics Centre
http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/map/clim/sst_olr/el_nin0_anim.shtml
Ocean Images from NASA Visible Earth
http://www.visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_set.php?categoryID=817
Ocean images from satellite data, including ocean winds, circulation, temperatures and bathymetry.
North Atlantic Oscillation from Tiempo
http://www.tiempocyberclimate.org/portal/datanao.htm
An explanation of the North Atlantic Oscillation and its effects.
2.8 – Atmospheric Evolution and Climate Change
Quaternary Palynology from the University of Arizona Department of Geosciences
http://www.heo.arizona.edu/palynology/quat_pal.html
For a review of palynology dating techniques for Quaternary reconstruction.
Fossil and Surface Pollen Data Archives
http://www.ncdc.noaa/gov/paleo/pollen.html
Dating Techniques from Minnesota State University
http://www.mnsu.edu/museum/archaeology/dating/index.shtml
For relative and absolute dating; the preparation and application of each technique for Quaternary
environmental reconstruction.
Coleoptera in Quaternary Studies from Colby College
http://www.colby.edu/geology/Beetles.html
The use of fossil beetles in environmental reconstruction; value of coleopteran and other
webservers.
Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia
http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/info
Provides data and factsheets on a range of topics, including Global Temperature Record; Causes of
Climatic Change; Climate Change Scenarios; Sea Level Rise; Volcanoes and their Effects on Climate.
2.9 – Principles of Climatic Change
BBC Climate Change website
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/portal/climate_change/default.stm
Open University Climate Change website
http://www.open2.net/climatechange/index.html
UK Meteorological Office Guide to Climate Change
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climatechange/guide
Global climate change
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/index.html
Information, features and news releases.
Climate Change Science
http://geochange.er.usgs.gov
Climate Impacts Research Centre, Abisko, Northern Sweden
http://www.emg.umu.se/circ
United States Geological Survey
http://www.usgs.gov/glocal change
For topics such as sea-level change, glacier and landscape change in response to a changing climate,
permafrost, carbon sequestration, climate impact on species, health risks.
http://www.usgs.gov/science/science.php?term=168
Greenhouse Gas Online
http://www.ghgonline.org
For news and resources.
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre: climate change data and information analysis centre
for US Department of Energy
http://www.cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/emis/em_cont.html
IPCC Reports
http://www.ipcc.ch
At this website the various reports on climatic change can be downloaded.
Goddard Institute for Space Studies gives the recent history of global temperatures
http://www.data.giss.nasa.gov/gikstemp
United Nations Environment Programme, including films e.g. melting glaciers and information on
many aspects of environmental concerns
http://www.unep/org
United Nations Framework Convention on Climatic Change
http://www.unfccc.int/2860.php
Documents on climatic change topics, with information on international efforts to combat climate
change leading up to the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen (7-18th December 2009),
including the Bonn Climate Change talks in August 2009.
Climate Change Prediction, Institute of Physics
http://www.iop.org/actvity/policy/Publications/file_4147_pdf
With an easy to read, well illustrated essay on Climate Change Prediction: a challenging scientific
problem.
The Stern Report
http://www.webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.hmtreasury.gov.uk/media/3/6/Chapter_1_The_Science_of _Climate_Change.pdf
Understanding Ice Ages at BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/iceage_01.shtml