Amazon cover image
Image from Amazon.com

Waters of the World : the Story of the Scientists Who Unraveled the Mysteries of Our Oceans, Atmosphere, and Ice Sheets and Made the Planet Whole.

By: Publisher: Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2021Copyright date: 2019Edition: Paperback editionDescription: 332 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780226816845
  • 0226816842
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • 551.4809 23/eng/20231120
LOC classification:
  • GB659.6 .D79 2021
Contents:
Introduction -- Hot ice -- See-through clouds -- Number of the monsoon -- Hot towers -- Fast water -- Old ice -- Conclusion.
Summary: From the glaciers of the Alps to the towering cumulonimbus clouds of the Caribbean and the unexpectedly chaotic flows of the North Atlantic, Waters of the World is a tour through 150 years of the history of a significant but underappreciated idea: that the Earth has a global climate system made up of interconnected parts, constantly changing on all scales of both time and space. A prerequisite for the discovery of global warming and climate change, this idea was forged by scientists studying water in its myriad forms. This is their story. Linking the history of the planet with the lives of those who studied it, Sarah Dry follows the remarkable scientists who summited volcanic peaks to peer through an atmosphere's worth of water vapor, cored mile-thick ice sheets to uncover the Earth's ancient climate history, and flew inside storm clouds to understand how small changes in energy can produce both massive storms and the general circulation of the Earth's atmosphere. Each toiled on his or her own corner of the planetary puzzle. Gradually, their cumulative discoveries coalesced into a unified working theory of our planet's climate. We now call this field climate science, and in recent years it has provoked great passions, anxieties, and warnings. But no less than the object of its study, the science of water and climate is--and always has been--evolving. By revealing the complexity of this history, Waters of the World delivers a better understanding of our planet's climate at a time when we need it the most.
List(s) this item appears in: 2024 New Titles
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
BOOK BOOK NCAR Library Mesa Lab GB659.6 .D79 2021 1 Available 50583020028506
Total holds: 0

Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-317) and index.

Introduction -- Hot ice -- See-through clouds -- Number of the monsoon -- Hot towers -- Fast water -- Old ice -- Conclusion.

From the glaciers of the Alps to the towering cumulonimbus clouds of the Caribbean and the unexpectedly chaotic flows of the North Atlantic, Waters of the World is a tour through 150 years of the history of a significant but underappreciated idea: that the Earth has a global climate system made up of interconnected parts, constantly changing on all scales of both time and space. A prerequisite for the discovery of global warming and climate change, this idea was forged by scientists studying water in its myriad forms. This is their story. Linking the history of the planet with the lives of those who studied it, Sarah Dry follows the remarkable scientists who summited volcanic peaks to peer through an atmosphere's worth of water vapor, cored mile-thick ice sheets to uncover the Earth's ancient climate history, and flew inside storm clouds to understand how small changes in energy can produce both massive storms and the general circulation of the Earth's atmosphere. Each toiled on his or her own corner of the planetary puzzle. Gradually, their cumulative discoveries coalesced into a unified working theory of our planet's climate. We now call this field climate science, and in recent years it has provoked great passions, anxieties, and warnings. But no less than the object of its study, the science of water and climate is--and always has been--evolving. By revealing the complexity of this history, Waters of the World delivers a better understanding of our planet's climate at a time when we need it the most.

Questions? Email library@ucar.edu.

Not finding what you are looking for? InterLibrary Loan.