Atmospheric Dynamics

This textbook is intended for both undergraduate and graduate courses  in meteorology and atmospheric sciences, as well as for researchers  working on theoretical and numerical aspects of weather and climate or  on geophysical fluid dynamics. The treatment is concise, thorough, and  self-contained. All necessary concepts are introduced, and the reader is  given explicit guidance on all mathematical steps.

The book  begins with a derivation of the equations of motion. These are then used  to discuss fundamental aspects of weather and climate. The mechanisms  behind vortical motions, that are known from the daily weather map, are  discussed. Shallow-water theory is introduced as a tool for an efficient  analysis of key concepts, such as atmospheric waves and synoptic-scale  vortices. Quasigeostrophic theory is described and then used to explain  the occurrence and mechanisms of extratropical weather by means of  baroclinic instability. The specific properties of the atmospheric  boundary layer are discussed, with a focus on the interaction between  turbulence and mean flows. This is followed by a detailed look at the  global atmospheric circulation, highlighting its control by Rossby waves  and gravity waves.

At the same time, the reader is introduced to  essential concepts that find applications in the field, such as balance  by geostrophic and hydrostatic equilibrium, the role of entropy and  potential temperature, potential vorticity, the Kelvin theorem,  instability theory, the Reynolds equations, Eliassen-Palm and  pseudo-momentum flux, multi-scale asymptotics, WKB theory, wave action,  the transformed Eulerian mean, critical layers, and wave refraction.

The  text is supplemented by appendices on important mathematical concepts  and further elaborations of the main text. Chapter summaries and reading  recommendations help the reader not merely to keep focus on the  essentials, but just as well to broaden the horizon.