Basics of Atmospheric Dynamics

This book is a result of lectures to students at the M.sc level and would, be useful to beginners and students to understand the fundamentals of Atmospheric Dynamics. The emphasis is on basic physical concepts and the interpretation of equations and the different terms therein.The book begins with a discussion of the basic governing equations, their significance as also different coordinate systems and some approximations like geostrophy.The next chapter deals with a discussion of atmospheric energetics-different forms of energy, zonal and eddy forms, their inter-conversions and their physical explanation. The important topic is atmospheric general circulation-as a heat engine, role of eddies in the middle latitudes and of Hadley and monsoon meridional circulations in the tropics. The three dimensional structure is also discussed with the help of recent data. The diabatic heating gradients drive divergent wind circulations which result in the observed wind fields under the influence of earth’s rotation. The next chapter deals with atmospheric waves-Rossby waves and equatorial waves. These are illustrated with wind flow maps.The next topic of discussion is- large scale atmospheric modelling-vorticity and divergence equations, hierarchy of models, numerical methods and simulation.Finally the book deals with hydrodynamic instability-barotropic, baroclinic, CISK and sources of energy for tropical and midlatitude disturbances.Besides theoretical discussions and derivations, an adequate number of illustrative maps and satellite pictures are included with a view to connect to observed features like waves, disturbances and jet streams.About the lndian Meteorological SocietyThe lndian Meteorological society (lMS), established in 1957, is a non-profit organization whose objectives are the advancement of meteorological and allied sciences, dissemination of the knowledge of such sciences both among the scientific workers and among the public, and their application to various constructive human activities. lMS has its headquarters in New Delhi, and it organizes National and lnternational conferences, lectures and other events through its 30 local chapters. lt awards prizes, fellowships, and honorary fellowships. IMS has recently embarked on a programme to publish a series of popular books that would demystify meteorology and its various components for common readers. This is the second book in this series. Contents: 1. Basic Governing Equations2. Energetics of the Atmosphere3. Atmospheric General Circulation4. Waves in the Atmosphere5. Large Scale Atmospheric Modeling6. Hydrodynamic Instability About the Author:Prof. R. N. Keshavamurty was formerly director of Indian lnstitute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune and earlier professor at physical Research Laboratory Ahmedabad. Earlier he worked as a scientist at llTM and IMD and also at GFDL,Princeton university (as a visitor). Earlier he got his M.Sc degree in physics and ph.D degree in physics (meteorology). He has done extensive and pioneering work (observational, theoretical and modeling) on various aspects of monsoon-monsoon variability, instability of monsoon flows, relation between ENSO and monsoon and a new kind of monsoon disturbance (MTC). He has a large number of publications in National and lnternational journals and a couple of books.He was awarded the Dr. B. N. Desai medal, Hari Om Ashram prerit Vikram Sarabhai award and Ministry of Earth sciences National award for life time contribution. He has been on various National and lnternational committees including the WMO/lCSU Joint scientific Committee on World Climate Research program and the Governing Council of llTM.