Atmospheric Science: A Global Overview

The atmosphere is made up of gaseous layers which surround the Earth. The main layers of the atmosphere are the exosphere, thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere and troposphere. The study of the Earth's atmosphere and atmospheric processes, its effect on other systems and their effects on the atmosphere fall under the field of atmospheric sciences. An understanding of the physical and optical properties of the atmosphere is vital to the study of atmospheric science. It can be divided into the fields of meteorology, climatology and aeronomy. The discipline of meteorology is concerned with weather forecasting and focuses on atmospheric physics and chemistry. Climatology studies short-term and long-term atmospheric variations and their changes with time. Aeronomy studies the dissociation and ionization in the upper layers of the atmosphere. This book contains some path-breaking studies in this field. It provides significant information of this discipline to help develop a good understanding of atmospheric science and related disciplines. As this field is emerging at a rapid pace, the contents of this book will help the readers understand the modern concepts and applications of the subject.