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| Preface | |
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| Introduction to the Atmosphere | |
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| Weather and Climate | |
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| Atmospheric Hazards: Assault by the Elements | |
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| The Atmosphere: A Part of the Earth System | |
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| Earth's Four Spheres | |
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| Earth's Spheres Interact | |
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| The Carbon Cycle | |
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| Composition of the Atmosphere | |
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| Major Components | |
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| Carbon Dioxide | |
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| Variable Components | |
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| Ozone Depletion--A Global Issue | |
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| The Ozone Hole | |
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| Effects of Ozone Depletion | |
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| Montreal Protocol | |
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| Probing the Atmosphere | |
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| Height and Structure of the Atmosphere | |
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| Pressure Changes | |
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| Temperature Changes | |
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| Vertical Variations in Composition | |
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| The Ionosphere | |
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| Heating Earth's Surface and Atmosphere | |
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| Earth-Sun Relationships | |
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| Earth's Motions | |
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| The Seasons | |
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| Earth's Orientation | |
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| Solstices and Equinoxes | |
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| Energy, Heat, and Temperature | |
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| Types of Energy | |
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| Heat Energy Versus Temperature | |
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| Mechanisms of Energy Transfer | |
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| Conduction | |
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| Convection | |
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| Radiation | |
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| Laws of Radiation | |
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| The Fate of Incoming Solar Radiation | |
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| Reflection and Scattering | |
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| Absorption by Earth's Surface and Atmosphere | |
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| Radiation Emitted by Earth | |
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| Heating the Atmosphere | |
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| The "Greenhouse Effect" | |
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| Role of Clouds in Heating Earth | |
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| Heat Budget | |
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| Latitudinal Heat Balance | |
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| Temperature | |
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| For the Record: Air Temperature Data | |
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| Why Temperatures Vary: The Controls of Temperature | |
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| Land and Water | |
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| Ocean Currents | |
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| Altitude | |
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| Geographic Position | |
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| Cloud Cover and Albedo | |
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| World Distribution of Temperatures | |
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| Cycles of Air Temperature | |
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| Daily Temperature Variations | |
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| Magnitude of Daily Temperature Changes | |
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| Annual Temperature Variations | |
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| Temperature Measurement | |
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| Mechanical Thermometers | |
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| Electrical Thermometers | |
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| Instrument Shelters | |
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| Temperature Scales | |
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| Applications of Temperature Data | |
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| Heating Degree-Days | |
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| Cooling Degree-Days | |
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| Growing Degree-Days | |
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| Temperature and Comfort | |
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| Moisture and Atmospheric Stability | |
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| Movement of Water Through the Atmosphere | |
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| Water's Changes of State | |
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| Water in the Atmosphere | |
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| Vapor Pressure and Saturation | |
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| Relative Humidity | |
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| How Relative Humidity Changes | |
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| Natural Change in Relative Humidity | |
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| Dew Point Temperature | |
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| Humidity Measurement | |
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| Adiabatic Temperature Changes | |
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| Adiabatic Cooling and Condensation | |
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| Lifting Processes | |
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| Orographic Lifting | |
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| Frontal Wedging | |
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| Convergence | |
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| Localized Convective Lifting | |
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| The Critical Weathermaker: Atmospheric Stability | |
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| Types of Stability | |
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| Stability and Daily Weather | |
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| How Stability Changes | |
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| Temperature Changes and Stability | |
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| Vertical Air Movement and Stability | |
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| Forms of Condensation and Precipitation | |
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| Condensation | |
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| Condensation Aloft and Cloud Formation | |
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| Clouds | |
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| Cloud Classification | |
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| Cloud Descriptions | |
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| Fog | |
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| Fogs Formed by Cooling | |
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| Fogs Formed by Evaporation | |
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| Dew and Frost | |
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| How Precipitation Forms | |
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| Precipitation from Cold Clouds: The Bergeron Process | |
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| Precipitation from Warm Clouds: The Collision-Coalescence Process | |
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| Forms of Precipitation | |
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| Rain | |
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| Snow | |
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| Sleet and Glaze | |
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| Hail | |
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| Rime | |
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| Precipitation Measurement | |
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| Standard Instruments | |
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| Measuring Snowfall | |
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| Measurement Errors | |
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| Precipitation Measurement by Weather Radar | |
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| Intentional Weather Modification | |
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| Cloud Seeding | |
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| Fog and Cloud Dispersal | |
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| Hail Suppression | |
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| Frost Prevention | |
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| Inadvertent Weather Modification: Urban-Induced Precipitation | |
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| Air Pressure and Winds | |
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| Understanding Air Pressure | |
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| Measuring Air Pressure | |
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| Factors Affecting Air Pressure | |
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| Pressure Changes With Altitude | |
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| Factors Affecting Wind | |
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| Pressure-Gradient Force | |
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| Coriolis Force | |
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| Friction | |
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| Winds Aloft and Geostrophic Flow | |
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| Curved Flow and the Gradient Wind | |
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| Surface Winds | |
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| How Winds Generate Vertical Air Motion | |
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| Vertical Airflow Associated with Cyclones and Anticyclones | |
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| Factors That Promote Vertical Airflow | |
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| Wind Measurement | |
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| Circulation of the Atmosphere | |
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| Scales of Atmospheric Motion | |
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| Large- and Small-Scale Circulation | |
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| Structure of Wind Patterns | |
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| Local Winds | |
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| Land and Sea Breezes | |
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| Mountain and Valley Breezes | |
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| Chinook (Foehn) Winds | |
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| Katabatic (Fall) Winds | |
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| Country Breeze | |
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| Global Circulation | |
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| Single-Cell Circulation Model | |
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| Three-Cell Circulation Model | |
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| Observed Distribution of Pressure and Winds | |
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| Idealized Zonal Pressure Belts | |
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| Semipermanent Pressure Systems: The Real World | |
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| Monsoons | |
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| The Asian Monsoon | |
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| The North American Monsoon | |
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| The Westerlies | |
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| Why Westerlies? | |
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| Jet Streams | |
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| Origin of the Midlatitude Jet Stream | |
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| Subtropical Jet Stream | |
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| Waves in the Westerlies | |
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| Westerlies and Earth's Heat Budget | |
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| Global Winds and Ocean Currents | |
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| The Importance of Ocean Currents | |
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| Ocean Currents and Upwelling | |
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| El Nino and La Nina | |
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| Global Distribution of Precipitation | |
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| Zonal Distribution of Precipitation | |
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| Distribution of Precipitation Over the Continents | |
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| Precipitation Regimes on a Hypothetical Continent | |
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| Air Masses | |
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| What Is an Air Mass? | |
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| Source Regions | |
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| Classifying Air Masses | |
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| Air-Mass Modification | |
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| Properties of North American Air Masses | |
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| Continental Polar (cP) and Continental Aretic (cA) Air Masses | |
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| Lake-Effect Snow: Cold Air Over Warm Water | |
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| Maritime Polar (mP) Air Masses | |
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| Maritime Tropical (mT) Air Masses | |
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| Continental Tropical (cT) Air Masses | |
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| Weather Patterns | |
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| Polar-Front Theory | |
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| Fronts | |
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| Warm Fronts | |
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| Cold Fronts | |
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| Stationary Fronts | |
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| Occluded Fronts | |
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| Drylines | |
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| Life Cycle of a Midlatitude Cyclone | |
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| Formation: The Clash of Two Air Masses | |
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| Development of Cyclonic Flow | |
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| Occlusion: The Beginning of the End | |
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| Idealized Weather of a Midlatitude Cyclone | |
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| Cyclogenesis | |
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| Cyclonic and Anticyclonic Circulation | |
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| Divergence and Convergence Aloft | |
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| Traveling Cyclones | |
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| Patterns of Movement | |
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| Anticyclonic Weather and Blocking Highs | |
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| Case Study of a Midlatitude Cyclone | |
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| Violent Spring Weather | |
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| Weather in Peoria | |
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| Thunderstorms and Tornadoes | |
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| What's in a Name? | |
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| Thunderstorms | |
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| Air-Mass Thunderstorms | |
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| Stages of Development | |
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| Occurrence | |
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| Severe Thunderstorms | |
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| Supercell Thunderstorms | |
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| Squall Lines and Mesoscale Convective Complexes | |
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| Lightning and Thunder | |
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| What Causes Lightning? | |
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| The Lightning Stroke | |
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| Thunder | |
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| Tornadoes | |
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| The Development and Occurrence of Tornadoes | |
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| Tornado Development | |
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| Tornado Climatology | |
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| Profile of a Tornado | |
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| Tornado Destruction | |
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| Tornado Forecasting | |
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| Tornado Watches and Warnings | |
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| Doppler Radar | |
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| Hurricanes | |
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| Profile of a Hurricane | |
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| Hurricane Formation and Decay | |
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| Hurricane Formation | |
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| Hurricane Decay | |
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| Hurricane Destruction | |
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| Storm Surge | |
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| Wind Damage | |
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| Inland Flooding | |
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| Detecting and Tracking Hurricanes | |
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| The Role of Satellites | |
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| Aircraft Reconnaissance | |
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| Radar and Data Buoys | |
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| Hurricane Watches and Warnings | |
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| Weather Analysis and Forecasting | |
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| The Weather Business: A Brief Overview | |
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| Weather Analysis | |
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| Gathering Data | |
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| Weather Maps: Pictures of the Atmosphere | |
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| Weather Forecasting | |
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| Synoptic Weather Forecasting | |
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| Numerical Weather Prediction | |
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| Statistical Methods | |
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| Techniques Used in Short-Range Forecasting | |
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| Long-Range Forecasts | |
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| Forecast Accuracy | |
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| Tools in Weather Forecasting | |
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| Satellites in Weather Forecasting | |
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| What Weather Satellites Reveal | |
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| Measurement by Satellite | |
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| Weather Forecasting and Upper-Level Flow | |
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| The Winter of 1977 | |
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| Air Pollution | |
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| A Brief Historical Perspective | |
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| Air Pollution: Not a New Problem | |
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| Some Historic Episodes | |
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| Sources and Types of Air Pollution | |
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| Primary Pollutants | |
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| Secondary Pollutants | |
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| Trends in Air Quality | |
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| Meteorological Factors Affecting Air Pollution | |
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| Wind as a Factor | |
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| The Role of Atmospheric Stability | |
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| Acid Precipitation | |
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| Extent and Potency of Acid Precipitation | |
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| Effects of Acid Precipitation | |
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| The Changing Climate | |
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| The Climate System | |
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| Is Our Climate Changing? | |
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| How Do We Detect Climate Change? | |
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| Evidence from Sea-Floor Sediment | |
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| Evidence from Oxygen Isotope Analysis | |
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| Evidence from Other Sources | |
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| Natural Causes of Climate Change | |
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| Plate Tectonics and Climate Change | |
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| Volcanic Activity and Climate Change | |
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| Orbital Variations | |
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| Solar Variability and Climate | |
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| Human Impact on Global Climate | |
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| Carbon Dioxide, Trace Gases, and Climate Change | |
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| How Do Aerosols Influence Climate? | |
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| Climate-Feedback Mechanisms | |
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| Some Possible Consequences of a Greenhouse Warming | |
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| Water Resources and Agriculture | |
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| Sea-Level Rise | |
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| New Weather Patterns | |
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| World Climates | |
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| Climate Classification | |
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| Climate Controls: A Summary | |
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| Latitude | |
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| Land and Water | |
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| Geographic Position and Prevailing Winds | |
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| Mountains and Highlands | |
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| Ocean Currents | |
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| Pressure and Wind Systems | |
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| World Climates--An Overview | |
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| The Wet Tropics (Af, Am) | |
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| Temperature Characteristics | |
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| Precipitation Characteristics | |
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| Tropical Wet and Dry (Aw) | |
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| Temperature Characteristics | |
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| Precipitation Characteristics | |
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| The Monsoon | |
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| The Cw Variant | |
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| The Dry Climates (B) | |
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| What Is Meant by "Dry"? | |
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| Subtropical Desert (BWh) and Steppe (BSh) | |
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| West Coast Subtropical Deserts | |
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| Middle-Latitude Desert (BWk) and Steppe (BSk) | |
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| Humid Middle-Latitude Climates with Mild Winters (C) | |
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| Humid Subtropical Climate (Cfa) | |
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| The Marine West Coast Climate (Cfb) | |
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| The Dry-Summer Subtropical (Mediterranean) Climate (Csa, Csb) | |
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| Humid Continental Climates with Severe Winters (D) | |
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| Humid Continental Climate (Dfa) | |
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| The Subarctic Climate (Dfc, Dfd) | |
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| The Polar Climates (E) | |
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| The Tundra Climate (ET) | |
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| The Ice Cap Climate (EF) | |
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| Highland Climates | |
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| Optical Phenomena of the Atmosphere | |
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| Nature of Light | |
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| Reflection | |
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| Refraction | |
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| Mirages | |
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| Rainbows | |
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| Halos, Sun Dogs, and Solar Pillars | |
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| The Glory | |
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| The Corona | |
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| Metric Units | |
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| Explanation ad Decoding of the Daily Weather Map | |
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| Relative Humidity and Dew Point Tables | |
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| Correcting Mercurial Barometer Readings | |
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| Laws Relating to Gases | |
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| Climate Data | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Index | |