Encyclopedia of global warming and climate change

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF

Global Warming
and Climate Change


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF

Global Warming
and Climate Change
S. George Philander
GENERAL EDITOR

VOLUMES 1 - 3


Copyright © 2008 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Encyclopedia of global warming and climate change / S. George Philander.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4129-5878-3 (cloth)
1. Global warming–Encyclopedias. 2. Climatic changes–Encyclopedias.
I. Philander, S. George.
QC981.8.G56E47 2008
363.738’7403--dc22
2008006238
his book is printed on acid-free and recycled paper.
08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF

Global Warming
and Climate Change
CONTENTS
About the General Editor

vi

Preface

vii

Reader’s Guide

ix

Introduction

xvii

List of Articles

xxxiii

List of Contributors

xliii

Chronology

xlvii

Articles A to Z

1–1120

Resource Guide

1121

Glossary

1127

Appendix

A-1

Index

I-1


Encyclopedia of
Global Warming
and Climate Change
About the General Editor
S. George Philander, Ph.D.
Knox Taylor Professor of Geosciences, Princeton University
Research Director, ACCESS
S. George Philander, Knox Taylor Professor

of Geosciences at Princeton University, and
Research Director of ACCESS (African Centre for Climate and Earth System Science) in
Cape Town, South Africa, has a Bachelor of
Science degree from the University of Cape
Town, and a Ph.D. (Applied Mathematics)
from Harvard University.
He is a member of the National Academy
of Sciences, and a fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Geophysical Union, and the American
Meteorological Society. Philander’s research interests include the oceanic circulation, interactions between the ocean and atmosphere that result in phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña, paleoclimates (including the recurrent
Ice Ages of the past three million years), and future global climate changes.
His two books for laypersons, Is the Temperature Rising? he Uncertain Science of Global Warming, and Our Afair With El Niño: How We Transformed
an Enchanting Peruvian Current Into a Global Climate Hazard relect his keen
interest in improving communications between scientists and laymen.
he goal of the African climate center, which Philander is currently directing,
is to give Africa its own voice on environmental issues such as global warming.


Preface
PLANET EARTH HAS become the concern of every-

one. he activities of conservation biologists are now
of interest to economists and political scientists who
wish to ind out whether certain environmental problems are best solved by regulations or market forces.
Businesspeople, government oicials, and politicians
have become involved in science.
To be useful to such a diversity of people, the nearly
750 entries in this 3-volume encyclopedia cover a vast
range of topics afecting global warming and climate
change. he entries amount to more than a catalog

of terms; they are all part of one story about global
warming and how it is likely to afect our world.
Scientiic objectivity have been the watchwords for
the editors of this encyclopedia, yet diferent perspectives that various authors have on some of these issues
are part of a conversation that citizens or students
concerned about the environment ignore at their own
risk. Even the title of the work, Encyclopedia of Global
Warming and Climate Change, was carefully considered to include paleoclimatology in the discussion of
weather, climate, and the current debate about global
warming.
he authors of the entries include geographers,
political scientists, chemists, anthropologists, medical practitioners, development experts, and sociologists. hey are experts in their ields of specialty;
many are researchers with extensive ieldwork experience; most of the entries on emerging techniques

and technologies were written by innovators. As the
volumes intend, it has become increasingly essential to bring the multiplying global warming issues,
concepts, theories, examples, problems, and policies
together in one place, with the goal of clearly explaining an emerging way of thinking about people and
their planet.
Among the selection of articles, speciic country
entries are included, rather than climatic or environmental regions, to give the reader the opportunity to
get information on the status of global warming—its
causes and efects—by country, from Afghanistan to
Zimbabwe. Also included are articles within speciic
categories, including: atmospheric sciences; climate;
climate change efects; climate and society; climate
feedbacks; climate models; institutions studying
climate change; oceanography; paleoclimates; programs and conventions; and people studying climate
change.
Pedagogical elements of this encyclopedia include

the 4-color Introduction by General Editor Dr. S.
George Philander, in which the reader can get a
“bird’s-eye view” of the sciences behind global warming. Also included in the work are a chronology of
climate change, resource guide, glossary, and appendix of charts and table graphically presenting relevant
data. Altogether, we hope the encyclopedia provides
some groundwork for further discussion and spur
possible action to curb global warming.
vii


Reader’s
Guide
his list is provided to assist readers in inding articles related by category or theme.
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES
Aerosols
Anticyclones
Atmospheric Absorption of Solar Radiation
Atmospheric Boundary Layer
Atmospheric Composition
Atmospheric Emission of Infrared Radiation
Atmospheric General Circulation Models
Clouds, Cirrus
Clouds, Cumulus
Clouds, Stratus
Condensation
Convection
Coriolis Force
Cyclones
Doldrums
Evaporation and Transpiration

Evolution of the Atmosphere
Hadley Circulation
Heat, Latent
Heat, Sensible
Hurricanes and Typhoons
Hydrological Cycle
Intertropical Convergence Zone
Jet Streams
Mesosphere
Monsoons

Precipitation
Radiation, Absorption
Radiation, Infrared
Radiation, Long Wave
Radiation, Microwave
Radiation, Short Wave
Radiation, Ultraviolet
Rain
Stratosphere
hermosphere
hunderstorms
Trade Winds
Troposhere
Walker Circulation
Waves, Gravity
Waves, Internal
Waves, Kelvin
Waves, Planetary
Waves, Rossby

Weather
Winds, Easterlies
Winds, Westerlies
CLIMATE
Abrupt Climate Changes
Aerosols
Albedo
ix