"Michael McElroy's impressive new book is a bargain, for it is really two books in one. Approximately the
first half is an accessible general atmospheric science text, and almost all the rest of the book is a comprehensive
introduction to atmospheric chemistry. . . . The entire book is authoritative, balanced, up-to-date and exceptionally
well-written."
--Richard C. J. Somerville, American Journal of Physics
"The breadth of this book sets it apart from most other introductory texts on either atmospheric chemistry
or climate change, which are typically more restrictive in their focus to one of those two areas. . . . Overall,
this is an excellent book. . . . McElroy has done a service to the community in creating a textbook with the potential
to help create a future pool of educated people with a thorough yet broad background in the complex web of interactions
related to human effects on the atmospheric environment."
--Drew T. Shindell, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Publisher Web Site, October, 2004
Summary
This comprehensive introduction to the physics and chemistry of Earth's atmosphere explains the science behind
some of the most critical and intensely debated environmental controversies of our day. In it, one of the world's
leading experts on planetary environments presents the background necessary to assess the complex effects of human
activity on our atmosphere and climate.
Unique in its breadth and depth of coverage, The Atmospheric Environment includes a survey of Earth's climatic
history to provide a context for assessing the changes underway today. It is written for--and will be of lasting
value to--a varied audience, including not only students but also professional scientists and others seeking a
sophisticated but readable introduction to the frontiers of contemporary research on biogeochemistry, depletion
of stratospheric ozone, tropospheric air pollution, and climatology.
The book covers both the chemistry and physics of the atmosphere with an account of relevant aspects of ocean science,
treats atmospheric science and the climate as an integrated whole, and makes explicit the policy implications of
what is known. Its critical account of steps taken by the international community to address the issue of climatic
change highlights the challenge of dealing with a global issue for which the political and economic stakes are
high, where uncertainties are common, and where there is an urgent need for clear thinking and informed policy.
The book also sketches key gaps in our knowledge, outlining where we need to go to fully understand the impact
of our actions on the climate.
Thorough, timely, and authoritative, this is the book to consult for answers about some of the thorniest and most
pressing environmental questions that we face.
Michael B. McElroy is Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies at Harvard University, where he also serves
as Director of the Center for the Environment. He participated in the early Mariner missions to Mercury, Venus,
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn and the Viking mission to Mars. The author of more than 200 papers on atomic physics
and planetary atmospheres, he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the International Academy
of Astronautics, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.