Measuring the Natural Environment

Front Cover
Cambridge University Press, Oct 23, 2003 - Nature - 534 pages
Measurements of natural phenomena are vital for any type of environmental monitoring, from the practical day-to-day management of rivers and agriculture, and weather forecasting, through to longer-term assessment of climate change and glacial retreat. This book looks at past, present and future measurement techniques, describing the operation of the instruments used and the quality and accuracy of the data they produce. The book will be important for all those who use or collect such data, whether for pure research or day-to-day management of the environment. It will be useful for students and professionals working in a wide range of environmental science: meteorology, climatology, hydrology, water resources, oceanography, civil engineering, agriculture, forestry, glaciology, ecology. The first edition received excellent reviews and this new edition has been expanded considerably, through the addition of six new chapters and the extension and modification of many of the existing chapters.
 

Contents

Basics
1
Radiation
11
Temperature
31
Humidity
53
Wind
69
Barometric pressure
91
Evaporation
113
Precipitation
134
Visibility
320
Clouds
343
Lightning
361
The upper atmosphere
383
The oceans
421
Cold regions
452
Remote sensing
469
Atmospheric composition
503

Soil moisture and groundwater
178
Rivers and lakes
223
Data logging
272
Telemetry
288
Forward look
519
abbreviations and acronyms
524
Index
529
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2003)

Ian Strangeways is Director of TerraData, a consultancy in meteorological and hydrological instrumentation and data collection. From 1964 to 1989 he was Head of the Instrument and Applied Physics sections at the Institute of Hydrology (Natural Environment Research Council).

Bibliographic information