Note: Front Cover -- Contents -- List of contributors -- Foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Chapter 1: Environmental physics: processes and issues -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 The environment: the science of the twenty-first century? -- 1.2.1 Environmental concerns in the late twentieth century -- 1.3 What is environmental physics? -- 1.4 Physics in the environment -- 1.4.1 Human environment -- 1.4.2 Built environment -- 1.4.3 Urban environment -- 1.4.4 Global environment -- 1.4.5 Biological environment -- 1.5 Environmental physics and the global environmental agenda -- 1.6 Summary -- References -- Chapter 2: The human environment -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Laws of Thermodynamics -- 2.2.1 First Law of Thermodynamics -- 2.2.2 Second Law of Thermodynamics -- 2.2.3 Entropy and the Third Law of Thermodynamics -- 2.3 Laws of Thermodynamics and the human body -- 2.3.1 Energy and metabolism -- 2.3.2 Thermodynamics and the human body -- 2.3.3 First Law of Thermodynamics and the human body -- 2.3.4 Second Law of Thermodynamics and the Gibbs free energy -- 2.4 Energy transfer -- 2.4.1 Conduction -- 2.4.2 Convection -- 2.4.3 Radiation -- 2.4.4 Evaporation -- 2.4.5 Energy budget equation -- 2.5 Survival in the cold -- 2.5.1 Thermal comfort and insulation -- 2.5.2 Boundary layer -- 2.5.3 Wind chill -- 2.5.4 Hypothermia -- 2.6 Survival in hot climates -- 2.6.1 Effect of heat on the human body -- 2.7 Taking risks, weather and survival -- 2.8 Summary -- References -- Questions -- Chapter 3: The built environment -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Thermal regulation in buildings -- 3.2.1 Thermal insulation -- 3.2.2 Thermal conduction effects -- 3.2.3 Convection effects -- 3.2.4 Radiation effects -- 3.2.5 U-values -- 3.3 Energy use in buildings -- 3.3.1 Efficiency -- 3.3.2 Energy losses -- 3.3.3 Calculation of energy losses -- 3.3.4 Energy gains. , 3.4 Air regulation in buildings -- 3.4.1 Ventilation requirements -- 3.4.2 Ventilation installations -- 3.5 Heat pumps -- 3.5.1 Heat pump efficiency -- 3.6 Condensation -- 3.6.1 Water vapour -- 3.6.2 Humidity -- 3.6.3 Condensation in buildings -- 3.7 Buildings of the future -- 3.7.1 Checklist for a future house -- 3.7.2 Energy use and carbon dioxide emissions -- 3.8 Summary -- References -- Questions -- Chapter 4: The urban environment -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.1.1 Townscape -- 4.2 Energy in the city -- 4.2.1 Electromagnetic induction -- 4.2.2 Electrical power transmission -- 4.3 Transportation -- 4.3.1 Energy efficiency in transport -- 4.4 Water for the urban environment -- 4.4.1 Sewage -- 4.5 Lighting -- 4.5.1 Sources of light -- 4.6 Urban pollution -- 4.6.1 Urban pollutants -- 4.6.2 Particulates -- 4.7 Smog -- 4.8 Acid rain -- 4.9 The car as an urban pollutant -- 4.9.1 Internal combustion engine -- 4.9.2 Efficiency of the car engine -- 4.9.3 Reducing vehicle emissions -- 4.10 Noise pollution -- 4.10.1 Human ear -- 4.10.2 Sound levels -- 4.10.3 Hearing loss -- 4.11 Summary -- References -- Questions -- Chapter 5: Energy for living -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.1.1 World energy demand -- 5.1.2 World energy supplies -- 5.2 Fossil fuels -- 5.3 Nuclear power -- 5.3.1 Nuclear fission -- 5.3.2 Nuclear reactors -- 5.3.3 Nuclear fusion -- 5.4 Renewable energy -- 5.5 Solar energy -- 5.5.1 Transferring solar energy -- 5.5.2 Solar photovoltaic electricity -- 5.6 Wind power -- 5.6.1 Average power of a moving mass of fluid -- 5.6.2 Bernoulli's theorem and the aerofoil -- 5.6.3 Forces acting on wind-turbine propeller blades -- 5.6.4 Laminar and turbulent flow -- 5.7 Hydroelectric power -- 5.7.1 Water moving through a cylindrical tube -- 5.8 Tidal power -- 5.9 Wave energy -- 5.9.1 Mathematics of wave power -- 5.10 Biomass and biofuels -- 5.11 Geothermal power. , 5.12 Summary -- References -- Questions -- Chapter 6: Revealing the planet -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Remote sensing -- 6.3 Orbits of satellites -- 6.4 Resolution of satellite images -- 6.4.1 Image processing -- 6.5 Radar -- 6.6 Applications of remote sensing data -- 6.6.1 Meteorological satellites -- 6.6.2 Landsat -- 6.7 Summary -- References -- Questions -- Chapter 7: The Sun and the atmosphere -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Solar energy -- 7.2.1 Solar output -- 7.2.2 Rhythm of the seasons -- 7.2.3 Solar cycles and climate change -- 7.3 Structure and composition of the Earth's atmosphere -- 7.3.1 Structure of the atmosphere -- 7.3.2 Composition of the atmosphere -- 7.4 Atmospheric pressure -- 7.4.1 Pressure and temperature as functions of altitude -- 7.4.2 Escape velocity -- 7.5 Solar radiation -- 7.5.1 Solar spectrum -- 7.5.2 Earth's ionosphere -- 7.5.3 The aurorae -- 7.5.4 Solar photo-induced chemistry -- 7.6 Ozone -- 7.6.1 The Earth's ultraviolet filter -- 7.6.2 Ozone chemistry -- 7.6.3 'Ozone hole' -- 7.6.4 Ozone loss in the Antarctic polar region -- 7.6.5 Ozone loss in the Arctic polar region -- 7.7 Terrestrial radiation -- 7.7.1 Earth's energy balance -- 7.7.2 Earth as a black body -- 7.7.3 Greenhouse effect -- 7.8 Global warming -- 7.8.1 Enhanced greenhouse effect -- 7.8.2 Global warming: the evidence -- 7.8.3 Global warming: the predictions -- 7.8.4 Sea-level rise and global warming -- 7.9 Summary -- References -- Questions -- Chapter 8: Observing the Earth's weather -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Observing the weather -- 8.2.1 Air temperature -- 8.2.2 Pressure measurement -- 8.2.3 Wind measurement -- 8.2.4 Humidity measurement -- 8.2.5 Precipitation measurement -- 8.2.6 Sunshine -- 8.2.7 Visibility -- 8.3 Global weather monitoring network -- 8.3.1 Surface network -- 8.3.2 Upper atmosphere network -- 8.4 Weather forecasting -- 8.4.1 Folklore. , 8.4.2 Computer modelling of weather -- 8.4.3 Chaos in weather forecasting -- 8.5 Cloud physics -- 8.5.1 Water: the unique molecule -- 8.5.2 Hydrosphere -- 8.5.3 Types of clouds -- 8.6 Physics of cloud formation -- 8.7 Snow crystals -- 8.8 Atmospheric electricity -- 8.9 Summary -- References -- Questions -- Chapter 9: Global weather patterns and climate -- 9.1 Introduction: atmospheric motion -- 9.1.1 Air masses and weather fronts -- 9.2 Principal forces acting on a parcel of air in the atmosphere -- 9.2.1 Gravitational force -- 9.2.2 Pressure gradient force -- 9.2.3 Coriolis force -- 9.2.4 Frictional forces -- 9.3 Pressure gradients and winds -- 9.3.1 Cyclonic motion -- 9.3.2 Depressions and fronts -- 9.4 Thermal gradients and winds -- 9.5 Global convection -- 9.6 Global weather and climate patterns -- 9.6.1 Global pressure field -- 9.6.2 Global wind patterns -- 9.6.3 Temperature fields -- 9.6.4 Global humidity patterns -- 9.6.5 Cloud patterns -- 9.6.6 Precipitation -- 9.7 Summary -- References -- Questions -- Chapter 10: Physics and soils -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 Soils -- 10.3 Water retention by soils -- 10.4 Soil water suction -- 10.5 Movement of water through soils -- 10.6 Soil& -- #8211 -- water balance -- 10.7 Leaching of solutes through soil profiles -- 10.8 Evaporation from the land surface -- 10.8.1 Energy requirement for evaporation -- 10.8.2 Energy balance of wet and dry land surfaces -- 10.8.3 Mechanisms for the transfer of latent and sensible heat away from the evaporating surface -- 10.8.4 Potential evaporation and the Penman equation -- 10.8.5 Evaporation from the land surface -- 10.9 Summary -- References -- Questions -- Chapter 11: Vegetation growth and the carbon balance -- 11.1 Introduction -- 11.2 Plant development -- 11.2.1 Weather -- 11.2.2 Rate of plant development -- 11.2.3 Impact of global warming on crop distribution. , 11.3 Plant growth -- 11.3.1 Photosynthesis by individual leaves -- 11.3.2 Photosynthesis by a vegetation canopy -- 11.3.3 Respiration -- 11.3.4 Allocation of new growth between the various plant parts -- 11.4 Water stress and vegetation growth -- 11.5 Carbon balance of the land surface -- 1 1.5.1 Terrestrial carbon store -- 11.5.2 Degradation of soil organic matter -- 11.5.3 Modelling soil organic matter dynamics -- 11.6 Summary -- References -- Questions -- Chapter 12: Environmental issues for the twenty-first century -- 12.1 Introduction -- 12.2 Demographic change -- 12.3 Urbanization -- 12.4 Sustainability -- 12.4.1 Energy resources -- 12.5 Climate change, survival and health -- 12.6 Models, predictions and uncertainties -- 12.7 Environmental risk -- 12.7.1 Risk benefit analysis -- 12.8 What is being done? -- 12.9 Summary: environmental physics as an enabling science -- Appendices -- Appendix 1: Entropy -- Appendix 2: Mathematics behind Newton's law of cooling -- Appendix 3: Energy consumption self-assessment -- Appendix 4: Doppler effect -- Appendix 5: Pressure variation with altitude -- Appendix 6: Derivation of the lapse rate -- Appendix 7: Synoptic weather chart -- Appendix 8: Environmental risk and environment impact assessment of ozone-related disasters -- Appendix 9: Units and constants -- Answers to numerical questions -- Bibliography -- Glossary -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Z -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Z -- Colour Plates -- Back Cover.