Preface; Acknowledgements; Part I. The Dryland Environment: 1. Introduction to dryland environments; 2. The geomorphologic background; 3. Vegetation of the dryland regions; Part II. The Meteorological Background: 4. The general atmospheric circulation; 5. The global distribution of arid climates and rainfall; 6. Radiation, heat and surface exchange processes; 7. Water balance; 8. Evaporation; Part III. The Climatic Environment of Drylands: 9. Defining aridity: the classification and character of dryland climates; 10. Desert microclimate; 11. Precipitation in the drylands; 12. Hydrologic processes in the drylands; 13. Desert winds and dust; Part IV. The Earth's Dry Lands: 14. North America; 15. South America; 16. Subsaharan Africa; 17. The Mediterranean lands; 18. Australia; 19. Asia; 20. Coastal deserts; Part V. Life and Change in the Dryland Regions: 21. Drought and other hazards; 22. Desertification; 23. People in the dryland environments; 24. Plant and animal life in the desert; 25. Climatic variability and climatic change; Index.
Provides a comprehensive overview of dryland climates and their relationship to the physical environment, vegetation, hydrology, and inhabitants.
Sharon E. Nicholson is a Professor of Meteorology at Florida State University, where she holds the rank of Distinguished Research Professor and also serves as the H. and K. Lettau Professor of Climatology. She has previously held positions at the Rheinische Friedrich-Willhelms-Universität Bonn, Clark University, Massachusetts, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Colorado. She is acknowledged as an international expert on the climate of arid and semi-arid regions, having been active in arid lands research for forty years, and is best known for her work on climatic variability in Africa. Professor Nicholson's work has been acknowledged by awards and medals from the American Meteorological Society and the Royal Meteorological Society of the UK. Her photographic skills have seen her placed as a finalist in the National Geographic Travel Photography Contest and the American Geophysical Union's Geophysical Images Competition.
'Dryland Climatology provides the tools for an integrated
understanding of the major drivers and effects of dryland climates
[and] is much more than a traditional climatology monograph …
Written by a leading climatologist with decades of active research
in arid environments, this unique book addresses a readership of
students, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of dryland
science … I strongly recommend this topical book for graduate and
advanced undergraduate courses and as a reference for research on
dryland climates and arid landscapes.' Eos, Transactions, American
Geophysical Union
'Dryland Climatology presents a unique view of dryland climates
from a broad perspective. The author, Sharon E. Nicholson, draws
together over 30 years of her research in drylands to provide a
comprehensive, 500-plus-page review of dryland climates …
comprehensive yet skilfully crafted to explain detailed and complex
concepts in an easy-to-follow manner … this volume has been very
carefully thought through and nicely presented. [It] is a must for
anybody interested in dryland systems and certainly reaches
audiences far beyond the title.' Adrian G. Parker, The Holocene
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