An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, Volume 88, Fourth Edition (International Geophysics) | 
 enlarge | Author: James R. Holton
Publisher: Academic Press
Category: Book
List Price: $73.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 41269
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 4
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 535
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.6
ISBN: 0123540151
Dewey Decimal Number: 551.515
EAN: 9780123540157
ASIN: 0123540151
Publication Date: March 31, 2004
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Product Description
This revised text presents a cogent explanation of the fundamentals of meteorology, and explains storm dynamics for weather-oriented meteorologists. It discusses climate dynamics and the implications posed for global change. The Fourth Edition features a CD-ROM with MATLAB exercises and updated treatments of several key topics. Much of the material is based on a two-term course for seniors majoring in atmospheric sciences.
* Provides clear physical explanations of key dynamical principles
* Contains a wealth of illustrations to elucidate text and equations, plus end-of-chapter problems
* Holton is one of the leading authorities in contemporary meteorology, and well known for his clear writing style
* Instructor's Manual available to adopters
NEW IN THIS EDITION
* A CD-ROM with MATLAB exercises and demonstrations
* Updated treatments on climate dynamics, tropical meteorology, middle atmosphere dynamics, and numerical prediction
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Extraordinarily good text March 8, 2007
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have to say I'm not sure if texts on atmospheric dynamics get better than this. Physics books in general, in fact, rarely provide an understanding of phenomena that is so concise, intuitive, and yet mathematically robust. I highly recommend it for children, as a gift, and for pleasure reading.
I also very seriously recommend it as a graduate textbook. Five stars all the way.
 feedback from rmd January 19, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
it's a very analytic book; it's strongly related to anaysis. all the models are very well explaned; perhaps there is not a good relationship between models and pratical meteorology. phenomena are quite 'hidden' by equations, and only a good experienced physicist has the tools to extract the pratical approach deriving from model behaviours.
however it remains a 'must' for meteorologists.
Renato Medini
The most exellent textbook in dynamics of the atmopshere January 18, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book, in my opinion, is the most valuable book on dynamical aspects of the atmosphere insofar, especially from pedagogical point of views. As a foreign student, I understand well Holton's writings. Simple but very concise sentences, no wordy explanations. The first 3 chapters provide you the basic equations used in meteorology and their common approximations. The next 5 chapters, to me, are the most interesting chapters. They give you wide range of knowledge from boundary layer, synoptic scale phenomena, to instabilities. Equations are of great usefulness because THEY bring into the light physical contents of the dynamics of the atmosphere. To me, any analytical equation and its explicit solution provide us a more complete understanding than numerical models do (because you never know some unpredictable behaviour of numerical solutions). So, try to understand carefully the simplest cases that Holton selected. This gives you a lot of deeper understandings. Chapters 9 to 11 provide the dynamics of meso- to large-scale circulations. You will see why the Hadley circulation descends around 35N in very clear way. However, simple Poisson eqn with the argument of "positive forcing, negative solution" that is applied throughout the text should be paid especial attention because this conclusion is not always true. As a whole, the contents, explanations and derivations will be very well constructed if you see the main point of each section.
To get to the heart of this book, read and derive all the skips in Holton's derivations. The gaps are not too hard to fill out in math but require some thinking. DO ALL OF THE EXERCISES at the end by yourself and you will double your knowledge. For any math-related physical book, transparent derivations are the first thing you should figure out, physical explanations will follow subsequently. From my experience, people tend to skip any chapter what they thought they knew it already. If you apply this method here, you may be in trouble. Read carefully the first 5 chapters, understand approximations used in the each situation. Simply apply equations without judgments of their assumptions will take you into the nightmare.
I give this book 5 stars +. It is really classic....
you can't find an alternative. March 15, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
when i was a student, i used to think, like many other reviewers, that the book is extremely dry. but now as a researcher in atmospheric-oceanic dynamics, i realise that the book is useful in explaining the most essential and elementary theories behind the dynamics one can encounter in meteorology or climate dynamics.
use the book as a reference and revision of elementary concepts. if you encounter a process you need to understand in your research, this is the book which will tell you the basics. then you go on and learn more from journal articles and your own research.
this new edition of the book, especially with the matlab models, makes studying with it more fun because you can visualise the dynamics and play with the m-files yourself.
An Underrated Text October 1, 2003
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
This book, often simply referred to as "Holton", has been roundly cursed by undergraduates since it was first published. I know, because I was one of them. However, as the years went by, and as the number of classes requiring Holton as a text went by, I realized two things. First, that this book was not meant to hold your hand through all the derivations. It requires a competent instructor who can use Holton as a detailed companion to rigorous coursework. This book is NOT for the average person who wishes to study alone. The second thing is that this book was written to fill a gap. There were no similar atmospheric dynamics texts. As a consequence, it must cover a large amount of material in a rather small, college textbook-sized space. It does this well. Yes, the author's writing style is dry to the extreme, and yes, physical explanations are often lacking. However, if you have access to a competent professor, neither of these are problems. One final thought... as we call the book simply "Holton" remember that Frankenstein's monster is often called simply "Frankenstein", but we will leave comparisons to the reader - and to the author!
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