Precipitation: Theory, Measurement and Distribution

Precipitation plays a significant role in the climate system, and this book, originally published in 2006, was the first to provide a comprehensive examination of the processes involved in the generation of clouds, rain, snow and hail; how precipitation is measured; how its distribution has changed over time; and how we still need to make improvements to the way precipitation is measured. It traces our attempts to understand what clouds are, from ancient Greeks to the present day. It also discusses developments in the measurement of precipitation, from rain gauges to satellite techniques, and how these measurements have enabled researchers to estimate global trends, totals, variability and extremes of precipitation. This will be a valuable and fascinating reference for academic researchers in the fields of environmental science and climatology. It will also be of great interest to professionals in water resource and flood management.

Table of Contents

Part I. Past Theories of Rain and Snow: 1. The ancients
2. A renaissance
Part II. Present Theories of Precipitation: 3. Basic processes
4. Cloud formation
5. Cloud droplets, ice particles and precipitation
6. Lightning
Part III. Measuring Precipitation: 7. Early attempts to measure rainfall
8. Measuring precipitation with raingauges
9. Measuring snow
10. Measuring precipitation with radar
11. Measuring precipitation from satellites
Part IV. The Global Distribution of Precipitation: 12. Raingauge and satellite datasets
13. Precipitation means and trends
14. Precipitation variability and extremes
Part V. Future Developments: 15. The future of precipitation measurement
Appendix: Acronyms and abbreviations
Index.

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