The text Global Change: An Atmospheric Perspective was published during 1996 by John Wiley and Sons. This book focusses on two aspects of global environmental change: global warming and the depletion of stratospheric ozone. It is intended as a text for a beginning-level undergraduate course in the broad curricular area of environmental sciences. Its emphasis is that of physical science applied at a very basic level to the atmosphere. A course based on the material presented in this text has been taught at the University of Utah during the past several years.
This book differs in several respects from others that include some treatment of global change at an elementary level. First, this is not a broad survey of the many ways that human activities are altering the global ecosystem. We confine our attention to global warming and to ozone depletion. What we specifically try to do is explain how the atmosphere works in this context of global change. The question addressed is this: what are the atmospheric processes that come into play to produce a global warming or to damage the protective layer of ozone that surrounds our planet? To answer this question requires the development of a foundation of basic physical concepts related to the structure and behavior of the atmosphere and ocean. This foundation includes discussion of the natural climate variations associated with atmosphere-ocean interactions and volcanic eruptions as well as the skill of weather and climate predictions. Finally, a novel aspect of this text is its Internet Companion, an up-to-date supplement of information on the Internet created specifically to accompany this book. It provides access to thousands of pages of additional information.
Global warming is an anticipated consequence of present and future emission of certain types of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as a result of human activities. One can put forward the explanation that the accumulation of these specific gases creates a blanket around the earth and that's why warming follows. What actually happens in the atmosphere in response to the accumulation of these gases is, to the surprise of no one, much more complex than that. Why should anyone other than a career scientist try to understand how this response actually works? In our opinion, this is the only way to appreciate why global warming is such a controversial issue. Some say it is happening now, some say it is not, and some say that it isn't going to happen. What is the basis for this diversity of opinion?
Depletion of stratospheric ozone is the present consequence of emission into the atmosphere of a gas that was specifically designed in a laboratory and subsequently produced for many different industrial applications. The chain of events in the atmosphere that leads from this emission to ozone depletion is much better understood than is the chain of events that lead from emission of greenhouse gases to global warming. Indeed, the understanding is so complete as to underwrite international agreement that will phase out commercial production of this type of gas in many countries as of the end of 1995. In this country at this stage of our economic evolution, the outright ban by government of an industrial product on the grounds of protecting something as intangible and remote from experience as ozone in the stratosphere is remarkable. The opinion that the ozone-depletion problem is overrated or even a hoax is increasingly heard. As with global warming,we feel that an opinion on the ozone depletion problem requires some understanding of what goes on in the atmosphere to produce it.