Table of Contents
PART 1. MOUNTAIN CLIMATES
1. FOUR FACTORS THAT DETERMINE CLIMATE
1.1. LATITUDE
1.2. ALTITUDE
1.3. CONTINENTALITY
1.4. REGIONAL CIRCULATIONS
2. MOUNTAIN CLIMATES OF NORTH AMERICA
2.1. THE APPALACHIANS
2.2. THE COAST RANGE, THE ALASKA RANGE, THE CASCADES AND THE SIERRA NEVADA
2.3. THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
2.4. BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS
PART 2. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ATMOSPHERE
3. ATMOSPHERIC SCALES OF MOTION AND ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION
3.1. ATMOSPHERIC SCALES OF MOTION
3.2. ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION
4. VERTICAL STRUCTURE, TEMPERATURE, STABILITY AND THE ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDARY LAYER
4.1. VERTICAL STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE
4.2. TEMPERATURE
4.3. ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY
4.4. THE ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDARY LAYER AND THE SURFACE ENERGY BUDGET
5. PRESSURE AND WINDS
5.1. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
5.2. WINDS
6. AIR MASSES AND FRONTS
6.1. AIR MASS SOURCE REGIONS AND TRAJECTORIES
6.2. FRONTS
7. CLOUDS AND FOGS
7.1. CLOUDS
7.2. FOGS
8. PRECIPITATION
8.1 TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
8.2. INTENSITY OF PRECIPITATION
8.3. MEASURING PRECIPITATION
8.4. FORMATION OF PRECIPITATION
8.5. SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF PRECIPITATION
8.6. ICING
8.7. MOUNTAIN THUNDERSTORMS
9. WEATHER MAPS, FORECASTS AND DATA
9.1. WEATHER MAPS
9.2. FORECASTING GUIDELINES
9.3. WEATHER INFORMATION: DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION
9.4. OBTAINING PROFESSIONAL FORECASTS FOR MAJOR FEDERAL PROJECTS
PART 3. MOUNTAIN WINDS
10. TERRAIN-FORCED FLOWS
10.1. THREE FACTORS AFFECTING TERRAIN-FORCED FLOWS
10.2. FLOW OVER MOUNTAINS
10.3. FLOW AROUND MOUNTAINS
10.4. FLOWS THROUGH GAPS, CHANNELS AND PASSES
10.5. BLOCKING, COLD AIR DAMMING AND OBSTRUCTION OF AIR MASSES
10.6. ON THE HIGH PLAINS: THE LOW-LEVEL JET
11. DIURNAL MOUNTAIN WINDS
11.1. THE DAILY CYCLE OF SLOPE AND ALONG-VALLEY WINDS AND TEMPERATURE STRUCTURE
11.2. MODIFICATION OF DIURNAL MOUNTAIN WINDS BY VARIATIONS IN THE SURFACE ENERGY BUDGET
11.3. DISTURBANCES OF THE DAILY CYCLE BY LARGER-SCALE FLOWS
11.4. THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF THE MOUNTAIN WIND SYSTEM
11.5. DIURNAL MOUNTAIN WINDS IN BASINS
11.6. DIURNAL MOUNTAIN WINDS OVER PLATEAUS
11.7. OTHER LOCAL THERMALLY DRIVEN WIND SYSTEMS
PART 4. SELECTED APPLICATIONS OF MOUNTAIN METEOROLOGY
12. AIR POLLUTION DISPERSION
12.1. CLASSIFICATION AND REGULATION OF AIR POLLUTANTS
12.2. AIR QUALITY STUDIES AND AIR POLLUTION MODELS
12.3. WIND SPEED AND AIR POLLUTION CONCENTRATIONS
12.4. STABILITY, INVERSIONS AND MIXING DEPTH
12.5. SYNOPTIC WEATHER CATEGORIES AND AIR POLLUTION DISPERSION
12.6. MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AND ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION
12.7. ASSESSING AIR POLLUTION POTENTIAL IN MOUNTAIN TERRAIN
13. FIRE WEATHER AND SMOKE MANAGEMENT
13.1. THE FIRE ENVIRONMENT
13.2. FUEL MOISTURE CONTENT
13.3. FIRE WEATHER IN COMPLEX TERRAIN
13.4. CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
13.5. PRESCRIBED FIRE AND SMOKE MANAGEMENT
13.6. MONITORING FIRE WEATHER AND SMOKE DISPERSION PARAMETERS
14. AERIAL SPRAYING
14.1. OVERVIEW OF AERIAL SPRAYING
14.2. METEOROLOGICAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT AERIAL SPRAYING OPERATIONS
14.3. SPRAY DEPOSITION
14.4. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS IN COMPLEX TERRAIN
14.5. COLLECTION OF METEOROLOGICAL DATA
14.6. COMPUTER MODELING
14.7. INTEGRATION OF METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION INTO OPERATIONS
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
A - Formulas
B - Psychrometric Tables
C - Sources of Information on Weather Monitoring and Instrumentation
D - Units, Unit Conversion Factors and Time Conversions
E - Solar Radiation on Slopes
F - Additional Reading
G - METAR and TAF Code Abbreviations
GLOSSARY
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
INDEX