The Weather and Climate of Australia and New Zealand - Second Edition

Abstract

The broad field of the atmospheric sciences covers a range of disciplines concerned with the properties and processes of the Earth's atmosphere. Their focus varies, from the surface through to the upper layers of the atmosphere. There is great interest not only in the intrinsic qualities of the atmosphere in which humans live, but also in the interaction of that atmosphere with the ground surface, which may be water, soil, plants, ice or snow. There has long been an interest in the effects of the atmosphere on human activities. However, more recently, there has been increased interest in the extent to which human modification of the Earth's surface is changing the nature of the atmosphere. It is apparent, therefore, that study of the atmosphere inevitably involves an understanding of other components of the global environment, specifically the hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere, as will be discussed in more detail later in this chapter.