Introduction to Modern Climate Change 3rd Edition by Andrew E. Dessler, ISBN-13: 978-1108793872

Introduction to Modern Climate Change 3rd Edition by Andrew E. Dessler, ISBN-13: 978-1108793872

[PDF eBook eTextbook]

• Publisher: ‎ Cambridge University Press; 3rd edition (November 18, 2021)
• Language: ‎ English
• 288 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 1108793878
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1108793872

Highly acclaimed textbook on the science, economics, and policy of modern climate change, for both science students and non-science majors.

The third edition of this introductory textbook for both science students and non-science majors has been brought completely up-to-date. It reflects recent scientific progress in the field, as well as advances in the political arena around climate change. As in previous editions, it is tightly focussed on anthropogenic climate change. The first part of the book concentrates on the science of modern climate change, including evidence that the Earth is warming and a basic description of climate physics. Concepts such as radiative forcing, climate feedbacks, and the carbon cycle are discussed and explained using basic physics and algebra. The second half of the book goes beyond the science to address the economics and policy options to address climate change. The book’s goal is for a student to leave the class ready to engage in the public policy debate on the climate crisis.

Table of Contents:

Half-title
Reviews
Title page
Copyright information
Dedication
Contents
Preface
Key Features
Updates Since the Previous Edition
Book Organization
Readership and Pedagogy
Online Resources
Acknowledgments
1 An Introduction to the Climate Problem
1.1 What Is Climate?
1.2 What Is Climate Change?
1.3 A Coordinate System for the Earth
1.4 Why You Should Believe This Textbook
1.4.1 How Science Works
1.4.2 Scientific Assessments
1.5 Chapter Summary
Additional Resources
Terms
Problems
2 Is the Climate Changing?
2.1 Temperature Anomalies
2.2 Recent Climate Change
2.2.1 Surface Thermometer Record
2.2.2 Satellite Measurements of Temperature
2.2.3 Ice
2.2.3.1 Glaciers
2.2.3.2 Sea Ice
2.2.3.3 Ice Sheets
2.2.4 Ocean Temperatures
2.2.5 Sea Level
2.2.6 Putting It Together: Is Today’s Climate Changing?
2.2.7 What Is Not Evidence of Climate Change
2.3 Climate over the Earth’s History
2.3.1 Paleoproxies
2.3.2 The Earth’s Long-Term Climate Record
2.4 Chapter Summary
Additional Resources
Terms
Problems
3 Radiation and Energy Balance
3.1 Temperature and Energy
3.2 Electromagnetic Radiation
3.3 Blackbody Radiation
3.4 Energy Balance
3.5 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
4 A Simple Climate Model
4.1 The Source of Energy for Our Climate System
4.2 Energy Loss to Space
4.3 The Greenhouse Effect
4.3.1 One-layer Model
4.3.2 Two-layer Model
4.3.3 An n-Layer Model
4.4 Testing Our Theory with Other Planets
4.5 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
5 The Carbon Cycle
5.1 Greenhouse Gases and Our Atmosphere’s Composition
5.2 Atmosphere-Land Biosphere-Ocean Carbon Exchange
5.2.1 Atmosphere-Land Biosphere Exchange
5.2.2 Atmosphere-Ocean Carbon Exchange
5.2.3 The Combined Atmosphere-Land Biosphere-Ocean System
5.3 Atmosphere-Rock Exchange
5.4 How Are Humans Perturbing the Carbon Cycle?
5.5 Some Commonly Asked Questions about the Carbon Cycle
5.6 The Long-term Fate of Carbon Dioxide
5.7 Methane
5.8 Other Greenhouse Gases
5.9 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
6 Forcing, Feedbacks, and Climate Sensitivity
6.1 Time Lags in the Climate System
6.2 Radiative Forcing
6.2.1 Greenhouse Gases
6.2.2 Aerosols
6.2.3 Total Net Forcing
6.3 Climate Sensitivity
6.3.1 No-feedback Calculation
6.3.2 Fast Feedbacks
6.3.3 Impact of the Fast Feedbacks
6.4 Slow Feedbacks
6.5 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
7 Why Is the Climate Changing?
7.1 Context of the Recent Warming
7.2 The First Suspect: Plate Tectonics
7.3 The Sun
7.4 The Earth’s Orbit
7.5 Unforced Variability
7.6 Greenhouse Gases
7.7 Putting It Together
7.8 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
8 Predictions of Future Climate Change
8.1 The Factors That Control Emissions
8.2 How These Factors Have Changed in the Past
8.3 Emissions Scenarios
8.3.1 Factors That Drive Emissions
8.3.2 Emissions
8.3.3 Atmospheric Abundance and Radiative Forcing
8.4 Predictions of Future Climate
8.4.1 Over the Next Century
8.4.2 Climate Change Beyond 2100
8.5 Is the Climate Predictable?
8.6 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
9 Impacts of Climate Change
9.1 Why Should You Care about Climate Change?
9.2 Physical Impacts
9.2.1 Temperature
9.2.2 Precipitation
9.2.3 Sea-level Rise
9.2.4 Ocean Acidification
9.2.5 Hurricanes
9.2.6 Attribution Science
9.3 Impacts of These Changes
9.3.1 Non-linearity of Climate Impacts
9.3.2 Adaptation
9.3.3 Unmanaged Systems
9.3.4 Impacts That Are Already Occurring
9.4 Abrupt Climate Changes
9.5 Putting It Together
9.6 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
10 Exponential Growth
10.1 What Is Exponential Growth?
10.2 The Rule of 72
10.3 Catastrophe Is Closer Than You Think
10.3.1 Lily Pads
10.3.2 Coronavirus
10.3.3 Malthus
10.4 Discounting
10.4.1 The Time Value of Money
10.4.2 The Discount Rate
10.5 Putting It Together: The Social Cost of Carbon
10.5.1 The Obama Administration
10.5.2 The Trump Administration
10.6 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
11 Fundamentals of Climate Change Policy
11.1 Adaptation
11.2 Mitigation
11.2.1 How to Mitigate Climate Change
11.2.2 Technologies to Reduce Carbon Intensity
11.2.3 Time Scale of Mitigation
11.3 Solar Radiation Management
11.4 Carbon Dioxide Removal
11.5 Putting It Together
11.6 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
12 Mitigation Policies
12.1 The Economic Basis of Climate Change
12.2 Conventional Regulations
12.3 Market-based Regulations
12.3.1 Carbon Tax
12.3.2 Cap and Trade
12.3.3 Carbon Tax Versus Cap and Trade
12.3.4 Offsets
12.4 Information and Voluntary Methods
12.5 Putting the Approaches Together
12.6 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
13 A Brief History of Climate Science and Politics
13.1 The Beginning of Climate Science
13.2 The Emergence of Environmentalism
13.2.1 The Tobacco Strategy
13.3 The 1970s and 1980s: Ozone Depletion and Acid Rain
13.4 The 1970s and 1980s: The Ascent of Free Markets
13.5 Climate Science in the 1970s
13.6 The Year Everything Changed: 1988
13.7 The Framework Convention on Climate Change: The First Climate Treaty
13.8 The Kyoto Protocol
13.9 The George W. Bush Years: 2001-2009
13.10 The Obama Years: 2009-2017
13.11 The Paris Agreement
13.12 The Trump Years: 2017-2021
13.13 The Future: 2021 and Beyond
13.14 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
14 Putting It All Together: A Long-term Policy to Address Climate Change
14.1 Decisions Under Uncertainty: Should We Reduce Emissions?
14.2 Picking a Long-term Goal
14.2.1 Cost Versus Benefits
14.2.2 Target: 1.5C and 2C
14.3 Limiting Warming to 1.5C or 2C
14.3.1 Carbon Budgets
14.3.2 What Is Required to Achieve These Emissions Trajectories?
14.3.3 How Much Will This Cost?
14.3.4 What Are the Elements of a Coherent Climate Policy?
14.4 A Few Final Thoughts
14.5 Chapter Summary
Terms
Problems
Solutions to Selected Quantitative Problems
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
References
Index

Andrew E. Dessler is a climate scientist and professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University. He researches atmospheric chemistry, climate change, and climate change policy. He is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The first edition of this book won the Louis J. Battan Author’s Award from the American Meteorological Society. He has authored two books on climate change: this one, and The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate (with Edward Parson; third edition published in 2019; Cambridge).

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