Essentials of Atmospheric and Oceanic Dynamics
See also the quick links at the left and top.
Supplementary Chapter
In response to various comments from readers and instructors, I have written a supplementary chapter on vorticity, circulation, and another derivation of the QG equations.
Download the supplementary chapter by clicking here.
Material can be added to this chapter as needed, so please email with comments and/or requests.
Errata
Errata (PDF) may be downloaded here. If you find other errors or typos, please email me.
Description
Essentials of Atmospheric and Oceanic Dynamics
is an introductory book written for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students, or for scientists who are not 'professional dynamicists' and who may want an accessible introduction to the field, with an emphasis on large-scale phenomena and circulation.
The book is divided into three parts: (i) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics; (ii) Atmospheric Circulation (including a chapter on planetary atmospheres) and (iii) Ocean Circulation.
The book could be used as a text for upper-level undergraduates, or as a first course in graduate school. Prerequisites are familiarity with vector calculus and basic classical physics, or at least willingness to do some reading on those topics while studying this book. It contains enough material for about two semesters' worth of courses, and there are various ways it can be partitioned into two self-contained courses of one semester each.
As well as basic material the book includes some elementary introductions to a few 'advanced' topics, such as geostrophic turbulence and the Transformed Eulerian Mean. These could easily be omitted for a first course.
Essentials differs from its parent book,
Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics, in two main ways:
- It is much shorter, about 1/3 the size. Many advanced or inessential sections are omitted.
- The explanations are simplified where possible.
There is, though, a brand new chapter on planetary atmospheres that is not present in the big book.
Browse and Buy
The book is published by
Cambridge University Press (CUP).
To download a PDF sample (5 MB)
click here
A few reviews are here
All the figures from the book are
freely available here
Hard Copy:
To obtain a print copy you can use one of the links below, or the Amazon in your country, or your favorite bookstore. The google link has previews and links to many sellers:
         
Google.com
       
CUP (international)
       
CUP (USA)
       
CUP (UK)
Barnes and Noble (USA)          
Waterstones (UK)
         
Blackwells (UK)
Amazon (all countries)        
Amazon USA
         
Amazon UK
       
Amazon Japan
         
Amazon Italy
       
Amazon Germany
       
Amazon Canada
Amazon France
     
Amazon India
       
Amazon Australia
       
Amazon Spain
E-book:
Individuals may obtain the e-book from:
   
Ebooks.com
  or  
Google play
  or  
Amazon Kindle,
or one of other Amazon links above.
It is also available electronically from
Cambridge Core but only if your library purchases it (ask them!), and then everyone at your institution can download it.
Input is Welcome
I have already had some emails and comments suggesting things that are missing (e.g. Kelvin's circulation theorem). Here are two things I can do in the future:
- I am providing a freely downloadable chapter containing the missing material, in the style of and at the level of the Essentials. A draft of this can be downloaded here. Additional material will be added in the future.
- You can help by providing links to your own, undoubtedly better, notes, material and problem sets on matters related to this book
If this might be useful to you, either as a student or an instructor teaching a course, or if you have other comments, please email me and/or comment on twitter with the hashtag #vallisbook.
Please also email me if you see mistakes or typos.
Table of Contents
PART I GEOPHYSICAL FLUIDS
Chapter 1. Fluid Fundamentals
Chapter 2. Equations for a Rotating Planet
Chapter 3. Dynamics on a Rotating Planet
Chapter 4. Shallow Water Equations
Chapter 5. Geostrophic Theory
Chapter 6. Rossby Waves
Chapter 7. Gravity Waves
Chapter 8. Instability
Chapter 9. Waves and Mean Flows
Chapter 10. Turbulence
PART II ATMOSPHERES
Chapter 11. The Tropical Atmosphere
Chapter 12. Midlatitudes and the Stratosphere
Chapter 13. Planetary Atmospheres
PART III OCEANS
Chapter 14. Wind-Driven Gyres
Chapter 14. The Overturning Circulation and Thermocline
Chapter 16. Equatorial Oceans and El Nino