This unique, authoritative book introduces and accurately depicts the
current state-of-the art in the field of space storms. Professor
Koskinen, renowned expert in the field, takes the basic understanding of
the system, together with the pyhsics of space plasmas, and produces a
treatment of space storms. He combines a solid base describing space
physics phenomena with a rigourous theoretical basis. The topics range
from the storms in the solar atmosphere through the solar wind,
magnetosphere and ionosphere to the production of the storm-related
geoelectric field on the ground. The most up-to-date information
available ist presented in a clear, analytical and quantitative way. The
book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is a phenomenological
introduction to space weather from the Sun to the Earth. Part 2
comprehensively presents the fundamental concepts of space plasma
physics. It consists of discussions of fundamental concepts of plasma
physics, starting from underlying electrodynamics and statistical
physics of charged particles and continuing to single particle motion in
homogeneous electromagnetic fields, waves in cold plasma approximation,
Vlasov theory, magnetohydrodynamics, instabilities in space plasmas,
reconnection and dynamo. Part 3 bridges the gap between the fundamental
plasma physics and research level physics of space storms. This part
discusses radiation and scattering processes, transport and diffiusion,
shocks and shock acceleration, storms on the Sun, in the magnetosphere,
the coupling to the atmosphere and ground. The book is concluded wtih a
brief review of what is known of space stroms on other planets. One tool
for building this briege ist extensive cross-referencing between the
various chapters. Exercise problems of varying difficulty are embedded
within the main body of the text.
