The Earth's climate system depends entirely on the Sun for its energy.
Solar radiation warms the atmosphere and is fundamental to atmospheric
composition, while the distribution of solar heating across the planet
produces global wind patterns and contributes to the formation of
clouds, storms, and rainfall. The Sun's Influence on Climate provides
an unparalleled introduction to this vitally important relationship.
This accessible primer covers the basic properties of the Earth's
climate system, the structure and behavior of the Sun, and the
absorption of solar radiation in the atmosphere. It explains how solar
activity varies and how these variations affect the Earth's environment,
from long-term paleoclimate effects to century timescales in the context
of human-induced climate change, and from signals of the 11-year sunspot
cycle to the impacts of solar emissions on space weather in our planet's
upper atmosphere.
Written by two of the leading authorities on the subject, The Sun's
Influence on Climate is an essential primer for students and
nonspecialists alike.