- Entry
- Reader's guide
- Entries A-Z
- Subject index
Atmospheric Composition
All life on Earth exists within a thin film of air, water, and soil about 9.3 mi. (15 km) deep. This spherical shell of life is known as the biosphere. The biosphere can be divided into three layers: the atmosphere (air), ...
- Atmospheric Sciences
- Aerosols
- Anticyclones
- Atmospheric Absorption of Solar Radiation
- Atmospheric Boundary Layer
- Atmospheric Composition
- Atmospheric Emission of Infrared Radiation
- Atmospheric Vertical Structure
- Blizzards
- Clouds, Cirrus
- Clouds, Cumulus
- Clouds, Stratus
- Condensation
- Convection
- Coriolis Force
- Cyclones
- Doldrums
- Evaporation and Transpiration
- Evolution of the Atmosphere
- Hadley Circulation
- Heat, Latent
- Heat, Sensible
- Hot Air
- Hurricanes and Typhoons
- Intertropical Convergence Zone
- Jet Streams
- Mesosphere
- Monsoons
- Orbital Parameters, Eccentricity
- Orbital Parameters, Obliquity
- Orbital Parameters, Precession
- Precipitation
- Radiation, Absorption
- Radiation, Infrared
- Radiation, Long Wave
- Radiation, Microwave
- Radiation, Short Wave
- Radiation, Ultraviolet
- Rain
- Solar Wind
- Stratosphere
- Sunlight
- Sunspots
- Thermosphere
- Thunderstorms
- Trade Winds
- Tropopause
- Troposphere
- Walker Circulation
- Waves, Gravity
- Waves, Internal
- Waves, Kelvin
- Waves, Planetary
- Waves, Rossby
- Weather
- Winds, Easterlies
- Winds, Westerlies
- Climate
- Abrupt Climate Changes
- Aerosols
- Albedo
- Anthropogenic Forcing
- Carbon Cycle
- Climate
- Climate Cycles
- Climate Forcing
- Climate Thresholds
- Climate Zones
- Climate-Gate
- Climatic Data, Atmospheric Observations
- Climatic Data, Cave Records
- Climatic Data, Historical Records
- Climatic Data, Ice Observations
- Climatic Data, Instrumental Records
- Climatic Data, Lake Records
- Climatic Data, Nature of the Data
- Climatic Data, Oceanic Observations
- Climatic Data, Proxy Records
- Climatic Data, Reanalysis
- Climatic Data, Sea Floor Records
- Climatic Data, Sediment Records
- Climatic Data, Tree Ring Records
- Contraction and Convergence
- Detection of Climate Changes
- Earthshine
- Energy, Climate
- Forced Climate Variability
- Gaia Hypothesis
- History of Climatology
- History of Meteorology
- Hydrological Cycle
- Internal Climate Variability
- Methane Cycle
- Milankovitch Cycles
- Oxygen Cycle
- Seasonal Cycle
- Southern Oscillation Index
- Sunlight
- Thermodynamics
- Volcanism
- World Systems Theory
- Climate and Society
- An Inconvenient Truth
- Adaptation
- Additionality
- Alternative Energy, Overview
- Automobiles
- Botanical Gardens
- Botany
- Bush Administration, George H. W.
- Bush Administration, George W.
- Capitalism
- Carbon Capture and Storage
- Carbon Dioxide
- Carbon Dioxide Equivalent
- Carbon Footprint
- Carbon Markets
- Carbon Offsets
- Carbon Permits
- Carbon Sequestration
- Carbon Sinks
- Carbon Tax
- Carbon, Black
- Carter Administration
- Certified Emissions Reduction
- Charismatic Megafauna
- Chemistry
- Chlorofluorocarbons
- Clean Development Mechanism
- Climate Policy, U.S
- Clinton Administration
- Coal
- Common but Differentiated Responsibility
- Community-Based Adaptation
- Compliance
- Conservation
- Conservation Biology
- Culture
- Developing Countries
- Ecological Footprint
- Education
- Emissions, Baseline
- Emissions, Cement Industry
- Emissions, Trading
- Energy Efficiency
- Environmental History
- Flexibility Mechanisms
- Food Miles
- Forests
- Fossil Fuels
- Gender and Climate Change
- Geoengineering
- Geography
- Geospatial Technology
- Green Buildings
- Green Cities
- Green Design
- Green Economy
- Green Homes
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Greenhouse Gas Regulation
- Gross National Product
- Gross Primary Production
- Health
- Human Rights and Climate Change
- Hydrofluorocarbons
- Indigenous Communities
- Industrialization
- Integrated Assessment
- Integrated Science Program
- Intensity Targets
- Inuit
- Land Use
- Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry
- Life Cycle Analysis
- Livelihoods
- Maximum Sustainable Yield
- Measurement and Assessment
- Media, Books, and Journals
- Media, Internet
- Media, TV
- Mitigation
- Movements, Environmental
- Needs and Wants
- Net Primary Production
- Nuclear Power
- Obama Administration
- Oil, Consumption of
- Oil, Production of
- Pollution, Air
- Pollution, Land
- Pollution, Water
- Population
- Poverty and Climate Change
- Precautionary Principle
- Preparedness
- Public Awareness
- Refugees, Environmental and Climate
- Religion
- Renewable Energy, Bioenergy
- Renewable Energy, Biomass
- Renewable Energy, Geothermal
- Renewable Energy, Overview
- Renewable Energy, Solar
- Renewable Energy, Wind
- Resources
- Risk
- Small Farmers
- Social Ecology
- Soil Organic Carbon
- Soils
- Sustainability
- Technology
- Technology Transfer
- Tourism
- Transportation
- Vulnerability
- Climate Change, Effects
- Afforestation
- Agriculture
- Aviation
- Chaos Theory
- Climate Change, Effects of
- Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference
- Deforestation
- Desertification
- Deserts
- Diseases
- Drought
- Economics, Cost of Affecting Climate Change
- Economics, Impact From Climate Change
- Ecosystems
- El Niño and La Niña
- Floods
- Food Production
- Glaciers, Retreating
- Global Warming
- Global Warming Debate
- Global Warming, Attribution of
- Global Warming, Impacts of
- Greenhouse Effect
- Marine Mammals
- Nitrous Oxide
- Penguins
- Perfluorocarbons
- Plants
- Polar Bears
- Rainfall Patterns
- Sea Level, Rising
- Species Extinction
- Sulfur Dioxide
- Sulfur Hexafluoride
- Transportation
- Tsunamis
- Climate Feedbacks
- Climate Models
- Atmospheric Component of Models
- Atmospheric General Circulation Models
- Climate Models
- Computer Models
- Energy Balance Models
- Historical Development of Climate Models
- Ice Component of Models
- Land Component of Models
- Modeling of Ice Ages
- Modeling of Ocean Circulation
- Modeling of Paleoclimates
- Ocean Component of Models
- Simulation and Predictability of Seasonal and Interannual Variations
- Validation of Climate Models
- Countries: Africa
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Brunei Darussalam
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo
- Congo, Democratic Republic of
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- São Tomé and Princípe
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- Sudan
- Swaziland
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
- Countries: Americas
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago
- United States
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Countries: Asia
- Afghanistan
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Cambodia
- China
- East Timor
- Georgia (Country)
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Korea, North
- Korea, South
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Sri Lanka
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Yemen
- Countries: Europe
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macedonia
- Malta
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- Countries: Pacific
- Glaciology
- Institutions Studying Climate Change
- Stern Review
- Alaska Climate Research Center
- Alliance of Small Island States
- Alliance to Save Energy
- American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
- American Electric Power
- American Gas Association
- American Geophysical Union
- American Meteorological Society
- Annex I/B Countries
- Antarctic Meteorology Research Center
- Arizona
- Asia–Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate
- Atmosphere, Climate and Environment Information Programme
- Atmospheric Research and Information Centre
- California Institute of Technology
- Canadian Association for Renewable Energies
- Cantor Fitzgerald EBS
- Center for Clean Air Policy
- Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
- Center for Energy Efficiency
- Center for International Climate and Environmental Research
- Center for International Environmental Law
- Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies
- Center for Science and Environment
- Climate Action Network
- Climate Change Expert Group
- Climate Change Knowledge Network
- Climate Impacts LINK Project
- Climate Justice
- Climate Justice Now!
- Climatic Research Unit
- Colorado Climate Center
- Colorado State University
- Columbia University
- Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research
- Cornell University
- David Suzuki Foundation
- Desert Research Institute
- Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
- Ecological Society of America
- Edison Electric Institute
- Environmental Defense Fund
- Environmental Development Action in the Third World
- Environmental Financial Products, LLC
- European Commission
- European Union
- Florida International University
- Florida State University
- Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
- Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development
- Friends of the Earth
- G77
- G8/G20
- Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
- Global Environment Facility
- Global Industrial and Social Progress Research Institute
- Greenpeace International
- Heinz Center
- Indiana University
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- International Council of Scientific Unions
- International Energy Agency
- International Solar Energy Society
- International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
- Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Climate Modeling and Diagnostics Group
- Louisiana State University
- Marshall Institute
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Midwestern Regional Climate Center
- Mississippi State University
- National Academy of Sciences
- National Association of Energy Service Companies
- National Center for Atmospheric Research
- Natural Gas
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- Nongovernmental Organizations
- Ohio State University
- Oregon Climate Service
- Oregon State University
- Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
- Princeton University
- Renewable Energy Policy Project
- Resources for the Future
- Royal Dutch/Shell Group
- Royal Meteorological Society
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography
- Solar Energy Industries Association
- Stanford University
- Stockholm Environment Institute
- Tata Energy Research Institute
- United States Global Change Research Program
- University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Joint Office for Science Support
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of Colorado
- University of East Anglia
- University of Hawai'i
- University of Maryland
- University of New Hampshire
- University of Oklahoma
- University of Washington
- Utah Climate Center
- Weather World 2010 Project
- Western Regional Climate Center
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- World Bank
- World Business Council for Sustainable Development
- World Meteorological Organization
- World Resources Institute
- World Trade Organization
- World Wildlife Fund
- Worldwatch Institute
- Oceanography
- Agulhas Current
- Antarctic Circumpolar Current
- Arctic and Arctic Ocean
- Atlantic Ocean
- Benguela Current
- BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
- Current
- Ekman Layer
- Equatorial Countercurrent
- Equatorial Undercurrent
- Foraminifera
- Global Ocean Observing System
- Gulf Stream
- Indian Ocean
- Kuroshio Current
- Meridional Overturning Circulation
- Mixed Layer
- North Atlantic Oscillation
- Oceanic Changes
- Oceanography
- Offshoring Emissions
- Pacific Ocean
- Peruvian Current
- Phytoplankton
- Salinity
- Seawater, Composition of
- Somali Current
- Southern Ocean
- Thermocline
- Thermohaline Circulation
- Upwelling, Coastal
- Upwelling, Equatorial
- Western Boundary Currents
- Wind-Driven Circulation
- Zooplankton
- Paleoclimates
- People
- Arakawa, Akio
- Arrhenius, Svante August
- Bolin, Bert
- Broecker, Wallace
- Bryan, Kirk
- Bryson, Reid
- Budyko, Mikhail
- Chamberlin, Thomas C.
- Charney, Jule Gregory
- Croll, James
- Fourier, Joseph
- Gore, Albert, Jr.
- Hadley, George
- Hansen, James
- Keeling, Charles David
- Lindzen, Richard
- Lorenz, Edward
- Manabe, Syukuro
- Milankovitch, Milutin
- Munk, Walter
- Phillips, Norman
- Revelle, Roger
- Richardson, Lewis Fry
- Rossby, Carl-Gustav
- Schneider, Stephen H.
- Singer, S. Fred
- Smagorinsky, Joseph
- Stommel, Henry
- Sverdrup, Harald Ulrik
- Tyndall, John
- von Neumann, John
- Walker, Gilbert Thomas
- Washington, Warren
- Policies and Conventions
- Fourth Assessment Report
- Bali Roadmap
- Berlin Mandate
- Brazil Proposal
- Clean Air Act, U.S.
- Climap Project
- Conference of the Parties
- Copenhagen Summit/Conference
- Declaration of The Hague
- European Union Emissions Trading Scheme
- InterAcademy Council Report on IPCC
- International Geophysical Year
- International Geosphere-Biosphere Program
- Kyoto Protocol
- Marrakesh Accords
- Montreal Protocol
- No Regrets Options
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Documents
- Policy, International
- Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD)
- Rio+20
- Toronto Conference
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Vienna Convention
- Villach Conference
- World Climate Research Programme
- World Weather Watch
- U.S. Government and International Agencies
- Air Force, U.S.
- Aurora
- Chamber of Commerce, U.S.
- Department of Defense, U.S.
- Department of Energy, U.S.
- Department of State, U.S.
- Department of the Interior, U.S.
- Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.
- Global Atmospheric Research Program
- Goddard Institute for Space Studies
- International Institute for Sustainable Development
- International Renewable Energy Agency
- International Research Institute for Climate and Society
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- National Science Foundation
- Navy, U.S.
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- United Nations Development Programme
- United Nations Environment Programme
- World Health Organization
- U.S. States
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (U.S. State)
- Hawai'i
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
165501- Loading...
Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL
-
Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life -
Read modern, diverse business cases
-
Explore hundreds of books and reference titles
Add to list closeHave you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches
Read next in SAGE Reference
More like this in SAGE Knowledge
SAGE Recommends
We found other relevant content for you on other SAGE platforms.
link backcloseWant to try SAGE Knowledge first?Sign up for a free trial and experience all SAGE Knowledge has to offer.
start free 30 day trialYou must have a valid academic email address to sign up.
closeWith institutional access I can:Want to try SAGE Knowledge first?- View or download all content my institution has access to
Sign up for a free trial and experience all SAGE Knowledge has to offer.
start free 30 day trialYou must have a valid academic email address to sign up.
