An Introduction to Planetary Atmospheres

Planetary atmospheres is a relatively new, interdisciplinary subject that incorporates various areas of the physical and chemical sciences, including geophysics, geophysical fluid dynamics, atmospheric science, astronomy, and astrophysics. Providing a much-needed resource for this cross-disciplinary field, An Introduction to Planetary Atmospheres presents current knowledge on atmospheres and the fundamental mechanisms operating on them. The author treats the topics in a comparative manner among the different solar system bodies?what is known as comparative planetology.

Based on an established course, this comprehensive text covers a panorama of solar system bodies and their relevant general properties. It explores the origin and evolution of atmospheres, along with their chemical composition and thermal structure. It also describes cloud formation and properties, mechanisms in thin and upper atmospheres, and meteorology and dynamics. Each chapter focuses on these atmospheric topics in the way classically done for the Earth?s atmosphere and summarizes the most important aspects in the field.

The study of planetary atmospheres is fundamental to understanding the origin of the solar system, the formation mechanisms of planets and satellites, and the day-to-day behavior and evolution of Earth?s atmosphere. With many interesting real-world examples, this book offers a unified vision of the chemical and physical processes occurring in planetary atmospheres. Ancillaries are available at www.ajax.ehu.es/planetary_atmospheres/

Introduction to Planets and Planetary Systems. Origin and Evolution of Planetary Atmospheres. Spectroscopy and Composition. Vertical Temperature Structure. Clouds in Planets. Upper and Tenuous Atmospheres. Global Atmospheric Motions. Atmospheric Dynamics-I: Waves. Atmospheric Dynamics-II: Instability. Appendix. Bibliography. References. Index.

Agustín Sánchez-Lavega is a professor of physics, head of the Department of Applied Physics I, and head of the Planetary Sciences Group at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in Bilbao, Spain. Between 2004 and 2006, he was a member of the Solar System Working Group of the European Space Agency. Dr. Sánchez-Lavega has authored more than 150 papers on the subject in refereed journals.