The Climate Near the Ground

Anyone who merely turns the pages of this new edition will find that 48 percent of the fig ures are familiar to him from the third edition. But whoever reads it will discover that no three consecutive pages of text have been transferred unaltered. The enormous development that has taken place since 1950, particularly the surprising extension in the practical applica tions of micrometeorology, have made it necessary to rewrite the book. In producing this work, I had in mind two aims which were linked more closely to each other than I had at first dared to hope. The new edition was to be a clear and vivid textbook for those who were just taking up the study of microclimatology, and at the same time a ref erence work for those already familiar with the subject. For the fIrst task, I had in mind the students who would recoil with horror at the insurmountable barrier of an apparently unlim ited and ever-increasing pile of literature and thus were in need of assistance. In addition, I was thinking of colleagues working in related sciences, who have no time to study our liter ature.

1. Microclimate and Research.- I. Earth's Surface Energy Balance.- 2. Physical Basis of the Earth's Radiation Balance.- 3. Components of the Energy Balance and Their Importance.- 4. Radiation Balance of the Earth's Surface.- 5. Longwave Radiation at Night.- 6. The Laws of Energy Transport in the Ground.- 7. Transport of Energy in the Atmosphere. Eddy Diffusion.- 8. Mixing Due to Friction and Convection.- 9. Temperature Instability, Dissemination of Seeds, Dispersion of Air Pollutants, and Effective Stack Height as Problems of Eddy Diffusion.- II. The Air Layer over Level Ground without Vegetation.- 10. Normal Temperature Stratification in the Underlying Surface (the Ground).- 11. Temperature in the Lowest 100 m of the Atmosphere.- 12. The Unstable Sublayer and the Inversion Sublayer.- 13. Daytime Temperature of the Air Layer near the Ground.- 14. Nighttime Temperature of the Air Layer near the Ground.- 15. Distribution of Water Vapor above the Ground.- 16. The Wind Field and the Influence of Wind near the Ground.- 17. Distribution of Particulates and Trace Gases.- 18. Optical Phenomena Occurring near the Ground.- III. Influence of the Underlying Surface on the Adjacent Air Layer.- 19. Soil Type, Soil Mixtures, Soil Tillage.- 20. Ground Color, Surface Temperature, Ground Cover (Mulching) and Greenhouses.- 21. Soil Moisture and Ground Frost.- 22. The Air Layer above Small Water Surfaces.- 23. The Air Layer near the Water Surface of Lakes, Seas and Rivers.- 24. The Air Layer near Snow and Ice.- IV. Further Analysis of the Energy Balance.- 25. Basis and Methods of Evaluation.- 26. Results of Previous Energy Balance Measurements.- 27. Advective Influences and Transitional Climates.- 28. Remarks on Evaporation.- V. The Effect of Low Plant Cover on the Surface AirLayer.- 29. Energy Balance and Temperature of Plant Components.- 30. Radiation, Eddy Diffusion, and Evaporation in a Low Plant Cover.- 31. The Microclimate of Meadows and Grain Fields.- 32. The Microclimate of Gardens, Potato Fields, and Vineyards.- VI. Forest Climatology.- 33. Radiation in a Forest.- 34. Metabolism, Energy Storage and Wind in a Forest.- 35. Air Temperature and Humidity in a Forest.- 36. Dew, Rain, and Snow in a Forest.- 37. Microclimate at the Stand Edges.- 38. Further Problems Concerning the Local Climate of Forests.- 39. Climatic Influences of the Forest.- VII. The Influence of Topography on the Microclimate.- 40. Insolation on Various Slopes.- 41. The Effect of Differing Amounts of Sunshine on Microenvironment.- 42. Small-Scale Topographic Influences at Night (Cold Air Currents, Frost Hollows).- 43. Local Winds in Hilly and Mountainous Terrain.- 44. The Climate of Various Slopes (Exposure Climate).- 45. The Thermal Belt.- 46. Microclimate in the High Mountains.- 47. The Microclimate of Caves.- VIII. Interrelation of Animals and Humans to the Microclimate.- 48. Animal Behavior.- 49. Animal Dwellings.- 50. Bioclimatology.- 51. Urban Climate.- 52. Artificial Protection against Wind.- 53. Artificial Protection against Low Temperatures.- References.- Symbols.- Conversion Table.- Author Index.