Hydroclimatology provides a systematic structure for analysing how the climate system causes time and space variations (both global and local) in the hydrologic cycle. Changes in the relationship between the climate system and the hydrologic cycle underlie floods, drought and possible future influences of global warming on water resources. Land-based data, satellite data, and computer models contribute to our understanding of the complex time and space variations of physical processes shared by the climate system and the hydrologic cycle. Blending key information from the fields of climatology and hydrology – which are not often found in a single volume – this is an ideal textbook for students in atmospheric science, hydrology, Earth and environmental science, geography, and environmental engineering. It is also a useful reference for academic researchers in these fields.
1. The realm of hydroclimatology
2. The climate system and the hydrologic cycle
3. Measuring hydroclimate atmospheric components
4. Measuring hydroclimate terrestrial components
5. Remote sensing and hydroclimate data
6. The runoff process and streamflow
7. Hydroclimate spatial variations
8. Hydroclimate temporal variations
9. Floods: the hydroclimatic extreme of excessive moisture
10. Droughts: the hydroclimatic extreme of deficient moisture
Bibliography
Index
Marlyn Shelton is Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Science at the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, USA. He is a member of the American Water Resources Association, the Association of American Geographers, and the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. He has been elected as a Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellow and a Fellow of the Ohio Academy of Science. He has authored and co-authored four previous books, published numerous scientific papers, and served as an associate editor for the Journal of the American Water Resources Association from 1991-1999. He has given interviews to newspapers and television stations on topics such as climate change, El Niño, floods, drought, and air quality, and has presented lectures and workshops for the US Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
"[...] ideally suited as an introductory text for undergraduates in climate science and hydrology, while also providing a valuable reference for researchers in adjacent disciplines and practitioners such as applied hydrologists looking for a broad perspective on this field."
– Progress in Physical Geography
"[...] a comprehensive introductory volume to an interdisciplinary science dedicated to understanding the dynamic between atmospheric and terrestrial water. [...] this book provides the framework for those individuals interested in pursuing research in this increasingly important field. [...] Marlyn Shelton's book would serve as the ideal primary text in an upper-division undergraduate course in hydroclimatology."
– APCG Yearbook
"In general, Shelton's book is well thought-out, well written, and well executed [...] the process-oriented discussions of hydroclimate topics make this book a step above other related qualitative reference books in hydrology or climatology. This book could easily become an essential reference for a student or teacher in the Earth or atmospheric sciences, and is a must for those looking to bridge the knowledge gap between the respective disciplines."
– Jamie Dyer, Mississipi State University
"[...] the book provides a useful framework for the subject matter of hydroclimatology."
– Contemporary Physics