Solar Impact: Climate and the Sun

This book is based on an in-depth conversation between Howard Burton and Joanna Haigh, Emerita Professor of Atmospheric Physics at Imperial College London and Co-Director of the Grantham Institute. After inspiring details about how she got into her field of study and how we can encourage more girls to get more interested in science, the conversation examines her research of the influence of the sun and solar variability on our climate, how energy emitted by the Sun in the form of heat, light and ultraviolet radiation warms the earth and drives our climate, how data from satellites and modelling the processes helps us distinguish the warming effects of greenhouse gases from those of natural variations in solar energy, and more.

This carefully-edited book includes an introduction, Confronting Complexity, and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter:

• Meteorological Beginnings - Joanna finds her niche
• Science and Gender - Different disciplines, different stories
• A Curious Correspondence - Examining the link between temperature and solar variation
• Considering the Earth - A changing orbit and changing tilt
• Considering the Sun - Looking at the solar cycle
• The Big Picture - More than just the sun
• Examining the Details - Recreating the weather, more or less
• Getting The Word Out - Increasing public awareness
• Public Policy - From words to acts
• Final Thoughts - Towards a better future

About Ideas Roadshow Conversations Series (100 books):

Presented in an accessible, conversational format, Ideas Roadshow books not only explore frontline academic research featuring world-leading researchers, including 3 Nobel Laureates, but also reveal the inspirations and personal journeys behind the research. Howard Burton holds a PhD in physics and an MA in philosophy, and was the Founding Director of Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Dettagli