Dryland Climatology

Sharon E. Nicholson is a Professor of Meteorology at Florida State University, where she holds the rank of Distinguished Research Professor and also serves as the H. and K. Lettau Professor of Climatology. She has previously held positions at the Rheinische Friedrich-Willhelms-Universität Bonn, Clark University, Massachusetts, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Colorado. She is acknowledged as an international expert on the climate of arid and semi-arid regions, having been active in arid lands research for forty years, and is best known for her work on climatic variability in Africa. Professor Nicholson's work has been acknowledged by awards and medals from the American Meteorological Society and the Royal Meteorological Society of the UK. Her photographic skills have seen her placed as a finalist in the National Geographic Travel Photography Contest and the American Geophysical Union's Geophysical Images Competition.

Preface; Acknowledgements; Part I. The Dryland Environment: 1. Introduction to dryland environments; 2. The geomorphologic background; 3. Vegetation of the dryland regions; Part II. The Meteorological Background: 4. The general atmospheric circulation; 5. The global distribution of arid climates and rainfall; 6. Radiation, heat and surface exchange processes; 7. Water balance; 8. Evaporation; Part III. The Climatic Environment of Drylands: 9. Defining aridity: the classification and character of dryland climates; 10. Desert microclimate; 11. Precipitation in the drylands; 12. Hydrologic processes in the drylands; 13. Desert winds and dust; Part IV. The Earth's Dry Lands: 14. North America; 15. South America; 16. Subsaharan Africa; 17. The Mediterranean lands; 18. Australia; 19. Asia; 20. Coastal deserts; Part V. Life and Change in the Dryland Regions: 21. Drought and other hazards; 22. Desertification; 23. People in the dryland environments; 24. Plant and animal life in the desert; 25. Climatic variability and climatic change; Index.