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The Advanced Study Institute Ice Physics in the Natural and Endangered Environ­ ment was held at Acquafredda di Maratea, Italy, from September 7 to 19, 1997. The ASI was designed to study the broad range of ice science and technology, and it brought together an appropriately interdisciplinary group of lecturers and students to study the many facets of the subject. The talks and poster presentations explored how basic molecular physics of ice have important environmental consequences, and, con­ versely, how natural phenomena present new questions for fundamental study. The of lectures discusses these linkages, in order that overall unity of following sunimary the subject and this volume can be perceived. Not all of the lecturers and participants were able to contribute a written piece, but their active involvement was crucial to the success of the Institute and thereby influenced the content of the volume. We began the Institute by retracing the history of the search for a microscopic un­ derstanding of melting. Our motivation was straightforward. Nearly every phenome­ non involving ice in the environment is influenced by the change of phase from solid to liquid or vice-versa. Hence, a sufficiently deep physical picture of the melting tran­ sition enriches our appreciation of a vast array of geophysical and technical problems.

The NATO Advanced Research Workshop on'The Effects of the Mt. Pinatubo Erup­ tion on the Atmosphere and Climate'was held in Rome, September 26-30, 1994. In addition to NATO, the workshop was supported by Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. The Organizing Committee was fortunate to enlist the participation of many of the experts in the field, and this book is an account of their contributions. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991 was readily recognized as one of the major eruptions of the century. In a sense it was the global experiment the atmospheric scientific community was waiting for to assess theories developed on ozone depletion and greenhouse warming. In September of that same year the launching of the UARS satellite added a new tool for observers all around the world. Three years later was a good time to convene a NATO Workshop to sum up what had been measured and theorized about the effects of the eruption. This book is divided in four chapters which cover respectively: the characterization of the aerosol cloud, the measured or simulated effects on temperature, on ozone and on climate.

Scientists concerned with the processes occurring in the stratosphere are becoming more and more aware of the role that the stratosphere may play in the global climate and in global change in general. This book focuses on the basic processes taking place in the stratosphere and on the stratospheric changes which may occur from either natural or anthropogenic forcing. Of major concern here is the consequence of the increasing Antarctic Ozone Hole and the possibility of similar processes occurring at northern latitudes. One of the expected consequences of the change in the stratospheric composition, mainly ozone depletion, is the change in the penetration of UV-B in the troposphere, at the surface, and in the top layers of the ocean. Monitoring and modeling of those changes are still in infancy, even though the implications may be of utmost importance for the entire biosphere. Several aspects of these consequences with regard to aquatic ecosystems, terrestrial vegetation and human health are presented by experts in these fields.

This unique volume summarizes and integrates more than a decade of atmospheric chemistry research, carried out under the auspices of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). It is part of a series being written by each of the IGBP core projects. During the period under consideration, great progress has been made in the science, computing, modelling and observational techniques; methods have also improved. Suggestions for the highest priority research for the next decade are made. The volume was written by leaders in the field of atmospheric chemistry research, and includes important information regarding impacts on the environment reinforced by solid scientific results.

This is an extended version of lectures that were held at the summer workshop Atmosphiirische Umweltforschung im Spannungsfeld zwischen Technik und Natur (At­ mospheric Environmental Research between Technology and Nature) at the Techni­ 16, 1996. We were very happy to have Paul J. Crutzen, cal University in Cottbus on July winner of the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1995, presenting the key lecture on glo­ bally changing chemistry in the atmosphere. Over the last decades, atmospheric chem­ istry has been established step by step, not just as an applied discipline of chemistry, but also as a key discipline for our understanding of air pollution, biogeochemical cycling, and climactic processes as well. In fact, the new definition of meteorology as the science of physics and chemistry of the atmosphere expresses this development very well. The chemistry of the atmosphere is strongly influenced by anthropogenic emissions, even on a global scale. As a result of emissions and chemical reactions, the chemical composition of the atmosphere influences the ecosystems directly via depo­ sition of trace substances, and indirectly by changing the physical climate. Therefore, in this book we combined state-of-the-art lectures describing the physical and chemi­ cal status of the atmosphere and selected issues representing the interface between atmosphere, technology and nature. Oxidising capacity, heterogeneous processes and acidity still remain as key issues in atmospheric chemistry, even in regions where efficient air control measures have been adopted resulting in reduction of primary atmospheric pollutants.

Especially due to the increasing environmental problems there is a need to collect as many data as possible in the upper atmosphere. This book serves as a general multidisciplinary guide and introduction for a more effective use of the large amount of now available data from the Earth's atmosphere. It also shows the problems of the use of large amounts of time series data - for basic science as well as for environmental monitoring - and the related information systems. The book is aimed for scientists and students interested in the Earth's atmosphere which is vital for the understanding of environmental changes in the global system Earth.

During the last few decades anthropogenic activities in the industrially advanced countries have outcompeted nature in changing the global environment. This is best illustrated for example by the polluted lakes in Scandinavia and Canada, associated with acid deposition from fossil fuel combustion. One of the major challenges mankind is confronted with in the field of energy consumption is undoubtedly to ensure sustainability - a goal that requires improved management of natural resources and a substantial reduction of the noxious emissions which are dangerous to health and the environment. The threat of global climate change due to pollutant emissions causes se­ rious concern to many nations, and reaching an international consensus is likely to take some time. Carbon dioxide emissions have slowed only marginally in industrialized countries during the last few years, but have increased significantly in most developing countries due to increases in energy demand and the increasing use of fossil fuels, which remain the most readily available energy sources today. Unfortunately, far from learning lessons from the negative experiences of developed countries, many developing countries are taking the same path to development which has turned out to result in serious environmental consequences.

This book is a multi-author treatise on the most outstanding research problems in the field of the aeronomy of the Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere, encompassing the science covered by Division II of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA). It contains several review articles and detailed papers by leading scientists in the field. The book is organized in five parts: 1) Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere Dynamics and Chemistry; 2) Vertical Coupling by Upward Propagating Waves; 3) Ionospheric Electrodynamics and Structuring; 4) Thermosphere- Ionosphere Coupling, Dynamics and Trends and 5) Ionosphere-Thermosphere Disturbances and Modeling. The book consolidates the progress achieved in the field in recent years and it serves as a useful reference for graduate students as well as experienced researchers.

This book surveys recent developments in numerical techniques for global atmospheric models. It is based upon a collection of lectures prepared by leading experts in the field. The chapters reveal the multitude of steps that determine the global atmospheric model design. They encompass the choice of the equation set, computational grids on the sphere, horizontal and vertical discretizations, time integration methods, filtering and diffusion mechanisms, conservation properties, tracer transport, and considerations for designing models for massively parallel computers. A reader interested in applied numerical methods but also the many facets of atmospheric modeling should find this book of particular relevance.