Understanding Weather and the Environment

Quebec publishers

For all curious readers, the Knowledge Guides open the door to a world of complex and captivating phenomena.

Accurate, detailed visual information is all defined in lay language to make it readily accessible to the non-expert. Definitions to scientific terms are given either in the explanation itself, or in the comprehensive glossary.

Table of contents
Understanding Weather and the Environment	1
Table of Contents	5
Earth’s atmosphere	8
The atmosphere	9
Atmospheric pressure	11
The movement of air masses	13
Winds	15
Prevailing winds	17
Local winds	19
Tornadoes	21
The power of tornadoes	23
Precipitation	26
Humidity	27
Clouds	29
Identifying clouds	31
Precipitation	33
Types of precipitation	35
Dew and fog	37
Rainbows	38
Thunderstorms	39
Lightning and thunder	41
The birth of a cyclone	43
Inside a cyclone	45
Life and death of a cyclone	47
Meteorology	50
Measurement instruments	51
Measuring the temperature	53
Balloons and radar	55
Geostationary satellites	57
Polar-orbiting satellites	59
Weather maps	61
Reading a weather map	63
Earth’s climates	66
The seasonal cycle	67
Climates of the world	69
Desert climates	71
Tropical climates	73
Polar climates	75
Temperate climates	77
El Niño and La Niña	79
The consequences of El Niño and La Niña	81
The environment	84
The biosphere	85
Ecosystems	87
Soil	89
The water cycle	91
The carbon and oxygen cycles	93
The phosphorus and nitrogen cycles	95
The greenhouse effect	97
Global warming	99
The ozone layer	101
Sources of air pollution	103
The effects of air pollution	105
Acid rain	107
Sources of water pollution	109
Water pollution	111
Treatment of wastewater	113
Soil pollution	115
Desertification	117
Nuclear waste	119
Pollution of the food chains	120
Selective sorting of waste	121
Recycling	123
Glossary	125
Index	127
Photo credits	129