MRD received a second review of C. David Whiteman's Mountain Meteorology: Fundamentals and Applications (reviewed in Vol 21, No 1) by an experienced mountain meteorologist and former colleague. Ed.

C. David Whiteman, Staff Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, is one of the most respected scientists in the field of mountain meteorology and a brilliant teacher who is highly skilled at presenting complex material in an easily understandable way. He has been involved in mountain meteorological research projects in many parts of the world and has gained access to the essential early European work on mountain meteorology from the Alps, thanks to his wife Johanna, who speaks fluent German and translated key publications. She also worked behind the scenes to help make the book understandable to nonmeteorologists.

Whiteman realized the great potential for a textbook on mountain meteorology that would help students, lay people, and professionals interested in mountain weather. His plans to address the need for a training manual for aerial spraying operations in national forests were supported by the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. In addition, the National Weather Service needed a reference and training manual for their weather forecasters and meteorologists involved in air pollution investigations and forest fire and smoke management. Whiteman was initially concerned about how to satisfy these various expectations. The solution offered in his book can be regarded as a success. He presents the fundamentals in a clear and understandable way that also makes this a perfect textbook for undergraduate courses. The chapter on fire weather and smoke management was written by Carl J. Gorski and Allen Farnsworth, and the one on aerial spraying was authored by Harold W. Thistle and John W. Barry. Reflecting his dedication to science, Whiteman uses metric units along with American measures throughout the book. Although most details and examples are from the Rocky Mountains, especially from Colorado, where he spent his early years as a scientist, he includes peculiarities and examples from the European Alps, the Southern Alps of New Zealand, and the Himalayas. The attractive layout and figures—mostly redrawn for clarity—stimulate the reader's interest.

The book consists of four Parts. Part I, on mountain climates, provides insight into the 4 very general factors that determine the Earth's climate (latitude, altitude, continentality, and regional circulation) as well as North American mountain climates. Part II presents the basics of boundary-layer and synoptic meteorology. There is no need to have an extra book about general meteorological knowledge at hand: this part of the book provides information concisely, emphasizing the points essential to mountain meteorology in order to show the reader where mountain meteorology differs from meteorology over idealized flat terrain.

Part III makes the mountain meteorologist's heart beat faster. Mountain winds are described in 2 chapters on terrain-forced flows and diurnal mountain winds. Over the course of 62 pages, the reader learns how the wind blows over or around isolated mountains or long mountain barriers such as the Rockies, how sand and blowing snow are transported by eddies and wakes, and on which side of the terrain obstacle they are deposited. Foehn and Chinook winds are explained; Whiteman describes how they can lead to large forest blowdowns, depending on how the local topography channels strong winds. The slope wind, along-valley wind, cross-valley wind, and mountain-plain wind systems are explained in the chapter on diurnal mountain winds. The scale of circulation, how wind is driven by the surface energy balance, and how it affects atmospheric stability and temperature distribution in valleys are important issues discussed here. The pooling of cold air in valleys at night and the Maloja wind that blows against the apparent local pressure gradient are explained in terms of the valley volume effect. This produces colder air at night and warmer air during daytime in deep and narrow valleys due to the much larger surface-to-volume ratio observed in valleys than over flat terrain.

Part IV deals with selected applications of mountain meteorology, organized in 3 chapters on air pollution dispersion, fire weather and smoke management, and aerial spraying. The 32 pages on air pollution dispersion provide the fundamental information needed to understand the uneven mixing of pollutants in a valley atmosphere. Although this chapter belongs to Part IV, it could just as well have been placed in a separate part, given the fundamental importance of the information it provides. Often, especially in the absence of clouds, it is smoke from chimneys and smokestacks that makes atmospheric circulation and thermal stratification visible. “Fire weather and smoke management” was specifically written for the needs of US fire fighters. But it provides much interesting and essential information that also applies to conditions in mountains of the world where prescribed fires are part of the agricultural system and where it is essential not to burn the land on the wrong side of the ignition lines. “Aerial spraying” similarly focuses mainly on US conditions, where the primary applications are pest or vegetation control, fertilization, defoliation, and control of diseases.

Although the author took great care not to focus only on the mountains of North America, the book does not discuss in detail how knowledge gained in mountains in the middle and high latitudes can be transferred to mountains in the equatorial zone. Although the fundamentals remain the same, it appears that there would still be room for a second volume dealing more explicitly with the specifics of tropical mountain ranges.

Nevertheless, this book can be recommended as a starting point to anyone interested in meteorology—especially mountain meteorology. It is carefully written for a wide audience and is offered at an affordable price despite its hard cover. It will most likely become a standard reference book on mountain meteorology.