| Review: |
The Asian monsoon is one of the most far reaching environmental phenomena on our Earth, and almost two-thirds of the world’s population lives under its influence. Climatic reconstruction shows that the rise and collapse of civilizations in South and East Asia have been controlled in large measure by monsoon intensity. With the emerging world economies of China and India the importance of understanding the monsoon has grown in importance. This book presents a multidisciplinary overview of the monsoon covering recent advances in atmospheric science, climatology, oceanography and geology. The monsoon is a large-scale seasonal reversal of the normal atmospheric circulation. The monsoon has strengthened over the past millions of years but research in the last several years has shown that monsoon intensity varies dramatically over much shorter timescales and is also often linked to other climate systems. |