This book provides an
introduction to the development of three-dimensional climate models, including
their four major components: atmosphere, ocean, land/vegetation, and sea ice.

The fundamental processes in each component and the interactions among them
are explained using basic scientific principles, and elements of the numerical
methods used in solving the model equations are also provided. The authors
show how the theory and models grew historically and how well they are able to
account for known aspects of the climate system.



This book is written so that
a reader who is only vaguely aware of climate models will be able to gain an
understanding of what the models are attempting to simulate, how the models
are constructed, what the models have succeeded in simulating, and how the
models are being used.



Examples illustrating the use of the models to simulate
aspects of the current climate system are followed by examples illustrating
the application of the models to important scientific areas such as
understanding paleoclimates, the last millennium, the El Nino/Southern
Oscillation, and the effects of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations on
future climate change.



The book is appropriate for scientists, graduate
students, and upper-level undergraduates and can be used as a textbook or for
self study and reference. The authors have considerably updated the book from
the first edition by adding descriptions of many techniques and results
developed since the mid-1980s.