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A number of extreme weather events have struck the Northern Hemisphere in recent years, from scorching heatwaves to desperately cold winters, and from floods and storms to droughts and wildfires. These events have fuelled intense discussions in scientific conferences, government agencies, cafes, and on street corners around the world. Why are these events happening? Is this the emerging signal of climate change, and should we expect more of this? Media reports vary widely, but one mysterious agent has risen to prominence in many cases: the jet stream.
The story begins on a windswept beach in Barbados, from where we follow the ascent of a weather balloon that will travel along the jet stream all around the world. From this viewpoint we observe the effect of the jet in influencing human life around the hemisphere, and witness startling changes emerging. What is the jet stream and how well do we understand it? How does it affect our weather and is it changing? These are the main questions tackled in Jet Stream. We learn about how our view of the wind has developed from Aristotle's early theories up to today's understanding. We see that the jet is intimately connected with dramatic contrasts between climate zones and has played a key historical role in determining patterns of trade. We learn about the basic physics underlying the jet and how this knowledge is incorporated into computer models which predict both tomorrow's weather and the climate of future decades. And finally, we discuss how climate change is expected to affect the jet, and introduce the vital scientific debate over whether these changes have contributed to recent extreme weather events.
1: Launch
2: Trades
3: Spin
4: Contrasts
5: Waves
6: Storm
7: Tracks
8: Experiments
9: Nino
10: Mountains
11: Gulf
12: Split
13: Drivers
14: Exit
15: Future
16: Changes
17: Confession
Tim Woollings obtained his PhD in Meteorology in 2005 and since then has worked on a variety of topics spanning weather prediction, atmospheric dynamics and circulation, and the effects of climate change. He has studied how the jet stream varies over weeks, years, and decades, and how we can better predict these changes. He has been a contributing author on three chapters of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. Tim has worked at the University of Reading as a postdoc, research fellow and then lecturer before moving to the University of Oxford in 2013. He is now an Associate Professor in Physical Climate Science, leading a team of researchers in the Atmospheric Dynamics group. He teachers various courses on the fundamentals of geophysical fluid dynamics and atmospheric circulation.
"Woollings suggests that the extreme weather events that have afflicted the northern hemisphere in recent years are connected to the behaviour of the jet stream. He outlines what we know about the jet stream and how it is affecting the planet's climate."
– Survival: Global Politics and Strategy
"[A] thoroughly original, highly imaginative book [...] The book is approachable to an intelligent lay audience. It is judiciously and delightfully illustrated and told as an engaging narrative [...] "
– Richard Lofthouse, QUAD
"[An] approachable exploration of the jet stream [...] The reader is rewarded with plenty of juicy little facts [...] a good and surprisingly enjoyable trip around a weather phenomenon."
– Brian Clegg, Popular Science
"As a professional meteorologist I particularly enjoyed this whirlwind tour through my chosen science in a book that brings seemingly disparate theories together to give a global understanding of the weather [...] the book strikes the right balance between facts, figures and diagrams with personal stories about key players in the world of meteorology. I would highly recommend it to both professional meteorologists and those who have an interest in the weather and climate."
– Katie Brown, Weather
"This book is ideal for lay folk with basic school-level science who have an interest the weather and wish to learn a little more. It would also be a valuable summer holiday read for school leavers anticipating embarking on a meteorology or climate change related course."
– Jonathan Cowie, The Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation
"Tim Woollings is a great story-teller [...] I was delighted to find this book a real page-turner! Each topic is treated with a judicious blend of vigor and rigor [...] I think this book would be an excellent introduction to the global atmospheric circulation for anyone with a basic background in classical mechanics who is prepared to spend some time grappling with the concepts. But it would also be a good, rapid read for someone who wants a quick overview."
– Professor David Andrews
"This is an amazing book. In less than 200 slim pages it gives a very readable account of weather and climate [...] The reader is given both an interesting historical background and an up-to-date account of many important issues, including climate change."
– Sir Brian Hoskins, Imperial College London and University of Reading
"This educative, scientifically sound and well-narrated story has the power to inspire further research and reading. A must read for atmospheric scientists and for anyone who enjoys studying our natural environment."
– Panos Athanasiadis, CMCC, Bologna
"Tim Woollings' book is a grand travelogue of weather, history, and geography, all connected to the winds that circle our globe and the people who have tried to understand them. Anyone who has watched a weather forecast and has wondered why the air does what it does will find this book fascinating. The science is up-to-date and accurate; Woollings doesn't settle for ordinary close-enough-but-wrong explanations but instead explains how weather and climate systems really work. You'll be amazed and awestruck at everything that happens to produce that puff of wind against your cheek."
– John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University
