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Snow Ecology, An Interdisciplinary Examination of Snow-Covered Ecosystems
Atmospheric Research 61 (2002) 87 www.elsevier.com/locate/atmos
Book review Snow Ecology, An Interdisciplinary Examination of Snow-Covered Ecosystems Edited by H.G. Jones, J.W. Pomeroy, D.A. Walker and R.W. Hoham. Published by Cambridge University Press, May 2001 ‘‘Snow Ecology’’ contains seven sections, with contributions from 15 authors. The sections deal with snow cover, physical properties of snow, chemistry and nutrient cycling, microbiology of snow and freshwater ice, effect of snow cover on small animals, snow – vegetation interactions, and tree-ring dating of past snow regimes. An outstanding property of this book is that the editors and authors have succeeded in cross-referencing among these sections, to relate physical, chemical and biological processes that may be acting simultaneously in a snow pack. Pertinent inter-disciplinary citations are included in the reference list of each section, and the book contains a 20-page glossary which I found very convenient. A portion of this book deals with the interaction of snow with dynamics of the atmosphere, but I found each section to be very interesting because they all deal with the dynamic interaction of snow with the earth’s surface. As examples, Section 3, The Chemistry of Snow: Processes and Nutrient Cycling, by Tranter and Jones, follows the progress of snow chemistry from the Magono –Lee classification of the original crystals through vapor and particle scavenging, snow pack metamorphosis, soil gas interaction, and microbial activity to snow melt reaction with the soil. Section 4, by Hoham and Duval, provides a comprehensive world survey of snow algae, covering coasts, islands and polar glaciers as well as more common mid-latitude snow cover. This book provides well researched and extensively referenced insight relative to the influence of snow cover on insect and animal populations, and the distribution of surface vegetation. It describes how winter damage occurs in plants during the growth period of emergence from the protection of winter snow pack. ‘‘Snow Ecology’’ thoroughly covers nonmeteorological processes occurring in snow cover. Operational meteorologists may have some differing opinions relative to daily interactions of air and snow. I think that most of the readers of Atmospheric Research will find ‘‘Snow Ecology’’ informative, understandable, and thoroughly interesting. A.W. Hogan Atmospheric Research, 41 Barton Rd., P.O. Box 21, Piermont, NH 03779 0021, USA E-mail address: [email protected] Tel.: +1-603-272-4859; fax: +1-603-272-5818.
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Book review Snow Ecology, An Interdisciplinary Examination of Snow-Covered Ecosystems Edited by H.G. Jones, J.W. Pomeroy, D.A. Walker and R.W. Hoham. Published by Cambridge University Press, May 2001 ‘‘Snow Ecology’’ contains seven sections, with contributions from 15 authors. The sections deal with snow cover, physical properties of snow, chemistry and nutrient cycling, microbiology of snow and freshwater ice, effect of snow cover on small animals, snow – vegetation interactions, and tree-ring dating of past snow regimes. An outstanding property of this book is that the editors and authors have succeeded in cross-referencing among these sections, to relate physical, chemical and biological processes that may be acting simultaneously in a snow pack. Pertinent inter-disciplinary citations are included in the reference list of each section, and the book contains a 20-page glossary which I found very convenient. A portion of this book deals with the interaction of snow with dynamics of the atmosphere, but I found each section to be very interesting because they all deal with the dynamic interaction of snow with the earth’s surface. As examples, Section 3, The Chemistry of Snow: Processes and Nutrient Cycling, by Tranter and Jones, follows the progress of snow chemistry from the Magono –Lee classification of the original crystals through vapor and particle scavenging, snow pack metamorphosis, soil gas interaction, and microbial activity to snow melt reaction with the soil. Section 4, by Hoham and Duval, provides a comprehensive world survey of snow algae, covering coasts, islands and polar glaciers as well as more common mid-latitude snow cover. This book provides well researched and extensively referenced insight relative to the influence of snow cover on insect and animal populations, and the distribution of surface vegetation. It describes how winter damage occurs in plants during the growth period of emergence from the protection of winter snow pack. ‘‘Snow Ecology’’ thoroughly covers nonmeteorological processes occurring in snow cover. Operational meteorologists may have some differing opinions relative to daily interactions of air and snow. I think that most of the readers of Atmospheric Research will find ‘‘Snow Ecology’’ informative, understandable, and thoroughly interesting. A.W. Hogan Atmospheric Research, 41 Barton Rd., P.O. Box 21, Piermont, NH 03779 0021, USA E-mail address: [email protected] Tel.: +1-603-272-4859; fax: +1-603-272-5818.
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