We live at the bottom of an ocean of air -- 5,200 million million tons, to be exact. It sounds like a lot, but Earth's atmosphere is smeared onto its surface in an alarmingly thin layer-- 99 percent contained within 18 miles. Yet, within this fragile margin lies a magnificent realm -- at once gorgeous, terrifying, capricious, and elusive. With his keen eye for identifying and uniting seemingly unrelated events, Christopher Dewdney reveals to us the invisible rivers in the sky that affect how our weather works and the structure of clouds and storms and seasons, the rollercoaster of climate. 18 Miles is a kaleidoscopic and fact-filled journey that uncovers our obsession with the atmosphere and weather -- as both evocative metaphor and physical reality. From the roaring winds of Katrina to the frozen oceans of Snowball Earth, Dewdney entertains as he gives readers a long overdue look at the very air we breathe.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-248) and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Date published
- 2018.
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 551.5
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 1770413464 9781773052243
- LCCN
- QC861.2
- LCCN Item number
- D49 2018eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- FMG
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (263 pages)
- Published in
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)kck00239311 (OCoLC)1057894948 (CaOOCEL)479843
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Title proper/short title
- Eighteen miles
- Transcribing agency
- FMG
Table of Contents
- Front Cover -1
- Spine -1
- Praise for the Author 3
- Title Page 5
- Copyright 6
- Table of Contents 7
- Introduction 9
- 1. Stormy with a Chance of Life: The Improbable 15
- 2. The Wild Blue Yonder: The Layers of the Atmosphere 29
- 3. Cloud Nine: Inside the Misty Giants above Our Heads 41
- 4. The Poem of Earth: Rain 55
- 5. The Secret Life of Storms 79
- 6. Katrina: The Life Story of a Hurricane 102
- 7. Palace of the Winds 116
- 8. Which Way the Wind Blows: The Story of Weather Forecasting 137
- 9. Apollo’s Chariot: The Seasons 164
- 10. A Cold Place: Winter and the Ice Ages 178
- 11. Climate Change Past and Present 196
- 12: Weather That Change History 213
- Postscript: Fire, Water, Earth, Air — A Visit to Earth’s Core 230
- Appendix: Measurement Conversions 245
- Selected Bibliography 251
- Acknowledgments 257
- Index 259
- Back Cover -1
