Review and Applied Meteorology

The culmination of the processes that acquire and exchange energy, as described in Chap.  2 , and those that move energy, matter, and momentum via the general atmospheric circulation (Chap.  3 ), secondary atmospheric circulations (Chap.  4 ), and the ocean circulation (Chap.  5 ), drives the climate system. Interactions between the various climate system components (Chaps.  6 – 9 ) alter the distribution of energy, matter, and/or momentum on or near the Earth’s surface. These factors acting in concert make the world the way that it is. Synoptic classification methods (Chap.  10 ) including the Köppen climate types (Chap.  11 ) reveal several broad-scale patterns of climate. Those patterns described in Chaps. 12 – 21  are reviewed here. Various, specific, and in some cases, unique, features in world regions exchange energy, matter, and momentum in the climate system. Whether primary or secondary, their impacts are felt at different spatial scales. The example of El Niño-Southern Oscillation is used here. Uncertainty remains a major theme in both the nature and future impacts of the atmospheric and oceanic circulation variability and change. Such impacts may affect resilience and vulnerability in environmental, economic, and social systems.