This chapter outlines the EU’s seven official main institutions (the European Council, Council of the European Union, European Parliament, Commission, Court of Justice, Court of Auditors and European Central Bank) and the different executive, legislative and judicial powers that are allocated to them. It describes their tasks and the way they have organized their work. The EU’s combination of institutions is unique and can be characterized as ‘mixed government’ or as ‘a polity with many principals’. It is nevertheless based upon a common model for organizing democratic systems, namely that of consensualism, and aims to disperse power and constrain the use of it.

This chapter outlines the different analytical perspectives that can be used to study the EU. It first discusses three different integration theories (neo-functionalism, intergovernmentalism and postfunctionalism) and their spin-offs. These theories seek to explain why and how countries have decided to establish European cooperation and what role key actors (governments, interest groups, the public, politicians and civil servants) play in this. The chapter subsequently outlines theories of EU politics which seek to explain the actual functioning of the EU. In doing so it places a strong emphasis on the comparative politics approach, where the functioning of the EU is analysed by employing theories and concepts that are used in analysing domestic political systems. Additionally the chapter also discusses multi-level governance and federalism as two additional ways to understand EU politics. These theories provide complimentary insights in to the EU’s functioning. The choice to employ a certain theoretical perspective depends upon the types of questions asked and the actors that are of interest.

The realization that correlation statistics could provide useful information on the three‐dimensional structure and evolution of the transients (i.e., variations about the seasonally varying climatological mean state) dates back al least 100 years, but at that time studies based on this methodology were largely restricted to the analysis of seasonal or annual mean time series at individual stations. Notable examples include studies of Exner, and Walker and Bliss.

The middle atmosphere encompasses the stratosphere and the mesosphere. Its geometric midpoint at ∼50 km corresponds roughly to the stratopause, the top of the stratosphere and the level of strongest heating (per unit mass) due to the absorption of solar ultraviolet radiation by ozone molecules.

This chapter zooms in on the dynamics of decision-making in the EU. Whereas Chapter 4 sketches the structures and procedures used to take decisions in the EU, this chapter discusses the processes that take place within those structures and procedures. It distinguishes between three types of decision (history-making, policy-setting and policy-shaping) that show different decision-making dynamics. In relation to history-making decisions, the chapter provides an introduction to negotiation theory and identifies the various strategies actors use in negotiations. In relation to policy-setting decisions, it discusses the dynamics of interinstitutional decision-making, using Tsebelis’ veto player theory. This is followed by a discussion of the role of different types of policy networks in EU policy-making. The chapter ends with sections on the role of technocracy in the EU (using the better regulation programme as an example) and the debate about flexibility and inertia in EU policy-making (engaging with Scharpf’s joint-decision trap thesis).

In motion systems with timescales ranging from hours up to and including the diurnal cycle, gravity and inertio‐gravity waves are dominant. The influence of the Earth’s rotation is discernible, but geostrophic balance does not prevail and Rossby wave propagation and dispersion do not play a dominant role in the dynamics.

A coherent introduction to generative syntax by a leader in the field, this textbook leads students through the theory from the very beginning, assuming no prior knowledge. Introducing the central concepts in a systematic and engaging way, it covers the goals of generative grammar, tacit native-speaker knowledge, categories and constituents, phrase structure, movement, binding, syntax beyond English and the architecture of grammar. The theory is built slowly, showing in a step-by-step fashion how different versions of generative theory relate to one another. Examples are carefully chosen to be easily understood, and a comprehensive glossary provides clear definitions of all the key terms introduced. With end of chapter exercises, broader discussion questions, and annotated further reading lists. Beginning Syntax is the ideal resource for instructors and beginning undergraduate students of syntax alike. Two further textbooks by Ian Roberts, Continuing Syntax and Comparing Syntax, will take students to intermediate and advanced level.

A coherent introduction to generative syntax by a leader in the field, this textbook leads students through the theory from the very beginning, assuming no prior knowledge. Introducing the central concepts in a systematic and engaging way, it covers the goals of generative grammar, tacit native-speaker knowledge, categories and constituents, phrase structure, movement, binding, syntax beyond English and the architecture of grammar. The theory is built slowly, showing in a step-by-step fashion how different versions of generative theory relate to one another. Examples are carefully chosen to be easily understood, and a comprehensive glossary provides clear definitions of all the key terms introduced. With end of chapter exercises, broader discussion questions, and annotated further reading lists. Beginning Syntax is the ideal resource for instructors and beginning undergraduate students of syntax alike. Two further textbooks by Ian Roberts, Continuing Syntax and Comparing Syntax, will take students to intermediate and advanced level.

Tropical weather systems with timescales shorter than a few weeks can be divided into three broad categories: equatorially trapped waves, off‐equatorial waves, and tropical vortices.

Some of the most influential general circulation papers in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s involved the formulation and diagnosis of balance requirements that can be applied to any scalar, conserved quantity.

The prominence of the stratosphere in general circulation research derives from

• its role as a reservoir for dangerous radioactive debris from nuclear explosions and reflective sulfate aerosols from volcanic eruptions,

• its role in mediating ozone photochemistry, which shields life on Earth from harmful effects of solar ultraviolet radiation,

• its distinctive low frequency variability, which is seen as a possible vehicle for extending the range of useful weather prediction,

• its relative simplicity as a dynamical system in which the interactions between waves and the zonally symmetric flow play a central role.