This course has been designed as an introduction to the atmospheric sciences for graduate students with undergraduate degrees in other disciplines. It is intended to provide a broad, quantitative overview of the field for beginning meteorology graduate students, but it is also suitable for students in other science and engineering fields who would like to obtain a basic understanding of the atmosphere. All are welcome.
Although an introductory course offered at the graduate level may seem to be an unusual concept to some, atmospheric science is a broad, interdisciplinary field that applies principles from all of the basic physcial sciences to study the atmosphere of this and other planets, as well as the complex interactions between atmospheric processes and the hydrosphere and biosphere. Many students enter the field after obtaining B.S. degrees in other disciplines. Indeed, the majority of the faculty of the Department of Meteorology hold undergraduate degrees in fields such as physics, chemistry, applied mathematics, oceanography and in my own case, aeronautical engineering. This change of disciplines is not difficult, and it is often advantageous in the long run. However, assimilating information in a new field can be daunting at first to those who do not have a general understanding of how the field's various subdisciplines are interrelated.
I designed this course to introduce students new to meteorology to a range of atmospheric phenomena that spans most of the fundamental branches of the field. As is appropriate for a course at the graduate level, the course will be quantitative, and selected topics will be explored in some depth. However, the primary goal is to develop a broad foundation to provide context for the more focussed graduate courses that follow.
Procedures:
This is a lecture course, with three lectures scheduled during most weeks. I intend for the lectures to be relatively informal, with as much discussion as possible. We will deviate freely from the course outline depending upon the interests of the group.
Grades will be based on three exams during the semester (20% each) and one final exam (40%). Several problem sets will be distributed, collected and discussed. They will not count towards the final grade, but a prudent student would complete them.
The text is "Atmospheric Science - An Introductory Survey" by Wallace and Hobbs. This is a good fundamental text, but it's a little dated and does not cover everything. There will be frequent handouts and supplemtnatl readings on selected topics.
My office hours are noted above, and you can usually catch me right after class as well. If you want to talk to me at other times, that's ok too, just check with Dianne Taylor in room 506 Walker to set up an appointment.
This Homepage:
The main function of this homepage is to facilitate communications. It contains internal links to the following sections: a copy of the course outline, a series of files where selected lecture notes will be posted, and a bulletin board for email communications that are to be displayed to all. These postings will include any announcements on exams, schedule changes, etc. I am new to this mode of communication, so bear with me and offer suggestions for imrovements as we go.
Course Destinations