GGS 670 Fall 2017
Introduction to Atmosphere and Weather

Course Description

This course will introduce the students to the fundamental principles upon which the atmospheric sciences are based and to provide quantitative description and interpretation of the wide range of atmospheric phenomena with an emphasis on sub-synoptic scales (i.e. weather and regional scale climate). One of the main goals of this course is not only to provide the basic knowledge of fundamentals of the atmosphere science and weather, but also to prepare students for the science of climate. This course is designed for both science majors and non-majors taking their first course in atmosphere science. We will focus on energy meteorology in Fall 2017.

College Math (such as MATH 214) and physics (such as PHYS 262), or permission of instructor.

Schedule

Final project

Weather and atmosphere science related final presentations and final term papers are encouraged.

Grading
Grades will be based upon your performance on the homework exercies, midterm, class attendance and final term paper and presentation. The weighted contribution of each of these utems to your final grade is:

Textbooks
Required Textbook:
“Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere”, Fourth Edition, by Steven A. Ackerman and John A. Knox 2014, Jones & Bartlett Learning (2014), ISBN 978-1-284-02737-2 (paperback edition), 575 pages.

Recommended References:

1. Wallace, J. M., and P. V. Hobbs, Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey (Second Edition), Academic Press, 2006.

Useful Links

1. NOAA/CDC
2. NOAA/NCDC
3. IPCC
4. Climate Conference in Copenhagen, 2009
5. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
6. Climate Change Science Compendium 2009 by UNEP
7. IPCC 2007 Reports
8. A climate threat, rising from the soil
9. Global Weather Maps
10. COP21