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Weather and Climate

Overview

This course introduces the basic principles of atmospheric science. Starting from the building blocks of dry air and water vapor, we study how their movements and phase changes help redistribute the energy that Earth receives from the Sun. Along the way we develop proficiency in reading upper-air and surface charts to visualize the flow of air parcels during a weather event.

Selected learning outcomes

Describe daily and seasonal changes in the vertical structure of the atmosphere.
Predict the effect on air temperature near the surface due to changes in atmospheric composition, seasonal changes in orientation of Earth with respect to the Sun, and changes in land cover.
Analyze phase changes of water in the atmosphere and the importance of these phase changes to weather.
Identify the atmospheric conditions that encourage the formation of different precipitation products, such as snow, rain, frost, and hail.
Identify factors that influence the speed and direction of wind at various levels of the atmosphere.
Correlate surface winds with upper-level wind flow under various conditions.
Analyze characteristics of the atmosphere that cause a current weather event.
Trace stages in the development and evolution of severe weather events such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, and tropical storms.
Evaluate conditions in the atmosphere to determine the potential for various forms of severe weather.

Course Outline

The length of each unit is approximate and subject to change.

Unit A: Building Blocks and Moving Parts (3 weeks) How the components of the atmosphere and ocean (mainly gases and liquids) help redistribute the energy that Earth receives from the Sun
Unit B: Vertical Transport (3 weeks) How rising air parcels produce precipitation, clouds, and optical phenomena
Unit C: Horizontal Transport (3 weeks) How the horizontal contrasts in temperature and density bring about movement of air on the local, synoptic, and global scales.
Unit D: Closer up and Farther away (5 weeks) How to refine our coarse-grained models to handle localized phenomena (thunderstorms, tornadoes), or patterns that vary over huge time scales (decades to eons)

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