ATM S 101, Autumn Quarter 1998

Weather

Instructor: Professor Marcia B. Baker
326 Atmospheric Sciences Bldg., 685-3799
marcia@geophys.washington.edu

TAs: Sasa Gabersek, sasa@atmos.washington.edu
Jonathan Petti, jrp@atmos.washington.edu
420 Atmospheric Sciences Bldg., 543-6627 (office hours only)
Office Hours: TWTh 3:30 - 4:30, ATG 420.

Lectures:MTWTH, 10:30-11:20 AM;

Quiz Sections:
AA F 10:30 - 11:20 JHN 123
AB F 10:30 - 11:20 LOW 102
AC F 11:30 - 12:20 BNS 203
AD F 11:30 - 12:20 JHN 123
AE Th 12:30 - 1:20 BNS 115
AF F 12:30 - 1:20 JHN 123

Quiz sections will generally include a laboratory demonstration, discussion of the lecture material and a de-briefing on the homework questions.

Office Hours:
Prof. Baker: By appointment.
TAs: TBA

Textbook: Meteorology Today: An introduction to Weather, Climate and the Environment, by C. Donald Ahrens, 1994, 5th Edition. West Publishing (or Wadsworth Publishing), 616 pp. A few copies of this book are on reserve at the Odegaard Undergraduate Library. The material in this textbook is an important part of the class.

Student Responsibilities:

1. Attendance. Roll will be taken in Quiz/Lab sections. Material discussed in lecture sessions will be the basis of examinations.

2. Homework: There will be five homework assignments in the form of problem sets and/or data collection/analysis projects. They will be given out and handed in during quiz sections.

3. Quizzes: There will be four in-class quizzes based on class discussions, reading assignments and homeworks. There will be no makeup quizzes or late homework except in cases of serious illness or death in the family. You must be excused in advance by telephone or email.

4. Final Exam: The final exam is scheduled for Friday, 11 December, 8:30 - 10:20AM.

Evaluation:

Homework: 20%; Quizzes: 40%; Final Exam: 30%; Participation in Quiz Sections: 10%.

Synopsis:The course will be divided into five sections, as follows:
I. Introduction to the Study of Weather: 9/28 - 10/8.
II. Solar Heating, Air and Ocean Circulations: 10/12 - 10/27.
III. Fogs, Clouds and Precipitation: 10/28 - 11/12.
IV. Weather Systems and Weather Forecasting: 11/16 - 11/30.
V. Climate and Climate Change: 12/1 - 12/9.

Schedule of Lectures:

9/28 Introduction: atmospheric structure. 8-14
9/29 Temperature and temperature measurement. 78-82.
9/30 Pressure and pressure measurement. 219-225.
10/1 Surface and upper-level charts. 225-227
10/5 Vertical forces and atmospheric stability. 168-173..
10/6 Horizontal Forces and winds. 228-233.
10/7 Geostrophic balance: winds aloft. 234-243.
10/8 Quiz # 1.
10/12 Energy and heat transfer. 30-37.
10/13 Radiation in the atmosphere. 38-43.
10/14 Temperature variations in time. 57-73.
10/15 Temperature variations in space. 312-322.
10/20 Fronts. 322-332.
10/21 Wind measurement: local wind systems. 247-260.
10/22 Global wind systems. 284-292.
10/26 Guest Lecture. Ocean-atmosphere interactions:El Nino. 299-306.
10/27 Quiz # 2.
10/28 Humidity and its measurement. 114-128.
10/29 Condensation, evaporation,freezing and melting. 32-34.
11/2 Dew, haze and fog. 134-142; 156-162.
11/3 Atmospheric stability & cloud formation. 168-186.
11/4 Cloud evolution & cloud types. 142-156.
11/5 Cloud microphysics. 191-199.
11/9 Precipitation and its measurements. 199-213.
11/10 Atmospheric Optics. 87-107.
11/12 Quiz # 3.
11/16 Midlatitude cyclones. 335-350.
11/ 17 Weather forecasting. 364-391.
11/18 Thunderstorms and tornadoes. 394-406, 412-427.
11/19 Lightning and thunder. 407-412.
11/23 NW Meteorology I: Guest Lecture.
11/24 NW Meteorology II: Guest Lecture.
11/25 Hurricanes. 429-445..
11/30 Review.
12/1 Quiz #4.
12/2 Atmospheric Composition 2-7.
12/3 Ozone Hole.17-18.
12/7 Global energy balance. 46-48.
12/8 Climate history and climate change. 478-492.
12/9 Greenhouse effect, global warming. 493-499.

Final Examination:December 11, 8:30 -10:20AM.

Study Questions 1.

Questions on Humidity, Lecture 3.1

Questions on Humidity, Lecture 3.2

Questions on Droplet and Ice Particle Formation, Lecture 3.3

Questions on Cloud Formation and Atmospheric Stability

Questions on Cloud Microphysics,Lecture 3.6

Questions on Clouds and Precipitation,Lecture 3.7

Questions on Atmospheric Optics

Questions on Midlatitude cyclones

Questions on Introduction to Forecasting, Lecture 4.2.

Questions on Thunderstorms, continued

Review, Section 4.

Questions on Atmos.Composition and Climate

Questions on CO2 and O3, Lecture 5.2

Questions onGlobal Energy Budget and Global Warming

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