ATM S 442,
Winter 2002
Atmospheric
Motions II
Instructors: Professor James R. Holton
408A Atmospheric Sciences Bldg., 543-4010
holton@atmos.washington.edu
and
Dr. Lynn McMurdie
624 Atmospheric Sciences Bldg., 685-9405
mcmurdie@atmos.washington.edu
Lectures.
MWF, 1:30-2:20 PM; Laboratory. T 1:30-4:20 PM
Office Hours.
Prof.Holton: MW, 3:30-4:30 PM; Dr.
McMurdie: by chance or appointment.
Required Tools: Pencils, ruler, protractor and calculator for manual
portion of lab, as well as departmental Sun workstations for numerical exercises.
Textbook. An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, by J.R. Holton (Academic Press, 1992, third edition.
pp. 511). We will cover chapters six through ten, and chapter thirteen.
Evaluation.
There will be regularly assigned homeworks, a
midterm exam and a final exam. The evaluation procedure for the lecture portion
of the course will be as follows:
Homework: 30%; Laboratory 25%; Midterm 20%;
Final 25%;
Exam Schedule: Midterm:
Feb. 1. Final: March 18, 2:30-4:20.
Objectives
In this course we will examine the physics
associated with the lifecycle of the synoptic-scale atmospheric disturbances,
and define the role of these disturbances in the general circulation of the
Earth's atmosphere. We will discover the dynamics associated with atmospheric
motions, including inertio-gravity waves, and the adjustment of the atmosphere
to a geostrophic balance. We will also examine the rudimentary aspects of
numerical weather prediction and, time permitting, the physics of fronts and
frontogenesis.
Format
The course will be presented in a lecture
format, with some tutorial sessions. There is a mandatory laboratory section
associated with this course. Dr. Lynn McMurdie is in charge of the laboratory.
These exercises will complement and supplement the material in the lecture
portion of the course.
Laboratory
The purpose of this laboratory is to help you
gain physical insight into dynamical concepts, and to introduce you to selected
computational procedures appropriate to dynamical meteorology.
Each laboratory will consist of two parts: A
short introductory lecture to familiarize you with the mathematical, physical
and numerical tools and concepts and a series of lab exercises applying these
tools to actual cases.
Topics explored in the laboratory will
include:
1. Eulerian and Lagrangian derivatives
2. Geostrophic, gradient, and measured winds
3. Finite differencing techniques
4. Temperature evolution
5. Vorticity
6. Behavior of waves
7. Diagnosing vertical motion, geopotential
height
8. Baroclinic instability
9. Frontogenesis (time permitting)
Reference Books
’ΔΆ The Student Edition of Matlab,
Prentice-Hall.
’ΔΆ Engineering Problem Solving with Matlab,
Delores M. Etter, Prentice-Hall.