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Course
Outline
1. Introduction to the atmosphere. Terms of reference:
variables, units, relation between mass and pressure. Vertical structure
of the atmosphere: pressure / density, composition, incoming solar radiation,
temperature. Atmospheric wind systems. Distribution of rainfall.
2. The earth system. Overview of the oceans, the cryosphere,
the terrestrial biosphere and the crust and mantle. The hydrologic
cycle and the carbon cycle; the inventory of oxygen. A brief overview
of the history of the Earth, with emphasis on climate. Comparison of
the atmospheres of Earth, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.
3. Atmospheric thermodynamics. Gas laws. The hydrostatic
equation and its applications. The First Law of Thermodynamics.
Latent heats and enthalpy. Adiabatic processes in the atmosphere.
Thermodynamics of moist air. The concept of static stability. Organization
of precipitation in severe convective storms, hurricanes and extratropical
cyclones. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, heat engines,
entropy. Thermodynamic functions and equilibrium conditions.
4. Radiative Transfer. The spectrum of radiation.
Absorption and emission of radiation by gas molecules. Quantitative
description of radiation. Blackbody radiation. Absorptivity and
emissivity. Atmospheric absorption of solar radiation. Atmospheric
absorption and emission of infrared radiation. Remote sensing.
Scattering of solar radiation.
5. Cloud Physics. Nucleation of water vapor condensation.
The microstructure of warm clouds. Growth of cloud droplets in warm
clouds. The microphysics of cold clouds. Thunderstorms.
Cloud morphology.
6. Atmospheric chemistry. Evolution of the composition
of the atmosphere over the history of the Earth. Half life, residence time
and renewal time of chemicals in the atmosphere. Present chemical
makeup of the atmosphere. Sources, transformation, transport,
and sinks of chemicals in the troposphere. Atmospheric aerosols.
Cloud and precipitation chemistry. Tropospheric chemical cycles (C, N, S).
Air pollution. The stratospheric ozone layer.
7. Atmospheric dynamics. Vorticity, divergence and deformation.
The dynamics of horizontal flow: the geostrophic relationship, the thermal
wind. The primitive equations. The general circulation. Application
of dynamical concepts to observed phenomena.
8. Climate. The global energy balance at the top of the
atmosphere and at the earth's surface. Radiative-convective equilibrium.
Role of boundary layer processes and clouds. The diurnal and seasonal
cycles. Observed climatic variability and change. Natural
and anthropogenic forcings of the climate system, Climate feedbacks.
Texbooks & Class Notes
The course
will be based on a draft of the second edition of J.M. Wallace and P.V.
Hobbs: Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey. Academic Press.
Each week we will provide
you with the chapter we discuss in class.
The chemistry part of the course will be based on the following two textbooks:
P.V. Hobbs (2000a) = "Basic Physical Chemistry for the Atmospheric
Sciences," (2nd Edition), Cambridge Univ. Press
P.V. Hobbs (2000b) = "Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry,"
Cambridge Univ. Press
We will not cover material
from Hobbs (2000a) in class, but you are expected to read the book in order
to prepare for the basic chemistry exam during week 8.
Additional lecture notes
will be provided as PDF or powerpoint files, or distrubuted in class.
Students will be expected
to reimburse the department @ 3 cents per page (~$10)
Chapter of Wallace & Hobbs textbook not covered:
7. Boundary Layer Processes
9. Weather
Parts of these chapters will be available for students who wish to read
them.
Assignments
& Exams
Problem sets due on Monday of each week. We wil discuss interpretive questions
on the Friday before.
October 31 Midterm (Halloween) Exam covering Chapters 1-4
November 17 Hour Exam on Basic Chemistry from Hobbs Textbook
FINAL EXAM December 16 8:30-10:20a
Roberta Quadrelli
will be grading the Problem Sets.
Announcements, hints, clarifications on problems etc. will be by e-mail.
Grading
Problem sets 50% (5 points
each)
Final Exam 25% (25 points)
Midterm exam 15% (15 points)
Chemistry Exam 10% (10 points)
Final grades will be based on a curve.
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