Atmospheric Sciences 101: Weather Winter 2005

Syllabus

EOM denotes Essentials of Meteorology
Links are enrichment, not required reading

Introduction

Heating, Temperature and Air Pressure

• CD: Unit 1: Heat Transfer
  EOM: Chapter 2: Warming the Earth and the Atmosphere
  The development of thermometers and temperature scales
  Time lapse of infrared water vapor imagery
  
  
• CD: Unit 2: Air Temperature
  EOM: Chapter 3: Air Temperature
  Wind Chill
  What do inversions have to do with this photo?
   
• CD: Unit 3: Air Pressure
  EOM: Chapter 6: Air Pressure and Winds (pp. 141-149)
  Gas law demonstrator
  July 500-mb loop
  January 500-mb loop

Water Vapor, Clouds, and Precipitation 

• CD: Unit 4: Atmospheric Moisture
  EOM: Chapter 4: Humidity, Condensation and Clouds
  The bond between two water molecules
  Molecular motion in liquid water
  More on the molecular structure of water and ice
  
  
• CD: Unit 5: Clouds and Precipitation
  EOM: Chapter 5: Cloud Development and Precipitation
  Snow flakes
  

Winds

• CD: Unit 6: Winds 
  EOM: Chapter 6: Air Pressure and Winds (pp. 150-164)
  Apparent forces on a merry-go-round
  Adjustment to geostrophic balance in a parcel starting from rest

Weather on a Large Scale

• CD: Unit 7: Atmospheric Circulations: Large-Scale
  EOM: Chapter 7: Atmospheric Circulations (pp. 181-197)
  View from space: 500-mb heights in winter
  View from space: 500-mb heights in summer
  NOAA El Nino Theme Page
  State of the Climate
  Analysis claiming Southern California is wet in El Nino Years
  Analysis claiming Southern California is not wet in El Nino Years
  
  
• CD: Unit 8: Air Masses, Fronts and Middle-Latitude Cyclones
  EOM: Chapter 8: Air Masses, Fronts and Middle-Latitude Cyclones
  Temperature variations around a strong low
  Life cycle of mid-latitude cyclone developing in the North Pacific
  Cold-air outbreak over the Great Lakes 

• CD: Unit 9: Weather Prediction
  EOM: Chapter 9: Weather Forecasting

Weather on a Small-Scale

• CD: Unit 10: Atmospheric Circulations: Small-Scale
  EOM: Chapter 7: Atmospheric Circulations (pp. 167-181)
  Lenticular clouds 
  Lenticular clouds as UFOs
  Mountain lee wave visible satellite loop (6.4 MB)
  
   
• CD: Unit 11: Thunderstorms and Tornadoes
  EOM: Chapter 10: Thunderstorms and Tornadoes
  Annual variation in worldwide lightning distribution
  NSSL Oklahoma Tornadoes
  Annual Variations in the US Distribution of Tornadoes
  Tornado FAQ
  Supercell and Tornado Photos
  
   
• CD: Unit 12: Hurricanes
  EOM: Chapter 11: Hurricanes
  Cyclones from Mid-February: Olaf and Nancy
  Tropical Cyclone Kalunde
  The baddest hurricanes. FAQ
  Four tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean: Feb 11 2003
  

Atmospheric Optics

• Rainbows, mirages, etc.
  EOM: Chapter 15: Light, Color and Atmospheric Optics
  A tremendous "Atmospheric Optics" site
  Rainbow light paths
  Build a rainbow