Earth System Science 5: THE ATMOSPHERE (Spring 2006)

(http://www.ess.uci.edu/~yu/ess5.html)

Professor Jin-Yi Yu Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:20, IERF 101

3315 CH, 824-3878, jyyu@uci.edu Discussion: Fridays 2:00-2:50p, IERF 101

This course explores the composition, structure, and circulation of the Earth's atmosphere, examines the fundamental features in weather and climate, develops an understanding of the physical basis behind them, and looks to the past and future changes in the Earth's climate. The course consists of both qualitative descriptions of atmospheric features and quantitative expressions of the application of physical laws in the atmosphere. The first part of the course introduces the fundamental properties (temperature, mass, and circulation) of the atmosphere and explains how their distributions are determine by the balance between the solar and terrestrial radiations. A scientific understanding of the atmospheric physics, radiation budget, and circulation is taught. The second part of the course describes the fantastic weather features we experience in daily life, from large-scale midlatitude storm and tropical hurricane to small-scale tornado and theirs associated cloud and precipitation patterns. The last part of the course looks into how the interactions between the atmosphere and oceans, land, solar and human activities, etc. produce past and possible future climate changes. Students will be tested on their knowledge of the atmosphere and also on their understanding of the physical processes behind weather and climate.

Week Date Topics Chapter
Week 1 4/03 Composition and Structure of the Atmosphere Ch.1
4/05 Solar Radiation & Seasons Ch.2
Week 2 4/10 Energy Balance & Temperature Ch.3
4/12 Energy Balance & Temperature Ch.3
Week 3 4/17 Atmospheric Pressure & Wind Ch.4
4/19 Atmospheric Moisture Ch.5
Week 4 4/24 Cloud Development & Forms Ch.6
4/26 Precipitation Processes Ch.7
Week 5 5/01 Global Atmosphere/Ocean Circulations Ch.8
5/03 Global Atmosphere/Ocean Circulations Ch.8
Week 6 5/08 Midterm Examination Ch. 1-8
5/10 El Niño & Climate Variability Ch.8
Week 7 5/15 Air Masses & Fronts Ch.9
5/17 Mid-Latitude Cyclones Ch.10
Week 8 5/22 Thunder & Tornadoes Ch.11
5/24 Tropical Storms and Hurricane Ch.12
Week 9 5/29 (No class; Memorial Holiday)
5/31 Weather Forecasting & Analysis Ch.13
Week 10 6/05 Climate Changes: Past Ch.15
6/07 Climate Changes: Future Ch.15
Week 11 Final Examination All

Textbook: "Understanding Weather and Climate", 3rd Ed., by Aguado, E., and J. E. Burt, Prentice Hall.

Grades: Homework (30%), midterm (30%), pop quizzes (10%) and Final Exam (30%).

Homework: Assigned every Wednesday and due on the following Monday (except for Week 9; due 5/31). There is a 20% penalty per day for late homeworks. Group discussions of homework problems are allowed, but you have to clearly describe how you obtain the answers and write them down at your own words. Group answers are not acceptable. Homeworks will be returned by TAs in the discussion section.

Optional Discussion Section: TAs will review course material and answer questions about the homework problems. They will also provide reviews for midterm and final examinations.