ESS55 Earth's Atmosphere (Spring 2005)
Lecture: Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:50, PSCB220
Discussion: Fridays 11:00-11:50, CS219
INSTRUCTORS

Professor Jin-Yi Yu (Weeks 1-6)
Office: 3315 Croul Hall
Phone: (949) 824-3878
Email: jyyu@uci.edu
http://www.ess.uci.edu/~yu/

Professor Gudrun Magnusdottir (Weeks 7-10)
Office: 3321 Croul Hall
Phone: (949) 824-5838
Email: gudrun@uci.edu
http://www.ess.uci.edu/~gudrun/
COURSE CONTENT

The course will cover some fundamentals of atmospheric science, such as the static atmosphere (including composition, hydrostatic balance and thermodynamics), the global energy balance, radiative transfer and climate, the hydrologic cycle, the general circulation and climate regimes. Prerequisite: Mathematics 2B; Physics 3B or 7B.

TEXTBOOK

  • Global Physical Climatology, by Dennis L. Hartmann, Academic Press, 1994. (Required)
  • Climatology: An Atmospheric Science (2nd edition), by J. E. Oliver and J. J. Hidore.
  • Understanding Weather & Climate (3rd edition), by Edward Aguado and James E. Burt, Prentice Hall, 2004
  • The Physics of Atmospheres (3rd edition), by John Houghton, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  • Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere, by S. A. Ackerman and J. A. Knox, Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2003.

    • GRADES

    (40%) Homework
    (30%) Midterm
    (30%) Final
    SYLLABUS

    Week 1: A brief survey of the atmosphere
  • atmosphere composition
  • layers of the atmosphere
  • distribution of mass and gaseous constituents
  • measurements of temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind
    [Classnote #1: Survery] (Powerpoint) (PDF) (Handout) Updated on 4/7/2005

    Suggested Reading:
    Global Physical Climatology (Ch.1); and
    Understanding Weather & Climate (Ch. 1); or
    Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere (Ch. 1)

    Week 2: Atmospheric thermodynamics
  • hydrostatic balance
  • lapse rate and adiabatic process
  • concept of static stability
  • water vapor and latent heat
    [Classnote #2: Thermodynamics] (Powerpoint) (PDF) (handout) Updated on 4/18/2005

    Suggested Reading:
    Understanding Weather & Climate (Ch. 3; also p153-154 of Ch. 5); or
    Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere (Ch. 2 and 3)

    Week 3: Global energy balance
  • planetary energy balance
  • greenhouse effect
  • role of cloud
  • energy transfer processes
  • energy balance at earth's surface
    [Classnote #3: Global Energy] (Powerpoint) (PDF) (Handout) Updated on 5/5/2005

    Suggested Reading:
    Global Physical Climatology (Ch.2); and
    Understanding Weather & Climate (Ch. 2 and 3); or
    Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere (Ch. 2 and 3)

    Week 4: Radiation transfer in the atmosphere
  • Spectrum of radiation: solar and infrared
  • blackbody radiation
  • absorption, emission, reflection, scattering, and transmission
  • satellite remote sensing
    [Classnote #4: Radiation Transfer] (Powerpoint) (PDF) (Handout) Updated on 5/5/2005

    Suggested Reading:
    Global Physical Climatology (Ch.3; Sections 3.1-3.5, 3.9-3.10, and 3.12); and
    Understanding Weather & Climate (Ch. 2, pages 29-39; Ch. 3, pages 55-61); or
    Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere (Ch. 5; pages 133-144)

    Week 5: Atmospheric motions
  • atmospheric pressure - pressure gradient force
  • effects of rotation - Coriolis force
  • the geostrophic wind - upper level flow
  • effects of friction - surface flow
  • weather maps [Classnote #5: Motion] (Powerpoint) (PDF) (Handout)

    Suggested Reading:
    Understanding Weather & Climate (Ch. 4); or
    Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere (Ch. 6)

    === MIDTERM (Thu May 10; at Croul Hall) ===

    Week 6: Atmospheric motions and the hydrologic cycle
  • More on atmosheric motions
  • Local winds
  • Relative humidity
  • Evaporation & transpiration
  • Fog, clouds, vertical motion in the atmosphere
  • Regional variation in precipitation

    Week 7: Global circulation of the atmosphere and the role of the ocean
  • meridional circulation
  • zonal circulation
  • Tropics: trade winds, the ITCZ
  • Midlatitude circulation
  • Polar circulation
  • Seasonal changes: the monsoons
  • ocean currents
  • the Walker circulation
  • El Nino
  • interannual variations in the monsoons

    Week 8: Synoptic meteorology and atmospheric extreme events
  • air masses
  • fronts and midlatitude cyclones
  • cyclogenesis
  • the hemispheric scale
  • the regional scale
  • tropical cyclones
  • thunderstorms
  • tornadoes
  • floods & drought

    Week 9:Tropical and Mid-latitude climates
  • the tropical rainforest climate
  • the tropical wet and dry climate
  • tropical deserts
  • coastal deserts
  • desertification
  • general characteristics of mid-latitude climates
  • climatic types in midlatitudes
  • the summer-dry mid-latitude climates

    Week 10:Polar and highland climates
  • the Arctic basin
  • Polar wet and dry climates
  • the Antarctic continent
  • Polar wet climates
  • Highland climates
  • chinook winds

    === FINAL (Thu June 9, 9:30am) ===

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