Introduction to Quantitative Atmospheric Dynamics and Thermodynamics

Catalog description

Limitation on Enrollment: Must be enrolled in an AVC bachelor's degree program to take this course. Prerequisite: Completion of MATH 135 and PHYS 101. This course provides a quantitative understanding of general meteorology. It introduces the physics and thermodynamics of the atmosphere to understand the horizontal and vertical transport of atmospheric heat and momentum which are directly related to cyclones, anticyclones, hurricanes, weather fronts, mesoscale disturbances, severe storms, tornadoes, sea and land breezes, atmospheric boundary layer and turbulence. Insight into these mechanisms will be gained through the use of spreadsheet-based calculations by allowing relationships to be studied by plotting the data graphically and then explaining the meaning of those relationships using the graphs. Atmospheric thermodynamic processes will be quantified using various thermodynamic calculations and in some cases, computational diagrams such as the Skew-T and Stüve diagrams. (CSU, AVC)