Faculty. See under Department of Land, Air and Water Resources.
Atmospheric science is the study of the layer of air that surrounds the planet. It includes all weather phenomena, such as frontal systems and clouds, as well as severe weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes. Concerns regarding the effects of human activity on the quality of the air we breathe, and on possible global warming are also central to this field of study.
The Program. Modern meteorology is a quantitative science that is becoming increasingly computer oriented. In addition to the study of daily weather events, the program deals with fundamental physical processes that involve the general circulation of the atmosphere; mass and energy transfers at the planetary surface and within the atmosphere; solar and terrestrial radiation; atmospheric interaction with the biosphere; climate variations; air pollution meteorology; and developments in modern meteorological instrumentation. As well as providing a broad background in meteorology, the major includes an informal minor area to be chosen from mathematics, computer science, environmental studies, resource management or a physical or biological science.
Internships and Career Alternatives. Atmospheric science students have participated in internships with the California Air Resources Board, various county Air Pollution Control Districts, and the National Weather Service. Numerous career opportunities exist in the federal and state governments, research and development in the private sector, and education. Examples of career areas are weather forecasting, agricultural meteorology, air-pollution forecasting and control, weather modification, hurricane and severe weather forecasting and research, weather satellite meteorology, environmental consulting, and weather research. About half of our graduates continue their education by seeking the M.S. or Ph.D. degree in atmospheric science.
| UNITS | ||
|---|---|---|
| English Composition Requirement | 0-8 | |
| See College requirement | ||
| Preparatory Subject Matter | 62 | |
| Biological sciences courses selected with adviser's approval | 8 | |
| Chemistry 2A, 2B | 10 | |
| Engineering 5 or the equivalent in FORTRAN programming | 3 | |
| Mathematics 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 22A, 22B | 22 | |
| Atmospheric Science 60 | 4 | |
| Physics 9A, 9B, 9C | 12 | |
| Statistics 32 | 3 | |
| Breadth/General Education
Satisfaction of General Education requirement; additional units in social sciences and humanities to total 28 units. | 28 | |
| Depth Subject Matter | 32 | |
| Atmospheric Science 110, 111, 120, 121A, 121B, 124, 128 | 25 | |
| Upper division Atmospheric Science courses selected with adviser's approval | 7 | |
| No more than 3 units of courses 192 and 199 may be counted. | ||
| Restricted Electives | 21 | |
| Choose from Environmental Science and Policy 116, 150A, 150B, Geology 108N, 115N, Environmental and Resource Sciences 100, Soil Science 100, Hydrologic Science 100, 141, or courses approved by adviser | 6 | |
| Coordinated group of courses (minor area) to be chosen with adviser's approval from mathematics, computer science, environmental studies, resource management, or a physical or biological science (at least 10 upper division units) | 15 | |
| Unrestricted Electives | 29-37 | |
| Total Units for the Degree | 180 | |
Major Adviser. B.C. Weare (Land, Air and Water Resources).
Advising Center for the major, as well as for graduate studies, is located in 148 Hoagland Hall in the Land, Air and Water Resources Teaching Center (530-752- 1669).
Minor Program. The minor in Atmospheric Science provides a broad treatment of weather and climate, with the option to focus on such topics as climate change, meterological instrumentation, and satellite remote sensing. Students undertaking the minor should have completed minimum preparatory course work in calculus and physics (Mathematics 16A-16B, Physics 5A or 7A). Some upper division courses in Atmospheric Science have as prerequisites the Mathematics 21 and 22 series and the Physics 9 series.
| UNITS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Atmospheric Science | 20-24 | |
| Atmospheric Science 60, 110 | 8 | |
| Four courses selected with the approval of the minor program adviser from the following: upper division Atmospheric Science courses (excluding 192 or 199) or Environmental and Resource Sciences 131 | 12-16 | |
Minor Adviser. B.C. Weare.
Graduate Study. You can specialize in particular areas of atmospheric science through graduate study and research leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. For details see under the Graduate Group in Atmospheric Science. See also the Graduate Studies section in this catalog.
Related Courses. See Environmental Science and Policy 150A; Physics 104A, 104B; Environmental and Resource Sciences 103, 131.
Questions pertaining to the following courses should be directed to the instructor or to the Land, Air and Water Resources Teaching Center, 148 Hoagland Hall (530-752-1669).
| Upper Division Courses | Graduate Courses |
*Course not offered this academic year.
General Education (GE) credit: ArtHum = Arts and Humanities; SciEng = Science and Engineering; SocSci = Social Sciences; Div = Social-Cultural Diversity; Wrt = Writing Experience. Select this link to information on the General Education requirement.
5. Global Climate (3) II. Paw U
Lecture--2 hours; discussion--1 hour. Introduction to the climate system and global climate patterns. Emphasis on principles, concepts, and fundamental processes underlying seasonal and regional climate differences. Examination of natural and human factors contributing to climate change. GE credit: SciEng, Wrt.
10. Severe and Unusual Weather (3) III. Soong
Lecture--2 hours; discussion--1 hour. Prerequisite: high school physics. Introduction to physical principles of severe and unusual weather: flood, blizzards, thunderstorms, lightning, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Emphasis on scientific perspective and human context. Not open to students who have received credit for course 100. (Former course 100.) GE credit: SciEng, Wrt.
30. Issues in Atmospheric Science (2) II. Anastasio
Lecture--1 hour; discussion--1 hour. Prerequisite: high school physics. Introduction to selected topics in atmospheric science, such as: meteorological aspects of air pollution, use of computer models in weather forecasting, theories of global climate change, impact of satellites on meteorology, and modern meteorological instrumentation. (P/NP grading only.)
60. Atmospheric Physics and Dynamics (4) I. Shaw
Lecture--3 hours; discussion--1 hour. Prerequisite: Mathematics 16A and Physics 5A or 7A. Composition and thermal structure of the atmosphere. Radiation and the heat budget of the earth and its atmosphere. Cloud formation and precipitation processes. The atmosphere in motion, thunderstorms and other severe weather phenomena.
92. Atmospheric Science Internship (1-12) I, II, III. The Staff (Chairperson in charge)
Internship--3-36 hours. Prerequisite: lower division standing and consent of instructor. Internship off and on campus in atmospheric science. Internship supervised by a member of the faculty. (P/NP grading only.)
98. Directed Group Study (1-5) I, II, III. The Staff (Chairperson in charge)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (P/NP grading only.)
99. Special Study for Undergraduates (1-5) I, II, III. The Staff (Chairperson in charge)
(P/NP grading only.)
110. Weather Observation and Analysis (4) II. Soong
Lecture--3 hours; laboratory--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 60. Acquisition, distribution and analysis of meteorological data. Vertical sounding analysis, stability indices, probability of local severe weather, weather map analysis. Use of National Weather Service analyses and forecast products. Laboratory makes use of computer-generated analyses.
111. Weather Analysis and Prediction (5) I. Grotjahn
Lecture--3 hours; laboratory--6 hours. Prerequisite: courses 110, 121B; knowledge of a programming language. Tools for analyzing observed properties and predicting mid-latitude weather systems. The analysis-forecast system, including various weather forecast models. Laboratory exercises use weather analysis software, illustrate concepts in lecture, and include weather map discussions.
112. Weather Forecasting Practice (2) I. Grotjahn
Discussion--2 hours; laboratory--1 hour. Prerequisite: course 110. Formal practice in preparing local weather forecasts. Analysis of current weather conditions and recent model performance. Verification and discussion of prior forecast. Interpretation of current forecast model guidance. Posting of forecast. May be repeated for credit up to three times. (P/NP grading only.)
115. Hydroclimatology (3) III. Shelton
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 60. Examination of climate as the forcing function for the hydrologic system. Emphasis on seasonal variations in the relationship between precipitation and evapotranspiration for meso-scale areas. Watershed modeling of floods and drought for evaluating the effects of climatic fluctuations.
*116. Climate Change (3) II. Shelton
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 60. Climate trends and patterns spanning the recent past and the future. Emphasis on natural processes that produce climate variations and human influence on these processes. Evidence of climate change and the role of global climate models in understanding climate variability.
120. Atmospheric Thermodynamics and Cloud Physics (3) I. Weare
Lecture/discussion--3 hours. Prerequisite: Mathematics 21C; Physics 9A; course 60 (may be taken concurrently). Atmospheric composition and structure, thermodynamics of atmospheric gases, thermal properties of dry and moist air, atmospheric stability; cloud nucleation, cloud growth by condensation and collision, cloud models.
121A. Atmospheric Dynamics (3) II. Nathan
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 120, Mathematics 21D, Physics 9B. The atmosphere in motion: equations of motion for rotating atmospheres; pressure and density fields and their relations to atmospheric circulations; wave motion in the atmosphere; vorticity. The physical basis of modern numerical methods in meteorology.
121B. Atmospheric Dynamics (3) III. Nathan
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 121A. The dynamics of fluid motion in geophysical and laboratory systems: Rossby waves; Helmholtz waves; the effect of turbulence; boundary layers; the Ekman layer. The dynamics of convective motion: the Rayleigh problem; penetrative convection; convective plumes; cumulus models.
124. Meteorological Instruments and Observations (3) I. Paw U
Lecture--2 hours; laboratory--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 60; Physics 5C. Modern meteorological instruments and their use in meteorological observations and measurements. Both standard and micrometeorological instruments are included.
128. Radiation and Satellite Meteorology (4) II. Weare
Lecture/discussion--3 hours; discussion/laboratory--2 hours. Prerequisite: course 60, Physics 9B, Mathematics 22B, 21D. Concepts of atmospheric radiation and the use of satellites in remote sensing. Emphasis on the modification of solar and infrared radiation by the atmosphere. Estimation from satellite data of atmospheric variables such as temperatures and cloudiness.
133. Biometeorology (4) II. Paw U, Snyder
Lecture--3 hours; discussion--1 hour. Prerequisite: two courses in a biological discipline; Mathematics 16B and consent of instructor. Atmospheric and biological interactions. Physical and biological basis for water vapor, carbon dioxide and energy exchanges with the atmosphere associated with plants and
animals, including humans. Microclimate of plant canopies and microclimatic modification such as frost protection and windbreaks.
149. Introduction to Air Pollution (4) I. Carroll
Lecture--3 hours; discussion--1 hour. Prerequisite: Mathematics 22B, 21D; Chemistry 2B; course 121A or Engineering 103. Physical and technical aspects of air pollution. Emphasis on geophysical processes and air pollution meteorology as well as physical and chemical properties of pollutants. (Same course as Civil and Environmental Engineering 149.)
*150. Computer Methods in Meteorology (4) II. Grotjahn
Lecture--3 hours; laboratory/discussion--2 hours. Prerequisite: Engineering 5, Mathematics 22B, and a course in fluid dynamics (course 121A, Physics 104A or Engineering 103A), or consent of instructor. Numerical techniques and their applications to meteorological problems. Finite differencing and spectral (Fourier transform) methods. Advection equation, simple forecast models, eigenvalue matrices, time series. Students will write and run FORTRAN programs to illustrate these topics.
158. Boundary-Layer Meteorology (4) III. Shaw
Lecture--3 hours; discussion--1 hour. Prerequisite: course 121A. Growth, development and structure of the atmospheric layer directly influenced by the underlying surface and extending to a maximum of about two kilometers under convective conditions. Turbulent diffusion in the boundary layer. The microclimate at and near the ground surface.
160. Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry (4) II. Anastasio
Lecture--3 hours; discussion--1 hour. Prerequisite: Chemistry 2B. Quantitative examination of current local, regional and global problems in atmospheric chemistry (including photochemical smog, acid deposition, climate change, and stratospheric ozone depletion) using fundamental concepts from chemistry. Basic chemical modeling of atmospheric reaction systems.
192. Atmospheric Science Internship (1-12)
I, II, III. The Staff (Chairperson in charge)
Internship--3-36 hours. Prerequisite: completion of 84 units and consent of instructor. Internship off and on campus in atmospheric science. Internship supervised by a member of the faculty. (P/NP grading only.)
198. Directed Group Study (1-5) I, II, III. The Staff (Chairperson in charge)
Prerequisite: three upper division units in Atmospheric Science. (P/NP grading only.)
199. Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates (1-5) I, II, III. The Staff (Chairperson in charge)
Prerequisite: three upper division units in Atmospheric Science and at least an overall B average. (P/NP grading only.)
215. Advanced Hydroclimatology (3) III. Shelton
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 115. Theoretical and applied aspects of energy and mass fluxes linking the earth's surface, atmosphere, and hydrologic system. Emphasis on regional scale analysis and modeling, spatial data representation, and climate change influences on precipitation and its hydroclimatic expression. Offered in alternate years.
*221. Advanced Atmospheric Dynamics (3) II. Nathan
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 121B. Conditions for instability in stratified atmospheres; baroclinic instability; forced topographic Rossby Waves; wave-mean flow interaction theory; tropical dynamics; stratospheric dynamics.
223. Advanced Boundary-Layer Meteorology (3) III. Shaw
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 230. Characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer under convective and nocturnal conditions. Heat budget at the surface and boundary layer forcing. Similarity theory and scaling of the boundary layer. Measurement and simulation techniques. Offered in alternate years.
*230. Atmospheric Turbulence (3) III. Shaw
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite. course 121B or 158. Dynamics and energetics of turbulence in the atmosphere including vorticity dynamics. Statistical description of turbulence; Eulerian and Lagrangian scales, spectral analysis, conditional sampling techniques. Turbulent diffusion; the closure problem, gradient-diffusion and second-order methods. Offered in alternate years.
231. Advanced Air Pollution Meteorology (3) I. Carroll
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisites: Course 149A, 160 and one course in fluid dynamics. Processes determining transport and diffusion of primary and secondary pollutants. Models of chemical transformation, of the atmospheric boundary layer and of mesoscale wind fields, as applicable to pollutant dispersion problems. Offered in alternate years.
*233. Advanced Biometeorology (3) II. Paw U
Lecture/discussion--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 133 or consent of instructor. Current topics in biometeorology. Physical and biological basis for water vapor, other gases, and energy exchange with the atmosphere. Topics include modeling and measuring turbulent transport from plant canopies, surface temperatures and energy budgets, bio-aerosol physics and aerobiology. Offered in alternate years.
240. General Circulation of the Atmosphere (4) II. Grotjahn
Lecture/discussion--4 hours. Prerequisite: course 121B. Large-scale, observed atmospheric properties. Radiation, momentum, and energy balances derived and compared with observations. Lectures and homework synthesize observations and theories, then apply them to understand the large-scale circulations. Offered in alternate years
241. Climate Dynamics (3) I. Weare
Lecture/discussion--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 121B. Dynamics of large-scale climatic variations over time periods from weeks to centuries. Description of the appropriate methods of analysis of atmospheric and oceanic observations. Conservation of mass, energy and momentum. Introduction to the range of climate simulations.
*250. Meso-Scale Meteorology (3) I. Soong
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing, course 150, a course in partial differential equations; or consent of instructor. The study of weather phenomena with horizontal spatial dimensions between 2.5 and 2500 kilometers. Methods of observational study and numerical modeling of the structure and temporal behavior of these weather systems. Offered in alternate years.
255. Numerical Modeling of the Atmosphere (4) I. Soong
Lecture--2 hours; laboratory--6 hours. Prerequisite: course 121B and Engineering 5; course 150 recommended. Principles of numerical modeling of the dynamic, thermodynamic and physical processes of the atmosphere. Hands-on experiments on model develpment using the shallow water equations and the primitive equations. Operational forecast models. Offered in alternate years.
260. Atmospheric Chemistry (3) III. Anastasio
Lecture--3 hours. Prerequisite: course 160. Chemistry and photochemistry in tropospheric condensed phases (fog, cloud, and rain drops and aerosol particles). Gas-drop and gas-particle partitioning of compounds and effects of reactions in condensed phases on the fates and transformations of tropospheric chemical species. Offered in alternate years.
270A-G. Topics in Atmospheric Science (1-3)
I, II, III. The Staff
Discussion--1-3 hours. Applications and concepts in (A) Meteorological Statistics; (B) Computer Modeling of the Atmosphere; (C) Design of Experiments and Field Studies in Meteorology; (D) Solar and Infrared Radiation in the Atmosphere; (E) Aerosol and Cloud Physics; (F) Atmospheric Chemistry; (G) General Meteorology.
290. Seminar (1) I, II, III. The Staff (Chairperson in charge)
Seminar--1 hour. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Atmospheric Science or related field. Current developments in selected areas of atmospheric research. Topics will vary according to student and faculty interests. (S/U grading only.)
291A-F. Research Conference in Atmospheric Science (1-3) I, II, III. The Staff
Lecture/discussion--1-3 hours. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Review and discussion of current literature and research in: (A) Air Quality Meteorology; (B) Biometeorology; (C) Boundary Layer Meteorology; (D) Climate Dynamics; (E) General Meteorology; (F) Atmospheric Chemistry. May be repeated up to a total of 6 units per segment. (S/U grading only.)
298. Group Study (1-5) I, II, III. The Staff (Chairperson in charge)
Prerequisite: graduate standing and consent of instructor. (S/U grading only.)
299. Research (1-12) I, II, III. The Staff (Chairperson in charge)
Prerequisite: graduate standing and consent of instructor. (S/U grading only.)
396. Teaching Assistant Training Practicum
(1-4) I, II, III. The Staff (Chairperson in charge)
Prerequisite: graduate standing. May be repeated for credit. (S/U grading only.)
UC Davis 1999-2000 Online General Catalog. Posted July 30, 1999.
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Molly Theodossy, Keitha Hunter and Barbara Anderson, Editors
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