THE ATMOSPHERE - University of California, San Diegometeora.ucsd.edu/~iacob/sio20/slides/slides010614.pdf · THE ATMOSPHERE Sam Iacobellis Scripps Institution of Oceanography Nierenberg

SIO 20 THE ATMOSPHERE Sam Iacobellis Scripps Institution of Oceanography Nierenberg Hall 204 phone: 534-3126 email: [email protected] TAs: Liliana Nunez ([email protected]) Rachel Schwartz ([email protected])

SIO 20 Website: http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~iacob/sio20

COURSE WEBPAGE http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~iacob/sio20/ (case sensitive) Contains:

- office hours - email - syllabus - problem sets and answers - practice midterms - slides from lecture


Sam’s Office Hours: - M 4-5, Tu 3-4 - and by appointment

Office at SIO

- Nierenberg Hall, Room 204 - phone 858-534-3126 (x43126)

Email: [email protected]

- Include SIO20 or similar in subject line


COURSE TEXT: Essentials of Meteorology (7th Edition) by C. Donald Ahrens Available at:

- UCSD Bookstore - Online from Publisher?

Recommended (not required).


iClicker: We will use iClickers in this course Available at:

- UCSD Bookstore (either iClicker1 or iClicker2) WHY?

- increase participation - increase learning - allows us to see if material is understood

Will ONLY be graded on participation and NOT on answers provided on clickers. Will get full credit if participate in 75% (or more) of the lectures.


Register your i-clicker at: www.iclicker.com/registration The 8-character Remote ID is on the back of the clicker:



Scripps Institution of Oceanography SIO 20: The Atmosphere

Course Syllabus – Winter 2014

Day Date Topic Reading (7th Edition) Mon Jan 6 Course Introduction Wed Jan 8 Atmosphere Composition and Structure Chap 1, pg 2-18 Fri Jan 10 Atmospheric Energy Chap 2, pg 28-46 Mon Jan 13 Seasonal and Daily Cycles Chap 2, pg 46-54 Wed Jan 15 Seasonal and Daily Cycles, continued Chap 3, pg 58-73 Fri Jan 17 Atmospheric Moisture Chap 4, pg 84-94 Mon Jan 20 HOLIDAY - KING DAY Wed Jan 22 Atmospheric Moisture, continued Chap 4, pg 98-99 Fri Jan 24 Condensation, Fog and Cloud Types Chap 4, pg 100-119 Mon Jan 27 Stability and Cloud Development Chap 5, pg 122-129 Wed Jan 29 Stability, continued Chap 5, pg 130-134 Fri Jan 31 Precipitation Chap 5, pg 134-149 Mon Feb 3 Atmospheric Optics Chap 15, pg 460-470; 475-478 Wed Feb 5 MIDTERM #1 Fri Feb 7 Pressure, Forces and Wind Chap 6, pg 156-165 Mon Feb 10 Pressure, Forces and Wind, continued Chap 6, pg 166-176 Wed Feb 12 Small-scale Wind Systems Chap 7, pg 184-200 Fri Feb 14 Small-scale Wind Systems, continued Mon Feb 17 HOLIDAY - PRESIDENT'S DAY Wed Feb 19 Global Wind Systems Chap 7, pg 200-213 Fri Feb 21 Global Wind Systems, continued Mon Feb 24 El Nino/La Nina Chap 7, pg 213-216 Wed Feb 26 El Nino/La Nina, continued Fri Feb 28 MIDTERM #2 Mon Mar 3 Thunderstorms/Tornadoes Chap 10, pg 286-325 Wed Mar 5 Hurricanes Chap 11, pg 332-351 Fri Mar 7 Climate Change Chap 13, pg 396-413 Mon Mar 10 Climate Change, continued Chap 13, pg 413-427 Wed Mar 12 Air Pollution Chap 14, pg 431-451 Fri Mar 14 Other Topics and/or Review Problem Set 1 Due: Wednesday, January 22 Problem Set 2 Due: Friday, January 31 Problem Set 3 Due: Friday, February 21 Problem Set 4 Due: Friday, March 7 FINAL EXAM Monday, March 17 2013, 3:00 - 6:00pm TEXT: Essentials of Meteorology, 7th Edition, by C. Donald Ahrens (Recommended) Course Details on Web site: http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~iacob/sio20/

Course Syllabus available on Website:

GRADING Class Participation with Clicker 10%

Problem Sets/Homework (4) 15%

Midterm Exam 1 20%

Midterm Exam 2 20%

Final Exam 35% Course grades assigned:

A ~ Top 30% of class or total score above 85% B ~ Next 40% of class or total score 70-85%

C ~ Next 25-30% of class or total score 55-70% NP ~ 0 - 5%


PROBLEM SETS/HOMEWORK • Total of 4 assignments (each worth ~ 4% of grade). • Each assignment will consist of about 5-7 questions. • Each question can generally be answered in 1-2 paragraphs. • A few questions where you will be asked to produce a plot. • Please type your answers (hand-drawn plots and figures OK). Assignment 1 Due: Wed. Jan 22 Assignment 2 Fri. Jan 31 Assignment 3 Fri. Feb 21 Assignment 4 Fri. Mar 7 NO POINTS FOR LATE HOMEWORK! Feel free to work together, but.... WRITE OUT YOUR OWN ANSWERS!


MIDTERMS AND FINAL

• Multiple choice and short answer format • I’ll try and post practice exam on website

MIDTERM 1 Wednesday, February 5 MIDTERM 2 Friday, February 28 FINAL Monday, March 17 (3-6pm)

Let us know ASAP if you have a conflict!


REVIEW SESSIONS:

• 3 Review Sessions planned - Date/Time TBA (usually early evening) - a few days before exams • Optional – attendance is not taken

• TA’s will run sessions

• Open to questions - material covered on homework and exams - material from class


ABOUT THE COURSE... • Very little math is needed • Concepts are emphasized instead of details

- some details necessary, but will try to minimize these • Lectures are mostly from the chalkboard to facilitate note taking

- some Powerpoint necessary for graphics • Should be easy to get a passing grade

- keep up and turn in problem assignments


ABOUT THE COURSE... • First 3-4 weeks go over background material

- perhaps not the most exciting part of the course

- but necessary to understand material later in course • Rules

- do not disturb others during lecture

- write up your own answers for homework

- do not use a clicker for someone else

- and obviously, no cheating on exams


Visible Satellite Image Today at 9:00am

Infrared (IR) Satellite Image Today at 9:00am

Visible Satellite Image Today at 9:30am

Surface Air Temperatures Today at 7AM EST:

Forecast for Tomorrow Morning at 7AM EST:

MATH IN COURSE

E = σ T4 Radiated Energy = constant x Temperature to 4th power

λmax = c / T Wavelength of maximum emission = constant divided by Temperature

You will not need to calculate E or λmax, but you will need to know

how changes in Temperature (T) affect E or λmax

Climate System

Atmosphere is just one component of Earth’s climate system

Many climate system processes operate on time scales considered slow by most people One example are clouds Time-lapse photography of fog in Bay Area: http://www.simonchristen.com/adrift.html Adrift, by Simon Christen (http://www.simonchristen.com)

Spatial Scales

What is the Atmosphere??!

Atmosphere:!!

Thin gaseous envelope !surrounding the Earth!

Photo taken from International Space Station (NASA)

Atmosphere: Thin gaseous envelope surrounding Earth

What is in the Atmosphere??!!!A mix of gases (= Air)!!For Dry Air (exclude water vapor):!!

!78% is Nitrogen (N2)!!21% is Oxygen (O2)!!+ other minor gases!

!!0.0398% is Carbon Dioxide (CO2)!!= 398 ppm (parts per million)!

!Amount of water vapor varies!

!0 - 4% of Total Air !!!

!!!

Current Concentration

Carbon Dioxide Concentration is Increasing

"Keeling Curve" after Scripps Prof. Charles David Keeling Continuous CO2 measurements at Mauna Loa, HI (clean air)

Water in the Atmosphere Water can exist in the atmosphere as: • solid (ice) • liquid (liquid water) • gas (water vapor) Known as the 3 phases of water • Clouds consist of liquid water and/or ice • Humidity refers to the amount of water vapor (gas)

=> water vapor is invisible!

Clouds consist of LIQUID water drops and/or ICE crystals Water vapor is also present, but invisible to human eye. When we see a cloud we are seeing light reflected from the water drops and/or ice crystals.

Water in the Atmosphere Energy is released to (or absorbed from) the environment when water changes phase

LIQUID WATER ICE WATER

VAPOR

ENERGY RELEASED TO

ENVIRONMENT

ENERGY RELEASED TO

ENVIRONMENT

Water in the Atmosphere Energy is released to (or absorbed from) the environment when water changes phase

LIQUID WATER ICE WATER

VAPOR

ENERGY ABSORBED FROM

ENVIRONMENT

ENERGY ABSORBED FROM

ENVIRONMENT

Documents

THE ATMOSPHERE - University of California, San Diegometeora.ucsd.edu/~iacob/sio20/slides/slides010614.pdf · THE ATMOSPHERE Sam Iacobellis Scripps Institution of Oceanography Nierenberg