Department of Geosciences

GEO-SCI 354: Climatology
Fall 2009

Copyright © 2009 (Jack Creilson)


Inside the eye of Hurricane Katrina - August, 2005

Instructor: Jack Creilson


 

Course Info

Objectives Location/Time Policies Textbook Reference Books Web Site
Assignments Project Office Hours/Questions Grading Schedule Some Useful Links



UMASS Links

Climate System Research Center Department of Geosciences University of Massachusetts Academic Calendar



Some Weather Links

Weather Underground NWS Forecast Office, Boston, MA The Weather Channel Northeast Radar Loop Northeast Visible Satellite Loop

Send mail to Jack Creilson




Objectives

The course objectives are
  1. Development of material through inquiry and discovery.
  2. An understanding of the components of the earth/atmosphere system: radiation and energy balance, the hydrological cycle, and the general circulation.
  3. An understanding of climate on global, regional, and local scales.
  4. An analysis of climate change and its implications.

Location/Time

The class will meet in Morrill 2, room 136, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:05 am to 9:55 am. A discussion of the current day's weather will be held from 8:50 am to 9:05 am. This discussion is not a required part of the course, but each discussion can enhance your knowledge of topics we will cover in class. The discussions are also a great introduction to the fascinating world of weather.

Policies

  1. Attendance at all classes is essential.
  2. There will be many opportunities for you to participate in class. Your participation is highly encouraged, since the level of your participation will constitute a substantial part of your grade. Participation will also aid you in a better understanding of the class material.
  3. You are required to be present for exams on the days exams are scheduled. In extraordinary circumstances I will reschedule an exam for an individual, but only if I am notified in advance of the exam.
  4. Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated and will lead to a reduction in final grade or course failure.
  5. Submission of assignments (see below) after assigned dates will result in reduction of 5 percentage points (or the letter grade equivalent) for each day late.
  6. Many of the materials created for this course are the intellectual property of the instructor. This includes, but is not limited to, the syllabus, lectures and course notes. Except to the extent not protected by copyright law, any use, distribution or sale of such materials requires the permission of the instructor. Please be aware that it is a violation of university policy to reproduce, for distribution or sale, class lectures or class notes, unless copyright has been explicitly waived by the faculty member.

Textbook

The text is Climatology by Robert V. Rohli and Anthony J. Vega, Copyright 2008 by Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. (ISBN-13: 978-0-7637-3828-0) Purchase of the text is optional. The text is not necessary for the course, but can provide valuable reinforcement and supplementary material. It will be available at the Textbook Annex. Text readings are coordinated with classes in the Schedule below.

Reference Books

An excellent two volume reference, Encyclopedia of Climate and Weather (QC 854 E 523 1996) is available in the reference section of the Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library, Lederle GRC lowrise, floor 2. Additional meteorology and climatology books are available in that library. The books have call letters from QC851 to QC999.


Web Site

A great deal of material is available only via this course Web Site. You must familiarize yourself with the procedures necessary to navigate this site. The site should be checked frequently, since it will be updated at various times through the semester.

Assignments

The assignments are out of class work. See the schedule below. You will have one week to complete each assignment.

Assignment #1 - An energy balance model

Assignment #2 - Analysis of surface weather map

Assignment #3 - Location of sources of climatic information


Project

You will be required to do one long term project in which you will describe the climate of a given location and explain its climate in terms of the physical environment of the location and the processes inherent in the climate system. Click here for the project description and assigned locations.

Office Hours/Questions

You can contact me by email through this web site or directly on the internet (jack@geo.umass.edu). I will not establish set office hours, but will be available during most hours from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm. You can reach me by phone at 545-0659, and you can find me in Hasbrouck 236 (Climate System Research Center). It would be best to contact me to set up a meeting time.

Please feel free to consult with me on any course matters.


Grading

Exam #1 15%
Exam #2 15%
Final exam 15%
Assignments 20%
Project 25%
Class participation 10%


Schedule

Below is the projected schedule. We should be able to keep to the schedule. However, if for any reason the schedule should change, I will announce it in class and the schedule will be updated on this web page.

T - text readings (for those who purchased the text) . The readings are in preparation for the following class.
A - assignment due
P - project due

Wed 9/9The climate system T:3-5,13,15-16,21-25,96-98
Fri 9/11Solar and terrestrial radiationT:98-101
Mon 9/14The global energy balanceT:16-17
Wed 9/16The greenhouse effectT:31-35
Fri 9/18Surface heatingT:35-38
Mon 9/21Diurnal and annual temperature cyclesT:117-119
Wed 9/23Water in the earth/atmosphere systemA1
Fri 9/25Evaporation and condensationT:106-109
Mon 9/28Stability IT:109-110
Wed 9/30Stability II-
Fri 10/2Precipitation formationT:124-127
Mon 10/5Precipitation distributionT:42-48
Wed 10/7Atmospheric motion I-
Fri 10/9Exam #1T:48-53
Mon 10/12Columbus Day - no classT:182-185
Tue 10/13Atmospheric motion IIT:142-153
Wed 10/14Models of the general circulationT:153-154,161-164
Fri 10/16Waves in the westerlies-
Mon 10/19Air masses and fronts; Mid-latitude cyclonesT:185-187,155-157,160-161
Wed 10/21No classT:70-78
Fri 10/23El Niño/Southern OscillationT:173-177
Mon 10/26Tropical climates IT:245-247
Wed 10/28Tropical climates IIT:204-205
Fri 10/30Monsoon climatesT:235-239,279-281
Mon 11/2Polar climates; Desert climatesT:195-201,206-209,268-273; A2
Wed 11/4Mid-latitude climates IT:201-203
Fri 11/6Mid-latitude climates IIT:196-197,203-205
Mon 11/9Mid-latitude climates III-
Wed 11/11Veteran's Day - no classT:196-197
Fri 11/13Thunderstorms and Lightning-
Mon 11/16Exam #2T:219,221-224
Wed 11/18TornadoesT:323-325
Fri 11/20Local climatesT:307-310
Mon 11/23Nor'easters and midlatitude winter storms-
Wed 11/25No class-
Fri 11/27Thanksgiving recess - no classT:298-307,310-311,317-323
Mon 11/30Astronomical considerations and paleoclimatologyT:289-298
Wed 12/2Recent and long term climate change-
Fri 12/4Causes of climate changeT:22-24
Mon 12/7Ozone DepletionT:343-348
Wed 12/9Climate models and climates of the futureT:335-337; P
Fri 12/11Mitigation and Adaptation-

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