Class Notes: the exact schedule is subject to change.
Instructor: Katia Matcheva Office: NPB 2073 Tel: 392 0286 e-mail: katia@phys.ufl.edu
Instructor: Katia Matcheva Office: NPB 2073 Tel: 392 0286 e-mail: katia@phys.ufl.edu
| Date | Lecture Notes | Reading Material |
| Tuesday 01/07 | Introduction | Introductions & course policies. Demonstration of the class web page. |
| Tuesday 01/07 | Lecture 1 | Chapter 1. Origin of the atmosphere. The early atmosphere: three stages of development. Sample quiz questions. Lecture 1 |
| Thursday 01/9 | Lecture 2 | Chapter 1. Chemical composition and vertical structure of the atmosphere. Permanent and variable gases. Important gas components: nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, etc. Mass, weight, density, pressure. Atmospheric pressure. Lecture 2 |
| Tuesday 01/14 | Lecture 3 | Finish Chapter 1. Atmospheric layers: 1. according to temperature; 2. according to mixing. Overview of the planets in the solar system. Difference between weather and climate. Satellite images. Isobars, isotherms, streamlines. History of meteorology. Lecture 3 |
| Tuesday 01/14 | Lecture 4 | Chapter 2. Energy and work. Kinetic energy. Potential energy. Energy conservation. Radiant energy. Thermal energy. Temperature. Temperature scales. Heat. Heat capacity and specific heat. Phase transitions. |
| Thursday 01/16 | Lecture 5 | Continue Chapter 2: Phase transitions. Latent heat. Methods for heat transfer in the atmosphere. Conduction, convection, radiation. Advection, thermals. Basic characteristics of radiation. Black body radiation. Stefan-Boltzmann law. Wien's law. Radiation from the Sun (Earth). |
| Tuesday 01/21 | Lecture 6 | Finish Chapter 2. Review: black body radiation, Stefan-Boltzmann law, Wien's law. Radiation from the Sun (Earth). Radiative equilibrium. Selective absorbers/emitters. Absorption and emission by the different atmospheric gases. Greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases. Incoming solar radiation: absorption, scattering and reflection. The energy balance on Earth. (Skip the very last section: Solar particles and the aurora.) |
| Tuesday 01/21 | Lecture 7 | Chapter 3: Seasons. Earth's rotation around the Sun. Inclination of the Earth's axis. Insolation at different latitudes. Summer and winter in the Northern hemisphere. Seasons in the Southern hemisphere. Energy balance at different latitutes. Video clips: Earth orbit, Solar energy flux , Solar insolation, Seasonal variations on Earth. |
| Thursday 01/23 | Lecture 8 | Finish Chapter 3. Local seasonal variations. Daily temperature variations: daytime warming, nighttime cooling. Radiation inversion. The controls of temperature. Daily, monthly and yearly temperatures. Wind-chill index. Video clips: Convection (MIT lab experiment). Snow season in the Northern Hemisphere. |
| Tuesday 01/28 | Lecture 9 | Chapter 4. Phase changes. The hydrological cycle. Evaporation, condensation, saturation, supersaturation. Humidity: absolute and specific. Water (mass) mixing ratio. Specific humidity at different latitudes. Vapor pressure. |
| Tuesday 01/28 | Lecture 10 | Finish Chapter 4. Saturation vapor pressure and its temeperature dependence. Relative humidity, dependence on the temperature and the latitude. Dew point. Frost point. Comparing humidities: California vs. Florida. Relative humidity in the home. Heat index. Active figure: Saturation vapor pressure, relative humidity and dew point. |
| Thursday 01/30 | Lecture 11 | Begin Chapter 5. Condensation nuclei. Dew, frozen dew, frost. Haze (dry and wet). Fog. Radiation fog. Advection fog. Upslope fog. Evaporation fog. Foggy weather. |
| Tuesday 02/04 | Lecture 12 | Finish Chapter 5. Clouds. Composition. Classification. The four primary cloud groups. Examples: cirrus clouds; comparison of cirrocumulus, altocumulus and stratocumulus clouds; comparison of cirrostratus, altostratus and stratus clouds; cumulonimbus cloud. Clouds forming over topography: cap, lenticular, banner clouds. Satellite observations. Geostationary satellites and polar-orbiting satellites. |
| Tuesday 02/04 | Exam 1 review | |
| Thursday 02/06 | Exam 1 | Chapters to be covered on the exam: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The following is a list of the (sub)sections not covered on the exam. Chapter 1: Storms of All Sizes; A Look at a Weather Map. Chapter 2: Solar Particles and the Aurora. Chapter 3: Protecting Crops from the Cold; The Use of Temperature Data; Measuring Air Temperature. Chapter 4: Measuring Humidity. Chapter 5: Determining Sky Conditions. |
| Tuesday 02/11 | Lecture 13 | Chapter 19: Light, Color and Atmospheric Optics. White and colors. Scattering of light. White clouds and scattered light. Blue skies and hazy days. Skies on other planets. The color of the sun. Blue moon. Reflection and refraction of light. True and apparent position of stars. Twinkling. The timing of the sunset and sunrise. Twilight. Flattening of the sun and the moon. Green flashes. |
| Tuesday 02/11 | Lecture 14 | Chapter 19: Light, Color and Atmospheric Optics. Total internal reflection. Mirages: inferior and superior. Highway mirage, desert mirage, fata morgana. Optical effects from ice crystals. Dispersion: the 22 deg. sun halo, sundogs, tangent arcs. Reflection: sun pillars. Optical effects from water droplets: rainbows. Rainbow viewing geometry. For fun, check out these nice pictures. Skip the section: "Coronas, glories and heiligenschein". |
| Thursday 02/13 | Lecture 15 | Begin Chapter 6. Mechanical equilibrium. Stable, unstable or neutral equilibrium. Adiabatic cooling/heating of air during vertical motion. Adiabatic lapse rates: dry and moist. Environmental lapse rate. Absolutely stable atmosphere. Absolutely unstable atmosphere. Conditionally unstable atmosphere. Neutral stability. Air stability during the day - afternoon thunderstorms. |
| Tuesday 02/18 | Lecture 16 | Finish Chapter 6. Air stability during the day. Cloud formation. Convection and clouds. Condensation level. Formation of convective clouds. Topography and clouds. Orographic uplift. Wave clouds. |
| Tuesday 02/18 | Lecture 17 | Begin Chapter 7. How do cloud droplets grow larger? Equilibrium vapor pressure. Curvature effect. Cloud condensation nuclei. Solute effect. Collision and coalescence process. Terminal velocity. Droplet growth in warm clouds. Ice-crystal (Bergeron) process. Cold clouds. Supercooling of the cloud droplets. Ice nuclei. |
| Thursday 02/20 | Lecture 18 | Finish Chapter 7. Precipitation types. Rain, drizzle, showers, virga. Rainfall intensity. Snow, snow flurries, snow squalls, blizzard. Fallstreaks. Snowflakes. Sleet, rime, freezing rain, hail. |
| Tuesday 02/25 | NO LECTURE | Dr. Matcheva is at NASA's headquaters, Washington DC. |
| Tuesday 02/25 | NO LECTURE | Dr. Matcheva is at NASA's headquaters, Washington DC. |
| Thursday 02/27 | NO LECTURE | Dr. Matcheva is at NASA's headquaters, Washington DC. |
| Tuesday 03/04 | Spring Break | no classes |
| Tuesday 03/04 | Spring Break | no classes |
| Thursday 03/06 | Spring Break | no classes |
| Tuesday 03/11 | Lecture 19 | Begin Chapter 8. Atmospheric pressure. A simple atmospheric model. Daily pressure variations. Pressure measurements: mercury barometer. Altitude corrections. Sea-level pressure chart. Isobaric charts. Flying on a constant pressure surface. |
| Tuesday 03/11 | Lecture 20, Lecture 21 | Finish Chapter 8: forces in the atmosphere. Newton's laws of motion: first and second. Forces in the atmosphere. Pressure gradient. Pressure gradient force. Coriolis force. Winds in the atmosphere. Centripetal force. Geostrophic winds: direction and speed. Gradient winds: cyclones and anticyclones. Winds aloft in the Southern hemisphere. Surface winds, the effect of friction. Vertical air motion, convergences and divergences. Hydrostatic equilibrium. |
| Thursday 03/13 | Lecture 22 | Chapter 10: General circulation of the atmosphere. Single cell model: assumptions, predictions. Hadley cell. Three cell model: assumptions, predictions. Ferrel and polar cells. Converging/diverging regions. Semi-permanent and seasonal highs and lows. |
| Tuesday 03/18 | Lecture 23 | Finish Chapter 10. Global circulation effects on local climate: comparison of Los Angeles CA and Atlanta GA. Seasonal effects on the global circulation. The general circulation and precipitation patterns. Average wind flow and pressure patterns aloft. Jet streams: subtropical and polar jets (Note: jet streams will not be covered on the exams). Atmosphere-ocean interactions. Global wind patterns and surface ocean currents. Ekman spiral. Upwelling. |
| Thursday 03/20 | Exam 2 review | |
| Tuesday 03/25 | EXAM 2 |
Chapters to be covered on the exam: 19, 6, 7, 8, and 10. The following is a list of the (sub)sections not covered on the exam: Chapter 6. Skip the material on "subsidence inversions", namely Figs. 6.6, 6.12, 6.13 and 6.14. Adiabatic charts. Changing cloud forms. Chapter 7. Cloud seeding and precipitation. Precipitaion in clouds. Snow grains and snow pellets. Doppler radar and precipitation. Measuring precipitation from space. Chapter 10. Jet streams. The formation of the polar front jet and and the subtropical jet. Other jet streams. El Nino and the Southern Oscillation. Pacific Decadal Oscillation. North Atlantic Oscillation. Arctic Oscillation. |
| Tuesday 03/25 | Lecture 24 | Begin Chapter 11: Air Masses and Fronts. Air masses. Source regions. Classification. Air masses of North America. cP (continental polar) and cA (continental arctic) air masses. Lake effect snow. mP (maritime polar) air masses. mT (maritime tropical) air masses. cT (continental tropical) air masses. |
| Thursday 03/27 | Lecture 25 | Finish Chapter 11: Air Masses and Fronts. Atmospheric fronts. Frontal surface (zone). The four major types of fronts. Cold fronts: characteristics and cloud and precipitation patterns. Warm fronts: characteristics and cloud and precipitation patterns. Ocluded fronts: warm versus cold occlusion. Stationary fronts. Frontolysis and frontogenesis. Skip sections: Upper-air fronts. |
| Tuesday 04/01 | Lecture 26 | Begin Chapter 12: Middle-Latitude Cyclones. Polar front theory. Stages of a developing wave cyclone. Families of cyclones. Cyclogenesis. Where do mid-latitude cyclones tend to form? |
| Tuesday 04/01 | Lecture 27 | Finish Chapter 12: Middle-Latitude Cyclones. Vertical structure of deep dynamic lows: favorable conditions for storm development. Upper-level waves and mid-latitude cyclones. Skip sections: Conveyor belt model of mid-latitude cyclones. A developing mid-latitude cyclone: the March storm of 1993. Vorticity, divergence, and developing mid-latitude cyclones. Earth vorticity, relative vorticity and absolute vorticity. Putting it all together: a monstrous snowstorm. Polar lows. |
| Thursday 04/03 | Lecture 28 | Begin Chapter 13: Weather Forecasting. Acquisition of weather information. Watches, warnings and advisories. Forecasting methods. Numerical weather prediction. Why forecasts go awry. |
| Tuesday 04/08 | Lecture 29 | Finish Chapter 13: Weather Forecasting. Forecasting tools. Forecasting methods. Types of forecasts. Extended forecast. Outlook. Accuracy and skill in forecasting. Predicting the weather from local signs. Station model. Using surface maps to predict the weather. Skip sections: A forecast for six cities (Augusta GA, Washington DC, Chicago IL, Memphis TN, Dallas TX, Denver CO). A meteorologist makes a prediction. Help from the 500 mb chart. The computer provides assistance. A valid forecast. Assistance from a satellite. A day of rain and wind. |
| Tuesday 04/8 | Lecture 30 | Begin Chapter 14: Thunderstorms and Tornadoes. Thunderstorms. Ordinary cell thunderstorms: stages of their development. Multicell storms. Severe thunderstorms and the supercell. Squall lines and mesoscale convective complexes. Pre-frontal squall lines. Floods and flash floods. Thunderstorm climatology. Lightning and thunder. Electrification of clouds. The lightning stroke. Skip the sections on "Dryline thunderstorms", "Gust fronts, microbursts and derechoes", "Lightning detection and suppression". |
| Thursday 04/10 | Lecture 31 | Finish Chapter 14: Tornadoes. Tornado occurence. Fujita scale. Severe weather and Doppler radar. Waterspouts and landspouts. Skip sections: Tornado life cycle. Tornado outbreaks. Tornadic thunderstorms. Supercell tornadoes. Nonsupercell tornadoes (see Lecture 31). |
| Tuesday 04/15 | Lecture 32 | Chapter 15: Hurricanes. Tropical weather. Streamlines. Tropical waves. Anatomy of a hurricane. Hurricane movement. Comparison to mid-latitude storms and tornadoes. Destruction and warning. Storm surge and flooding. Saffir-Simpson scale. Naming hurricanes. Skip sections: Eastern Pacific hurricanes. North Atlantic hurricanes. Devastating hurricanes (but do read about the Saffir-Simpson scale in the last paragraph). Modifying hurricanes. |
| Tuesday 04/15 | Lecture 33 | Chapter 15: Hurricanes. Tropical weather. Streamlines. Tropical waves. Anatomy of a hurricane. Hurricane movement. Comparison to mid-latitude storms and tornadoes. Destruction and warning. Storm surge and flooding. Saffir-Simpson scale. Naming hurricanes. Skip sections: Eastern Pacific hurricanes. North Atlantic hurricanes. Devastating hurricanes (but do read about the Saffir-Simpson scale in the last paragraph). Modifying hurricanes. |
| Tuesday 04/15 | Exam 3 review | |
| Thursday 04/17 | EXAM 3 | THIRD MIDTERM EXAM. The exam will cover the following chapters: Chapter 11: "Air Masses and Fronts" Chapter 12: "Middle-Latitude Cyclones" Chapter 13: "Weather Forecasting" Chapter 14: "Thunderstorms and Tornadoes" Chapter 15: "Hurricanes" The following is a list of the (sub)sections which will NOT be covered on the exam: According to the new 9th edition Chapter 11: Upper-air fronts. Focus sections: The Return of the Siberian Express. Drylines. The Wavy Warm Front. Chapter 12: The role of the jet stream. Conveyor belt model of mid-latitude cyclones. A developing mid-latitude cyclone: the March storm of 1993. Vorticity, divergence, and developing mid-latitude cyclones. Vorticity on a spinning planet. Putting it all together: a monstrous snowstorm. Polar lows. Focus sections: Jet streaks and storms. Vorticity and longwaves. Chapter 13: A forecast for six cities (Augusta GA, Washington DC, Chicago IL, Memphis TN, Dallas TX, Denver CO). A meteorologist makes a prediction. Help from the 500 mb chart. The computer provides assistance. A valid forecast. Assistance from a satellite. A day of rain and wind. Focus sections: The thickness chart - a forecasting tool. TV weathercasters - how do they do it. Forecasting temperature advection by watching the clouds. Chapter 14: Microbursts. Read only the first two paragraphs in the section "Squall-Line Thunderstorms". Read only the first two paragraphs in the section "Supercell Thunderstorms". Thunderstorms and the dryline. Lightning detection and suppression. Tornado life cycle. Tornado outbreaks. Tornado formation. Supercell tornadoes. Nonsupercell tornadoes. Waterspouts. Focus sections: The terrifying flash flood in the Big Thompson canyon. ELVES in the atmosphere. Chapter 15: In section "Hurricane movement", read only up to the last paragraph on page 420, which begins with "As we saw in an earlier section...". Some notable hurricanes. Other devastating hurricanes. Modifying hurricanes. Focus sections: A tropical storm named Allison. Hurricanes in a warmer world. According to the old 8th edition Chapter 11: Upper-air fronts. Focus sections: The Return of the Siberian Express. Drylines. Chapter 12: Conveyor belt model of mid-latitude cyclones. A developing mid-latitude cyclone: the March storm of 1993. Vorticity, divergence, and developing mid-latitude cyclones. Earth vorticity, relative vorticity and absolute vorticity. Putting it all together: a monstrous snowstorm. Polar lows. Focus sections: Jet streaks and storms. Vorticity and longwaves. Chapter 13: A forecast for six cities (Augusta GA, Washington DC, Chicago IL, Memphis TN, Dallas TX, Denver CO). A meteorologist makes a prediction. Help from the 500 mb chart. The computer provides assistance. A valid forecast. Assistance from a satellite. A day of rain and wind. Focus sections: The thickness chart - a forecasting tool. Forecasting temperature advection by watching the clouds. Chapter 14: Dryline thunderstorms. Gust fronts, microbursts and derechoes. Lightning detection and suppression. Tornado life cycle. Tornado outbreaks. Tornadic thunderstorms. Supercell tornadoes. Nonsupercell tornadoes. Waterspouts. Focus sections: The terrifying flash flood in the Big Thompson canyon. ELVES in the atmosphere. Chapter 15: Eastern Pacific hurricanes. North Atlantic hurricanes. Devastating hurricanes (but do read about the Saffir-Simpson scale in the last paragraph). Modifying hurricanes. Focus sections: A tropical storm named Allison. |
| Tuesday 04/22 | Lecture 34 | Chapter 16: Climate Change. The Earth's changing climate. Alpine glaciers. Determining past climates. Climate through the ages. Ice ages and interglacial periods. Temperature changes in the last 18,000 years. The ocean conveyor belt and climate change. Climate during the past 1,000 years. Temperature trend during the past 100-plus years. Possible causes of climatic change. Climate change and feedback mechanisms: positive and negative feedback. Water vapor-greenhouse fedback. Snow-albedo feedback. Climate and plate tectonics. Climate change and variations in the Earth's orbit. Milankovitch theory. Variations in eccentricity. Variations in obliquity. Precession of the Earth's axis. Milankovitch cycles. Climate change and atmospheric particles. Aerosols in the troposphere. Volcanic eruptions and aerosols in the stratosphere. Climate change and variations in solar output. Global warming: the effect of greenhouse gases. The recent warming - climate models and recent temperature trends. Future warming - projections, questions and uncertainties. Skip the following (sub)sections: Radiative forcing agents. Questions and uncertainties about greenhouse gases. Clouds get in the way. Possible consequences of global warming. In perspective. |
| Tuesday 04/22 | Lecture 35 | Chapter 16: Climate Change. The Earth's changing climate. Alpine glaciers. Determining past climates. Climate through the ages. Ice ages and interglacial periods. Temperature changes in the last 18,000 years. The ocean conveyor belt and climate change. Climate during the past 1,000 years. Temperature trend during the past 100-plus years. Possible causes of climatic change. Climate change and feedback mechanisms: positive and negative feedback. Water vapor-greenhouse fedback. Snow-albedo feedback. Climate and plate tectonics. Climate change and variations in the Earth's orbit. Milankovitch theory. Variations in eccentricity. Variations in obliquity. Precession of the Earth's axis. Milankovitch cycles. Climate change and atmospheric particles. Aerosols in the troposphere. Volcanic eruptions and aerosols in the stratosphere. Climate change and variations in solar output. Global warming: the effect of greenhouse gases. The recent warming - climate models and recent temperature trends. Future warming - projections, questions and uncertainties. Skip the following (sub)sections: Radiative forcing agents. Questions and uncertainties about greenhouse gases. Clouds get in the way. Possible consequences of global warming. In perspective. |
| Thursday 05/01 | FINAL EXAM | room 1001 NPB; time 8:30 am - 9:30 am The final exam is cumulative and will cover ALL chapters from the book EXCEPT Chapter 9, 17, 18. All chapters will be approximately equally weighted on the final exam. |