Course Plan
This page is subject to drastic change over the coming months. It will include the major course sections, and a selection of possible readings/articles for discussion for each section.
1. Fundamentals
- Explain the origins of and sketch the vertical structure of Earth’s troposphere and stratosphere
- Define and explain basic thermodynamic concepts including heat transfer, equilibria, work/energy, and phase changes
2. Thermodynamic Laws
- Restate and physically interpret the meaning of the Zeroth and various forms of the First Law of Thermodynamics
- Explain the concept of entropy and relate the Second Law of Thermodynamics to moving air parcels
- State the meaning of and determine an air parcel’s potential and equivalent potential temperature
3. Water Vapor
- Calculate the heat energy required to produce phase changes of water substance
- Derive the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship and use it to calculate the saturation point of an air mass
4. Cloud Growth
- Plot data and perform basic calculations using a Skew-T Log-P diagram
- Describe and sketch the dominant microphysical processes that result in nucleation and droplet growth in warm clouds
- Describe and sketch the dominant microphysical processes that result in nucleation and droplet and ice particle growth in cold clouds
- Use radar data to estimate rainfall rates occurring at a location