An introduction to the Earth's atmosphere. Topics include: tropical and midlatitude weather, clouds and convection, solar and terrestrial radiation, general circulation and climate, and meteorological dynamics.
This course is a required upper division class for Bachelor of Science program in Geosciences offered at FIU Department of Earth and Environment. It provides an introduction to the profession of meteorology and a description of the atmosphere for undergraduate students majoring in physical sciences or engineering. The class will answer following questions:
What do meteorologists do and how do other professions relate to meteorology?
What are the history, composition, and broad-scale structure of the atmosphere?
What are the roles of heat and moisture in the atmosphere?
What determines the strength and direction of the wind?
What determines the structure and behavior of middle-latitude and tropical weather systems?
How do clouds, rain, snow, and hail form?
How and why does the climate change?
Instructor: Ping Zhu<zhup@fiu.edu> <305-348-7096> <AHC5-234 >
When: Spring 2016; Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 10:00-10:50 AM
Where: PC 445 (Modesto Maidique Campus)
Prerequisites: PHY 2048 or PHY 2053 or Permission by the instructor.
Grading: Homework (40%), participation (10%), Exam#1 and Exam#2 (20%), and final exam (30%)
Office hours: Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 12:00-1:30 PM or by approintment
Wallace, J. M., P. B. Hobbs, Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey, Academic Press