All atmospheric phenomena - from a gentle and silent winter snowfall to a howling summer thunderstorm - are part of the complex chain of processes in an atmosphere that is forced into a ceaseless motion by thermal effects on a rotating planet. To study and understand these processes, to predict them and control them, it is necessary to have a theory that explains them. This requires concepts and techniques from mathematics, thermodynamics, mechanics, and fluid dynamics. This course intends to lead towards an understanding of the theory of atmospheric motion. The necessary concepts of mathematics, thermodynamics and fluid dynamics, as they are applied to the atmosphere, will be introduced in this course.
The goal of this course is, first, to provide understanding of many facets involved in the phenomenon of atmospheric motion; and second, is to provide a rational basis for prediction of future atmospheric events.
Instructor: Ping Zhu<zhup@fiu.edu>
When: Fall 2009; MON/WED/FRI 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Where: PC 326 (University Park Campus)
Prerequisites: PHY2048 and PHY2049
Grading: Homework (30%), Project (20%), mid-term exam (20%), and final exam (30%)
Office hours: MON/WED/FRI, 2:00-4:00 pm
|
An introduction of Dynamic Meteorology, Elsevier Academic Press, 4th
ed., 2004. |
1. Dynamic Meteorology: A Basic Course (Gordon et al., Oxford, 1988)
2. Atmosphere-Ocean Dynamics (Gill, A. E., Academic Press, 1982)
3. Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey (Wallace, J. M., P. B. Hobbs, Academic Press, 1977 or 2005)
4. Fundamentals of Atmospheric Physics (Salby, M. L.,Academic Press, 1997)