Lecture Notes
(You should always read through these notes because they contain everything covered in class together with any important announcements.  These notes will normally appear 12 to 24 hours after class has met)


Tue., Dec. 6 - Hurricanes

Thu., Dec. 1 - Quiz #4
(music: "Attaboy" and "Hill Justice" from The Goat Rodeo Sessions)
Tue., Nov. 29 - Lightning
Thu., Nov. 24 - Thanksgiving Holiday
Tue., Nov. 22 - Tornadoes pt. 2
Thu., Nov. 17 - Ocean currents, SW monsoon, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes pt. 1
Tue., Nov. 15 - Thunderstorms, gust fronts, microbursts, wind shear, severe storms
Thu., Nov. 10 - Cause of the Coriolis force, thermal circulations, 1- and 3-cell models of the earth's global scale circulation pattern
Tue., Nov. 8 -
Forces that cause surface and upper level winds, surface and upper level winds
in the northern & southern hemispheres

Thu., Nov. 3 - Quiz #3
Tue., Nov. 1 - Collision coalescence and ice crystal processes, types of precipitation
Thu., Oct. 27 - Identifying and naming clouds pt. 2, satellite photographs, precipitation producing processes
Tue., Oct. 25 - Condensation nuclei, haze & fog, cloud-in-a-bottle demonstration, identifying and naming clouds pt. 1
Thu., Oct. 20 - Evaporation, condensation & saturation, humidity problems concl'd, drying moist air,
rain shadow effect, measuring humidity, dew frost and frozen dew
Controls of temperature - required and optional reading
Tue., Oct. 18 - Controls of temperature, humidity variables, humidity example problems

Thu., Oct. 13 - Quiz #2 (music:
"Nocturne", "Irna", "Jeux d'Enfants" from Cirque du Soleil's Alegria)
Tue., Oct. 11 - Radiative equilibrium, filtering effect of the atmosphere, atmospheric greenhouse effect, effects of clouds
on daytime and nighttime temperatures, global warming misconception
Thu., Oct. 6 - Electromagnetic radiation, rules governing the emission of EM radiation
Tue., Oct. 4 - Conduction, convection, and latent heat energy transport
Thu., Sep. 29 -
Introduction to energy and energy transport, specific heat & latent heat, temperature
Tue., Sep. 27 - Air masses, cold & warm fronts, weather changes caused by fronts, locating fronts on weather maps,
Fall Equinox

Thu., Sep. 22 - Quiz #1 (
music: Sigur Ros: "Fljotavik", "Godan daginn", and "Med sud i eyrum")
Tue., Sep. 20 - Coding pressure on surface weather maps, Surface weather maps pt. 1, isotherms & isobars,
winds blowing around H & L, pressure gradientArchimedes Law
Thu., Sep. 15 - Ideal gas law, Charles law, vertical forces acting on air, station model notation
Tue., Sep. 13 - Upward air pressure force, mercury barometers, troposphere & stratosphere
Thu., Sep. 8 - Changing pressure and density with altitude, Practice Quiz
Tue., Sep. 6 -
Tropospheric ozone; photochemical (Los Angeles type) smog; mass, weight, density & pressure pt. 1
Thu., Sep. 1 - Acid rain, particulate matter, visibility
Tue., Aug. 30 - Air pollution introduction, carbon monoxide, scattering of light, sulfur dioxide
Thu., Aug. 25 - Summer monsoon, origin & evolution of the atmosphere,
stromatolites & banded iron formation
Tue., Aug. 23 - First day of class, composition of the atmosphere