ATMO 441A/541A Syllabus
Note that ATMO 441A/541A in Fall Semester 2016 will cover Chapters 1-5 and 8 (if time permits) of Holton and Hakim's book only.
1. Introduction
Dynamic meteorology
Momentum conservation
Noninertial reference frames and "apparent" forces
Structure of the static atmosphere
Kinematics
Scale analysis
2. The basic conservation laws
Total differentiation
Momentum equation in rotating coordinates
Orthogonal curvilinear coordinates
Scale analysis of the motion equation
The continuity equation
The thermodynamic energy equation
Thermodynamics of the dry atmosphere
Boussinesq approximation
Thermodynamics of the moist atmosphere
3. Elementary applications of the basic equations
The basic equations in isobaric coordinates
Balanced flow
Trajectories and streamlines
The thermal wind
Vertical motion
Surface pressure tendency
4. Circulation, vorticity, and potential vorticity
The circulation theorem
Vorticity
Vorticity equation
Potential vorticity
Shallow water equations
Ertel potential vorticity in isentropic coordinates
5. Atmospheric oscillations
The perturbation method
Properties of waves
Simple wave types
Internal gravity (buoyancy) waves
Linear waves of a rotating stratified atmosphere
Adjustment to geotrophic balance
Rossby waves
6. Quasi-geostrophic analysis
Observed structure of extratropical circulations
Derivation of the quasi-geostrophic equations
Potential vorticity derivation of the QG equations
Potential vorticity thinking
Vertical motion thinking
Idealized model of a baroclinic disturbance
Isobaric form of the QG equations
7. Baroclinic development
Hydrodynamic instability
Normal mode baroclinic instability: A two-layer model
The energetics of baroclinic waves
Baroclinic instability of a continuously stratified atmosphere
Growth and propagation of neutral modes
8. The planetary boundary layer
Atmospheric turbulence
Turbulent kinetic energy
Planetary boundary layer momentum equations
Secondary circulations and spin down
9. Mesoscale circulations
Energy sources for mesoscale circulations
Fronts and frontogenesis
Symmetric baroclinic instability
Mountain waves
Cumulus convection
Convective storms
Hurricanes
10. The general circulation
The nature of the problem
The zonally averaged circulation
The angular momentum budget
The Lorenz energy cycle
Longitudinally dependent time-averaged flow
Low-frequency variability
Numerical simulation of the genral circulation
Climate sensitivity, feedbacks, and uncertainty
11. Tropical dynamics
The observed structure of large-scale tropical circulations
Scale analysis of large-scale tropical motions
Condensation heating
Equatorial wave theory
Steady forced equatorial motions
12. Middle-atmosphere dynamics
Structure and circulation of the middle atmosphere
The zonal mean circulation of the middle atmosphere
Vertically propagating planetary aves
Sudden stratospheric warmings
Waves in the equatorial stratosphere
The Quasi-biennial oscillation
Trace constituent transport
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