Reading material for Lectures

Dates correspond to the day material will be or was covered in class lectures. Please read over the material before attending the lecture on the date shown.

Material for Exam #1
August 24 Introduction to 500 mb Height Maps
Winds at the 500 mb Height Level; Southwest Monsoon Season
Links to 500 mb maps handed out during lecture
500 mb map handout -- side 1
500 mb map handout -- side 2
August 26 Winds at the 500 mb Height Level; Southwest Monsoon Season (Continued)
Winds; Pressure and Winds on Common Weather Maps
August 29 Discuss Research Paper
Winds; Pressure and Winds on Common Weather Maps (Continued)
August 31 Winds; Pressure and Winds on Common Weather Maps (Last Section)
Hurricane Introduction and Characteristics
September 2 Hurricane Movement and Damages
September 7 Hurricane Cycles in the Atlantic, Links to Climate Change, Hurricane Damage and Death Trends
The atmosphere
Some properties of gases
September 9 Some properties of gases(continued)
Composition of the Atmosphere
Vertical Structure of Temperature, Density, and Pressure
September 12 Human response to air pressure and density changes
The Skew-T Diagram
End of Exam 1 Material
Material for Exam #2
September 19 Water in the atmosphere
A closer look at evaporation and condensation
In-class notes for phase changes of water
September 21 Relative humidity and Dew Point
In-class notes for Relative Humidity and Dew Point
September 23 Energy Transfer
Temperature, humidity, wind, and human comfort
September 26 Clouds
Why Does Rising Air Cool?
Conditions under which air is forced to rise
Precipitation
September 28 Moving air parcels up and down through the atmosphere
Stability of the atmosphere
September 30 Stability of the atmosphere (continued)
Introduction to Thunderstorms
Thunderstorm Lifecycle and Severe Thunderstorms
October 3 Thunderstorm Lifecycle and Severe Thunderstorms (continued)
Tornadoes
October 5 Tornadoes(continued)
Hurricane Energetics
October 7 Lightning
End of Exam 2 Material
Material for Exam #3
October 14 Impacts of Extreme Weather; Possible Trends in Severe Weather
October 17 Ozone and the ozone hole
Ultraviolet radiation and its effects
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Ozone and UV Exposure
October 19 Review 500 mb height maps
Review 500 mb winds; Estimating Precipitation areas from 500 mb maps
Weather forecasting using 500 mb height maps
Links to 500 mb maps handed out during lecture
500 mb map handout -- side 1
500 mb map handout -- side 2
October 21 Weather forecasting using 500 mb height maps (continued)
The 500 mb weather pattern and weather terminology
October 24 A crash course in cyclogenesis
Numerical Weather Forecasting
October 26 Weather vs Climate
Introduction to Climate Change
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Climate, Climate Change, and Global Warming
Solar Radiation and the Earth's Energy Budget I
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Radiation and Radiative Equilibrium Temperature
October 28 Solar Radiation and the Earth's Energy Budget I (continued)
Infrared Radiation, Greenhouse Effect, and Earth's Energy Budget II
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Radiation and Radiative Equilibrium Temperature
October 31 Infrared Radiation, Greenhouse Effect, and Earth's Energy Budget II (Continued)
Increasing Greenhouse Gases
End of Exam 3 Material
Material for Exam #4
November 7 Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and the Carbon Cycle
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Carbon Cycle
Uncertainty in Climate Change Predictions : Feedbacks
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on feedbacks in the climate system
November 9 Uncertainty in Climate Change Predictions : Feedbacks (continued)
Climate Models and their Prediction of Climate Change
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on feedbacks in the climate system
November 14 Climate Models and their Prediction of Climate Change (continued)
Potential Impacts of Global Warming
November 16 Reconstructing Past Climates
The Climate of the Pleistocene
Is Life on Earth Fragile or Robust?
The Climate of the Holocene
Controversy: Global Average Temperature Reconstruction over the last 2000 years
The Present Warming: 20th Centrury through today
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Climate History
November 18 The Present Warming: 20th Centrury through today (continued)
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Climate History
Global Warming Summary and Discussion
November 21 Seasons / Seasonal Changes on Earth
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Seasonal Changes
November 28 Seasons / Seasonal Changes on Earth(Continued)
Factors that control climate
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes
November 30 Blue skies, red sunsets, white clouds, haze
WORD Document Containing in-class text notes
End of Exam 4 material


Dale Ward