Syllabus: ATMO 170A1 Online
Introduction to Weather and Climate
Spring 2021
Course
Description:
An
introduction to the science of weather and climate. Topics are selected from
atmospheric composition, energy balance, wind systems of the world, midlatitude
cyclones and fronts, cloud types and formation, precipitation processes, severe
weather, tropical cyclones, and climate change. Emphasis is placed on the
importance of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biological processes to
understanding weather and climate change. Fundamental principles of physics
(e.g. conservation of energy, mass, momentum) are used to explain weather
phenomena that can have strong impacts on human welfare and economic livelihood
such as wintertime snow and ice storms, heat waves, drought, floods,
thunderstorms, tropical cyclones, air-sea interactions (El Nino/La Nina
events), regional air pollution, ozone depletion, and extreme weather events
associated with a warming climate.
Course
Homepage and Schedule:
http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/courses/mullen/home.html
Instructor:
Prof. Steven
L. Mullen (DrM for short; easy to remember; quick to type)
Office: Harshbarger 234C (north side of 2nd floor)
Location: http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/courses/mullen/HARSH.png
Teaching
Assistants:
Mr. Andrew
Hoopes
Office: Harshbarger 203 (east side of 2nd floor, near
elevator)
Office
Hours (Office hours
are subject to change with advance notice.)
Dr. Mullen: TR 12:00 − 1:00 pm MST (UTC-7) or by
appointment.
All meetings will
be held only by zoom until further notice.
Email: mullen@arizona.edu
Mr. Hoopes: MW
9:30 − 10:30 am MST (UTC-7) or by appointment.
All meetings will
be held only by zoom until further notice.
Email: cahoopes@email.arizona.edu
The teaching team requests that you email them before
coming to the office so an exact time can be scheduled to avoid simultaneous
arrivals of students.
Course Goals
By the end of
this course, students should be able to:
1)
Interpret
online weather products that are routinely produced by the National
Centers for Environmental Prediction
of NOAA and other online weather sites.
2)
Critically
evaluate the soundness of “weather and climate science” that appears in the
mainstream media.
3)
Make
informed decisions on what to do about projected changes in extreme weather and
climate that society faces.
Course Objectives
During this course,
students will…
1) Gain a basic understanding of the fundamental
conservation laws of physics.
2)
Gain
an understanding of how the laws of physics govern the evolution of the weather
and climate of the earth’s atmosphere.
3) Learn about various weather systems that
affect different regions of the world.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of
this course, students should able be to:
1)
Explain
how the distribution of heating of the earth by the sun and energy transfer
through the atmosphere drives weather and climate change.
2)
Read
surface weather maps and upper-air maps, and understand the connection between
surface weather and conditions aloft in midlatitudes.
3)
Recognize
from weather maps commonly occurring, large-scale atmospheric phenomena,
including midlatitude cyclones, upper-level troughs and ridges, jet streams,
and trade winds, and their impact on local weather.
4)
Identify
commonly occurring, high-impact mesoscale weather phenomena such as severe
thunderstorms and hurricanes, and recognize the larger-scale weather conditions
in which they form.
5)
Identify
the primary cloud types and types of precipitation, and recognize their
underlying formation mechanisms in terms of concurrent weather conditions.
6)
Explain
the impact that weather and climate have on life, and that life has on the evolution
of the atmosphere and climate.
Attendance
and Class Participation Policy
The UA’s
policy concerning Class Attendance, Participation, and Administrative Drops is
available at https://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/class-attendance-participation-and-administrative-drop. Attendance is not
taken in this iCourse
The UA policy
regarding absences for any sincerely held religious belief, observance or
practice will be accommodated where reasonable: https://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/religious-accommodation-policy.
Absences
preapproved by the UA Dean of Students (or dean’s designee) will be honored.
See https://policy.arizona.edu/employment-human-resources/attendance.
Although “physical”
attendance is not formally recorded for an iCourse
course, students need to follow the schedule that is posted on the course
homepage and not wait until the last minute to start and finish assignments.
Future
absences will be excused if the instructor is given reasonable advance notice
for participation in university-sponsored activities such as NCAA sporting
events or civic responsibilities such as jury duty, military deployment, etc.
An after-the-fact excuse for an absence will be granted only for a very serious
or life-threatening illness if the student provides documentation from their
health-care provider that they were too
incapacitated to participate in an online class that does not formally meet in
a face-to-face setting or at a presubscribed time. Regardless of reason for
absence, students are 100% responsible for all material that they miss and
completing it in a timely manner.
The UA’s policy
concerning Class Attendance, Participation, and Administrative Drops is
available at https://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/class-attendance-participation-and-administrative-drop.
The UA policy
regarding absences for any sincerely held religious belief, observance or
practice will be accommodated where reasonable: https://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/religious-accommodation-policy.
Absences preapproved
by the UA Dean of Students will be honored. See https://policy.arizona.edu/employment-human-resources/attendance.
Make-Up Policy for Students Who Register
Late
Students who register after the second week of the
semester will not be allowed to make up any missed assignments and will not be
offered extended deadlines for submitting upcoming assignments.
Course Communications:
Use the class list serve atmo170a1-online-spring21@list.arizona.edu (will become active during the first week of the semester) for
issues of interest to the entire class such as questions on course concepts
(e.g. “What is the difference between temperature and heat?”)
Email is exclusively used for all instructor-student communications.
An
email only policy serves the best interests of students and instructors alike.
It ensures that there is a written record of all communication between students
and the instructor. Since every student at the UA has unencumbered access to
email, the policy does not impose an undue hardship on anybody. The policy
means:
-
Students have no reason to make an impromptu phone call to my
office. So please do not do so.
- I do not answer “live” calls.
I do not have a voicemail for office phone.
- I do not return unsolicited student
phone calls if you leave a message with the front office of my home department.
An email is needed for all requests.
-
If you need to discuss a
private matter with DrM over the phone, you must
first schedule the date and a time by email.
Details
on the email policy for the course (Netiquette) and communication expectations
are described in a separate document that can be found in Content section of
D2L. That document is mandatory reading, and its rules are to be followed to
the tee. I provide a summary of the rules for email exchanges below.
Highlights
of Netiquette for correspondence with the teaching team
Email must adhere to the following rules and guidelines:
-
Critical: Only send emails from
your NetID@arizona.edu account; you can accomplish
this by simply sending emails from within the email feature in Classlist.
Emails that come from other addresses go directly to spam, never to be seen by
my eyes.
-
Critical: Start the subject
line with the exact wording ATMO170, ATMO 170, ATMO170A1, or ATMO 170A1; these subject
lines direct your email to my ATMO 170A1 folder, which ensures that I
will see and respond to your email in a timely fashion. Emails with other
subject lines will get buried in the general inbox where they can quickly drop
below the bottom of the screen amidst the onslaught of messages that I receive
every day.
-
Critical: Include a concise,
explicit subject line that gives the reason for your email. If the email
contains new subject matter, the email must have a fresh subject line. Do not
append your email to top of an older thread with a subject line not relevant to
your question.
-
Include
a proper salutation to start the body of your email. This is always a good
practice for every professional correspondence that you send.
-
Have
a clear and apparent purpose. Short and sweet are the operative words.
-
Include
all relevant information pertaining to the purpose of the email.
-
Strive
to use proper paragraph structure and proper grammar. Nobody is perfect, but
work to be by committing to improve your communication skills.
-
Include
a proper closing in every email. It is a good practice to do this in every professional
correspondence that you write.
If all criteria are not
met, we probably will not acknowledge your
email.
Student use
of mullen@arizona.edu is
reserved exclusively 1) to
schedule an appointment with DrM if it is not
possible to come to office hours, 2) to discuss private matters with DrM about extenuating circumstances (defined
below) that could adversely affect your performance in the course, or 3) to
schedule a phone call to the DrM if you are located
far off campus. Use the list serve for
questions related to the course material: atmo170a1-online-spring21@list.arizona.edu.
We strive to respond to
student emails that warrant a reply within two weekdays. Replies during the
weekend may be spotty at best.
Required
Course Materials:
Course
materials are being delivered digitally via D2L through the Inclusive Access program.
(https://shop.arizona.edu/textbooks/Inclusive.asp) Please access the material through D2L
immediately to make sure there are no issues in the delivery, and if you are
having a problem or question, it can be addressed quickly.
You
automatically have access to the course materials FREE through the first 14
days of the semester. If you do not wish to
participate in Inclusive Access, you have until the add/drop day to opt-out of
the program online (the opt-out procedure will be outlined in your emailed
information). If you opt-out by the deadline given, access to the online content
will be turned off and you will not be billed. You must take-action
(even if you haven’t accessed the materials) to opt-out if you do not wish to
pay for the materials, and choose to source the content independently. The deadline to opt-out for 15-week courses
that begin Wednesday, 13 January 2021 is before 9:00 pm MST Tuesday, 26 January
2021.
You have access
to the course materials FREE through the first 14 days of the semester. The cost includes
access to the eBook though the entire semester. You will be charged $45.42 (Fall
2020 price) for the book by the Bursar's Office unless you cancel the
subscription before 9:00 pm MST Tuesday, January 26. The Inclusive Access Program with D2L access
is one of the cheapest available eBook options, but it might not be the
cheapest eBook version. In fact, after testing the D2L interface to the
Inclusive Access version of the textbook (which I find clunky), I recommend
considering another eBook version. Kindle versions of the book are available at
Amazon for $43.99 (pricing current as of 3
August 2020). An Adobe eBook version (ISBN 978-1-108-27127-1) is also available
through the Publisher (Cambridge University Press)
for $58.00.
(Prices current as of 3 August 2020 and exclude any applicable taxes.) An
advantage of Kindle and Adobe eBook versions is that you have (to the best of my
knowledge) no time limit on how long you can access the book. If you purchase a
digital version of the book from a third party, be certain to cancel the
Inclusive Access Program within the first two weeks of the semester to avoid
being billed by the Bursar’s Office (before 9:00 pm MST, 26 January 2021).
For
additional information on the Inclusive Access, please see FAQs at https://shop.arizona.edu/textbooks/Inclusive.asp.
“But
I want a physical copy of the textbook instead of the online version. What should
I do in that case?”
Step one: Cancel your Inclusive Access before the
deadline above if you absolutely do not want access to the digital text.
Step two: Pertinent details on a physical copy of
the textbook are the following.
Hakim, G. and J. Patoux, Meteorology: A Concise Introduction. First Edition.
ISBN:
978-11-108-40465-5 softback. ISBN: 978-1-108-41716-7 hardcover.
If
you would rather have a bound copy of the textbook instead of a digital
version, the ISBN is 978-1-108-40465-5 for paperback and 978-1-108-41716-7 for
the hardback. Hard copies are available special order from the ASUA Bookstore,
from the publisher (http://www.cambridge.org; search "Hakim and Patoux") and from several online vendors. Amazon lists
the cost of a new softcover at $71.99 and a new hardcover at $117.23. (Prices are current as of 3
August 2020, excluding taxes.) Used copies may be available online for much less
since the first printing of the book was January 2018. Again, if you purchase a physical copy of the
book, be certain to cancel the Inclusive Access Program within the first two
weeks of the semester to avoid being billed.
Note if you not
use the Inclusive Access option, you will not have access to any supplemental
materials that may accompany the textbook, etc.
Bottom line: wherever
you get the textbook and whatever version you use is a personal decision. Just
get access to textbook and start reading it. Now. There is a lot of meaty,
required reading for this course, and it starts day one. The length of assigned
reading from the textbook ranges between 60-80 pages per quiz.
Do not fall behind
the assigned reading.
If you do,
you are likely doomed.
Final Point: There may be other
mandatory or extra credit readings throughout the term. They would be announced
and posted in due course.
Pacing of the Course
The pacing of the course is regulated though the use
of modules. There are four modules in total, and they must be taken in sequential
order. Each module contains mandatory readings, associated homework
assignments, and a closing quiz that emphasizes questions on material covered
in that module. Each module lasts about four weeks and contains about the same
amount of material as the others.
Course Grading Scale
Your letter
grade for the course will be based on the following scale, where P is the
percentage of total course points earned.
|
P ≥ 90% |
90% > P ≥ 80% |
80% > P ≥ 65% |
65% > P ≥ 50% |
50% > P ≥ 0% |
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
The grading scale
is designed to give every student the opportunity to earn a passing grade for
the course (D or higher) if they perform to a reasonable level of achievement.
An absolute scale also provides every student the opportunity to earn a
superior mark (A) if they perform at a superior level.
Grading
Descriptions
Course points
are allocated according to the following weighting.
1)
Quizzes: 30%. Four total quizzes. The three
highest scores are retained with each retained quiz contributing 10% to the
course grade.
2)
Self-assessments: 12%. 14 total assessments. The 12
highest scores are retained with each retained assessment contributing 1% to
the course grade. Self-assessments can be considered “practice quizzes”.
3)
Homework: 28%. Approximately 8 assignments; each
is worth a varying amount of credit. Four of the assignments are writing exercises
of one to two pages in length.
4)
Term Project: 30%. The term project will be
submitted in two steps. You must submit every step on time to qualify for full credit.
The project involves a diagnosis of a weather event for either KMSP (fall) or
KDFW (spring).
5)
Extra Credit: 5%. Syllabus quiz. Other avenues to
earn extra credit may appear throughout the term in the form of extra credit homework
assignments or extra credit questions on quizzes, but there are no guarantees.
You have no more than three weekdays
(excluding UA holidays), or 72 hours, to dispute a score on a quiz or an
assignment. For example, if you receive a score on Wednesday, you must raise your
issue no later than the following Monday by an email that gives specific
reason(s) why you believe the scoring is wrong. After three days pass, the
original score stands.
Note that: Quizzes are
never curved or rounded up.
Assignments are never curved or rounded up.
Course grades are never curved or rounded up.
Extra credit projects for individuals are never offered.
Treat every possible point as precious, because it is. Plan
ahead. Do the reading; study hard; manage your time wisely. You will
find that it is worth the effort.
Quiz
Day Procedure:
Each quiz will
consist of approximately 25-30
total questions in the form of multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank,
numerical answers or short written answers. Quizzes focus on material that was
covered since the prior quiz. You will have approximately
one minute per question to finish a quiz from the moment that you open it. For
example, you would get something like 60 minutes to complete a quiz with 30
questions (not counting any extra credit questions).
Examity: We will be using web-based service Examity for
online authentication of test takers and proctoring of exams to provide a level
of security for test taking. Examity allows
students to create student profiles, to schedule a time to take the
quiz, and to connect test takers with proctors on the day of the test. Examity is integrated with D2L. Instructions on how to
register for Examity and its use on quiz days are given
on D2L.
There are two big
advantages with using the Examity proctoring service.
Its use ensures that the highest standards of academic integrity are maintained
in this course and it allows the quizzes to be open for 72 hours for scheduling
flexibility.
The dates of
the four quizzes are listed below. These dates are firm. So, put them in your
planner. Now. All dates/times are local Arizona time (GMT-7) or Mountain
Standard Time (MST).
|
Quiz 1 |
Quiz 2 |
Quiz 3 |
Quiz 4 |
|
Feb
10 Wednesday Feb 12 Friday |
Mar 15 Monday Mar 17 Wednesday |
Apr 12 Monday Apr 14 Wednesday |
May 10 Monday May 12 Wednesday |
Quizzes are active for 72 hours starting at 12:00 am
MST on the top date listed. For example, Feb 10 Wednesday/Feb 12 Friday means
the quiz opens at 12:00 am MST Feb 10 and must be submitted by 11:59 pm MST Feb
12.
No Final Exam:
UA policy mandates that “All courses offered for
credit shall include a final examination or a summative assessment (e.g.
portfolios, essay, project reports).”
See Policy Memo: Final Examination
Regulations and Information at https://www.registrar.arizona.edu/courses/final-examination-schedule-spring-2021.
The term project serves as the summative assessment in this course.
Hence, there is no final exam.
Estimated Due Date of the Mandatory Term
Project
The term project will be submitted in two stages. Stage
one (data and graphs) will be due sometime in late February
or early March, and stage two in early April. The project will involve a review process and
opportunity for revision through interactions with the Writing Center. Again, these dates are estimates. Details about the project and exact
due dates will come later in the term.
Due Dates of Homework Assignments
There are approximately eight homework assignments, about
half of which are writing assignments. Each assignment is worth a varying
amount of points. Due dates will be given with ample advanced notice. There are
no extensions on the homework assignments.
Scheduled Topics and
Readings
See course
homepage for an evolving schedule that has a list of course topics and required
readings: http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/courses/mullen/home.html.
Policy on Make Up Exams and Assignment
Extensions
A student may
be granted permission in rare circumstances to take a quiz at
an alternate time and/or hand-in assignments on a different due date if he/she
is covered by one of the following conditions: 1) Travel due to participation
in NCAA sporting events on test days. 2) Extenuating personal circumstances
(e.g. a debilitating or life-threatening illness that requires
emergency treatment or hospitalization; jury duty; military deployment).
Appropriate and verifiable documentation from the Dean of Students or the
Dean’s designee is required of any student who requests to take a quiz at an
alternate time or submit an assignment after its due date.
Writing
Requirement
ATMO 170A1, as
a Tier I General Education course, is mandated as a writing intensive course (https://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/general-education-tier-one-and-tier-two). This requirement is satisfied by
multiple writing assignments. One assignment includes the opportunity to revise
a first draft of a paper and resubmit a presumably improved final draft based
on student peer reviews. There will be writing assignments every 3 to 4 weeks
that assess critical thinking skills. The capstone writing experience is a mandatory
term project: Analysis of daily weather observations for Minneapolis MN (fall
semester) or Dallas/Ft. Worth TX (spring semester) for a several week period.
It involves the collection of data, its graphical representation and scientific
diagnosis in terms of course concepts to explain, “Why the weather did what it
did.”, during the observation period.
As noted, the term project will be discussed in greater detail
later in the course.
Quantitative Requirement
There is a
science literacy requirement. This means scientific notation is used for
writing numbers (especially rather large or small ones). We specify units
for physical quantities (e.g. meters for length, kilograms for mass, seconds
for time). We attempt to quantify physical relationships based on empirical
evidence, physical reasoning, governing laws of physics, and everyday
life-experiences.
Student
Expectations
Dedicate
yourself to success. Keep an open mind. Be an active learner. Think about what
you are reading as you read it. Keep up with the reading. Ask questions over
the class list serve whenever you encounter difficult or confusing material.
Stay positive. You earn almost 60% of your course grade during the second half
of the term. The term project alone is worth 30% of your grade.
The keys to
passing the course are simple, commonsense measures.
1) Devote enough
time to master the course. The most successful students spend an average of
8-10 hours per week on the course. The time that you need to master the course might
be a little more or a little less, and it will certainly vary from one week to
the next.
2) Do every assignment.
Take every quiz.
3) Submit
every assignment on time. I do not accept late
assignments in the absence of extenuating circumstances as defined in this
syllabus.
4) Log into
the D2L course homepage at least three times a week (on different days) to read
the latest Announcements.
5) Promptly read
every email that I send.
6) Be
professional. Always do your best work by giving your best effort.
The formula
for success is simple:
Sincere
Effort + Enough Study Time + Submitting Every Assignment on Time => Passing
Grade.
Reading
assignments, due dates and other requirements will be posted on D2L, either in
the Announcements, the Content section and/or the Calendar. Some may also be
announced by email. You are expected to complete assignments and quizzes
on your own without prodding or reminders from the teaching team. Unless you
hear otherwise, you are always responsible for the reading material. You are
encouraged to ask questions about the material over the course list serve or
during office hours. In accordance with policy set by the Arizona Board of
Regents (ABOR), I expect every student to devote a minimum of three hours per week for every unit of course
credit to studying, reading, etc. Since ATMO 170A1 is a three-unit online course
that does not formally meet face-to face in a classroom, the weekly expectation
is a minimum
of 9 hours. See ABOR Definition of One Unit of Credit: https://public.azregents.edu/Policy
Manual/2-224-Academic Credit.pdf
and https://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/credit-definitions.
Honors
Credit
ATMO 170A1 Online is not available for Honors
credit.
Code of
Academic Integrity
Students are
encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and
applications of course materials. However, graded work/exercises must be the
product of an individual’s effort unless otherwise instructed (e.g. group work).
Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code of Academic Integrity as
described in the UA General Catalog. See https://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/policies/code-academic-integrity https://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/student-rights-responsibilities/student-academic-integrity-resources.
The
University Libraries have some excellent tips for avoiding plagiarism; they are
located at https://new.library.arizona.edu/research/citing/plagiarism. I consider the material in
this link to be mandatory reading as part of the syllabus.
Selling class notes and/or other course materials to other
students or to a third party for resale is not permitted without the
instructor’s express written consent. Providing student email addresses to a
third party is not permitted. Violations to this and other course rules are
subject to the Code of Academic Integrity and may result in course sanctions.
Additionally, students who use D2L or UA email to sell or buy these copyrighted
materials are subject to Code of Conduct Violations for misuse of electronic
resources provided by The University of Arizona; an example of such a violation
is distributing course materials from the D2L site on a publicly assessable online
site. This conduct may also constitute copyright infringement.
Classroom[1] Behavior Policy
To foster a
positive learning environment, students and instructors have a shared
responsibility. We want a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment where all
of us feel comfortable with each other and where we can challenge ourselves to
succeed.
Students who engage in
disruptive activity will be asked to cease such behavior immediately. Those who
continue to disrupt the class will be reported to the Office of the Dean of
Students.
Threatening
Behavior Policy
The UA
Threatening Behavior by Students Policy prohibits threats of physical harm to
any member of the University community, including to oneself. See https://policy.arizona.edu/education-and-student-affairs/threatening-behavior-students.
UA
Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy
The University
is committed to creating and maintaining an environment free of discrimination
and harassment; see https://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/nondiscrimination-and-anti-harassment-policy.
Our virtual classroom
is a place where everyone is encouraged to express well-formed opinions and
their reasons for those opinions. We also want to create a tolerant and open
environment where such opinions can be expressed without resorting to bullying
or discrimination of others.
Face Covering Student Compliance
Guidelines
Although use of face masks is not
relevant to our iCourse, I remind students of the “We
Wear Because We Care” guidelines for those who are in formal learning spaces.
See https://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/welcome/face-coverings. You are expected to comply with the face covering directive and other
public health protocols (e.g., social distancing) in our campus spaces.
Accessibility and Accommodations
At
the University of Arizona, we strive to make learning experiences as accessible
as possible. If you anticipate or experience barriers based on
disability or pregnancy, please contact the Disability Resource Center (520-621-3268, https://drc.arizona.edu/) to establish reasonable
accommodations.
Additional
Resources for Students
UA Academic policies and procedures are available at https://catalog.arizona.edu/policies.
Student Assistance and Advocacy
information is available at https://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/support/student-assistance.
Important Dates:
https://www.registrar.arizona.edu/dates-and-deadlines.
Confidentiality
of Student Records
Reasonable Change Statement
Information contained in this syllabus, other than the
grading policy, is subject to minor changes with advance notice, as
deemed appropriate by the instructor.
END OF DOCUMENT
