NATS 101 Intro to Weather and Climate Section 06: 12:30PM TTh ILC 150 Dr. E. Robert Kursinski TA: Nathan Johnson.

NATS 101 Intro to Weather and Climate Section 06: 12:30PM TTh ILC 150

Dr. E. Robert Kursinski

TA: Nathan Johnson

Lecture 1-Nats 101 2

Who Am I?• Professor Department of Atmospheric

Science• Joint Faculty Appointment

Dept. of Planetary Sciences• Research Specialty

Remote Sensing, Water cycle• Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences

M.S. in Electrical EngineeringB.S. in Physics, Minor in Music Theory


Vital Statistics

• Office Hours: Dr. Kursinski W 2:00-2:50 pmPAS Bldg, Rm 580 or by Appointment

Mr. Johnson TBD PAS Bldg, Rm 526 or by Appointment

• Required Text: Essentials of Meteorology-An Invitation to the Atmosphere, 4rd Ed. by C. Donald Ahrens Picture Link Publisher Download, Save $

• Recommended Text: Study Guide for Essentials of Meteorology, 4rd Ed. by C. Donald Ahrens Link

• Required Material: Thirty (30) 4''x 6'' index cards.


Course DescriptionIntroduction to the science of weather processes

and climate change: atmospheric structure and composition, energy balance, clouds and precipitation, wind systems, fronts, cyclones, weather forecasting, thunderstorms, lightning, hurricanes, ozone hole, air pollution, global warming and optical phenomena.


Course DescriptionEmphasis will be given to phenomena that have

strong impacts on human activities.

The fundamental importance of physics, chemistry and mathematics will be noted.

Atmospheric Sciences Applied Physics


Attendance PolicyAttendance is mandatory, and I reserve the

right to tally it throughout the term.

After three unexcused absences prior to week 9, I will submit to the Office of Curriculum and Registration an administrative drop from the course and assign a grade in accordance with UA policy.http://catalog.arizona.edu/2005-06/policies/classatten.htm

http://catalog.arizona.edu/2005-06/policies/classatten.htm


Student BehaviorUA Code of Academic Integrity, Code of

Conduct and Student Code of Conduct are enforced in this course.

Every student is responsible for learning these codes and abiding by them. http://w3.arizona.edu/~studpubs/policies/ppmainpg.html

Students can submit complaints online at http://web.arizona.edu/~dos/uapolicies/

http://w3.arizona.edu/~studpubs/policies/ppmainpg.html

http://web.arizona.edu/~dos/uapolicies/





Grading PolicyFinal grade will be based on scores from closed

book/closed notes quizzes and final exam.

Quizzes will consist of multiple choice questions and short answer questions.

Quizzes will cover new material presented through the end of the previous lecture day.

Extra credit questions given on some quizzes.

Extra credit impromptu “pop” quizzes given.


Grading Policy• There will be seven quizzes during the term.

Dates for the quizzes are Jan 27, Feb 10, Feb 24, Mar 10, Mar 31, Apr 14, Apr 28. No Exceptions

• Students who arrive late on quiz days will be not allowed to take the quiz after the first student turns in her/his quiz. No Exceptions

• The lowest score among the seven quizzes will be excluded from the course grade.

Therefore, no make-up quizzes.


Grading Policy• If your final exam score exceeds the average of

your 6 best quizzes, the quizzes will comprise 60% of your term grade and the final 40%.Otherwise, the quizzes will comprise 75% of your term grade and the final 25%.

• CARROT:CARROT: If your average is 90% or higher on all 7 quizzes, you will earn an exemption from the final and will receive an "A'' for the course.

• No Extra Credit Projects. No Exceptions.

So Plan Accordingly!So Plan Accordingly!


Final Examination

Section 06 (11:00 am MWF): ILC 150

Thursday Dec. 14, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

No Exceptions per UA Policy

• The final will consist of 60 multiple choice questions and short answer questions.

• At least 30, but no more than 40 questions, will be taken verbatim from the old quizzes.


Course Grading• Course Grading Scale

A 90% or higher

B 80.0-89.99%

C 65.0-79.99%

D 55.0-64.99% E < 55.0%


ExpectationsEvery student is expected to:

• Complete all of the assigned reading before the lecture, unless you hear otherwise.

• Devote a minimum of 2 hours outside of class studying, reading, etc. for every hour of classroom lecture. Unit Credit Definition

• Attend class daily, arrive on time, leave when class is dismisseddismissed (courtesy to peer students).

http://catalog.arizona.edu/2004-05/policies/enrpol.htm#unit


The Golden RuleInstructor and students all show:

Mutual Respect!


Literacy RequirementsAlthough the writing requirement for this course is negligible, there is a science literacy requirement. This means that we:

• Use scientific notation for writing numbers(especially rather large or small ones).

• Specify units of physical quantities (e.g. meters for elevation, etc.).

• Attempt to quantify physical relationships.


Announcements

Course Homepage…is functional!

http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/

Click Students and Courses

Click Course Links

Click NATS101 – Kursinski

User Name: nats101 (if established)

Password: spring2006 (if established)


Class Format: Lecture Days

• 2-4 minutes - Interesting weather (if any)

• 2-3 minutes - Review/Summary/Clean-upFrom Prior Lecture, Optional

• 60-65 minutes - New Material Lecture, Demos, Discussion

• 2-3 minutes - Wrap-up and Summary


Class Format: Quiz Days

• 10 minutes - Last Minute Questions Passing Out Quiz Materials

• 30 minutes - Quiz


LISTSERV Established

• [email protected]• Use for any questions, comments, discussions

that are general interest to the class.• [email protected] is reserved for

personal requests not of general interest.• To subscribe go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/

and click the link “Subscribe to a list”http://listserv.arizona.edu/Subscribe.htmlFollow straightforward instructions!

mailto:[email protected]



http://listserv.arizona.edu/


LISTSERV

If you DID NOT receive an email two days ago, you need to subscribe to the list. You can subscribe by sending an email to [email protected] with the following as the only line in the body of the message. subscribe xxxxxx Firstname Lastname Substitute the list you want to join for xxxxxx, i.e. [email protected] . Substitute your first name for Firstname Substitute your last name for Lastname




Importance of Atmosphere

• Necessary for a wide spectrum of features

Oceans

Clouds, Rain, Fresh Water

Erosion by Water and Wind

Life, Life on Land

Blue Skies, Red Sunsets, Twilight

Sound



• Point 1- Offers Protection

Consider surface temperatures

Without atmosphere?

0oF average, large diurnal swings

Similar to the Moon’s Climate

With atmosphere…

60oF average, moderate diurnal swings



• Point 2 - Offers Protection

Consider Surface Radiation

Shields against harmful UV radiation



• Consider Survival Time

Without Food

few weeks

Without Water

few days

Without Air

few minutes


To Understand the Atmosphere

Examine its interfaces

with land/ocean

with space Sun

Space

Earth

Atmosphere

13,000 kmIs a very thin skin99% below 50 km (31 miles)50% below 5.5 km (3.4 miles)Atmosphere Picture

Energy Flow

Solar Input =

Output to Space

http://www.solarviews.com/browse/earth/chile.jpg

Lecture 1-Nats 101 26NASA photo gallery

Note “thinness” of atmosphere in light blue


Course Building Blocks

• Intro 1st week or so

• Energy ~2 weeks

• Moisture ~2 weeks

• Dynamics ~3 weeks

Above are interdependent

• Specific Topics ~6 weeks


Reading Assignment

• Thomas Friedman NYT Article

Homepage Link “Reading Assignments”

• Ahrens

Pages 1-13

Problems 1.2, 1.3, 1.10, 1.14


Atmospheric CompositionPermanent Gases

• N2 and O2 are most abundant gases

• Percentages hold constant up to 80 km

• Ar, Ne, He, and Xe are chemically inert

• N2 and O2 are chemically active, removed & returned

Ahrens, Table 1.1, 3rd Ed.


Atmospheric CompositionImportant Trace Gases

Ahrens, Table 1.1, 3rd ed.


CO2 Trend

Ahrens, Fig. 1.3, 3th Ed.

Keeler Curve from Hawaii Obs Some gases can vary by season and can vary over many years

CO2

increases in spring decreases in fall


H2O Vapor VariabilityPrecipitable Water (mm)

Some gases can vary spatially and daily


Two Important Concepts

Let’s introduce two new concepts...

Density

Pressure


What is Density?

Density () = Mass (M) per unit Volume (V)

= M/V

= Greek letter “rho”

Typical Units: kg/m3, gm/cm3

Mass =

# molecules molecular weight (gm/mole)

Avogadro number (6.023x1023 molecules/mole)


Density Change

Density () changes by altering eithera) # molecules in a constant volumeb) volume occupied by the same # molecules

ab


What is Pressure?

Pressure (p) = Force (F) per unit Area (A)

Typical Units: pounds per square inch (psi), millibars (mb), inches

Hg

Average pressure at sea-level:

14.7 psi

1013 mb

29.92 in. Hg


Pressure

Can be thought of as weight of air above you.

(Note that pressure acts in all directions!)

So as elevation increases, pressure decreases.

Higher elevation Less air aboveLower pressure

Lower elevation More air above Higher pressureBottom

Top


Density and Pressure VariationKey Points

1. Both decrease rapidly with height

2. Air is compressible, i.e. its density varies

Ahrens, Fig. 1.5


Why rapid change with height?

Consider a spring with 10 kg bricks on top of it

The spring compresses a little more with each addition of a brick. The spring is compressiblecompressible.

10 kg 10 kg

10 kg

10 kg

10 kg

10 kg



Now consider several 10 kg springs piled on top of each other.

Topmost spring compresses the least!

Bottom spring compresses the most!

The total mass above you decreases rapidly w/height.

massmass

massmass

massmass

massmass



Finally, consider piled-up parcels of air, each with the same # molecules.

The bottom parcel is squished the most.

Its density is the highest.

Density decreases most rapidly at bottom.



Each parcel has the same mass (i.e. same number of molecules), so the height of a parcel represents the same change in pressure p.

Thus, pressure must decrease most rapidly near the bottom. pp

pp

pp

pp

NATS 101 Intro to Weather and Climate Section 06: 12:30PM TTh ILC 150 Dr. E. Robert Kursinski TA: Nathan Johnson.

Documents

physics slide

dosuapolicies slide

makeup quizzes

previous lecture day

course grade

music theory slide

ua policy

grading policy final