Meteorology Major

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METEOROLOGY (Meteor)
Offered by the Department of Economics and Geosciences and the Department of Physics.

Meteor 320. Introduction to Meteorology and Aviation Weather. A survey course in the fundamentals of meteorology. Emphasis placed on flight weather and its impact on aviation. Topics include atmospheric thermodynamics, cloud physics, air masses and weather systems, weather forecasting, severe weather, hazards to aviation, introduction to weather satellites and radar and an introduction to the near-earth space environment.

Meteor 325. Weather Data, Analysis and Quantitative Methods. An introduction to the data sources, objective and subjective data analysis techniques and quantitative methods used in meteorology. Topics include conventional surface and upper air data, fundamentals of radar and satellite observations, weather map analysis and quantitative methods covering partial derivatives, vector analysis, kinematic properties of fluid flow, Lagrangian and Eulerian frames of reference and numerical integration and differentiation. Practical application of the above quantitative techniques to weather charts and vertical atmospheric soundings are emphasized.

Meteor 330. Atmospheric Physics. Classical radiative transfer, thermodynamics and microphysics applied to the atmosphere. Topics include atmospheric colors, atmospheric absorption and attenuation, the gas laws, the first and second laws of thermodynamics, water-air systems, isobaric, adiabatic and isentropic processes, thermodynamic diagrams, atmospheric statics and vertical stability, atmospheric aerosols, nucleation of water vapor and ice, cloud droplet and ice crystal growth and precipitation generation.

Meteor 352. Climatology. An introduction to climatology, including fundamental, long-term processes involving energy, moisture and momentum transfer in the earth’s climate system. Topics include understanding current world climate patterns and climate change and applying climatology to enhance human activities.

Meteor 430. Atmospheric Dynamics I. An advanced course in atmospheric dynamics. Topics include continuity, thermodynamic energy, the equations of motion, hydrostatic balance, generalized vertical coordinate systems, balanced and unbalanced flows, circulation, vorticity and potential vorticity and quasi-geostrophic theory.

Meteor 431. Atmospheric Dynamics II. Advanced applications of atmospheric dynamics. Topics include quasi-geostropfic, baroclinic instability, cyclogenesis, fronts and frontogenesis, atmospheric wave theory and behavior, boundry layer phyics and numerical weather prediction.

Meteor 440. Synoptic-Dynamic Meteorology Laboratory. A laboratory course emphasizing the use of meteorological observations, analyses and forecasts to describe the structure and dynamics of large-scale atmospheric systems. Involves extensive use of conventional surface and upper-air observations, satellite and Doppler radar data and numerical forecast products in the meteorology laboratory.

Meteor 451. Synoptic Meteorology. Study of the development and evolution of large-scale weather systems, including surface and upper level pressure, temperature and wind patterns, air masses, fronts, extra tropical cyclones and jet streams.

Meteor 452. Mesoscale Meteorology. Study of the structure, development and evolution of mesoscale weather systems. Topics include fronts and jet streams, instabilities, gravity waves, convective storms, squall lines, tornadoes and mesoscale convective complexes. Introduction to analysis techniques and nowcasting. Extensive use of real-time satellite and Doppler radar data and numerical forecast products in meteorological laboratory.

Meteor 465. Marine and Tropical Meteorology. Introduction to the marine environment including the structure of the ocean environment, visibility at sea and sea-state and swell forecasting and to the tropical environment including understanding the interactions between the tropics and mid-latitudes, tropical cyclone structure and tropical cyclone forecasting. Particular emphasis will be placed on how these environments affect joint Naval and Air Force operations.

Meteor 490. Meteorological Interpretation, Analysis, and Integration. Capstone course in meteorology. Using real-world scenarios, course assesses the cadet’s ability to integrate and synthesize a wide range of meteorological information to include observational data, analyses, and operational forecasts. Particular attention is given to weather support for military operations.

Meteor 499. Independent Study. Independent research under the direction of a faculty member.