Meteorology 454 - Dynamic Meteorology II

Fall 2007

Instructor: William J. Gutowski, Jr.

gutowski@iastate.edu                                    294-5632 [tel]
3021 Agronomy                                           294-2619 [fax]
http://www.ge-at.iastate.edu/gutowski.shtml

Office hours: MW 11 am - noon

Objectives

To understand:
  1. The coupling of the atmosphere and surface through the planetary boundary layer.
  2. Wave motions occurring in the atmosphere.
  3. Atmospheric instability and the generation of new mid-latitude disturbances.
  4. Convection and other small- (meso-) scale phenomena. [Tentative]

Course Design

The lecture list provided below is tentative but should be adequate enough to give you a reference for the order topics will be covered and a reasonable idea of the pace the materials will be covered. Students are expected to come to class prepared to participate actively in the learning process. As in any professional organization, absences should be justified and promptness standard procedure. Your homework should be done with pride and submitted on time. Late homework will be given discounted credit.

Email

I communicate frequently with the class by email. The default email address I have for all students is their @iastate.edu address. Students who prefer to use some other email address should follow one of these two alternatives (the first is preferred):

  1. Follow the instructions to automatically forward your iastate.edu email to another system.
  2. Send to me by email your preferred address.

Choice 1 is preferable because it ensures that all email sent your @iastate.edu address will get forwarded. This could be email for other classes, from the Registrar's office, etc.

Text

Holton, Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, Fourth Edition (Third Edition is acceptable)

Exams

Problem sets

Procedure for Problem Sets

  1. Restate question, preferably in your own words.
  2. Without using equations, explain the physics of the problem. Figures are encouraged.
  3. Work the problem and include comments.
  4. Identify the solution (e.g. underline, put in a box, use an arrow pointer...)
  5. On each problem set, team members who contributed should sign their names at the top; identify the person (secretary) writing the solutions.
  6. The secretary position must be rotated.
Every person who contributes to the solution will get the same score. Discussion with others outside your group is encouraged. Only one solution is to be submitted from the group. Persons not contributing will receive no credit. Problem sets are due one week after they are assigned at the end of class (unless stated otherwise).

On-line Problem Sets

Problem sets require you to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can get from here, if you do not have it.

Pre-recorded Lectures

To reduce the need for make-up classes when I go out of town, I will use pre-recorded lectures for some topics. Note that material covered on these lectures may appear on problem sets or tests. I will of course answer questions you may have about the material presented in these lectures.

To view and listen to them, you simply need to click on the link for the lecture below, so long as you have an appropriate browser with the Macromedia Flash Player extension included. Typically, this extension is already in your browser, but if it is not, you will be asked if you want it downloaded and implemented on your machine. Basically, Windows and Macintosh OS X machines are ok. Linux machines should work (use Mozilla Firefox), but success is not guaranteed. Further details on compatibility appear at a web site on specific requirements and capabilities for Adobe Acrobat Connect, which is the software underlying these presentations.

For best visual clarity, you should make your browser window as large as possible. If you are listening to the lectures with others around you, out of courtesy, please use headphones.

Grading

Problem sets 20%
Test - Ch. 5 20%
Test - Ch. 7 20%
Test - Ch. 8 20%
Waves Project 20%

The course grade is determined in part by how people do with respect to each other and how the class as a whole has done. This gives a starting point for assessing what each student has demonstrated with regard to her/his grasp of the material. The total score from tests, labs, etc. is NOT judged on a scale of below 60 = F, 60 - 69 = D, etc. (Of course a total score of 80, for example, will be no lower than a B-.)

Course webpage

If you are reading a printed copy of this page, you will be able to find this syllabus and other course messages/notes/updates on the course webpage: www.meteor.iastate.edu/classes/mt454/

Special notes

  1. We will be doing a project, tracking of large-scale wave motions. This will entail viewing 500 hPa analyses on the ISU Meteorological Weather Products page. Students will work in teams that are identical to the problem set groups. Each team will have 3 tasks:
    1. Record observations of 500 hPa waves (see "STEPS" section of tracking of large-scale wave motions.
    2. Conduct one or more of the weekly reviews of recent and forecast 500 hPa behavior in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres. I will do the first 2, to show you what I expect. You should also consult some guidelines for issues to consider. Here is the schedule.
    3. Write a final report, guided by suggested analysis procedures.

    The wave project reports (one from each "observing team") will be due by 5 pm, Friday, 9 November 2007. You turn your report in by posting a pdf of it on the portfolio page of each team member. Each team should also write a 1 paragraph abstract that is posted as text on each team member's portfolio page. You should send me an email notifying me of when the two items have been posted.

    Please see me if you do not know how to create a pdf of your report. Softward exists on one of the meteorology computers for doing this from MS Word in Windows. MS Word for Macintosh computers also has the appropriate software tools.

    Some relevant sites for Southern Hemisphere weather:

  2. Plagiarism is unacceptable! Consequently, you must document the source of any piece of information that is not yours. You may copy a phrase from a source, placing it in quotes and citing the source.. However, it is strongly recommended that you use your own words to explain an idea or result produced by someone else, though you still must cite the source. For this class, you should follow the style of American Meteorology Society journals (e.g., Journal of Climate) for the format of citations in the body of the text and for the bibliography at the end. Please see me if you have any questions.

  3. I will be away on these dates: Other dates are possible. I will keep you posted! Make-up classes: I will arrange for make-up classes. Tentative times are when Mteor 499 does not meet on Mondays or after the weather and forecasting sessions. However, I also want to try other means of covering missed classes, such as guest lecturers and pre-recorded versions of my lectures.

Lecture Topics by Week

 [tentative; following Holton (Chapters 5, 7, 8 and 9) ]

    August

  1. General characteristics of the planetary boundary layer; atmospheric turbulence
  2. Turbulent kinetic energy; momentum equations

    September

  3. Ekman layers; coupling with surface
  4. Concluding PBL topics
  5. Waves in the atmosphere; perturbation theory and wave properties
  6. Shallow water and internal gravity waves

    October

  7. Geostrophic adjustment
  8. Rossby waves
  9. Development of mid-latitude systems; hydrodynamic instability
  10. Baroclinic instability: linear instability

    November

  11. Baroclinic instability: energetics
  12. Mesoscale behavior: fronts
  13. Fronts (cont'd)
  14. -- Thanksgiving break -- [no class]
  15. Atmospheric convection

    December

  16. Convective storms
  17. -- FINAL EXAM -- [During exam week - 11 Dec. (Monday) 2:15-4:15 p.m.]

You can download saved screens from the classrom computer.

Class images are available for viewing by students registered in the course.

You can download some sample problems with answers for chapters 7 and 8.

Final grades for the course and the last test are posted here. You can also see the grade distribution for the last test.

Students Needing Disability Accommodation

Iowa State University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Please address any special needs or special accommodations with me at the beginning of the semester or as soon as you become aware of your needs. Those seeking accommodations based on disabilities should obtain a Student Academic Accommodations Request (SAAR) form from the Disabilities Resources (DR) office (515-294-6624), located on the main floor of the Student Services Building, Room 1076.

Go to Department of Geological & Atmospheric Sciences (ISU) Course Listings

Go to Geological & Atmospheric Sciences Department Homepage