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Iowa State University meteorology majors develop capability in six knowledge and skill areas that are considered important for professional and graduate work:
Physics and Dynamics of the Global
Atmosphere
ABSTRACT
Large-scale planetary waves are known as Rossby waves. The Rossby wave theory gives us an idealized model for the movement of these waves, which can ultimately determine large-scale weather patterns. Using 500 mb observations, this theory was tested and analyzed. Results indicate that Rossby theory does a decent job of predicting wave movement using the wave number and upper level wind speeds, but it would be beneficial to incorporate wave amplitude, since it also appears to have an affect on the wave propagation.
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Application of New Weather Technologies
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Weather Observing and Analysis
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Computer Programming and Modeling
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In this plot, the calculated solar constant, Q, is plotted against surface temperature, Ts, in two cases. The
yellow line represents a
function in which the effects of water vapor on emissivity, epsilon, are ignored, while the turquoise dashed line represents a function that
includes
the effects of water vapor on emissivity. Both functions involve solving the global energy balance equation
espilon*sigma*(Ts^4) = (Q/4)*(1-alpha)
for Q. In both functions, the following assumptions are made:
lapse rate = 6.5 K/km
surface RH = 80%
dRH/dz = -4 %/km
surface pr = 1000 mb
The independent function also assumes a value of epsilon=0.6.
What these curves show us is that Q increases with Ts, but specifically how can vary as well with other factors. The dashed curve shows that
emissivity decreases with increasing Ts. This is why the curve starts at Q=500 and eventually intercepts the other curve at Ts=285 K.
The yellow line shows a gradual, smooth change as Ts decreases with a constant emissivity. Finally, the vapor dependent function approaches the
other curve at that particular value because emissivity decreases and approaches 0.6, which is the constant value in the independent function.
ABSTRACT
Precipitation is a key factor for large storms, especially tropical cyclones. These tropical systems tend to drop large amounts of rain on an area, if the area is on the precipitation part of the storm (i.e., the northern side of a hurricane where rain bands are very prominent). With the help of hindcast computer models, there should be a much more noticeable amount of precipitation for a season with a lot of storms than a year with none. Examination of the months August and September, which is about midway through the hurricane season in the Atlantic, from 1979 to 2000 should show if our hypothesis was correct or not.
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Effective Oral and Written Communication
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