METEO 300

Fundamentals of Atmospheric Science

METEO 300: Fundamentals of Atmospheric Science

This syllabus is divided into several sections. You can read it sequentially by scrolling down the length of the document or by clicking on any of the links below to “jump” to specific sections. It is essential that you read the entire document as well as material covered in the Course Orientation. Together these serve as our course "contract."

Instructor

William Brune [1]
Distinguished Professor of Meteorology
617 Walker Building
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University

  • Office: 617 Walker Building
  • Office Hours: Wednesday, 2-4 pm, or stop by. I'll see you then if I can; otherwise, we can make an appointment.
  • E-mail: Please use the course e-mail system (in Canvas).

Jena Jenkins
Teaching Assistant

  • Office: 418 Walker Building
  • Office hours: Thursday, 2-4 pm

Class Support Services

Penn State Online [2] offers online tutoring to World Campus students in math, writing, and some business classes. Tutoring and guided study groups for residential students are available through Penn State Learning [3].

Course Overview

Description:

This course prepares students for their 400-level meteorology courses by laying a solid foundation in the application of physical, chemical, and mathematical principles to a broad range of atmospheric phenomena. Students are introduced to fundamental concepts and applications of atmospheric thermodynamics, radiative transfer, atmospheric chemistry, cloud microphysics, atmospheric dynamics, and the atmospheric boundary layer. These topics are covered broadly but in enough depth to introduce students to the methods atmospheric scientists use to describe and predict atmospheric phenomena. The course is designed to be taken by sophomore meteorology students as well as by students in related disciplines who have an adequate mathematical and physical background.

Prerequisites and concurrent courses:

Prerequisites: CHEM 110, PHYS 211, MATH 141; Concurrent: MATH 230 or 231

Students who do not meet these prerequisites may be dis-enrolled during the first 10-day free add-drop period after being informed in writing by the instructor (see Senate policy 34-60, Prerequisites and Concurrent Courses [4]). If you have not completed the listed prerequisites, please promptly consult with the instructor if you have not done so already. Students who re-enroll after being dis-enrolled according to this policy are in violation of Item 15 on the Student Code of Conduct [5].

Course Objectives

When you have successfully completed METEO 300, you will be prepared to:

  • describe in written and oral language the basic physical processes responsible for weather and climate, from global scale to microscale
  • solve simple problems and derivations related to these physical processes
  • demonstrate the importance of water vapor in all these processes

Expectations

On average, most students spend eight to ten hours per week working on course reading and assignments. Your workload may be more or less depending on your study habits, your background, and your abilities.

I expect you to read all the material shortly after it is assigned, participate in discussion groups, do the assignments on time, ask questions through the course Discussion Questions Forum when you need help understanding the material, and think really hard about the course content. Don't try to cram the reading, problems, and quizzes for each lesson into one session of a few hours each week - that won't work very well. If you learn anything at all, you probably won't retain it. So spread the time you spend on each lesson over the course of the week that it is due. Remember, this course is the foundation for the upper level courses that come next.

You can work together and get help from me and other students for the practice quizzes, but you must do the quizzes and final exam yourself. You can use any resources to take the quizzes and exam, especially the lesson material, but you cannot get any help from anyone. I have put indicators of cheating in the quizzes and exam, and if I determine that you have gotten help from someone else, and my decision is upheld by the Penn State Academic Integrity process, you will receive an "F" for the course.

Required Course Materials

All materials needed for this course are presented online through our course website and in Canvas. In order to access the online materials, you need to have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password (used to access the online course resources).

Here is a list of textbooks that are not required for this course and you can learn the material without them. But you may want to get some or all of them so that you can read alternate explanations and descriptions of the atmospheric science that you will learn in this class. Some class material is derived from parts of these books.

Atmospheric Science, Second Edition: An Introductory Survey, by John M. Wallace and Peter V. Hobbs; Academic Press, 2006; ISBN-13: 978-0127329512 ISBN-10: 012732951X

An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, by James R. Holton and Gregory J. Hakim; Academic Press, 2013, ISBN: 0123848660, 9780123848666 (often used in Meteo 421, Atmospheric Dynamics)

Physics and Chemistry of Clouds, by Dennis Lamb and Johannes Verlinde, Cambridge University Press, 2011; ISBN: 9780521899109 (often used in Meteo 437, Cloud Physics and Chemistry)

Assignments

This course will rely on a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning, including:

  • Quizzes (in each lesson)
  • Lesson Activities
  • Discussion Forums
  • Final Project
  • Final Exam

Assessment of learning consists of five parts: quizzes consisting of problems, true/false answers, multiple-choice answers, pictures, and drawings and a few lesson activities such as short essays or descriptions of unusual atmospheric phenomena you have personally observed; discussion participation; an integrative final project involving explaining the physical processes occurring in atmospheric observations and solving quantitative problems associated with the observations; and a comprehensive final exam consisting of problems, true/false answers, multiple-choice answers, pictures, and drawings that either were on the quizzes or are closely related to previous quiz questions.

Each of the first eleven lessons has two to five activities, mostly quizzes; each activity directly follows the material that it covers. In most cases for quiz questions involving mathematical solutions, you will be given an opportunity to practice solving problems and answering questions before you take the quiz. Please do the practice and then take the quiz when you are prompted to do so in the Lesson.

The practice quizzes are all in folders marked "Practice Quizzes" within each Lesson folder. The Practice Quizzes are not graded and do not affect your grade in any way (except to make you more competent and confident to take the graded Quizzes :).

The individual quizzes are in each Lesson folder. You will be allowed to take each quiz only once. Do not click on the Quiz name or icon until you are ready to take the quiz because you will be graded on your answers the first time, even if you are not ready to take the quiz. Please resist the temptation to take a peek before you are ready to take the quiz because the grade that you get for peeking will be the grade that you get on the quiz.

Quizzes will be timed. If you carefully read and think about the Lessons and then work the practice exams, you should be able to complete each quiz in less than half the allotted time. For students with approved disability exceptions, the allotted time should be more than sufficient.

Grading
Breakdown of each assignment's value as a percentage of total course grade.

Assignment / Percent of Grade

  • Quizzes/Activities - 50%
  • Discussion Participation - 10%
  • Final Project - 20% 
  • Final Exam - 20% 

I will use the Canvas gradebook to keep track of your grades. You can see your quiz grades in the gradebook, but not necessarily all components of your grade. Overall course grades will be determined as follows. Percentages refer to the proportion of all possible points earned. If you want to know your total grade, please contact me.

Letter Grade and Corresponding Percentages: A: 94 - 100 %, A-: 90. - 93.9 %, B+: 86  - 89.9 %, B: 80 - 85.9 %, B-: 76 - 79.9%, C+: 72 - 75.9 %, C: 66 - 71.9 %, D: 50 - 5.9%, F: < 50 %, X: Unsatisfactory (student did not participate) 

Curve: There very likely will not be a curve for the grades in this course.

Extra Credit: Extra credit will be given for a few different activities, such as picture of the week and haiku of the week.

Late Policy: I do not accept any "late work" except in extraordinary circumstances if you have contacted me as soon as you can in advance. The earlier you contact me to request a late submission, the better. Requests will be considered on a case by case basis and only for good reasons.

Printable Schedule [6]

Below you will find a summary of the primary learning activities for this course and the associated time frames. This course is twelve weeks in length, with an orientation week preceding the official start of the course. Each lesson is one week long. Lessons open on Mondays and close on Sundays. See our Calendar in Canvas for specific lesson time frames and assignment due dates.

Course Schedule
Lesson / Topic / Assignments

  1. Course Orientation
    Personalize your Canvas space
    Introduce yourself and meet the rest of the class
  2. Lesson 1 Getting Started
    Quiz 1-1: Significant figures, dimensions, and units
    Quiz 1-2: Solving integrals and differentials
    Activity 1-3: Setting up an Excel workbook
  3. Lesson 2 Thermodynamics
    Quiz 2-1: What will that air parcel do?
    Quiz 2-2: Harnessing the power of the hydrostatic equation
    Quiz 2-3: Energy budgets and balance
    Quiz 2-4: Stability and buoyancy
  4. Lesson 3 Moist Processes
    Quiz 3-1: Atmospheric water vapor
    Quiz 3-2: Humidity and relative humidity
    Quiz 3-3: Energy problems
    Quiz 3-4: Using the skew-T
  5. Lesson 4 Atmospheric Composition
    Quiz 4-1: Atmospheric lifetimes
    Quiz 4-2: Atmospheric composition
  6. Lesson 5 Cloud Physics Cloud Identification Discussion Forum
    Quiz 5-1: Cloud drops and liquid mass
    Quiz 5-2: Cloud formation essentials
    Quiz 5-3: How cloud drops form
    Quiz 5-4: How precipitation forms
  7. Lesson 6 Atmospheric Radiation
    Quiz 6-1: Sun Fun Facts
    Quiz 6-2: Thank you Planck
    Quiz 6-3: Absorbed in thought
    Quiz 6-4: Scatter brained
  8. Lesson 7 Applications of Atmospheric Radiation Principles
    Quiz 7-1: Solving the Earth system's temperature problems
    Quiz 7-2: Interpreting satellite remote sensing
    Discussion Activity: Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change
  9. Lesson 8 Math and Conceptual Preparation for Understanding
    Atmospheric Motion Quiz 8-1: Partial derivatives and vector operations
    Quiz 8-2: Finding coordinates and wind directions
    Quiz 8-3: Grading your gradients
    Discussion Activity: Eulerian and Lagrangian Points-of-View
    Quiz 8-4: The advection connection
  10. Lesson 9 Kinematics
    Quiz 9-1: The way the wind blows
    Discussion Activity: Surface Pressure and Upper Air Winds
    Quiz 9-2: Connecting the dots with vertical motion
  11. Lesson 10 Dynamics – Forces
    Quiz 10-1: All about forces
    Quiz 10-2: Coordinates and scales
    Quiz 10-3: Balance of forces and motion
    Quiz 10-4: Feeling the thermal wind
  12. Lesson 12 Wrappng it up
    FInal Exam

Assistance with Textbooks

Penn State honors and values the socioeconomic diversity of our students. If you require assistance with the costs of textbooks for this course, contact the Office of Student Care and Advocacy (120 Boucke Building, 863-4926, http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/studentcare). For additional need related to socioeconomic status please visit http://sites.psu.edu/projectcahir. 

Recommended textbooks (required if applicable)

Reserve materials and location (required if applicable)

Internet materials and links (required if applicable)

Course Goals and Objectives (e.g., list the course objectives and outcomes developed for the Penn State-required program assessment or for ABET accreditation)

Course Content (e.g., list of topics covered, pages for or sources of required and suggested reading)

Required Course Policies and Statements

Assessment Policy:

  • Required written/oral assignments
    • Summary of required problem sets, papers, oral presentations, etc.
    • The weight given to each assignment
    • Due date for each assignment

·         Examination Policy

  • Summary of quizzes and exams
  • The weight given to each quiz or exam
  • Due dates for each quiz or exam
  • Make-up exam policy

·         Grading Policy

  • Grading Scale
  • Curving Policy if applicable
  • Late Penalties if applicable 

Academic Integrity statement option 1

Students in this class are expected to write up their problem sets individually, to work the exams on their own, and to write their papers in their own words using proper citations.  Class members may work on the problem sets in groups, but then each student must write up the answers separately.  Students are not to copy problem or exam answers from another person's paper and present them as their own; students may not plagiarize text from papers or websites written by others.  Students who present other people's work as their own will receive at least a 0 on the assignment and may well receive an F or XF in the course.  Please see: Earth and Mineral Sciences Academic Integrity Policy: http://www.ems.psu.edu/undergraduate/academic-advising/forms-and-procedures/academic-integrity, which this course adopts. To learn more, see Penn State's "Plagiarism Tutorial for Students." 

Course Copyright

All course materials students receive or to which students have online access are protected by copyright laws. Students may use course materials and make copies for their own use as needed, but unauthorized distribution and/or uploading of materials without the instructor’s express permission is strictly prohibited. University Policy AD 40, the University Policy Recording of Classroom Activities and Note Taking Services addresses this issue. Students who engage in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials may be held in violation of the University’s Code of Conduct, and/or liable under Federal and State laws. 

For example, uploading completed labs, homework, or other assignments to any study site constitutes a violation of this policy. 

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contact information for every Penn State campus: (http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources/disability-coordinator). For further information, please visit the Student Disability Resources website (http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources). 

In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation: http://equity.psu.edu/student-disability-resources/applying-for-services. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations. 

Attendance

This course abides by the Penn State Attendance Policy E-11: http://undergrad.psu.edu/aappm/E-11-class-attendance.html, and Conflict Exam Policy 44-35: http://senate.psu.edu/policies-and-rules-for-undergraduate-students/44-00-examinations/#44-35. Please also see Illness Verification Policy:  https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/health-wellness/medical-services/policies-patient-resources, and Religious Observance Policy: http://undergrad.psu.edu/aappm/R-4-religious-observances.html. Students who miss class for legitimate reasons will be given a reasonable opportunity to make up missed work, including exams and quizzes.  Students are not required to secure the signature of medical personnel in the case of illness or injury and should use their best judgment on whether they are well enough to attend class or not; the University Health Center will not provide medical verification for minor illnesses or injuries. Other legitimate reasons for missing class include religious observance, military service, family emergencies, regularly scheduled university-approved curricular or extracurricular activities, and post-graduate, career-related interviews when there is no opportunity for students to re-schedule these opportunities (such as employment and graduate school final interviews).  Students who encounter serious family, health, or personal situations that result in extended absences should contact the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs (AVPSA) and Student Care and Advocacy for help: http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/studentcare.  Whenever possible, students participating in University-approved activities should submit to the instructor a Class Absence Form: http://undergrad.psu.edu/aappm/classabs.pdf, at least one week prior to the activity. 

Weather Delays

Campus emergencies, including weather delays, are announced on Penn State News and communicated to cell phones, email, the Penn State Facebook page, and Twitter via PSUAlert (Sign up at: https://psualert.psu.edu/psualert/). 

Reporting Bias-Motivated Incidents

Penn State takes great pride to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff.  Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated (https://policy.psu.edu/policies/ad29) and can be reported through Educational Equity via the Report Bias webpage. 

Counseling and Psychological Services

Many students at Penn State face personal challenges or have psychological needs that may interfere with their academic progress, social development, or emotional wellbeing.  The university offers a variety of confidential services to help you through difficult times, including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, consultations, online chats, and mental health screenings.  These services are provided by staff who welcome all students and embrace a philosophy respectful of clients’ cultural and religious backgrounds, and sensitive to differences in race, ability, gender identity and sexual orientation.  Services include the following: 

Counseling and Psychological Services at University Park  (CAPS): 814-863-0395
Counseling and Psychological Services at Commonwealth Campuses
Penn State Crisis Line (24 hours/7 days/week): 877-229-6400
Crisis Text Line (24 hours/7 days/week): Text LIONS to 741741

Recommended Policies 

Syllabus and Paper Acknowledgement Forms
It is the recommendation of the college that all students sign and return the Syllabus Acknowledgement Form (http://facdev.e-education.psu.edu/sites/default/files/files/Syllabus acknowledgement form.doc) during the first week of the semester. In addition, The College also recommends the Paper Submission Form (http://facdev.e-education.psu.edu/sites/default/files/files/Paper submission form.docx) as a way to have students take responsibility for papers/labs/homework done as part of group work.

Penn State E-mail Accounts

All official communications from Penn State are sent to students' Penn State e-mail accounts. Be sure to check your Penn State account regularly, or forward your Penn State e-mail (see http://kb.its.psu.edu/node/2303) to your preferred e-mail account, so you don't miss any important information. 

Deferred Grades

If you are prevented from completing this course within the prescribed amount of time for reasons that are beyond your control, it is possible to have the grade deferred with the concurrence of the instructor, following Penn State Deferred Grade Policy 48-40 (http://senate.psu.edu/policies-and-rules-for-undergraduate-students/47-00-48-00-and-49-00-grades/#48-40). To seek a deferred grade, you must submit a written request (by e-mail or U.S. post) to the instructor describing the reason(s) for the request. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested before the beginning of the final examination period. It is up to the instructor to determine whether or not you will be permitted to receive a deferred grade. If permission is granted, you will work with the instructor to establish a communication plan and a clear schedule for completion.  If, for any reason, the course work for the deferred grade is not complete by the assigned time, a grade of "F" will be automatically entered on your transcript. 

Military Personnel

Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or spouses with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, disabilities, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made. 

Technical Requirements

For this course, we recommend the minimum technical requirements outlined on the Dutton Institute Technical Requirements page (https://www.e-education.psu.edu/techspecs), including the requirements listed for same-time, synchronous communications. If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the ITS Help Desk (http://itservicedesk.psu.edu).

Netiquette

The term "Netiquette" refers to the etiquette guidelines for electronic communications, such as e-mail and bulletin board postings. Netiquette covers not only rules to maintain civility in discussions, but also special guidelines unique to the electronic nature of forum messages. Please review some general Netiquette guidelines that should be followed when communicating in this course. 

Disruptive Behavior: Behavior that disrupts normal classroom activities will not be tolerated, in accordance with Items 9 and 14 in the Student Code of Conduct. 

Safety: In the case of an emergency, we will follow the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Critical Incident Plan (https://www.ems.psu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/faculty_staff/cip_fall_2018-spring_2019.pdf).  In the event of an evacuation, we will follow posted evacuation routes and gather at the Designated Meeting Site.  Evacuation routes for all EMS buildings are available at http://www.ems.psu.edu/resources-faculty-and-staff/safety-and-emergency-information.  For more information regarding actions to take during particular emergencies, please see the Penn State Emergency Action Guides. 

Mandated Reporting Statement: Penn State’s policies require me, as a faculty member, to share information about incidents of sex-based discrimination and harassment (discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, and retaliation) with Penn State’s Title IX coordinator or deputy coordinators, regardless of whether the incidents are stated to me in person or shared by students as part of their coursework.  For more information regarding the University's policies and procedures for responding to reports of sexual or gender-based harassment or misconduct, please visit Penn State's Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention & Response website. 

Additionally, I am required to make a report on any reasonable suspicion of child abuse in accordance with the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law. 

Diversity, Inclusion, and Respect: Penn State is “committed to creating an educational environment which is free from intolerance directed toward individuals or groups and strives to create and maintain an environment that fosters respect for others” as stated in Policy AD29 Statement on Intolerance. All members of this class are expected to contribute to a respectful, welcoming and inclusive environment and to interact with civility.

For additional information, see:

Accessible Syllabus:

Notes: Any syllabus posted online (e.g. a Word/PDF file or an online syllabus) should make destinations clickable links such as is done throughout this page. Also, in order to comply with Penn State Policy AD69(Accessibility of Penn State Web Pages, http://policy.psu.edu/policies/ad69), PDF documents cannot be the sole source of presenting online information. Such documents include syllabi, homework assignments, and scanned notes.  

Disclaimer Statement

Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus can be changed at any time, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Changes to the syllabus shall also be given to the student in written (paper or electronic) form.