Instructor Dr. George S. Young
620 Walker
[email protected]
Office hours: TR 10:00-11:00 in 620 Walker – knock 

Teaching Assistant: None 

Available Support Services: None  

Class Meeting Time and Location: TR 11:15-12:30 in 126 Walker Walker Building

Course Designation: This course is an elective for METEO graduate students

Course Description

A survey of conceptual models and underlying physics for weather phenomena on scales from the global general circulation down to turbulence. 

Prerequisites

METEO 520, METEO521, METEO531 (Dynamics, Moist Thermo, Cloud Physics, Basic Radiation).  [Atmospheric Phenomena is intended a second year course, for students who’ve completed the grad core or as a first year course for students who have had the equivalent of these prerequisite courses as undergraduates] 

Students who do not meet these prerequisites after being informed in writing by the instructor may be dis-enrolled during the first 10-day free add-drop period: http:/www.psu.edu/dept/oue/aappm/C-5.html. If you have not completed the listed prerequisites, then 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: http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/conduct/codeofconduct/.

Textbook: None

Supplementary Reading: None

Internet Materials

• All online course materials are stored on Angel.  You may access them only if you have a Penn State account and are enrolled in this course.  Otherwise they are invisible from the web in keeping with the copyright protection requirements of the TEACH Act.
• The online notes include copyrighted figures extracted from American Meteorological Society Journals, copyrighted airborne images by Casey Webster (used with his permission), ground-based images by George Young (used with his permission), full color cloud images from NASA’s MODIS satellites and gray-scale cloud images from NOAA’s GOES satellites.
• No copyrighted material may be copied from the course’s Angel web site. 

Course Objectives

The objectives of the course shall be to enable students to:

1.  Demonstrate skill in identification of atmospheric phenomena using in situ and remote sensing observations.

2.  Demonstrate familiarity with the dynamic and physical principles underlying the structure, development, and evolution of atmospheric phenomena 

Course Outcomes

1. Students can demonstrate knowledge of how the vertical and horizontal gradients of atmospheric thermodynamic and kinematic fields control the structure and behavior of phenomena on scales ranging from turbulence to planetary waves. 
2. Students can demonstrate knowledge of how various images and maps derived from in situ and remote observations can reveal the existence and structure of atmospheric phenomena.
3. Students can demonstrate knowledge of the role of fluid dynamics in determining the structure and evolution of atmospheric phenomena.
4. Students can demonstrate knowledge of the effects of topography on the structure and behavior of atmospheric phenomena.

Assessment Tools – see course calendar below

1. Formal individual homework assignments – 30%
2. Two midterm examinations – 20% each
3. One final examination – 30%

Grading Policy

All work is expected at the start of class on the due date specified.  If circumstances preclude this happening, make other arrangements with Dr. Young.  All assignment grades will fall on the non-negative half of the real number line.

Academic Integrity 

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 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/current_undergrad_students/academics/integrity_policy, which this course adopts.

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.

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 Office for Disability Services (ODS) website provides contact information for every Penn State campus: (http://equity.psu.edu/ods/dcl). For further information, please visit the Office for Disability Services website (http://equity.psu.edu/ods).

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 based on the documentation guidelines (http://equity.psu.edu/ods/guidelines). 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 Class Attendance Policy 42-27: http://senate.psu.edu/policies/42-00.html#42-27, Attendance Policy E-11: http://www.psu.edu/oue/aappm/E-11.html, and Conflict Exam Policy 44-35: http://www.psu.edu/ufs/policies/44-00.html#44-35. Please also see Illness Verification Policy: http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/health/welcome/illnessVerification/, and Religious Observance Policy: http://www.psu.edu/oue/aappm/R-4.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, family emergencies, and regularly scheduled university-approved curricular or extracurricular activities.  Students who encounter serious family, health, or personal situations that result in extended absences should contact the Office of Student and Family Services for help: http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/familyservices/.  Whenever possible, students participating in University-approved activities should submit to the instructor a Class Absence Form available from the Registrar's Office: http://www.registrar.psu.edu/student_forms/, at least one week prior to the activity.

Weather Delays

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

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 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, it is possible to have the grade deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. To seek a deferred grade, you must submit a written request (by e-mail or U.S. post) to your instructor describing the reason(s) for the request. It is up to your instructor to determine whether or not you will be permitted to receive a deferred grade. 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, 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.

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.

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 will be posted to the course discussion forum. 

Contagious Illness 

Special Flu Protocols - In compliance with Pennsylvania Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control recommendations, students should NOT attend class or any public gatherings while ill with influenza. Students with flu symptoms will be asked to leave campus if possible and to return home during recovery. The illness and self-isolation period will usually be about a week. It is very important that individuals avoid spreading the flu to others. 

Most students should be able to complete a successful semester despite a flu-induced absence. Faculty will provide students who are absent because of illness with a reasonable opportunity to make up missed work. Ordinarily, it is inappropriate to substitute for the missed assignment the weighting of a semester's work that does not include the missed assignment or exam. Completion of all assignments and exams assures the greatest chance for students to develop heightened understanding and content mastery that is unavailable through the weighting process. The opportunity to complete all assignments and exams supports the university's desire to enable students to make responsible situational decisions, including the decision to avoid spreading a contagious virus to other students, staff, and faculty, without endangering their academic work.

Students with the flu do not need to provide a physician's certification of illness. However, ill students should inform their teachers (but not through personal contact in which there is a risk of exposing others to the virus) as soon as possible that they are absent because of the flu. Likewise students should contact their instructors as quickly as possible to arrange to make up missed assignments or exams 

Topics Covered and Class Schedule

Blocks / Topic

Introduction

1. Introduction to atmospheric phenomena (including energy spectrum) Clouds
2. Introduction to atmospheric phenomena (including energy spectrum) Clouds
3. Processes forming clouds - basic cloud types (including species identification based on microphysics and dynamics)
4. Cloud identification at species level via direct observation
5. Cloud identification at species level via satellite observation
   General Circulation
6. Global energy budget - infrared and visible radiation - atmospheric and oceanic transport
7. Circulation cells
8. Jet streams - origin and structure
9. Jet streams - seasonal variations
10. Subseasonal variations - Quasi-stationary Rossby waves - terrain forcing, evolution, and vacillation
11. Teleconnections (NAO, ENSO, etc.)
    Tropical Synoptic
12. Mean flow - trade winds and subtropical highs
13. Seasonal variations - Monsoons - Case study of the Indian Monsoon - Monsoons around the world
14. Seasonal variations - Monsoons - forcing and dynamics

• Midterm I – Blocks 1-14 – In class

• Midterm II – Blocks 15-26 – In class

• Final Exam - Finals week –Blocks 27-42

This class was designed for three 50-minute periods but scheduled into two 75-minute periods by our beloved university. Thus, we will complete approximately three “blocks” per week. Many classes will, therefore, cover more than one topic as we finish one block and start the next. I have color coded weeks so that you can easily convert blocks to calendar time.