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MET 3003, General Meteorology (Ref # 15175) Instructor: Dr. Hugh Willoughby, Office: PC 327B. Phone: 305-348-0243. Email: hugh.willoughby@fiu.edu. Email is a good way to reach me. Time and location: Monday & Wednesday, 11:00AM-12:15PM, GL-137 Office Hours: MW 1:00-2:00 PM, TU 9:00-10:00 AM, or by appointment. Prerequisites: MAC 2311 (Calculus I) and PHY 2048 (General Physics) or permission of the instructor. Text: The Atmosphere, An Introduction to Meteorology, by Frederick K. Lutgens and Edward J. Tarbuck, 10th Edition, 2006, IBSN-0131874624. Supplementary class notes. Course description: A quantitative introduction to the Earth’s atmosphere. Topics include: tropical and midlatitude weather, clouds and convection, solar and infrared radiation, general circulation and climate, and a bit of meteorological dynamics. Course Goals and Objectives: This course is the first in a series designed to constitute an Atmospheric Science Track within FIU Department of Earth Sciences. It provides an introduction to the profession of meteorology and a description of the atmosphere for undergraduate students majoring in physical sciences or engineering. We will answer questions such as these:
Course organization and philosophy: I hope and expect that you are self-selected for motivation and interest in the atmosphere. This will be a reasonably demanding course, but the class is small enough for substantial interaction and individual attention. Make a genuine effort, and you should do well. Although Lutgens & Tarbuck is a newly-revised, widely-used text for first courses in meteorology, it is more elementary than the level on which I will teach. I’ll provide supplemental notes on more quantitative topics. This book is easy to understand. Please read the assignments before we cover them in class, and bring the book each time we meet because we will refer to some of the figures. I welcome thoughtful questions. The book has a com¬panion website with key concepts and practice tests: http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_lutgens_atmosphere_10 This material can be a valuable add-on to what we do in class. I may draw a few test questions from the study materials on this site. I see meteorology as a descriptive natural science that often speaks the language of physics and mathematics. You need to learn some basic mathematical ideas here, but we will be selective and focus on essential concepts. Thus, attending the lectures, doing the reading, participating in discussion, and taking careful notes will be keys to success in MET 3003.
A word about intellectual dishonesty, which I define as claiming someone else’s work or ideas as your own. I won’t tolerate it, and it is a certain way to have a bad outcome in MET 3003. Everyone is trustworthy unless proven otherwise. Daily Weather: We will use the Internet connection in our classroom and local observations to discuss interesting weather during the first few minutes of each class. Three informative web sites are: http://wwwghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/GOES/ The Miami Weather ServiceRadar: http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/radar.php?rid=AMX&product=N0R&overlay=11101111&loop=yes And the NCEP web-based surface weather analysis: http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/html/sfc2.shtml On your way to class each day, please notice the clouds, temperature, humidity, and wind. This time of year the fronts pushing south from the snowy north can be spectacular, and by spring we’ll be able to watch some good sea-breeze convection over Florida. I will arrange a class tour of the National Hurricane Center and Weather Forecast Office, probably in March. Topics and Reading Assignments
Final Exam Wednesday 25 April 2007, 9:30AM-12:15PM.Class Notes:
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