Geophysics - the atmosphere

Gerard Roe,

office: JHN 361

email: gerard@ess.washington.edu

phone: 543-4980

Office hours: anytime

Class details:

Outline
Syllabus
Textbook
Term paper outline

Notes and handouts
to download:

Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Week Six
Week Seven
Week Eight
Week Nine
Week Ten

Homeworks

ESS 416/516: Geophysics: the atmosphere

Tues-Thurs 11-12.20, JHN 027

So how does this atmosphere thing work then? How do you go from F=ma, dQ = dU + dW, and a spinning planet, to storms, jet streams, hurricanes, and monsoons? The course emphasizes the fluid dynamics and thermodynamics needed to understand these circulations, and we'll get to the point of making weather forecasts from real time data.

Intended for graduate students or motivated seniors, the class also uses techniques such as scale analysis, stability analysis, and the concept of a dynamic balance, ideas which are useful throughout Earth Sciences. Homework assignments set throughout, plus a final term paper on a research topic of your choice.