METEOROLOGY 121A DYNAMIC METEOROLOGY I

Version 1.0 Fall 2011 MW 0900-1050 e-mail: Alison.Bridger@sjsu.edu web: http://www.met.sjsu.edu/~bridger/m121page.htm now - then D2L OFFICE HOURS Mon, Wed 1:30-2:30, Tues 9:30-10:30, and by appointment, and by email. COURSE DESCRIPTION The Glossary of Meteorology1 defines Dynamic Meteorology as "The study of atmospheric motions as solutions of the fundamental equations of hydrodynamics". In this 2-semester course, we will develop these equations, see how to solve them, and see how these solutions explain atmospheric motions and phenomena. We end up with a better understanding of motions and phenomena, and the all-important ability to forecast them! Some of the material will be covered again and applied in senior-level classes {MET 171A,B (synoptic) and in MET 172 (mesoscale)}. Recently added is the study of thermodynamics of the atmosphere. PRE- & CO-REQUISITIES METR 60/61 and 50/51: MATH 30/31/32 (each with a grade of C- or better). PHYS is not explicitly required for this class, but the PHYS sequence should have been started will be needed in Spring semester for METR 125. REQUIRED TEXTS C.A. Riegel: Fundamentals of Atmospheric Dynamics and Thermodynamics World Scientific Publ. Co., 1st Ed. (available directly from me$47used for both semesters) = CAR. J.R. Holton: An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, Academic Press, 4th Ed. (in bookstore) = JRH. Note that the 4th edition contains Matlab-based examples and exercises. Tsonis (thermodynamics text details forthcoming) OTHER USEFUL STUFF METEOROLOGY TEXTS J.M. Wallace & P.V. Hobbs: Atmospheric Science - An Introductory Survey (used in MET 60/61). MATH TEXTS M.R. Spiegel: Vector Analysis (in the Schaum's Outline series recommended). F. Ayres: Calculus (in the Schaum's Outline series good review of calculus) M.R. Spiegel: Mathematical Handbook (in the Schaum's Outline series good review of all kinds of useful math stuff) Prof. Alison Bridger DH 620 ... 924-5206 fax 924-5191

http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary

EXAMS & GRADING

WHAT MIDTERM #1 MIDTERM #2 FINAL ASSIGNMENTS QUIZZES COMPUTING ASSIGNMENTS

WHEN Wednesday Sept. 28 Wednesday Nov. 2 Thursday Dec 19, 0715-0930 (rearrange?!?!) Weekly Every other Monday Occasional

WEIGHT 20 % 20 % 20 % 20 % 10 % 10 %

Plan on needing 2 hours for each midterm. Exam format will be discussed ahead of time. NOTES 1) Assignments will be due at the start of class late assignments not accepted. Be sure to make use of office hours to get assignments done on time. 2) Solutions to assignment questions will posted. Some questions may also be covered in class. 3) All work handed in (assignments and exams, including diagrams) should be neat otherwise it will not be graded. 4) The computing assignments will give you continued exposure to FORTRAN and MATLAB, - computing skills you learned in MET 50/51. This will prepare you for the topic of Numerical Forecasting Techniques which we cover in MET 121B. 5) No class Monday September 5 (Labor Day). 6) Last day of classes is Thursday December 8. 7) If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case of evacuation, please see me as soon as possible. 8) Remember that cheating/plagiarism are grounds for dismissal from the class/program/ University. LEARNING OUTCOMES

TOPICS
INTRODUCTION -- CAR I, JRH 1 MATH REVIEW A brief review of things you learned in calculus you thought youd never really need! Warning: It is difficult to succeed in this class without these skills. Topics include: partial derivatives, differentials, the total derivative, ordinary differential equations and solution techniques, Jacobians, complex numbers, vectors, vector products, vector differential operations, vector integrals. Most of these topics will be covered very briefly you will be responsible for catching up where you are rusty! Total derivatives and vector operations will be covered in more detail. Some of these topics will not be used much until next semester (e.g., complex numbers, Jacobians) -- CAR II PROPERTIES OF THE VELOCITY FIELD Suppose we have a flow field what can we say about the flow? How do we describe it? Is the fluid doing anything interesting? For example, is the fluid diverging (and if so why do we care)? Is there rotation in the flow (vorticity - and why do we care)? What are streamlines and trajectories, what do they tell us about fluid flow, and how do we construct them? In answering these questions, we will also construct the streamfunction, and we will use natural coordinates (i.e., flow-following coordinates), and scale analysis - a powerful technique for simplifying equations -- CAR III, JRH 3 & 4 THE EQUATION OF MOTION -- We will start with Newton's second law of motion, and see how to apply it to our atmosphere (i.e., to an air parcel). The resulting equation(s) help us understand how and why flows develop -- CAR IV, JRH 1 & 2 SPECIAL CASES OF THE EQUATION OF MOTION -- We will find solutions to the equation of motion developed above but only for very simple flow situations. These solutions allow us to know what kinds of flows can develop in certain situations. In particular, we will look at geostrophic flow and gradient flow, and also at the thermal wind -- CAR V, JRH 3 CONSERVATION OF MASS -- The principal of mass conservation can be applied in our atmosphere, and used to derive the continuity equation. Some consequences of this equation (e.g., surface pressure tendencies) will also be discussed -- CAR VI, JRH 2 TRANSFORMATION OF THE VERTICAL COORDINATE -- A natural choice for a vertical coordinate is z - the height of an air parcel above sea level. However, radiosonde observations are made on pressure surfaces, giving, e.g., the winds at the 500 mb level. We will see how to use pressure as a vertical coordinate, and write our equations in pressure coordinates -- CAR VII, JRH 1 & 3 THERMODYNAMICS OF DRY AIR Basic thermodynamic properties of dry air. Definition of various thermodynamic variables. The Equation of State. First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics -CAR VIII THERMODYNAMICS OF WATER SUBSTANCE Basic thermodynamic properties of water substance (gas, liquid, solid). Latent heat. The Clausius-Clapeyron Equation -- CAR IX THERMODYNAMICS OF MOIST AIR Thermodynamic properties of moist air = dry air + water vapor. Measure of moisture in the air. Thermodynamic diagrams -- CAR X 121B -- In the second semester we focus more on using these equations to explain phenomena such as wave motions in the atmosphere, and the growth of disturbances through baroclinic instability. We also study basic numerical methods for solving our equations; this is the basis of numerical weather prediction.