List of reading pages for the online version of ATMO 336 for Fall 2015 (Sections 002 and 201). The course material is broken into four Modules listed below. Each page is accessible through its own link below. In addition "Next" and "Previous" buttons at the top and bottom of each reading page allow easy navigation through the material. All other information regarding this class is located on the class D2L site, which includes reading due dates for the individual pages below and corresponding homeworks and exams. Link to D2L login page
Module 1
Introduction to 500 mb Height MapsWinds at the 500 mb Height Level; Southwest Monsoon Season
Winds; Pressure and Winds on Common Weather Maps
Hurricane Introduction and Characteristics
Hurricane Movement and Damages
Hurricane Cycles in the Atlantic, Links to Climate Change, Hurricane Damage and Death Trends
The Atmosphere
Properties of gases; Kinetic Model
Composition of the Atmosphere
Vertical Structure of Temperature, Density, and Pressure
Human response to air pressure and density changes
The Skew-T Diagram
Module 2
Water in the atmosphereA closer look at evaporation and condensation
Relative Humidity and Dew Point
Energy Transfer
Temperature, Humidity, Wind, and Human Comfort; Heat Index and Wind Chill
Clouds
Why Does Rising Air Cool?
Conditions under which air is forced to rise
Precipitation
Moving air parcels up and down through the atmosphere
Stability of the atmosphere
Introduction to Thunderstorms
Module 3
Thunderstorm Lifecycle and Severe ThunderstormsTornadoes
Lightning
Hurricane Energetics
Impacts of Extreme Weather; Possible Trends in Severe Weather
Ozone and the ozone hole
Ultraviolet radiation and its effects
Review 500 mb height maps
Review 500 mb winds; Estimating Precipitation areas from 500 mb maps
Weather forecasting using 500 mb height maps
The 500 mb weather pattern and weather terminology
A crash course in cyclogenesis
Numerical Weather Forecasting
Weather vs Climate
Introduction to Climate Change
Module 4
Solar Radiation and the Earth's Energy Budget IInfrared Radiation, Greenhouse Effect, and Earth's Energy Budget II
Increasing Greenhouse Gases
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and the Carbon Cycle
Uncertainty in Climate Change Predictions ; Feedbacks
Climate Models and their Predictions of Temperature Changes
Potential Impacts of Global Warming
Reconstructing Past Climates
The Climate of the Pleistocene
Is the Earth Fragile or Robust?
The Climate of the Holocene
Controversy: Global Average Temperature Reconstruction over the last 2000 years
The Present Warming: 20th Centrury through today
Global Warming Summary and Discussion
Seasonal Changes on Earth
Other Factors that Control Climate
Blue skies, red sunsets, white clouds, haze
End of reading material!