This is the course homepage. A summary of the course activities is provided below. Please click the Syllabus Link on the left for a complete course syllabus.

Announcements:

Tuesday, May 9:

The final exam has been written. There are 36 multiple type choice questions worth 2.5 points each. You are expected to answer 5 short answer questions that are worth up to 9 points each. There are three short answer questions written for each of the four exam sections. You will be asked to answer at least one question from each of the four sections. You can choose any of the remaining questions for your last short answer. Thus, there are up to 135 points possible on the final exam. The "To Raise Grade" column on the gradesheet tells you what you need to score on the final exam to raise your letter grade by one letter grade. If you decide to take the final exam, it is from 10:30 to 12:30 on Thursday, May 11 in the regular classroom.

Friday, April 14:

Instructions for the global warming essay are posted under the Homework link. The paper is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, April 26. I will briefly discuss the assignment during class next week. Please read over the instructions before classes next week. You should not start writing your essay until you have studied over all of the reading pages on global warming, which runs through the page "Global Warming Summary and Discussion."

Thursday, March 30:

Exam 3 is next Wednesday. A topic outline by question has been posted under the Old Exams link. This can be used as a topic study guide. There is also a link to the exam 3 that was given during the spring 2016 semester to give you an idea about the types of questions on this material. Monday's class will be a review for the exam. It is to your benefit to begin studying for the exam before coming to class Monday morning.

Tuesday, March 28:

Grades for the research paper are posted. The gradesheet has been updated to include total points earned by each student. The column "500 mb Pro" stands for the 500 mb project, which we are not going to do this semester. However, since I would like to keep the total number of points for the semester at 1000, you have all been given the maximum score. The remaining grade items before the final exam are exams 3 and 4 and the global warming essay.

Tuesday, February 28:

A list of topics covered on exam two and a breakdown of the number of questions asked about each topic has been posted under the Old Exams link.

Friday, February 17:

As mentioned in class today, I have changed the due date for the research paper peer reviews from March 1 to Tuesday, March 7. Homework Set #2 is due on Friday, March 3, which is the day of the second exam.

Thursday, February 16:

Homework Set #2 is posted under the Homework Link. The questions will help you prepare for exam 2. We have already covered the material for questions 1 - 4. We will cover the material for the remaining questions during lecture on Friday. The homework will be due either the day of exam 2, which is Friday, March 3 or the following Monday, March 6. I have not decided yet.

There is a new self check quiz on D2L that covers filling in stability tables, which will be covered in lecture tomorrow.

Friday, February 10:

There is a new self check quiz on D2L that covers relative humidity and dew point calculations.

Also a quick reminder that a complete first draft of your research paper is due by midnight on Wednesday, February 22. Use the Peer Review Forum on the course D2L pages to upload your first draft.

Tuesday, January 31:

Feedback and intial grades have been provided for all research paper topic proposals. Please click on the feedback box under the assignment folder in D2L to read it. You should read the feedback before proceeding with the paper. If your topic proposal is unacceptable, then you will initially get less than 25 points for the assignment. If you received less than 25 points for the assignment, please read the feedback and submit another topic proposal within a week to get more credit. Full credit is still possible for resubmissions. The most important thing is to select a suitable topic for the paper.

Just a reminder that homework set #1 is posted under the homework link. It is due next Wednesday, February 8, which is the same day as the first exam

There are 4 self check quizzes available on the course D2L pages. All of them are on topics that will be included on the first exam

Friday, January 27:

Your research paper topic proposal is due by midnight on Monday, January 30. The proposal needs to be uploaded to an assignment folder on D2L. I will provide feedback in the order that the proposals are received. It is important to determine a good topic and move on to the next step, which is to research both sides of the topic by reading potential reference material. Your paper will probably be better if you work on it a little each day, rather than trying to do it all the day before it is due. There are possible topics related to what the new president might do. Two possibilities are (a) Should President Trump revoke the EPA's Clean Power Plan by executive order? (b) Should President Trump push to have congress ratify the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that John Kerry pledged for the United States at the Paris Climate Summit? For topic (a), one side argues for revoking, while the other side argues to keep the Clean Power Plan. If you select a topic like this, please try to keep the for and against arguments balanced. For example, if you argue that the CPP should be revoked b/c it will be bad for the economy, then you need to provide counterarguments that the CPP is either not going to be that bad for the economy or that it could be beneficial for the economy. If you argue that the CPP should be kept b/c it is essential to prevent harmful climate change, then you need to provide counterarguments that the CPP will not prevent any significant or harmful future climate change. Try to refrain from making only "unbalanced" arguments ("apples to oranges" type comparisons). For example, arguing on one side that the CPP should be revoked for a variety of economic reasons alone, then on the other side arguing that it should be kept based on just environmental reasons alone. This advice for balanced arguments and counterarguments applies to other topics as well.

Tuesday, January 24:

The first grades roster is posted under the Grades Link. Please make sure that find your class ID. If you forgot your class ID or would like to change it, please send me an email. There are 4 students registered for the class who have not submitted the class registration form. Please submit it ASAP.

Also a reminder that there is a self check quiz for reading and interpreting 500 mb height maps on the course D2L pages.

Wednesday, January 11:

Welcome to Atmospheric Sciences 336. Please periodically check this area for class announcements.

Course Objectives:

This course examines basic weather phenomena, climate variability and climate change, and their associated effects on people. The possibility and implications of human-caused changes in the climate system are also discussed. A more detailed description of the course and specific learning ojectives is provided in the course syllabus.

Web page:

Most of the course material will be placed on the course web pages, home is http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/students/courselinks/spring17/atmo336/home.html There will also be a few activities done on the course D2L pages. All students registered for this course should have access to the D2L page for ATMO336, Section 001. UA D2L Login Page

Course Hours/Location:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday   9:00 - 9:50  
Harvill Building, Room 302.
Link to Campus Map

Instructor:

Dr. Dale Ward, Lecturer / Research Scientist
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Email: dward@email.arizona.edu (Best way to contact me)
Office: Physics and Atmospheric Sciences (PAS) Building, Room 566D. Link to Campus Map
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00 - 11:00 AM or by appointment.

Teaching Assistants:

Bayu Risanto
Email: cbrisanto@email.arizona.edu
Office: Physis and Atmospheric Sciences (PAS) Building, Room 526
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 - 2:00 PM or by appointment.

Ryan Dennis
Email: radennis@email.arizona.edu
Office: Physics and Atmospheric Sciences (PAS) Building, Room 526
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM or by appointment.

Class Notes / Important Dates:

There is no textbook for this course. Lectures will be based on the reading material posted under the Lectures Link and additional material that will be distributed during lectrues throughout the semester. I expect each student to read over the relevant reading material before the lecture is presented in class. This is important because the you will be famaliar with what I discuss in lecture and better able to understand it.

Important dates, such as homework deadlines, exam dates, etc., will be posted in the class calendar.

Academic Integrity:

The University of Arizona's Code of Academic Integrity, Code of Conduct, and Student Code of Conduct will be strictly followed. All students are responsible for knowing the codes and abiding by them. Please see Academic Integrity Policies for University of Arizona Students. No cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, or plagiarism will be tolerated. The research paper and perhaps some of the homework assignments will be filtered through Turnitin.

Accessibility and Accomodations:

It is the University's goal that learning experiences be as accessible as possible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability or pregnency, please let me know immediately so that we can discuss options. You are also welcome to contact Disability Resources (520-621-3268) to establish reasonable accommodations.

Grading / Assignments:

Class Grades will be posted under the grades link as a spreadsheet. Currently the link points to the gradesheet from a previous class. You will will choose a class ID that will be known only to you so that you can see your grades. There is a Class Registration form posted under the homework link. You will be given 10 extra credit points on your semester homework score for submitting the form by the due date. If you do not submit a form, there will be a blank space in the Class ID column for your grade row.

Your class grade is based on the number of points earned. There are 1000 possible points:

Grade Item	Points
Homework Set #1	50
Homework Set #2	50
500 mb Project	75
Global Warming Essay	75
Research Paper Topic Proposal	25
Submit first draft of Research Paper on Time	25
Post two thoughtful peer reviews of Paper Drafts on Time	50
Research Paper (Final Draft)	150
Exam #1	125
Exam #2	125
Exam #3	125
Exam #4	125
Total	1000

Please see the course syllabus for more detail about assignments and grading.

Grade Scale:

The final grading may be curved depending on overall class performance. However, the grade scale will not be any more difficult than A(900 points); B(800 points); C(700 points); D(600 points); E(<600 points).

Brief Description of Graded Items:

Homework Sets: There will be two homework sets given during the semester, which will consist of problem solving and short answer questions that go with the exam 1 and exam 2 material. Your homework submissions will be graded both on the correctness of your answers as well as the quality and clarity of your writing. Homework sets will be posted on the class web pages.

500 mb forecasting assignment: Sometime within the first two weeks of the semester, after we have covered material on 500 mb maps and cool season weather forecasting, a 500 mb weather forecasting assignment will be made available. The exact dates are not known as we will be using real-time weather forecasts that must be suitable for this class. Detailed instructions for this assignment will be posted on the class web pages. You will be given sufficient time to complete the assignment after it is posted.

Global Warming Essay: The last written assignment is a global warming opinion essay that will be due near the end of the semester. Instructions for writing the paper will be provided on the course web pages.

Research Paper: The details of the research paper are described in a link under the homework section of the course web pages. The research paper includes a topic proposal, a first draft, two peer reviews, and revision process. The research paper topic proposal is due to be uploaded to a D2L assignment folder by Monday, January 30. The first draft is due to be uploaded to a D2L discussion forum by Wednesday, February 22. Each of you will peer review two drafts from fellow students. These are due by Wednesday, March 1. Based on the reviews, you will then revise your first draft to produce a final research paper. A printed copy of the final paper is due in class on the Wednesday, March 22. In addition, you are required to upload a copy of the paper to an "Assignment Dropbox" on the course D2L pages.

Exams: Exams count for 50% of your final class grade. Therea are four in-class exams scheduled and a final exam. These exams consist of a mixture of multiple choice and short answer questions. Short answer responses will be graded both on the correctness of your answers as well as the quality and clarity of your writing. The in-class exams are not comprehensive in that the questions concentrate on material presented since the previous exam. However, it is expected that you are familiar with some of the basic concepts covered early in the semester.

The in-class exams given during the spring 2016 semester are available from the class web pages to show you the type of questions asked.

The final exam is scheduled for Thursday, May 11 from 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM in the regular classroom, Harvill Building, Room 302. The final exam is optional. If you decide to take it, the final exam grade replaces the lowest of the grades of your previous exams (even if it is lower). Thus, if you do poorly on one exam or miss one exam, you can make for it up by taking the final. Your final exam score will also replace your second lowest exam score (only if higher than your second lowest exam score). Therefore, if you take the final exam it will count for at least 12.5% of your final grade (by replacing your lowest exam score, 125 points) and 25% of your final grade (if you score higher than your second lowest exam score, 250 points). The final exam is comprehensive in that it covers all of the material presented during the semester.

Extra Credit

There is just one extra credit opportunity. 10 points are awarded for submitting the class registration form. There are no other extra credit opportunities planned.

Exam/Late Work Policies:

You are expected to study and understand material covered in class during lecture as well as to read the relevant material from the class notes. Exam questions will be taken from both the in-class lectures and the reading material included in the class web pages.

Please contact the instructor (preferrably via e-mail) as soon as possible if for an unexpected reason you are unable to be in class for an exam. A make-up exam will be arranged with sufficient proof. No make-up exam will be given unless you notify the instructor BEFORE missing the exam in class. In general, I would prefer make-up exams to be taken before the exam is given in class.

In general, late assignments will incur a grade reduction of 10% per day. Late submissions are allowed for the homework sets, 500 mb Project, Global Warming Essay, and the final draft of the research paper. No credit will be given for late submissions of the first draft of the research paper or the required peer reviews.