Department Course Catalog
Undergraduate Level (Normal)
| Course | Title | Credits | Requisites* | Description |
| ATS150 | Physical Basis of Climate Change | 3 | None | Energy budget of the earth, the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, paleoclimate, projections of 21st century climate |
| ATS350 | Introduction to Weather and Climate | 2 | None | Behavior of the atmosphere and its influence upon human activities |
| ATS351 | Introduction to Weather and Climate Laboratory | 1 | ATS350 (C) | Actual weather data, visualization of meteorological phenomena, and in-depth discussion of current environmental issues |
| ATS495 | Independent Study: General Atmospheric Science | Variable | Variable |
Undergraduate Level (Restricted)
| Course | Title | Credits | Requisites* | Description |
| ATS540 | Daily Weather Laboratory I | 2 | ATS601 (C) | Synoptic analysis; cyclones, anticyclones, fronts, associated weather; long waves in the westerlies; upper troughs, ridges, basic currents; weather phenomena |
| ATS541 | Daily Weather Laboratory II | 2 | ATS540 (P) | Synoptic computation of cyclone and anticyclone movement; circulation and intensity changes; mesoscale weather phenomena; precipitation processes |
| ATS555 | Air Pollution | 3 | C113, M261 or M340, PH122 or PH142 (P) | Nature, ambient concentrations, sources, sinks, and physiological activity of pollutants; meteorology; legislation; social and economic factors. |
| ATS560 | Air Pollution Measurement | 2 | C114 (P) | Examination and application of techniques for air pollution measurement. Includes sampling and analysis of gases, aerosols, and precipitation. |
Graduate Level (M.S.)
| Course | Title | Credits | Requisites* | Description |
| ATS601 | Atmospheric Dynamics I | 3 | MATH261, MATH531 (P) | Momentum, continuity equations; circulation, vorticity, thermodynamics; boundary layer; synoptic scale motions in midlatitudes. |
| ATS602 | Atmospheric Dynamics II | 2 | ATS601 (P) (WI) | Sound waves, gravity waves, Rossby waves; numerical weather prediction; baroclinic instability; general circulation; tropical dynamics. |
| ATS604 | Atmospheric Modeling | 3 | ATS602 (P/WI) | Design of numerical models of the atmosphere, and applications to current problems. Emphasis is on a practical understanding of relevant numerical methods. |
| ATS605 | General Circulation of the Atmosphere | 3 | ATS602 (C) | Observations and theory of the general circulation of the atmosphere, with emphasis on understanding physical mechanisms. |
| ATS606 | Introduction to Climate | 3 | MATH531 (P) | Exchange of energy, water and momentum through the atmosphere, surface vegetation and oceans. Paleoclimate, climate change, variability and feedbacks. |
| ATS610 | Physical Oceanography | 3 | None | Foundations of ocean circulation theory and general circulation of the ocean using observational data and rotating tank experiments. |
| ATS620 | Thermodynamics and Cloud Physics | 3 | MATH340, PHY142 (P) | Equilibrium thermodynamics, cloud microphysics, cloud dynamics, precipitation formation, and cloud electrification. |
| ATS621 | Atmospheric Chemistry | 2 | CHEM114, MATH340, PHY142 (P) | Overview of chemical kinetics and equilibria; sources and sinks of pollutants; photochemistry and smog formation; aqueous-phase chemistry; acid rain. |
| ATS622 | Atmospheric Radiation | 3 | ATS620 (P), ATS602 (C) | Terrestrial, solar radiation propagation in the atmosphere; radiative components in energy budgets, weather systems, climate studies; remote sensing. |
| ATS623 | Atmospheric Boundary Layer | 2 | ATS601 (P) | Equations for shallow atmospheric motions; thermal instability of a fluid layer; atmospheric turbulence; flow stability; 1-D mixed layer models. |
| ATS631 | Introduction to Atmospheric Aerosols | 2 | None | Physical, chemical, and microphysical characteristics of atmospheric particulate matter; measurement principles and techniques. |
| ATS650 | Measurement Systems and Theory | 2 | PHY142, STAT301 (P) | Surface and upper air measurement systems; theory and system response, sensor design; automated data collection, analysis and display systems. |
| ATS652 | Atmospheric Remote Sensing | 2 | ATS622 (P/WI) | Concepts of electromagnetic and acoustic wave propagation; active and passive remote sensing techniques including radar, lidar, thermal emission systems. |
| ATS655 | Objective Analysis in the Atmospheric Sciences | 3 | MATH531 (P/WI) | Objective analysis of geophysical data: general statistics; matrix methods; time series analysis. Emphasis on applications to real-world data. |
| ATS680 | Experiment Graduate Courses in Atmospheric Science | Varies | None | None |
| ATS681 | Experiment Graduate Courses in Atmospheric Science | Varies | None | None |
| ATS695 | Independent Study (General Atmospheric Science) | Variable | None | None |
| ATS699 | Thesis: M.S. | Varies | Varies | Atmospheric Dynamics -- Schubert Land-atmosphere Interactions -- Denning Chemistry-Climate Interactions -- Heald Cloud Physics -- Remote Sensing -- Kummerow Tropical Meteorology -- Maloney General Circulation -- Randall Meteorological Instruments -- Atmospheric Chemistry -- Kreidenweis Dynamic Meteorology -- Birner Satellite Applications -- Vonder Haar Mesoscale Meteorology -- Johnson Dynamics and Physics of Clouds -- Cotton Mesoscale Modeling -- van den Heever Radiation Theory -- Stephens Radar Meteorology -- Rutledge Aerosol and Cloud Chemistry -- Collett Climate Dynamics -- Thompson Physical Oceanography -- |
Graduate Level (Ph.D.)
| Course | Title | Credits | Requisites* | Description |
| ATS703 | Numerical Weather Prediction | 2 | ATS602 (P) | Quasi-geostrophic approximation; barotropic, baroclinic, primitive equation, and general circulation models; numerical methods. |
| ATS704 | Large-scale Atmospheric Dynamics | 2 | ATS602 (P) | Quasi-static, quasi-geostrophic equations; planetary waves; geostrophic adjustment; barotropic, baroclinic instability; frontogenesis; tropical cyclones. |
| ATS707 | Atmospheric Waves and Vortices | 3 | ATS605 (P/WI) | Atmospheric wave motions on a multitude of spatial and temporal scales. Topics covered include mountain waves, downslope windstorms, breaking waves and hydraulic jumps, vorticity generation via hydraulic jumps, equatorial waves, LaPlace’s Tidal equation, atmospheric tides, Eliassen-Palm theorems, wave-mean-flow interaction, QBO, gravity wave critical levels, Kelvin-Helmholtz instablity, stratified shear turbulence, gravity wave breaking, solitary waves and KdV theory, gravity wave and Rossby wave critical layers. |
| ATS708 | Middle Atmosphere Dynamics | 3 | ATS602 (P), ATS605 (P) | Dynamics of the stratosphere and mesosphere with emphasis on the lower and middle stratosphere. |
| ATS710 | Geophysical Vortices | 3 | ATS23 (P) | Dynamical and thermodynamical structure of geophysical vortices from observational, experimental, and theoretical viewpoints. Topics covered include two-dimensional vortex dynamics, invertibility principle, Green functions, point vortex and moment idealizations, vortex axisymmetrization, vortex merger, two-dimensional and three-dimensional quasi-geostrophic turbulence, vortex Rossby waves, Eliassen’s balanced vortex model, Ooyama’s 1969 hurricane model, Spin down at small and large Rossby number, assymmetric balance (AB) theory, vortex alignment, tropical cyclogenesis and intensification via convectively forced vortex Rossby waves, tornadoes, water spout and dust devils. |
| ATS712 | Dynamics of Clouds | 3 | ATS623 (P) | General theory of cloud dynamics; parameterization of microphysics and radiation; models of fog, stratocumuli, cumulonimbi, and orographic clouds. |
| ATS715 | Atmospheric Oxidation Processes | 2 | ATS621 (P) | Atmospheric hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide reactions; aqueous phase scavenging and reactions; chemical pathways in the atmosphere. |
| ATS716 | Air Quality Characterization | 2 | ATS560, ATS555 or ATS621 (P/WI) | Students plan, execute, and report on a measurement campaign to characterize local air quality. |
| ATS721 | Theoretical Topics in Radiative Transfer | 3 | ATS622 (P) | Physics of atmospheric radiation; theoretical techniques used to show radiation transfer equation. |
| ATS722 | Atmospheric Radiation and Energetics | 3 | ATS622 (P) | Radiative transfer in the atmosphere; implications on remote sensing and energetics. |
| ATS724 | Cloud Microphysics | 2 | ATS621 (P) | Theories and observations of nucleation; cloud droplet spectra broadening; precipitation growth and breakup; ice multiplication; cloud electrification. |
| ATS730 | Mesoscale Modeling | 3 | ATS602, ATS632 (P) | Development of basic equations used in mesoscale models and methodology of solution. |
| ATS735 | Mesoscale Dynamics | 3 | ATS602 (P) | Analysis of physical and dynamical processes that initiate, maintain, and modulate atmospheric mesoscale phenomena. |
| ATS737 | Satellite Observation of Atmosphere and Earth | 3 | ATS622, ATS652 (P) | Satellite measurements; basic orbits and observing systems; applications of remote sensing and imaging to investigations of atmospheric processes. |
| ATS741 | Radar Meteorology | 3 | ATS 652 (P/WI) | Radar systems; radar equation and applications; multiple Doppler observation and processing; radar studies of mesoscale systems. |
| ATS742 | Tropical Meteorology | 2 | ATS605, ATS623, ATS655 (P/WI) | Overview of the tropical atmosphere, monsoons, intraseasonal variability, hurricanes, theory of tropical convection and the large-scale circulation. |
| ATS743 | Interaction of the Ocean and Atmosphere | 3 | ATS601 and ATS602 (P/WI) | Ocean-atmosphere interactions in observations, theory, and models. Time mean atmosphere-ocean circulations through climate variability and change. |
| ATS745 | Atmospheric General Circulation Modeling | 3 | ATS602, ATS605 (P) | Survey of current problems in modeling of the climate system, with emphasis on atmospheric processes. |
| ATS750 | Climate Dynamics: Atmospheric Variability | 3 | ATS605, ATS655 (P/WI) | Analysis and interpretation of large-scale variability and observed climate change. |
| ATS753 | Global Hydrologic Cycle | 3 | ATS601, ATS622 or ATS652 (P) | Hydrologic cycle; moisture transport and air-ground exchange; water budgets of meteorological phenomena; climatology of atmospheric water. |
| ATS755 | Topics in Climate Research | 3 | ATS606 (P) | Course content varies from one offering to the next. |
| ATS760 | Global Carbon Cycle | 2 | ATS606 (P) | Exchanges of CO2 between the atmosphere, the land surface, and oceans. Biogeochemical processes. Micrometeorological and inverse flux estimation. |
| ATS762 | Biosphere-Chemistry-Climate Interactions | 2 | ATS621 (P) | Explore the sensitivity of the climate system to atmospheric chemical composition with emphasis on connections to biosphereic processes and feedbacks. |
| ATS765 | Climate Dynamics: Oceanic Variability | 3 | ATS606 (P) | Climate variability on time scales of years to millennia with focus on the role of the ocean circulation. Approach of problems through dynamical systems theory (bifurcations, chaos). |
| ATS770 | Ocean Modeling | 3 | ATS602 (P) | Conceptual and numerical ocean models and their application to current problems in climate science and biogeochemical cycles. |
| ATS772 | Aerosol Chemistry | 2 | CHEM114, MATH161, PHY122 or PHY142 (P) | Physics and chemistry of atmospheric aerosols including composition, surface properties, size, interaction with radiation sources, sinks. |
| ATS784 | Supervised College Teaching | Variable | Variable (WI/WH) | None |
| ATS786 | Practicum | Variable | None | None |
| ATS795 | Independent Study (General Atmospheric Science) | Variable | None | None |
| ATS796 | Group Study | Variable | Variable | (See ATS699 for research categories.) |
| ATS799 | Dissertation: Ph.D. | Variable | Variable | (See ATS699 for research categories.) |
* Requisite Codes: P=Prerequisite C=Corequisite WI=Written Consent of Instructor WH=Written Consent of Department Head
As a general planning guideline, courses at the 700 level are usually taught in alternate years. However, actual frequency of course offerings depends on demand.
