Mountains CSU Department of Atmospheric Science CSU Logo

Course Catalog
Undergraduate Level (Normal)
Course Title Credits Requisites* Description
AT300 Climate of Colorado 2 None Fundamentals of climate and climate changes; seasonal and regional Colorado climate regimes; types and availability of climate information
AT350 Introduction to Weather and Climate 2 None Behavior of the atmosphere and its influence upon human activities
AT351 Introduction to Weather and Climate Laboratory 1 AT350 (C) Actual weather data, visualization of meteorological phenomena, and in-depth discussion of current environmental issues
AT495 Independent Study: General Atmospheric Science Variable Variable

Undergraduate Level (Restricted)
Course Title Credits Requisites* Description
AT540 Daily Weather Laboratory I 2 Variable Synoptic analysis; cyclones, anticyclones, fronts, associated weather; long waves in the westerlies; upper troughs, ridges, basic currents; weather phenomena
AT541 Daily Weather Laboratory II 2 AT540 (P) Synoptic computation of cyclone and anticyclone movement; circulation and intensity changes; mesoscale weather phenomena; precipitation processes
AT555 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.
AT560 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
AT540 Daily Weather Laboratory I 2 AT601 (C) Synoptic analysis; cyclones, anticyclones, fronts, associated weather; long waves in the westerlies; upper troughs, ridges, basic currents; weather phenomena.
AT541 Daily Weather Laboratory II 2 AT540 (P) Synoptic computation of cyclone and anticyclone movement, circulation, and intensity changes; mesoscale weather phenomena; precipitation processes.
AT555 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.
AT560 Air Pollution Measurement 2 C114 (P) Examination and application of techniques for air pollution measurement. Includes sampling and analysis of gases, aerosols, and precipitation.
AT601 Atmospheric Dynamics I 3 M261, M531 (P) Momentum, continuity equations; circulation, vorticity, thermodynamics; boundary layer; synoptic scale motions in midlatitudes.
AT602 Atmospheric Dynamics II 2 AT601 (P) (WI) Sound waves, gravity waves, Rossby waves; numerical weather prediction; baroclinic instability; general circulation; tropical dynamics.
AT604 Atmospheric Modeling 3 None Design of numerical models of the atmosphere, and applications to current problems. Emphasis is on a practical understanding of relevant numerical methods.
AT605 General Circulation of the Atmosphere 3 AT602 (C) Observations and theory of the general circulation of the atmosphere, with emphasis on understanding physical mechanisms.
AT606 Introduction to Climate 3 ST301 (P) Exchange of energy, water and momentum through the atmosphere, surface vegetation and oceans. Paleoclimate, climate change, variability and feedbacks.
AT610 Physical Oceanography 3 None Foundations of ocean circulation theory and general circulation of the ocean using observational data and rotating tank experiments.
AT620 Thermodynamics and Cloud Physics 3 M340, PH142 (P) Equilibrium thermodynamics, cloud microphysics, cloud dynamics, precipitation formation, and cloud electrification.
AT621 Atmospheric Chemistry 2 C114, M340, PH142 (P) Overview of chemical kinetics and equilibria; sources and sinks of pollutants; photochemistry and smog formation; aqueous-phase chemistry; acid rain.
AT622 Atmospheric Radiation 3 AT620 (P), AT602 (C) Terrestrial, solar radiation propagation in the atmosphere; radiative components in energy budgets, weather systems, climate studies; remote sensing.
AT623 Atmospheric Boundary Layer 2 AT601 (P) Equations for shallow atmospheric motions; thermal instability of a fluid layer; atmospheric turbulence; flow stability; 1-D mixed layer models.
AT631 Introduction to Atmospheric Aerosols 2 None Physical, chemical, and microphysical characteristics of atmospheric particulate matter; measurement principles and techniques.
AT650 Measurement Systems and Theory 2 PH142, ST301 (P) Surface and upper air measurement systems; theory and system response, sensor design; automated data collection, analysis and display systems.
AT652 Atmospheric Remote Sensing 2 AT622 (P/WI) Concepts of electromagnetic and acoustic wave propagation; active and passive remote sensing techniques including radar, lidar, thermal emission systems.
AT655 Objective Analysis in the Atmospheric Sciences 3 M531 (P/WI) Objective analysis of geophysical data: general statistics; matrix methods; time series analysis. Emphasis on applications to real-world data.
AT695 Independent Study (General Atmospheric Science) Variable None None
AT680 Physical Oceanography 2 None Physical Oceanography
AT699 Thesis: M.S. Varies Varies None

Graduate Level (Ph.D.)
Course Title Credits Requisites* Description
AT703 Numerical Weather Prediction 2 AT602 (P) Quasi-geostrophic approximation; barotropic, baroclinic, primitive equation, and general circulation models; numerical methods.
AT704 Large-scale Geophysical Fluid Dynamics 2 AT602 (P) Quasi-static, quasi-geostrophic equations; planetary waves; geostrophic adjustment; barotropic, baroclinic instability; frontogenesis; tropical cyclones.
AT707 Atmospheric Waves and Vortices 3 AT602, AT605 (P/WI) Dynamics of the stratosphere and mesosphere with emphasis on the lower and middle stratosphere.
AT708 Atmospheric Waves and Vortices 3 AT602, AT605 (P/WI) Dynamics of the stratosphere and mesosphere with emphasis on the lower and middle stratosphere.
AT710 Geophysical Vortices 3 AT601, AT602 (P/WI) Observational, experimental, and theoretical aspects of geophysical vortices, such as hurricanes, polar lows, tornadoes and dust devils.
AT711 Micrometeorology 2 AT623 (P) Laminar and turbulent flow; momentum, heat, water vapor transports near the surface; radiation, evaporation, and diffusion in boundary layer.
AT712 Dynamics of Clouds 3 AT623 (P) General theory of cloud dynamics; parameterization of microphysics and radiation; models of fog, stratocumuli, cumulonimbi, and orographic clouds.
AT715 Atmospheric Oxidation Processes 2 AT621 (P) Atmospheric hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide reactions; aqueous phase scavenging and reactions; chemical pathways in the atmosphere.
AT716 Air Quality Characterization 2 AT560, AT555 or AT621 (P/WI) Students plan, execute, and report on a measurement campaign to characterize local air quality.
AT721 Theoretical Topics in Radiative Transfer 3 AT622 (P) Physics of atmospheric radiation; theoretical techniques used to show radiation transfer equation.
AT722 Atmospheric Radiation and Energetics 3 AT622 (P) Radiative transfer in the atmosphere; implications on remote sensing and energetics.
AT724 Cloud Microphysics 2 AT621 (P) Theories and observations of nucleation; cloud droplet spectra broadening; precipitation growth and breakup; ice multiplication; cloud electrification.
AT730 Mesoscale Modeling 3 AT602, AT632 (P) Development of basic equations used in mesoscale models and methodology of solution.
AT735 Mesoscale Dynamics 3 AT602 (P) Analysis of physical and dynamical processes that initiate, maintain, and modulate atmospheric mesoscale phenomena.
AT737 Satellite Observation of Atmosphere and Earth 3 AT622, AT652 (P/WI) Satellite measurements; basic orbits and observing systems; applications of remote sensing and imaging to investigations of atmospheric processes.
AT741 Radar Meteorology 3 AT 652 (P/WI) Radar systems; radar equation and applications; multiple Doppler observation and processing; radar studies of mesoscale systems.
AT742 Tropical Meteorology 3 AT605, AT623, AT655 (P) Climatology and general circulation of the tropics; air-sea, cumulus energy, and momentum exchanges; tropical storm dynamics.
AT743 Interaction of the Ocean and Atmosphere 3 AT601 and AT602, or instructor permission Ocean-atmosphere interactions in observations, theory, and models. Time mean atmosphere-ocean circulations through climate variability and change.
AT745 Atmospheric General Circulation Modeling 3 AT602, AT605 (P) Survey of current problems in modeling of the general circulation of the atmosphere.
AT750 Climate Dynamics: Atmospheric Variability 3 AT605, AT655 (P) Analysis and interpretation of large-scale patterns of climate variability and observed climate change.
AT753 Global Hydrologic Cycle 3 AT601 (P) Hydrologic cycle; moisture transport and air-ground exchange; water budgets of meteorological phenomena; climatology of atmospheric water.
AT755 Topics in Climate Research 3 AT606 (P) Survey of current topics in climate research.
AT760 Global Carbon Cycle 2 AT606 (P) Exchanges of CO2 between the atmosphere, the land surface, and oceans. Biogeochemical processes. Micrometeorological and inverse flux estimation.
AT762 Biosphere-Chemistry-Climate Interactions 2 AT621 Explore the sensitivity of the climate system to atmospheric chemical composition with emphasis on connections to biosphereic processes and feedbacks.
AT765 Climate Dynamics: Oceanic Variability 3 AT602 (P) Climate variability on times scale of years to millennia with focus on the role of the ocean circulation. Approach through dynamical systems theory.
AT770 Ocean Modeling 3 AT602 (P) Conceptual and numerical ocean models and their application to current problems in climate science and biogeochemical cycles.
AT772 Aerosol Chemistry 2 C114, M161, PH122 or PH142 (P) Physics and chemistry of atmospheric aerosols including composition, surface properties, size, interaction with radiation sources, sinks.
AT784 Supervised College Teaching Variable Variable (WI/WH) None
AT786 Practicum Variable None None
AT795 Independent Study: General Atmospheric Science Variable None None
AT796 Group Study (See AT699 for research categories.) Variable Variable None
AT799 Dissertation: Ph.D. Variable Variable None

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.