Spring, 2008: Introduction to Climatology (METR 212)

 

Classes: 4-5:15 Tuesday and Thursday Room 121, Physical Sci Building

Instructor: Dr. Jerome Blechman, 29 Denison, phone 3322.   

Office hours: Monday 11-12, Tuesday 10-11, Wednesday 10-11, Thursday 11-12

 

Text: Climatology: An Atmospheric Science by Oliver and Hidore, 2nd edition, available at the College Text Bookstore.  Damascene also has copies.

 

Course Objectives

• To survey the earth's climates and the physical factors that produce them.

• To relate climatological concepts to other relevant science areas.

• To engage students in inquiry-based research activities to develop their skills of interpreting climate and pursuing scientific research.

 

Grading: There will be two one-hour exams will be worth 20% each. These exams will be on February 12 and March 18. During the semester, there will be several class questions and small projects worth a total of 10%. The Final Exam, worth 25% will be on May 8 at 11 a.m.  There will be a term research project worth 25%.  Details about the project are given below.

 

Grading Scale:                     92-100% = A         90-91% = A-                          87-89% = B+                          83-86% = B

                                                80-82% = B-           77-79% = C+                          73-76% = C                            70-72% = C-

                                                67-69% = D+         63-66% = D                            60-62% = D-                          0-59% = E

 

Lecture Topics and required reading in Oliver and Hidore:

                                                                                               

1. Introduction                                                                          pp. 2-19

2. Radiation                                                                              pp. 24-31, 32-35

3. Temperature                                                                         pp. 37-57

4. Humidity                                                                               pp. 65-73

5. Precipitation (review precip mechanisms in text)                    pp. 75-83

6. General Circulation (review air motions in text)                      pp. 106-121

7. Air masses, storms, synoptic climatology                               pp. 123-140, 146-152

8. Climate classification                                                             pp. 189-205

9. Tropical climates                                                                   pp. 207-216

10. Midlatitude climates                                                            pp. 224-238

11. Polar Climates                                                                    pp. 242-253

12. Past climates                                                                       pp. 261-279

13. Theories of climate change                                                  pp. 281-294

 

Note that there is a lot of reading for this course.  Don't get too far behind.

 

Term Project

           

            You will investigate a climatological topic relevant to the ones in lecture.  This will involve Library research, Internet research, background reading about the topic, analysis of the importance of the topic, possibly some data analysis, and drawing conclusions.

 

            You will pick the topic you wish to pursue.  These must be approved by January 30 and may be selected from a list which will be provided or may be an approved topic of your own choice.  Two people may NOT choose the same topic, nor will you work together.  This is an individual research project.  To reserve your topic, ask me to assign it to you on or before January 30.

 

            Once the project is approved, you will write a rough outline/draft to be turned in by February 26.  That is our first class after the first break. I must read the drafts and get them back to you for finishing so if you are late with your draft, there will be a penalty to your ultimate project grade. The penalty will increase the later it is. The rough draft does not need to be a finished project but you must have an introduction, background research, a writeup of how you will analyze your data (if applicable), and a reference list in the standard format.  I will show you how to construct a reference list in that format. 

 

            This is a WS2 attribute course, so spelling, punctuation, and grammar all count.  Your rough draft will be checked for such errors in writing as well as for logic and completeness of the project plan but no grade will be assigned to the rough draft.  However, part of your final grade will be based on how well you correct your errors in your final project paper.  That final product will be due on April 1, the first class after the second break.  Again, late papers will be marked down for lateness but for the final draft, papers will not be accepted after April 15.

 

            Starting on April 15, we will have oral presentations of your papers.  You will have only 15 minutes to present your topic and findings, with 5 minutes for questions.  We will have four presentations each class until May 1. The oral report will be part of your project grade.  Part of my criteria for grading the presentation will be how much you can interest the class in your topic and results. For the oral report, you must use Microsoft Powerpoint as a presentation tool.  That program is usually the standard one for presenting talks of this type.  If you need assistance in using Powerpoint, ask me.  Take good notes during your classmates’ oral presentations.  You will be asked to summarize one of them for a question on the Final Exam using those notes.

 

            For the written report, use a suitable scientific writing style. This is not creative writing.  Be logical.  Do not use the first person (i.e., don't write "I learned a lot"). For an example, read any paper published in a scientific journal, like the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.  Refer to your sources of information and list those sources in a reference list, just like in the scientific journals.

            The paper must be printed. Take advantage of the spell checker but read it to yourself also.  Spell checkers don't always choose the correct word (i.e., their vs. there, due vs do).  Remember, the proper use of the English language counts.

 

            A word about plagiarism: DON’T.  Wiktionary.org defines the act of plagiarizing as “to use and pass off as one’s own, someone else’s writing/speech.”  You must give credit to your sources in a reference list and use quotation marks when quoting a source.  For example: “The highest temperatures in Colorado during major heat waves are usually found at lower elevations stations easwt of the Rockies ...” (Pielke, et al. 2007).  In your reference list you give the entire reference: Pielke, R.S., K. Wolter, O. Bliss, N. Doeskin, and B. McNoldy, 2007: The July 2005 Denver Heat wave: How unusual was it?  Nat. Wea. Digest, 31, 24-35.  Also, do not simply string together quotes from various sources.  That is not writing.  It is assembling other people’s words.  Write up your ideas in your own words.  I consider plagiarism to be academic dishonesty. You don’t want to go down that road. 

 

Following is a list of topics which may be chosen for the project or you may make up one. Remember, once a topic has been chosen, nobody else can do that topic.  So, get your topic approved early.  If you have no topic by January 30, one will be assigned to you.

 

1. Average yearly and monthly temperatures at your home town over the last 50-100 years.  Correlate with population and/or increases in the number and size of buildings.

 

2. Does Oneonta have an urban heat island effect?  Correlate daily maxima and minima with population and/or increases in the number and size of buildings.

 

3. Compare average yearly and monthly temperatures in Oneonta since 1949 with records in Monthly Weather Review for the middle of the 19th century.  Speculate on possible causes for any differences you find.

 

4. Temperature changes over the last 100 years in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River, between the Mississippi River and the Continental Divide, and west of the Continental Divide.

 

5. Average summer climate trends in your home town over the last 50-100 years.  Include temperature, rainfall, thunderstorm frequency, and, if possible, hours of sunshine (or cloudiness). 

 

6. Average winter climate trends in your home town over the last 50-100 years.  Include temperature, snowfall, and total precipitation. 

 

7. Places in the U.S. which get snowfall which is locally produced, i.e., lake effect or effects of small bodies of water.  Show the proportion of snow by local effects to snow by large scale snowstorms.

 

8. Places in the U.S. which get significant ice storms or storms with freezing rain.  What are the regional climatic conditions which produce these ice storms?

 

9. Tornadoes in countries other than the U.S.  What conditions exist to produce them?  Are they as numerous and as powerful as those in the U.S.?  Why?

 

10. The southeastern U.S. drought of 2007.  Compare severity with other drought years.

 

11. Tornado frequency by day of the week.  If you find a preferred day, does that mean the atmosphere works using the Julian calendar?

 

12. Duration and frequency of Arctic air outbreaks in the U.S. by month and by year.

 

13. El Nino climatology.  How often does this phenomenon actually occur?  Has El Nino changed with the changing climate over the last 100 years?

 

14. Indices of circulation.  NAO, PNA, etc.

 

15. The date of the first freeze in the U.S.  How does it vary geographically?  What factors cause it to happen?  How has the growing season been impacted in the last 50 years?

 

16. The severe European heat wave of 2003.  What caused it?  How were the conditions different from an average summer?

 

17. How well do summer average conditions (temperature, precipitation) correlate with the preceding winter conditions?  Corollary: how well can you predict next winter using this summer’s weather?

 

18.  How well does the Farmer’s Almanac predict conditions more than one month in advance?  How well does the National Weather Service predict conditions more than one month in advance?

 

19. How have major storm tracks changed over the last 100 years?

 

20. Is the Jet Stream stronger this year than in other years?  Why?

 

21. Tropical Cyclone activity in the Atlantic Basin.  What are the causes of the record setting 2005 season?  Was activity in the Pacific Basin comparably intense?

 

22. Correlate sunspot activity with climatic indices such as the number of storms or average temperature.  What is the mechanism by which sunspots could influence the climate?

 

23. The great oceanic conveyor belt.  How do some climatologists connect it to a new Ice Age within your lifetime?  Is it likely to happen?

 

24. On a cloudless day, what is the maximum solar radiation possible for every day of the year at Oneonta (latitude 42.45 N, longitude 75.05 W)?

 

25. On average, how many mornings of the year have conditions which produce a nocturnal inversion at Oneonta?  How many of those mornings produce radiation fog? 

 

26. Is the Earth’s surface temperature warming?  Discuss the evidence available in the scientific literature.  Is there a difference in the theorized warming trend from northern to southern hemispheres?

 

27. Is the January Thaw a real phenomenon or is it just a myth or statistical artifact?  If mythical, show why people believe in it.  If is it real, what is the meteorological proof?

 

28. How did the climate of Europe encourage immigration to North America in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries?

 

29. What is the most desirable climate in the world?  Define “desirable climate” by how many people live in it.  What characteristics make that climate type the most desirable?

 

30. Using the NCAR reanalysis data, available online, determine the average upper air pattern over the U.S. for five very cold Januaries.  Then find the pattern for five very warm Januaries.  Discuss the differences.  Then do the same for five Julys, hot versus cool.