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Fundamentals of Atmospheric Science

This text prepares students by laying a solid foundation in the application of physical, chemical, and mathematical principles to a broad range of atmospheric phenomena. Students are introduced to fundamental concepts and applications of atmospheric thermodynamics, radiative transfer, atmospheric chemistry, cloud microphysics, atmospheric dynamics, and the atmospheric boundary layer.

Meteorology and Climate Science Geosciences

Author: William Brune
Publisher: The Pennsylvania State University
Source: LibreTexts
License: CC BY-NC-SA
Language: EN
Category: Basic Sciences

Read online Download PDF (open licence)

Contents· 108 sections

01: Getting Started
1.01: The atmosphere is
1.02: You will not believe what you can do with math
1.03: If you thought practice makes perfect you could be right
1.04: Are you ready to get with the programming
1.05: Summary and Final Tasks
02: Thermodynamics
2.01: Gas Laws
2.02: The Atmospheres Pressure Structure - Hydrostatic Equilibrium
2.03: First Law of Thermodynamics
2.04: The higher the temperature the thicker the layer
2.05: Adiabatic Processes - The Path of Least Resistance
2.06: Stability and Buoyancy
03: Moist Processes
3.01: Ways to Specify Water Vapor
3.02: Condensation and Evaporation
3.03: Phase Diagram for Water Vapor - Clausius Clapeyron Equation
3.04: Solving Energy Problems Involving Phase Changes and Temperature Changes
3.05: The Skew-T Diagram- A Wonderful Tool
3.06: Understanding the Atmospheres Temperature Profile
3.07: Summary and Final Tasks
04: Atmospheric Composition
4.01: Atmospheric Composition
4.02: Changes in Atmospheric Composition
4.03: Other Trace Gases
4.04: Stratospheric Ozone Formation
4.05: The Story of the Atmosphere's PAC-MAN
4.06: Where do Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) come from
4.07: Summary and Final Tasks
05: Cloud Physics
5.01: Looking at the Whole Cloud
5.02: Do you recognize these clouds drops and snowflakes
5.03: What are the requirements for forming a cloud drop
5.04: How can supersaturation be achieved
5.05: Curvature Effect - Kelvin Effect
5.06: Solute Effect - Raoults Law
5.07: Vapor Deposition
5.08: Did you know most precipitation comes from collision-coalescence
5.09: An Unusual Way to Make Precipitation in Mixed-Phase Clouds
5.10: Summary and Final Tasks
06: Atmospheric Radiation
6.01: Prelude to Atmospheric Radiation
6.02: Atmospheric Radiation - Why does it matter
6.03: Start at the Source - Earth Rotating Around the Sun
6.04: How is energy related to the wavelength of radiation
6.05: The Solar Spectrum
6.06: What is the origin of the Planck Function
6.07: Which wavelength has the greatest spectral irradiance
6.08: What is the total irradiance of any object
6.09: Kirchhoffs Law explains why nobody is perfect
6.10: Why do objects absorb the way that they do
07: Applications of Atmospheric Radiation Principles
7.01: Prelude to Applications of Atmospheric Radiation Principles
7.02: Applications of Atmospheric Radiation
7.03: Atmospheric Radiation and Earths Climate
7.04: What does the energy balance of the real atmosphere look like
7.05: Applications to Remote Sensing
7.06: What is the math behind these physical descriptions of the GOES data products
7.07: Summary and Final Tasks
08: Math and Conceptual Preparation for Understanding Atmospheric Motion
8.01: Prelude to Math and Conceptual Preparation for Understanding Atmospheric Motion
8.02: This is why partial derivatives are so easy...
8.03: What you dont know about vectors may surprise you
8.04: Describing weather requires coordinate systems.
8.05: Do you need a weathervane to see which way the wind blows
8.06: Gradients - How to Find Them
8.07: What You Experience Depends on Your Point of View - Eulerian vs. Lagrangian
8.08: Can the Eulerian and Lagrangian frameworks be connected
8.09: Summary and Final Tasks
09: Kinematics
9.01: Streamlines and trajectories arent usually the same.
9.02: Watch these air parcels move and change.
9.03: Five Air Motion Types You Must Get to Know
9.04: How does divergence relate to the air parcels area change
9.05: How is the horizontal divergence convergence related to vertical motion
9.06: How fast is the vertical wind and which way does it blow
9.07: Summary and Final Tasks
10: Dynamics - Forces
10.01: What does turbulent drag do to horizontal boundary layer flow
10.02: Why are midlatitude winds mostly westerly (i.e. eastward)
10.03: Why We Like Conservation
10.04: What are the important real forces
10.05: Effects of Earths Rotation- Apparent Forces
10.06: Equations of Motion in Spherical Coordinates
10.07: Are all the terms in these equations equally important Let's use scale analysis.
10.08: Why do weather maps use pressure surfaces instead of height surfaces
10.09: Natural coordinates are better horizontal coordinates.
10.10: A Closer Look at the Four Force Balances
10.11: See how the gradient wind has a role in weather.
10.12: Overview
10.13: Summary and Final Tasks
11: Atmospheric Boundary Layer
11.01: How do these fluxes look
11.02: Turbulent Eddies - A Cascade of Energy
11.03: The Surface Layers Energy Budget
11.04: The atmospheric boundary layer is your home.
11.05: A Day in the Life of the Boundary Layer
11.06: The Story of Diurnal Boundary Layer Growth Told in Vertical Profiles of Virtual Potential Temperature
11.07: Frozen - The Taylor Hypothesis
11.08: Heres How Reynolds Did Averaging
11.09: How Kinematic Fluxes Move Air Vertically
11.10: Can we relate this turbulent flux to a molecular flux
11.11: Lets see how vertical turbulent transport can be quantified.
11.12: What other fluxes are important
11.13: Summary and Final Tasks
12: The Atmosphere - A Holistic View
12.01: An Integrated View of the Atmosphere
12.02: The Final Project