11:670:323 ATMOSPHERIC THERMODYNAMICS

Professor Alan Robock, Room 225, Environmental and Natural Resources Building
Phone: 848-932-5751, E-mail: robock@envsci.rutgers.edu

Classes in Room 223, Environmental and Natural Resources Building
Tuesday and Thursday, period 5, 3:55 - 5:15 p.m.

Prerequisites: 01:640:152 Calculus for Mathematical and Physical Sciences II, and 01:750:204 General Physics II, or equivalent.

Text:  A First Course in Atmospheric Thermodynamics, by Grant W. Petty (Sundog Publishing, Madison, Wisconsin), 2008. [Available at Sundog Publishing for $36.00.]

Supplemental texts:

Atmospheric Science, An Introductory Survey, Second Edition, by John M. Wallace and Peter V. Hobbs (Academic Press), 2006. [mostly Chapters 1, 3, and 6]  Wallace and Hobbs web site Atmospheric Thermodynamics, by Craig F. Bohren and Bruce A. Albrecht (Oxford University Press), 1998. The Use of the Skew T, log p Diagram in Analysis and Forecasting, Air Weather Service, AWS/TR-79/006, Revised March 1990.

What is expected of you:

1. Check your email every day.
2. Read every assignment in the text before class, and come prepared to discuss it and ask questions about it.
3. Participate in class discussions.  But be respectful of your listeners and give everyone time to talk.
4. Listen attentively and respectfully to whomever is talking in class, be it the professor or a fellow student.  (This means no texting or web browsing.)
5. Attend every class.  Arrive on time.  You cannot pass the course if you miss the lectures and class discussions.
6. Be curious.
7. Be skeptical.  Demand evidence before you believe something.
8. Enjoy the class, and if you are not, express your concerns and work to change things.
9. Work three hours outside of class for every hour in a class.
10. Many decisions are based on your values.  But be sure to be aware of your values and to state then when appropriate. 

Learning Goals:

Upon completion of this class, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of atmospheric thermodynamics, including how the vertical structure of the atmosphere changes with vertical motion.
2. Exhibit critical thinking when confronting new information.
3. Communicate clearly orally and in writing, including by electronic means.
4. Apply the mathematical and physical foundations of meteorology and climatology to solve problems using analytical and computational methods.