Atmoshperic & Oceanic Science
AOSC 400 Physical Meteorology of the Atmosphere (3 credits) - UMCP
Prerequisite: MATH 141, PHYS 161, or PHYS 171 or permission of department
The application of basic classical physics, chemistry, and mathematics to the study of the atmosphere. Composition of the atmosphere; energy sources and sinks (radiation in the atmosphere, radiative balance and radiative forcing of atmospheric processes); atmospheric thermodynamics; clouds and precipitation physics; atmospheric electricity and optics; mesoscale processes; airmass boundaries; severe weather; tropical cyclones; storms; global circulation.
AOSC 424 Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere and Ocean (3 credits) - UMCP
Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C- in PHYS 171, PHYS 161 or MATH 141 or permission of instructor
Many of the properties of the atmosphere, ocean, and land surface are most easily observed from satellite remote sensing. This course will provide students with a hands-on introduction to a variety of passive and active sensing techniques and sensors observing our changing environment. Topics include: orbital dynamics and electromagnetic properties of the atmosphere and surface; atmospheric emission characteristics and scattering; chemical composition and spectroscopy; temperature retrievals; detection and retrieval of aerosol, cloud and rain; ocean surface properties; sea surface temperature and color; active sensing of wind stress, sea level and internal waves; time-dependent gravity; properties of vegetation and ice.
AOSC 610 Dynamics of the Atmospphere and Ocean I (3 credits) - UMCP
Prerequisite: MATH 462 or equivalent partial differential equations course
Equations of motion and their approximation, scale analysis for the atmosphere and the ocean. Conservation properties. Fluid motion in the atmosphere and oceans. Circulation and vorticity, geostrophic motion and the gradient wind balance. Turbulence and Ekman Layers.
AOSC 611 Dynamics of the Atmosphere and Ocean II (3 credits) - UMCP
Waves and instabilities in the atmosphere and the ocean. Gravity, Rossby, coastal and equatorial waves. Flow over topography. Dynamic instabilities including barotropic, baroclinic, inertial, and instabilities of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system. Stationary waves and multiple equilibria.
AOSC 614 Atmospheric Modeling, Data Assimilation and Predictability (3 credits) - UMCP
Prerequisite: AOSC 610 or permission of instructor
Solid foundation for atmospheric and oceanic modeling and numerical weather prediction: numerical methods for partial differential equations, an introduction to physical parameterizations, modern data assimilation, and predictability.
AOSC 616 Advanced Methods in Data Assimilation for the Earth Sciences (3 credits) - UMCP
Prerequisite: AOSC 614 or permission of instructor
An overview of the most important methods of data assimilation. Theory, techniques and strategies of these methods, as well as their possible drawbacks. Hands-on experimentation with variational and other data assimilation systems.
AOSC 630 Statistical Methods in Meteorology and Oceanography (3 credits) - UMCP
Prerequisite: STAT 400 or equivalent introductory statistics course
Parametric and non-parametric tests; time series analysis and filtering; wavelets. Multiple regression and screening; neural networks. Empirical orthogonal functions and teleconnections. Statistical weather and climate prediction, including MOS, constructed analogs. Ensemble forecasting and verification.
AOSC 652 Analysis Methods in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science (3 credits) - UMCP
Prerequisite: PHYS 141 and MATH 241 or permission of department
A variety of the analysis methods used by atmospheric and oceanic scientists will be applied to observational data sets such as Vostok ice core record, temperature trends, and satellite measurements of ozone, sea ice, etc. in a hands-on computer laboratory setting. Students will be exposed to Fortran, IDL, and Matlab as well a modern file formats such as HDF and netCDF.
AOSC 658 Special Topics in Meteorology (1-3 credits) - UMCP
Prerequisite: permission of instructor
Various special topics in meteorology are given intensive study. The topic of concentration varies, from semester to semester and depends on student and faculty interests. Often, specialists from other institutions are invited to the campus on a visiting lectureship basis to conduct the course.
AOSC 670 Physical Oceanography (3 credits) - UMCP
Prerequisites: permission of department
Ocean observations. Water masses, sources of deep water. Mass, heat, and salt transport, geochemical tracers. Western boundary currents, maintenance of the thermocline. Coastal and estuarine processes. Surface waves and tides. Ocean climate.
AOSC 675 Carbon Cycle and Climate: Past, Present, and Future (3 credits) - UMCP
The fundamentals of the earth's carbon cycle, a key biogeochemical cycle that controls earth's climate and life. The changing characteristics of the carbon cycle on several timescales, ranging from geological, inter annual, and the more recent anthropogenic influences on carbon cycle and climate. The carbon cycle in the atmosphere, land, ocean, and the biosphere. The underlying human activities such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation that are responsible for the increase in the atmosphere CO2 and our future options in dealing with the carbon problem such as alternative energy and carbon sequestration.