Introduces students to data analysis in the atmospheric sciences using modern programming languages and techniques. Provides hands-on experience through the exploration of atmospheric datasets.
This course has undergone many changes since I first introduced it in 2020! Students learn the basics of Python and progress in ten weeks to the point where they can use discipline-specific Python packages to create complex figures (such as a hodograph embedded within an atmospheric sounding using MetPy). We also discuss the use of generative AI in programming. Students "build their own textbooks" by writing Jupyter notebooks along with me as we work through various problems live in-class - their lecture notes remain as live code to be referenced or modified at any time. A new addition this year: Python Taskmaster, in which students worked in groups with a strict time limit to complete increasingly bizarre and off-the-wall tasks in creative ways.
Principles of operating instruments for measuring important atmospheric parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity, aerosol concentration). Concepts of sensitivity, accuracy, representativeness, time response. Manipulation of output data including signal processing and statistical analysis. Experimental design and implementation of the design in actual field experiments is included.
In this course, students not only learn how sensors work and how to understand uncertainty in measurements, they get to proceed through an entire scientific project: they site instruments, they gather and share real data, they analyze data, they present on their results, they write up their results, they peer review each other's results, and they revise their papers. The course also includes an introduction to a variety of sensors, including weather radar!
Explores the science, history, and impacts of thunderstorms and hurricanes. Includes basic processes responsible for thunderstorms and hurricanes and for the lightning, hail, high winds, and storm surges that accompany them. Presents significant historical examples, along with the impact on human activities, strategies for personal safety, and societal adaptation.
Originally moved to online, asynchronous format out of necessity, this general-education course now fully embraces the format! Students work through a series of short modules (including brief videos with built-in quizzes and topical weather briefings) to learn all about the physics behind severe storms... without getting too caught in the mathematical weeds! While the course can be very large (one year featured well over 200 students), discussions are active on the Canvas page and students have lots of opportunities to interact with the instructor and TA, including just to chat about interesting weather events. The online, asynchronous format gives more and more students the chance to learn about our atmosphere!
Techniques of observing storm structure and dynamics by radar and aircraft, observed structures of precipitating cloud systems, comparison of observed structures with cloud models.