water vapor channel, standard IR, and visible images show several aspects of the general circulation.

ATM 240: Global Atmospheric Circulations

This web page was:
last reviewed on 7 March 2005
updated on 24 September 2008
last checked on 24 September 2008

Welcome to Global Atmospheric Circulations, a course on the general circulation of the atmosphere taught by Professor Richard Grotjahn at UC Davis. Please select topics from the menu below:

Main Menu:

Course information for Winter 2000, 2006, 2008:

I. Course Administration matters:

a. Course Description (Summary of administration of the course)

b. Course Outline (subject to change!)

c. Typically, in the week prior to each exam, a copy of the exam used in the last offering of this course will be posted on the web. However, NO midterm in 2008)

c. Homework matters:

• Homework 1 (2008) A pdf of the first assignment. Data files for this assignment are found in this directory.
• Homework 2 (2008) A pdf of the 2nd assignment.
• Homework 3 (2008) A pdf of the 3rd assignment. .
• Past problem sets
• Homework 1 (2006) A pdf of all homework to date.
• Homework 1 (2005). A pdf of the homework is found here.
• Homework 6 (2005). A pdf of the homework is found here.
• Homework 7 (2005). A pdf of the homework is found here.

• Homework 8 (2005). The input dataset of sea level pressure (SLP) and precipitation can be found here.

II. Web products for course lectures:

a. Lecture Outlines

b. Summary of Momentum Cycle in the Zonal Mean Atmosphere. A Table that shows the source, transport, then sink of momentum in the atmosphere as 8 distinct steps. A schematic chart in included.

c. Summary of Energy Flow in the Zonal Mean Atmosphere. A Table that makes connections between how the heat and momentum (as APE and KE) flow in the atmosphere.

d. Grotjahn (2007) Deducing the General Circulaiton from fundamental concepts and some empirical facts.

e. Grotjahn (2008) Observing the General Circulaiton different observations give different circulations.

III. Book web pages:

1. Course Textbook: Global Atmospheric Circulations, by R. Grotjahn, Oxford Univ. Press, 1993
   The book has an extensive errata that I strongly encourage people to consult. This document is more than an errata, it includes new material that significantly upgrades the presentation of several sections of the book. The errata & upgrade is offered as a single pdf file to allow greek letters and math symbols to be displayed. (updated 17 December 2004)

   Links to electronic forms of the color plates:
   color plate 1
   color plate 2
   Larger versions of cloud Plate 2:
   color plate 2a
   color plate 2b

   
   A web page devoted to the textbook: Global Atmospheric Circulations may also be of interest to those who visit this site.

2. Selected Chapters in: Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences, edited by James R. Holton, John Pyle, and Judith A. Curry. Academic Press, 2002. (Note: at present these are uncorrected proofs in .pdf format)
   • Mean Characteristics
   • Energy Cycle
3. Selected papers in: Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans, two special issues edited by R. Grotjahn. Elsevier, 2008. (Note: at present these are uncorrected proofs in .pdf format)
   • Deducing the general circulation
   • Different data, different general circulations?
   • Also note my webpage devoted to the special issue here

IV. General Information:

1. Go to the welcome page for Richard Grotjahn.
2. Go to the Atmospheric Science Program home page.
3. You can send e-mail to me at my UCD account using:
   grotjahn 'at' ucdavis.edu .

#1   Introduction and deductions   6 January 2000

#2   Land/Ocean and Radiation (part I)   11 January 2000

#3   Radiation (part II) and "Glass Slab" Radiative Balance   13 January 2000   HW #1 due.

#4   Meridional Heat Transport, [T], and Radiative Balance Model   18 January 2000

#5   Radiative Convective Model, [u], [v], and [w]   20 January 2000   HW #2 due.

#6   Hadley Updrafts, Angular momentum conservation #1, Pressure & [Z]   25 January 2000

#7   Clouds & Moisture; Momentum budgeting   27 January 2000

#8   Momentum maintenance; Momentum fluxes   1 February 2000

#9   Momentum viewed from the [KE] equation (part 1)   3 February 2000

#10   Momentum viewed from the [KE] equation (part 2); Summary   8 February 2000
(Note: please see the Summary of Momentum Cycle web page.

  Midterm Exam   10 February 2000

#11   Introduction to APE   15 February 2000

#12   Global and limited volume APE   17 February 2000

#13   Baroclinic conversion: closed domain and QG simplification   22 February 2000

#14   CA and CK conversions, energy box diagrams, summary   24 February 2000
(Note: please see the Summary of Energy Flow web page.

#15   Zonal variations in: radiation, T, V (including jets)   29 February 2000

#16   Zonal variations in: P, moisture, momentum & heat fluxes, storm tracks, Asian monsoon momentum   2 March 2000

#17   Kuo-Eliassen equation (mean meridional cells)   7 March 2000

#18   Eddy life cycles and their interaction with the mean flow (jet stream maxima)   9 March 2000

#19   Review: Energetics, Eddy-Mean flow interactions, Application to satellite imagery   14 March 2000

Final Exam   2006 exam as pdf -- pending

IGNORE WHAT IS BELOW THIS POINT!

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