Courses
Upcoming Teaching Schedule
| Fall 2024 | Undergraduate Courses ATM 5. Global Climate Change: Our Changing Atmosphere (Ullrich) ATM 60. Introduction to Atmospheric Science (Faloona) ATM 116. Climate Change (Anastasio) ATM 120. Atmospheric Thermodynamics and Cloud Physics (Faloona) ATM Graduate Courses ATM 245. Climate Change, Water and Society (Monier) Other ASGG Faculty Graduate Courses ECI 247. Aerosols (Kleeman) ETX 220. Analysis of Toxicants (Zhang) MAT 221. Fluid Dynamics (Biello) ECI 274. Introduction to Turbulence (Oldroyd) |
| Winter 2025 | Undergraduate Courses ATM 10. Severe and Unusual Weather (A. Igel) ATM 110. Weather Observation and Analysis (Chen) ATM 121a. Atmospheric Dynamics (M. Igel) ATM 133. Biometeorology (Monier) ATM Graduate Courses ATM 255. Numerical Modeling of the Atmosphere (Chen) ATM 290. Atmospheric Sciences Seminar (Anastasio) |
| Spring 2025 | Undergraduate Courses ATM 5. Global Climate Change: Our Changing Atmosphere (Ullrich) ATM 10. Severe and Unusual Weather (Chen) ATM 111/111LY. Weather Analysis (M. Igel) ATM 121b. Atmospheric Dynamics (Ullrich) ATM 128. Radiation and Satellite Meteorology (A. Igel) ATM Graduate Courses ATM 240. General Circulation (Nathan) ATM 244. Cloud and Precipitation Physics (A. Igel) ATM 290. Atmospheric Sciences Seminar (Faloona) |
For questions regarding lower division courses, please contact lawradvising@ucdavis.edu. For questions regarding upper division or grad level courses, please contact lawrgradadvising@ucdavis.edu. Or contact the instructor of the course directly.
Lower Division Courses
5. Global Climate Change: Our Changing Atmosphere (3)
Lecture—2 hours; discussion—1 hour. Scientific concepts needed to understand climate and climate change. Principles of regional variations in climate. Understanding observed seasonal, decadal and millennial changes. Analysis of the Antarctic ozone hole, El Nino and human-induced global warming. GE credit: SciEng | QL, SE, SL, VL — Ullrich, Faloona, A. Igel
Offered Fall and Spring quarters
6. Fundamentals of Atmospheric Pollution (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Effects of human emissions on the atmosphere: smog, ozone pollution, and ozone depletion; indoor air pollution; global warming; acid rain. Impacts of these problems on the earth, ecosystems, and humans. Strategies to reduce atmospheric pollution. GE credit: SciEng. | QL, SL, VL — Anastasio
Not offered regularly
10. Severe and Unusual Weather (3)
Lecture—2 hours; discussion—1 hour. Prerequisite: high school physics. Introduction to physical principles of severe and unusual weather: flood, blizzards, thunderstorms, lightning, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Emphasis on scientific perspective and human context. GE credit: SciEng. | QL, SL, VL — Paw U, Monier, Chen
Offered Winter and Spring quarters
30. Issues in Atmospheric Science (2)
Lecture—1 hour; discussion—1 hour. Prerequisite: high school physics. Introduction to selected topics in atmospheric science, such as: meteorological aspects of air pollution, use of computer models in weather forecasting, theories of global climate change, impact of satellites on meteorology, and modern meteorological instrumentation. (P/NP grading only.)
Not offered regularly
60. Introduction to Atmospheric Science (4)
Lecture—3 hours; discussion—1 hour. Prerequisite(s): MAT 16A or 21A, and PHY 7A or 9A. Fundamental principles of the physics, chemistry, and fluid dynamics underlying weather and climate. Solar radiation, the greenhouse effect, and the thermal budget of the Earth. Clouds and their formation, convection, precipitation, mid-latitude storm systems. GE credit: QL, SE, VL — Faloona
Offered Fall quarters
92. Atmospheric Science Internship (1-12)
Internship—3-36 hours. Prerequisite: lower division standing and consent of instructor. Internship off and on campus in atmospheric science. Internship supervised by a member of the faculty. (P/NP grading only.)
98. Directed Group Study (1-5)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (P/NP grading only.)
99. Special Study for Undergraduates (1-5)
(P/NP grading only.)
Upper Division Courses
110. Weather Observation and Analysis (4)
Lecture—3 hours; laboratory—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 60. Acquisition, distribution and analysis of meteorological data. Vertical sounding analysis, stability indices, probability of local severe weather, weather map analysis. Use of National Weather Service analyses and forecast products. Laboratory makes use of computer-generated analyses. GE Credit: SciEng. | OL, QL, VL — Chen
Offered Winter quarters, odd years
111. Weather Analysis and Prediction (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 110, 121B, 111L (concurrently), knowledge of a programming language. Tools for analyzing observed properties of mid-latitude weather systems. The analysis-forecast system, including various weather forecast models. General structure and properties of mid-latitude weather systems.— M. Igel
Offered Spring quarters
111LY. Weather Analysis and Prediction Laboratory (2)
Laboratory—6 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 111 (concurrently). Subjective and objective analysis of weather data. Web-based learning of the analysis-forecast system and various weather forecasting situations. Weather map interpretation and forecast discussions. (P/NP grading only.)— M. Igel
Offered Spring quarters
112. Weather Forecasting Practice (2)
Discussion—2 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 110. Formal practice in preparing local weather forecasts. Analysis ofcurrent weather conditions and recent model performance. Verificationand discussion of prior forecast. Interpretation of current forecastmodel guidance. Posting of forecast. May be repeated for credit up tothree times. (P/NP grading only.)
Not offered regularly
115. Hydroclimatology (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 60. Examination of climate as the forcing function for the hydrologic system. Emphasis on seasonal variations in the relationship between precipitation and evapotranspiration for meso-scale areas. Watershed modeling of floods and drought for evaluating the effects of climatic fluctuations.— Yang
Not offered regularly
116. Climate Change (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: none. Climate trends and patterns spanning the recent past and the future. Emphasis on natural processes that produce climate variations and human influence on these processes. Evidence of climate change and the role of global climate models in understandingclimate variability. GE Credit: SciEng. | QL, SE, SL, VL — Anastasio
Offered Fall quarters
120. Atmospheric Thermodynamics and Cloud Physics (4)
Lecture—3 hours, discussion--- 1 hour. Prerequisite: MAT 21C, PHY 9B, ATM 60 (may be taken concurrently). Atmospheric composition and structure, thermodynamics of atmospheric gases, thermal properties of dry and moist air, atmospheric stability; cloud nucleation, cloud growth by condensation and collision, cloud models. GE Credit: SciEng. | QL, VL — Faloona, A. Igel
Offered Fall quarters
121A. Atmospheric Dynamics (4)
Lecture—3 hours; extensive problem solving. Prerequisite: ATM 120, MAT 21D, PHY 9B. Fundamental forces of atmospheric flow; noninertial reference frames; development of the equations of motion for rotating stratified atmospheres; isobaric and natural coordinate systems; geostrophic flow; thermal wind; circulation and vorticity.— Ullrich, Chen, Nathan
Offered Winter quarters
121B. Atmospheric Dynamics (4)
Lecture—3 hours; extensive problem solving. Prerequisite: ATM 121A. Dynamics of fluid motion in geophysical systems; quasi-geostrophic theory; fundamentals of wave propagation in fluids; Rossby waves; gravity waves; fundamentals of hydrodynamic instability; two-level model; baroclinic instability and cyclogenesis.— Ullrich, Chen, Nathan
Offered Spring quarters
124. Meteorological Instruments and Observations (3)
Lecture—2 hours; laboratory—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 60. Modern meteorological instruments and their use in meteorological observations and measurements. Both standard and micrometeorological instruments are included.— Paw U
Offered Fall quarters
128. Radiation and Satellite Meteorology (4)
Lecture/discussion—3 hours; discussion—1 hour. Prerequisite: ATM 60, PHY 9B, MAT 21C. Concepts of atmospheric radiation and the use of satellites in remote sensing. Emphasis on the modification of solar and infrared radiation by the atmosphere. Estimation from satellite data of atmospheric variables such as temperatures and cloudiness.— A. Igel
Offered Spring quarters
133. Biometeorology (4)
Lecture—3 hours; discussion—1 hour. Prerequisite: MAT 16B; one course in a biological discipline or consent of instructor. Atmospheric and biological interactions. Physical and biological basis for water vapor, carbon dioxide and energy exchanges with the atmosphere associated with plants and animals, including humans. Microclimate of plant canopies and microclimatic modification such as frost protection and windbreaks.— Paw U, Monier
Offered Winter quarters
149N. Air Pollution (4)
Lecture—3 hours; discussion—1 hour. Prerequisite: MAT 21D, 22B or 27B, CHE 2B, ATM 121A or ENG 103 or ECI 100. Physical and technical aspects of air pollution. Emphasis on geophysical processes and air pollution meteorology as well as physical and chemical properties of pollutants. — Cappa
Offered Winter quarters
150. Introduction to Computer Methods in Physical Sciences (4)
Lecture—3 hours; laboratory/discussion—2 hours. Prerequisite: Engineering 5 or the equivalent, Mathematics 22B or 27B and a course in fluid dynamics (course 121A, Physics 104A, or Engineering 103A) or consent of instructor. Computational techniques used in physical sciences. Integral and differential equation numerical solution: mainly finite differencing and spectral (Fourier transform) methods. Includes introduction to C. Specific applications drawn from meteorology. Students write one C and several FORTRAN programs.
Not offered regularly
158. Boundary-Layer Meteorology (4)
Lecture—3 hours; discussion—1 hour. Prerequisite: ATM 121A. Growth, development and structure of the atmospheric layer directly influenced by the underlying surface and extending to a maximum of about two kilometers under convective conditions. Turbulent diffusion in the boundary layer. The microclimate at and near the ground surface.— Faloona
Offered Spring quarters, even years
160. Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry (4)
Lecture—3 hours; discussion—1 hour. Prerequisite: CHE 2B. Quantitative examination of current local, regional and global problems in atmospheric chemistry (including photochemical smog, acid deposition, climate change, and stratospheric ozone depletion) using fundamental concepts from chemistry. Basic chemical modeling of atmospheric reaction systems.—Anastasio
Offered Winter quarters
192. Atmospheric Science Internship (1-12)
Internship—3-36 hours. Prerequisite: completion of 84 units and consent of instructor. Internship off and on campus in atmospheric science. Internship supervised by a member of the faculty. (P/NP grading only.)
198. Directed Group Study (1-5)
Prerequisite: three upper division units in Atmospheric Science. (P/NP grading only.)
199. Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates (1-5)
Prerequisite: three upper division units in Atmospheric Science and at least an overall B average. (P/NP grading only.)
Graduate Courses
215. Advanced Hydroclimatology (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 115. Theoretical and applied aspects of energy and mass fluxes linking the earth’s surface, atmosphere, and hydrologic system. Emphasis on regional scale analysis and modeling, spatial data representation, and climate change influences on precipitation and its hydroclimatic expression. Offered infrequently
221. Advanced Atmospheric Dynamics (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 121B. Conditions for instability in stratified atmospheres; baroclinic instability; forced topographic Rossby Waves; wave-mean flow interaction theory; tropical dynamics; stratospheric dynamics.— Nathan
223. Advanced Boundary-Layer Meteorology (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 230. Characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer under convective and nocturnal conditions. Heat budget at the surface and boundary layer forcing. Similarity theory and scaling of the boundary layer. Measurement and simulation techniques. Offered in alternate years.— Faloona
230. Atmospheric Turbulence (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite. ATM 121B or 158. Dynamics and energetics of turbulence in the atmosphere including vorticity dynamics. Statistical description of turbulence; Eulerian and Lagrangian scales, spectral analysis, conditional sampling techniques. Turbulent diffusion; the closure problem, gradient-diffusion and second-order methods. Offered in alternate years.— Paw U
231. Advanced Air Pollution Meteorology (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisites: ATM 149N, 160 and one course in fluid dynamics. Processes determining transport and diffusion of primary and secondary pollutants. Models of chemical transformation, of the atmospheric boundary layer and of mesoscale wind fields, as applicable to pollutant dispersion problems. Offered infrequently
233. Advanced Biometeorology (3)
Lecture/discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 133 or consent of instructor. Current topics in biometeorology. Physical and biological basis for water vapor, other gases, and energy exchange with the atmosphere. Topics include modeling and measuring turbulent transport from plant canopies, surface temperatures and energy budgets, bio-aerosol physics and aerobiology. Offered in alternate years.—Paw U
240. General Circulation of the Atmosphere (4)
Lecture/discussion—4 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 121B. Large-scale, observed atmospheric properties. Radiation, momentum, and energy balances derived and compared with observations. Lectures and homework synthesize observations and theories, then apply them to understand the large-scale circulations. Offered infrequently
241. Climate Dynamics (3)
Lecture/discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 121B. Dynamics of large-scale climatic variations over time periods from weeks to centuries. Description of the appropriate methods of analysis of atmospheric and oceanic observations. Conservation of mass, energy and momentum. Introduction to the range of climate simulations.— Ullrich
244. Cloud and Precipitation Physics (3)
Lecture – 3 hours. Observations and modeling of clouds and precipitation. Physics and parameterization of cloud microphysical processes including nucleation, condensation/evaporation, deposition/sublimation, collision-coalescence and sedimentation. Offered in alternate years. – A. Igel
245. Climate Change, Water and Society (4)
Lecture/discussion—3 hours. Integration of climate science and hydrology with policy to understand hydroclimatology and its impact upon natural and human systems. Assignments: readings, take-home examination on climate and hydrologic science, paper that integrates course concepts into a research prospectus or review article. Cross listed as HYD 245/ECL 245.— Monier
250. Meso-Scale Meteorology (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: graduate standing, ATM 150, a course in partial differential equations; or consent of instructor. The study of weather phenomena with horizontal spatial dimensions between 2.5 and 2500 kilometers. Methods of observational study and numerical modeling of the structure and temporal behavior of these weather systems. Offered in alternate years.— M. Igel
255. Numerical Modeling of the Atmosphere (4)
Lecture—2 hours; laboratory—6 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 121B and ENG 5. Principles of numerical modeling of the dynamic, thermodynamic and physical processes of the atmosphere. Hands-on experiments on model development using the shallow water equations and the primitive equations. Operational forecast models. Offered in alternate years.— Chen
260. Atmospheric Chemistry (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 160. Chemistry and photochemistry in tropospheric condensed phases (fog, cloud, and rain drops and aerosol particles). Gas-drop and gas-particle partitioning of compounds and effects of reactions in condensed phases on the fates and transformations of tropospheric chemical species. Offered in alternate years.— Anastasio
265. The Art of Climate Modeling (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: ATM 121A; experience with computing strongly recommended. Introduction to global climate modeling. Earth-system models from around the world. Numerical discretizations of horizontal and vertical dynamics. Diffusion, filters and fixers. Parameterization of fine-scale processes. Massively parallel supercomputing for climate. Model evaluation and intercomparison. Offered in alternate years.— Ullrich
270A-G. Topics in Atmospheric Science (1-3)
Discussion—1-3 hours. Applications and concepts in (A) Meteorological Statistics; (B) Computer Modeling of the Atmosphere; (C) Design of Experiments and Field Studies in Meteorology; (D) Solar and Infrared Radiation in the Atmosphere; (E) Aerosol and Cloud Physics; (F) Atmospheric Chemistry; (G) General Meteorology.
290. Seminar (1)
Seminar—1 hour. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Atmospheric Science or related field. Current developments in selected areas of atmospheric research. Topics will vary according to student and faculty interests. (S/U grading only.)
291A-F. Research Conference in Atmospheric Science (1-3)
Lecture/discussion—1-3 hours. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Review and discussion of current literature and research in: (A) Air Quality Meteorology; (B) Biometeorology; (C) Boundary Layer Meteorology; (D) Climate Dynamics; (E) General Meteorology; (F) Atmospheric Chemistry. May be repeated up to a total of 6 units per segment. (S/U grading only.)
298. Literature in Climate Dynamics (1)
Group readings, analysis, and presentation on topics related to climate dynamics.— Yang
Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (S/U grading only.)
298. Group Study (1-5)
Prerequisite: graduate standing and consent of instructor. (S/U grading only.)
299. Research (1-12)
Prerequisite: graduate standing and consent of instructor. (S/U grading only.)
Professional Courses
396. Teaching Assistant Training Practicum (1-4)
Prerequisite: graduate standing. May be repeated for credit. (S/U grading only.)
