Ping Zhu, 305-348-7096 AHC5-234, zhup@fiu.edu,

http://vortex.ihrc.fiu.edu/MET3003/MET3003.htm

MET 3003

Meteorology

• Meteorology: from Greek, meteoron (high in the sky) + logos (knowledge)

• Founded by Aristotle, 340 BC

• Usually considered the scientific study of Atmospheric phenomena, especially daily weather

Fields Within Meteorology• Physical meteorology: Studies of radiation,

structure & composition, clouds & precipitation, atmospheric electricity, …, but generally not weather.

•Synoptic Meteorology: Day-to-day weather and forecasting. Divided into Tropical Meteorology and Extratropical (mid-latitude) Meteorology

Tropical Cyclone(Hurricane)

Extratropical Cyclone

• Dynamic Meteorology: describe atmospheric motions and their solutions.

Dynamic meteorology employs analytical approaches based upon fluid dynamics to explain and describe the motions of atmosphere that produce the weather, and eventually the climate.

e.g., atmospheric wave theory

• Climate: “average” weather, but the average doesn’t stay steady. I.e. Ice ages, El Niño, etc.

A typical weather map for a day in late December

Mean percentage of possible sunshine in November

Hurricane CharleyAugust 13, 2004

A Blizzard in Boston 2005

Winter Rains TriggerMudslides in

California 2005

Weather impact on daily lives

Number of events that occurred each year and the damage amounts in BD

What kinds of people become meteorologists?

• Weather enthusiasts• Mathematicians and

computer nerds• Journeymen • More diverse work-

force nowadays

Who hires meteorologists?

• National Weather Service (NWS/NOAA)

• Universities

• Research labs (DOE, NASA)

• Military

• Broadcasting

• Industry & Consulting

On west side of FIU Campus:Miami Forecast Office

National Hurricane Center

NOAA-National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, parent agency of NWS

Scientific Method

• The natural world behaves in a consistent and predictable way that can be understood through systematic study.– Observations– Lab experiments– Mathematics – Numerical studies

Automated SurfaceObserving System

ASOS

Time Spd Dir Tmp Rh Vap Press Precip 22.000 8.9600 339.7000 6.0190 49.2200 0.4600 98.3590 0 22.500 8.1500 348.0000 5.2890 52.1000 0.4630 98.4140 0 23.000 8.7000 354.0000 5.1290 50.3200 0.4430 98.4690 0 23.500 6.3110 349.5000 4.1570 54.9300 0.4510 98.5340 0 0.0000 4.8530 333.3000 3.2030 59.7300 0.4590 98.5990 0 0.5000 4.3510 338.9000 2.3120 64.3100 0.4640 98.6540 0 1.0000 3.9980 315.1000 1.1930 72.8000 0.4840 98.7020 0 1.5000 4.4010 314.1000 0.9850 74.6000 0.4890 98.7500 0 2.0000 4.3040 304.2000 0.2270 78.3000 0.4840 98.7780 0 2.5000 3.9480 298.7000 0.2370 78.9000 0.4890 98.8010 0

Time:LST; Spd: m/s; Dir: deg; Tmp: C; Rh: % Vap: Kpa; Press: Kpa; Precip: mm

1997-12-31, SGP

Exploring the AtmosphereUsing Balloons

Press(hPa) 980.8000 979.2000 978.2000 977.1000 975.7000 974.0000 972.5000 971.2000 969.8000 968.6000 967.4000 966.3000

Height(m) 315 328 337 346 358 373 385 396 408 418 429 438

Spd(m/s) 6.3000 6.5000 6.7000 6.9000 7.1000 7.3000 7.5000 7.7000 7.9000 8.0000 8.2000 8.4000

Dir(deg) 30 28 27 25 24 22 21 20 19 18 17 17

Tmp (c) 7.8000 7.6000 7.5000 7.4000 7.3000 7.2000 7.1000 7.0000 6.9000 6.8000 6.6000 6.6000

Rh(%) 71 68 68 68 68 67 67 67 67 67 68 68

Dew Point (c) 2.8000 2.0000 1.9000 1.9000 1.9000 1.5000 1.3000 1.3000 1.3000 1.2000 1.1000 1.1000

Radiosondes

Worldwide radiosonde launch sites

Satellite Observation

Satellite view of a severe winter storm sweepingacross Europe on Dec. 16, 01

Monitoring Earth from Space

Rainfall in Malaysia

Hurricane Dennis

Radar Imaging

0c

u

0c

u

Doppler radar

Lab experiment

Wall of Wind

Wind tunnel

Theoretical Study

Numerical Simulation

NCAR supercomputer

Earth System

Four “Spheres” in the Earth System: Geosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere

• Geosphere or Lithosphere—Rock– 6371 km radius– Core, Mantle, Crust

• Atmosphere -- gaseous envelope, producing weather, ~100 km in depth

Jets Fly with 2/3 of the Atmosphere below Them

• Hydrosphere -- Water covers 71% of surface. average depth 3.8 km

Shorelines - Interface between Land and Water

The Hydrological Cycle

The amount of water moved through the hydrologic system every year is equivalent to about 1-m depth of water spread over the earth's surface.

About one-third of the precipitation that falls on land is the water that was evaporated from ocean and transported to the land by air motion.

The amount of water in the atmosphere is equivalent to 0.025m of water spread over the earth's surface.

Water vapor: half of the atmosphere's natural greenhouse effect.

Clouds: 30% of atmosphere's natural thermal radiation, and reflect half of the solar radiation.

Evaporation: half of the cooling of the surface.

Water: altering surface's albedo through the form of snow, ice, and fostering vegetation cover on land.

• Biosphere -- includes all life on Earth All Parts of the Earth-System Are Linked

Systems

• Open System:Open System: Energy and Matter can be exchanged between systems

• Closed System:Closed System: Exchange of Matter greatly restricted, but may allow exchange of energy

• Isolated System:Isolated System: No Energy or Matter can be transferred in or out of the system

A group of interacting parts (components) that form a complex whole.

Feedback• Processes in one system influences processes

in another interconnected system by exchange of matter and energy. The exchange is called feedback.

• Positive Feedback:Positive Feedback: Change in one system causes similar change in the other system. Can cause runaway instability

• Negative FeedbackNegative Feedback means positive change in one system causes negative change in the other

Positive feedback

Example: water vapor feedback

Example: cloud cover feedback

gT

cT

cg TT

cT aT

ac TT

Low cloud High cloud

Strong effect on solar radiation budget Strong effect on terrestrial radiation budget

Summary• Be sure you understand how the course will be

organized and run• Know the definition of Meteorology and what its

principal subfields are. • Understand the scientific method.• Know definitions of System, Open and Closed

system, and Positive and Negative Feedbacks• Know the definitions of the various “spheres” in the

Earth System