ATM 240 (General Circulation of the Atmosphere)

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 17 December 2020
updated on 1 October 2019

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:

All federal and state copyrights reserved for all original material presented in this course and on the web pages associated with this course.

Please also check out the special issue of Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans (DAO) on the Atmosphere's General Circulation .

Main Menu:

Note: This web page has multiple years mixed together. Not all material from all During the last links (below) will be used.

Note: This year there is one fewer lecture period. There will be some adjustment of subjects shown below for a prior offering.

Course information for Winter 2000, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2019:

I. Course Administration matters:

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

b. Course Outline -- 2019 (subject to change!) Last updated 28 October 2019.

c. A copy of the final exam used in the last offering of this course is posted below. (NO midterm in 2016)

d. Book web pages: Course (older) Textbook: Global Atmospheric Circulations, by R. Grotjahn, Oxford Univ. Press, 1993

This document is more than an errata, it includes new material that significantly upgrades the presentation of several sections of the book.

errata & upgrade

(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

e. Reading Materials
A new book is in preparation: Understanding the General Circulation, a.k.a. 'Grotjahn (2020)'. Below are reading materials from Grotjahn 2020 at present. (All are draft documents, still being revised)
These documents replace or supplement the readings from Grotjahn 1993.

NEW book chapters and endmatter:
Chapter 1 1.1 MB
Chapter 2 4.6 MB
Chapter 3 4.3 MB
Chapter 4 5.8 MB
Appendix A 0.1 MB
Appendix B 0.2 MB
Appendix C 0.2 MB
Appendix D 0.2 MB
Supplemental Reading:
Grotjahn 2015a (3.6 Mb pdf file) a overview of mean state for the Encyclopedia of Atmos. Sci. 2nd Edition
Grotjahn 2015b (2.3 Mb pdf file) a overview of energetics for the Encyclopedia of Atmos. Sci. 2nd Edition
Grotjahn 2015b (2.3 Mb pdf file) a overview of energetics for the Encyclopedia of Atmos. Sci. -- corrected 2nd Edition
3 momentum figures 4.1 MB pdf page of supplementary diagrams to the momentum discussion.
Gill's equation derivation (0.2 MB) jpg of Gill's equation relating mean meridional motions to eddy momentum and friction discussion.
Bluestein's figures (0.7 MB) pdf of figures from Bluestein's book that relates to the discussion of figs 4.21 (blue boxes) and 4.22 (red boxes) in Grotjahn (1993).
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.
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.
Energy reservoirs and conversions (0.4 MB) in the energy box diagram. jpg based on Marques et al. (2009; QJRMS) article. ERA-40 data. Supplementary diagrams to the energy box diagram discussion.
References 0.2 MB
Grotjahn (2008) Observing the General Circulaiton different observations give different circulations. pdf of preprint of DAO article. (3.9 MB)
Calculation of [psi] 5.9 MB

f. Homework (2019):

Homework 1 (2019) A pdf of the first assignment.
Homework 2 (2019) A pdf of the second assignment.
Homework 3 (2019) A pdf of the third assignment.
Homework 4 (2019) A pdf of the fourth assignment.
Homework 5 (2019) A pdf of the fifth assignment.
Homework 6 (2019) A pdf of the sixth assignment.
Homework 7 (2019) A pdf of the seventh assignment.
1. P data for 3-5S
2. P data for 39-41N
Homework 8 (2019) A pdf of the eighth assignment.

g. Final Exam 2016 exam as pdf

link to global streamlines map. Caution click into a new tab or window as on some browsers, the 'back' button may not return to this page.

Ignore below. Under construction .

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:

Course Textbook: Global Atmospheric Circulations, by R. Grotjahn, Oxford Univ. Press, 1993
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
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:

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

V. Lecture Outlines - Study Guides for Winter 2000
Each guide page indicates the equired reading from the text Global Atmospheric Circulations.
Homework may be indicated below. Generally, it is due a week after being assigned.

Lecture Study Guides:

#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 2008 exam as pdf -- To be posted

IGNORE WHAT IS BELOW THIS POINT!

Test backgrounds # #end test backgrounds

Test jpeg images #img src="http://grotjahn.ucdavis.edu/course/atm240/ssir.jpg">
#img src="http://grotjahn.ucdavis.edu/course/atm240/ssvis.jpg">
#img src="http://grotjahn.ucdavis.edu/course/atm240/sswvapr.jpg">