Course Administrative Matters
• How to Contact the Instructor
  • Name: Richard Grotjahn
  • Email: grotjahn'at'ucdavis.edu
  • Phone: 752-2246
  • Fax: 752-1793
  • Office: Rm 231 Hoagland Hall
  • Office hours: the hour after lecture, MWF 11am-noon.
• Exams and Quizes
  • Quizzes scheduled for every Friday except 14 February
  • Midterm scheduled for Friday, 14 February
  • Final Exam
    • scheduled for 1:30-3:30 PM Monday 17 March
    • Final Exam room location is 124 Hoagland Hall or 159
  • What if you miss a quiz or exam due to illness?
    • please obtain a medical note showing that you were ill and did seek assistance from a medical provider such as your doctor or the student health center.
    • Once I see a valid note, I shall work to provide you with a make-up quiz or exam.
    • Since I post quiz keys immediately after the scheduled quiz, I will need to prepare a new quiz in this case.
• Homework
  • Due by noon each Wednesday. Note: this time is earlier than the time listed on the written course administration handout. If a due date is listed on an individual problem set handout, that time takes precedence.
  • Late turn-in penalty of 50% reduction in your score if turned in during the 24 hours after the due date and time.
  • I post a key to the problem set after EITHER: the last person has turned in their homework OR the 24 hours after the due date and time.
  • Do your own work. This is not a "team effort". You are permitted to ask general questions of me or your fellow students.
  • Please note: There are 3 units worth of lecture, but the course is worth 4 units. The extra unit recognizes that the problem sets are difficult. You should plan on spending more time on homework in this course than in other 3-unit, 3-hour lecture, courses.
  • Homework format
    • Start each problem on a new page.
    • Write down the problem description in full. (You do not need to write down the hints)
    • Do not hand in "scratch-paper" but turn in a neat, legible, and organized answer. If need be, copy over your answer after working out the solution.
    • Clearly and concisely explain in words what you are doing at each step as you solve a problem.
    • If a diagram is asked for, make sure it has all the relevant information including axis labels, contour line labels (if applicable), etc.
    • Number all equations you introduce and refer to them by number. Surround the number with parentheses and preceed that with the letters "Eqn." so that your intent is clear.
    • Use commonly understood or standard names for variables as done in lecture. Be sure to define any variable you introduce. It is also a good idea to define a standard name to ensure your solution is understandable. (e.g. "Where P = pressure and t is time.")
• Grading weights:
  • 30% total for Problem Sets
  • 25% for Midterm Exam
  • 20% total for Quizzes
  • 25% for Final Exam

Selected Figures Shown in Class

• "Weather maps" from lectures 2 & 4
  All of these weather maps were produced by the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA) at the University of Maryland. We thank them for their use here to illustrate some meteorological concepts.
• 500 hPa geopotential height (black contours, in dm)
  and vorticity (shading, scale in upper right corner) map sequence:
  1. 78 kb
  2. 92 kb
  3. 91 kb
  4. 89 kb
  5. Animated gif of 500 level data 381 kb

• Sea level pressure (SLP, colored contours)
  and 1000-500 hPa thickness (black contours, in dm)
  1. 85 kb
  2. 85 kb
  3. 89 kb
  4. 88 kb
  5. Animated gif of SLP and 1000-500 thickness data 399 kb
• Color diagrams related to Pressure & thickness
  These figures reproduced from Meteorology Today, by C.D. Ahrens
  1. isobaric surface and thickness related to temperature
  2. isobaric surface and how it relates to contours on an isobaric chart
  3. pressure at some level

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