SJSU Meteorology Department Course Descriptions

Lower Division

10. Weather and Climate. A descriptive, non-mathematical introduction to the atmosphere, with applications to air pollution, climate change, and weather forecasting. (Prereq: none. 3 units)

40. Weather Seminar. Seminars on weather related topics, weather briefings; field trips to local research laboratories. Required of all Meteorology majors until entrance into Meteorology 60. (CR/NC grading. 1 unit)

50. Computers in Meteorology I. Computer systems and programming emphasizing solution of problems in atmospheric sciences. Includes computer systems, flow diagrams, FORTRAN programming, data handling, and formatting. (Coreq: Metr. 61. Lab. 6 hrs. 2 units)

60. Meteorology. Structure of the atmosphere, the earth's heat budget, moisture cycle, and atmospheric forces and flows. (Coreq: Math. 32, Physics 62. Lec. 3 hrs. Lab. 3 hrs. 4 units)

61. Physical Climatology. Atmospheric circulations, vortices, severe storms, climate, and related studies. (Prereq: Metr. 60; Coreq: Metr. 50, Math. 133A. Lec. 3 hrs. Lab. 3 hrs. 4 units)

Upper Division

100W. Writing Workshop: Meteorological Reports. Introduction to research methods, scientific writing, and the preparation of technical reports in the field of meteorology. No waiver given for Bachelor degree candidates regardless of WST score. (Prereq: English 1A and 1B, pass WST, and Junior standing; Coreq: Metr. 121B. A/B/C/NC grading. 3 units)

110. Atmospheric Science. Descriptive meteorology lecture with applications of basic weather principles. For Aviation majors. (Prereq: none; Lec. 2 hrs, Lab. 3 hrs. 3 units)

111. Atmospheric Science Laboratory. Meteorological experiments and observations; weather data analysis and weather map interpretation for Journalism, Education, Liberal Studies, etc. majors. (Prereq. or Coreq: Metr. 10 or 112. Lab. 3 hrs. 1 unit)

112. Global Climate Changes. Descriptive introduction to the physical and geographic causes of the world's climates. The interactions of climate and life; natural and anthropogenic climate change; carbon dioxide induced greenhouse warming. (Prereq: one college level science course. 3 units)

113. Atmospheric Pollution. Descriptive discussion of the sources, effects, and fates of pollutants in the atmosphere. Interactions of pollutants and weather systems, including acid precipitation, ozone destruction, and air pollution policy and regulations. (Prereq: one college level science course. 3 units)

121A,B. Dynamic Meteorology. Theoretical examination of the atmosphere's structure and behavior. Governing equations and applications; vorticity; waves; numerical prediction; baroclinic instability. (Prereq. to Metr. 121A: Metr. 50, 61, Math. 133A; Prereq. to Metr. 121B: Metr 121A. Lec. 3 hrs., Lab. 3 hrs. Year course: 4 units each semester)

123. Advanced Climatology. The physical, dynamic and geographic bases of climate, both on small and large scales; applications of climatology to environmental studies. (Prereq: Metr. 61. 3 units)

124. Thermodynamics and Radiation. Atmospheric radiation and thermodynamics. (Prereq: Metr. 61. 3 units)

125. Physical Meteorology. Cloud physics, atmospheric electricity, optics, and acoustics. (Prereq: Metr. 124. 3 units)

130. Boundary Layer Meteorology. Structure of the atmospheric planetary boundary layer, with applications to air pollution, agriculture, and cities; meso-circulations, such as ea breezes. (Prereq: Metr. 121B. 3 units)

131. Air Pollution Meteorology. Quantitative description of contaminants in the atmosphere: modeling of sources, dispersion, and sinks. (Prereq: Metr. 121B. 3 units)

136. Empirical Techniques in Meteorology. Applications of statistical methods to analysis of meteorological and climatological data both scalars and vectors; objective forecasting methods; elementary decision theory. (Prereq: Metr. 61. Lec. 2 hrs. Lab. 3 hrs. 3 units)

150. Computers in Meteorology II. Computer applications to problems in an atmospheric science, including specialized computer systems, mass data handling, weather data communications. (Prereq: Metr. 50, Metr. 121B. Lec. 2 hrs. Lab. 3 hrs. 3 units)

160. Tropical Meteorology. Local and diurnal effects on tropical weather; mean fields of meteorological parameters in the tropics; general circulation; hurricanes; monsoons. (Prereq: Metr. 121B. 3 units)

163. Meteorological Instruments. Meteorological measurement techniques and equipment; theory of instruments. (Prereq: Metr. 61. Lec. 2 hrs. Lab. 3 hrs. 3 units)

170A,B. Weather Briefing. Synoptic weather briefing associated with Meteorology 171A,B. (Coreq. to Metr. 170A: Metr. 171A; Coreq. to Metr. 170B: Metr. 171B. Lab. 3 hrs. Year course. 1 unit each semester.)

171A,B. Synoptic Weather Analysis and Forecasting. Structure and behavior of synoptic scale atmospheric circulations, practical weather forecasting techniques. (Prereq. to Metr. 171A: Metr. 100W, 121B, 125. Coreq. to Metr. 171A: Metr. 170A. Prereq. to Metr. 171B: Metr. 171A. Coreq. to Metr. 171B: Metr. 170B. Lec. 1 hr. Lab 6 hrs. Year course. 3 units each semester)

172. Mesoscale Meteorology. Structure and behavior of mesoscale atmospheric circulations, practical weather forecasting techniques. (Prereq: Metr. 171A. 3 units.)

179. Senior Research Project. Supervised research and preparation of a Senior Research Project. Must be taken for two successive semesters. (Prereq: Metr. 100W; Coreq: Metr. 171A,B. 1 unit each semester)

180. Individual Studies. Independent work on special topics, by arrangement. (Prereq: Metr. Major/Minor. CR/NC grading. Repeatable for credit for a 4 unit maximum. 1-4 units)

182. Tutor Assistant in Meteorology. Supervised instructional experience as a tutor-assistant. (Prereq: Upper division standing, instructor consent. Repeatable for maximum of 4 units. CR/NC grading. 1 unit)

185. Special Topics. Selected topics in Meteorology. Topics vary and are announced each semester. (Prereq: Instructor consent. 1-3 units)

196A. Air Dispersion Modeling. Hand calculation and computer simulation of air pollutant dispersion and resulting air pollutant concentrations. (Coreq: Metr. 131. Lab. 3 hrs. 1 unit)

Graduate Courses

202. Research Methods in Meteorology. The nature of research in meteorology with particular reference to formulation of the problem, methods of attack, and presentation of results. Proposal writing and selection of M.S. Thesis topic. (Prereq: instructor consent. 3 units)

205A. Advanced Atmospheric Dynamics I. Dynamics of synoptic- and large-scale weather systems. Quasi-geostrophic theory and applications to mid-latitude storms; atmospheric waves; barotropic and baroclinic instabilities; energetics of atmospheric systems; wave-mean flow interactions; dynamics of general circulation; tropical and stratospheric dynamics. (Prereq: Metr. 121B. 3 units)

205B. Advanced Atmospheric Dynamics II. Advanced topics in dynamic meteorology. Observations and theory of the structure and behavior of large-scale waves; atmospheric tides; dynamics of planetary atmospheres; dynamics of hurricanes; chaos theory and applications to climate change; climate and paleoclimate simulation. (Prereq: Metr. 205A. 3 units)

206. Advanced Synoptic Meteorology. Historical perspective on synoptic meteorology. Recent developments in forecasting and analysis. Structure and behavior of synoptic circulation systems with special attention given to storm development, energetics and severe weather. (Prereq: Metr. 171B. 3 units)

208. Turbulence. Properties of turbulence in the atmosphere: theories of boundary layer; turbulence in the atmosphere; turbulent flux of heat, momentum, and mass in the atmosphere. (Prereq: Metr. 130 or satisfactory background in fluid mechanics. 3 units)

215. Advanced Physical Meteorology. Thermodynamics of moist air; nucleation processes; particulates in air, microphysics and cloud dynamics, sampling techniques. (Prereq: Metr. 125. 3 units)

220. Biometeorology. Interrelationships between plants and animals and their physical environment; techniques of biometeorology measurements and instrumentation in both artificial and natural environments; methods of forecasting and controlling the biosphere with special emphasis on food production. (Prereq: instructor consent. 3 units)

224. The Upper Atmosphere. Physical and chemical processes of the air above the troposphere; aeronomy, with emphasis on radiation and rocket and satellite measurements. (Prereq: Metr. 121B, Metr. 125 or equivalent background in physics. 3 units)

240. Numerical Modeling. Numerical analysis, prediction and experimentation in meteorology. Numerical methods and errors; finite-difference and spectral methods; atmospheric models. (Prereq: Metr. 205A or instructor consent. 3 units)

245. Boundary Layer Modeling. Formulation and solution techniques for numerical models of the polluted atmospheric boundary layer, including meso-circulations such as sea breezes. (Prereq: Metr. 130, 240 or consent of instructor. 3 units)

280. Recent Developments in Meteorology. Intensive study of a particular topic in the atmospheric sciences with special emphasis on recent research results, such as instrumentation or modeling techniques. Topics vary and are announced each semester. (Prereq: instructor consent. 1-3 units)

285. Seminar. Presentation and discussion of advanced studies in special fields, including original work by faculty, guest speakers, and graduate student. Required of all master's degree candidates. (Prereq: instructor consent. CR/NC 1 unit)

298. Research. Supervised individual laboratory or field work. (Prereq: instructor consent. CR/NC 1-3 units)

299. Master's Thesis or Project. Prereq: Admission to candidacy for the M.S. degree. (Prereq: instructor consent. CR/NC 1-6 units)

Last modified:01Dec95