LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of the course is to introduce the fundamentals of atmospheric circulation that govern weather and climate from synoptic scale to mesa-alfa scale. Attention will be paid to the extremes, climate change impacts on the environmental risks, impacts on the intensity and frequency of extreme meteorological and hydrological events (floods, droughts, hurricanes, wind storms, heat waves, etc). A review on formulation and parameterizations used in numerical weather prediction models will be presented. The concept of uncertainty in numerical modelling of the extreme events will be presented with idealized and real cases applications. Students will learn to treat numerical and observational atmospherical data using MATLAB.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course addresses the problem atmospheric dynamics and numerical weather prediction, as key ingredients for weather forecasting applications.

During the course the student will understand the key hypothesis of air as continuum fluid, the fundamental and apparent forces. The student will learn that weather conditions can frequently change, and that in order to understand atmospheric dynamics it is necessary to consider different spatio-temporal evolution of humidity, temperature, air pressure, wind speed, and direction, as well as cloud cover. Factors such as geographic location, proximity to water sources, urban structures, and latitude and elevation are also considered in the course formulation. Furthermore the student will learn the derivation and interpretation the equations of continuity, momentum and energy. Scale analysis of aforementioned equations will be performed in order to understand key driving processes at synoptic, mesoscale and microscale. Finally numerical weather prediction will be introduced: the student will understand that the process of weather forecasting becomes complex due to the intrinsic nonlinearity of weather forecast models, as well as that also the proper integration and analysis of a huge amount of data make the process even more complex.

TEACHING METHODS

front lessons

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Introduction to atmospheric dynamics

Basic Conservation Laws

Planetary scale motions

Synoptic-Scale Motions

Cumulus Convection and Convective Storms

Numerical Modeling and Prediction

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.wetterzentrale.de/

https://en.sat24.com/en

https://www.mydewetra.org/

An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology (ISSN Book 88) 5th Edition, Kindle Edition by James R. Holton

Additional materials will be provided to the students during the lessons, including slides, scientific papers, reports, etc.