Chabot College
Fall 2004
Replaced Fall 2010
Course Outline for Geography 8
INTRODUCTION TO WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Catalog Description:
8 – Introduction to Weather and Climate
3 units
Introduction to weather and climate and their impact on and modification by human
activities. Emphasis on weather elements, events, and processes; climate controls; and the
techniques, tools, and instruments of atmospheric science. Includes atmospheric optics,
weather prediction, severe storms, air pollution, global/regional warming/cooling, ozone
depletion, acid rain, El Niño, deforestation, desertification, and other topics related to
everyday experience and global climate change. Field trips and observational activities
may be included.
3 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 52.5]
Prerequisite Skills:
None.
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
observe, describe, and explain weather elements, events, and processes;
apply climate control principles to the classification, spatial distribution, and
modification of atmospheric events and global/regional climates;
apply the techniques, tools, and instruments of atmospheric science to the
observation, statistical summarization, portrayal, and prediction of weather
events;
evaluate the impact of weather and climate on human activities and critically
assess the role of human behavior in affecting short-term weather changes and
long-term climate modification.
Course Content:
1.
2.
Introduction to atmospheric science
a. Weather elements and variables
b. Meteorology vs. climatology
c. Climate and climate controls in the classification of climates and in the
adaptation of human settlement to climate
Earth’s atmosphere and radiation balance
a. Insolation over Earth’s surface
b. Earth-sun relationships
c. Origin, composition, structure, and behavior of the atmosphere
d. Atmospheric pollutants, acid rain, ozone depletion, and global/regional
warming/cooling
e. Spatial and temporal distribution of solar and terrestrial energy
Chabot College
Course Outline for Geography 8, Page 2
Fall 2004
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Temperature
a. annual and daily cycles of air temperature
b. Relationship of air temperature ranges to latitude and relative location
c. Maritime and continental location air temperature patterns and cycles
d. Heat storage and transfer in water bodies and land surfaces
e. Temperature range relationship to climate classifications
f. Inversions
g. Relationships to human comfort and behavior
h. Urban heat island effect
Circulation of atmosphere and ocean
a. Relationships to human comfort and behavior
b. Atmospheric pressure and density
c. Pressure instruments and measurement
d. Wind instruments and measurement
e. Vertical air motion
f. Charts: surface and upper-air
General circulation of the atmosphere and its relationship to the spatial
distribution of:
a. Upper-air and surface pressure systems and winds
b. Jet streams
c. Surface ocean currents
d. Precipitation patterns
e. El Niño and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
Atmospheric moisture and stability
a. Deforestation
b. Clouds, fog, and other condensation forms and processes
c. Precipitation forms, processes, distribution, and measurement
d. Atmospheric stability/instability and its relationship to:
1) Cloud development and precipitation distribution
2) Inversions and atmospheric pollution
e. Effects on human behavior and activities
Weather instrumentation and forecasting
Atmospheric optics
a. Light and color
b. Rainbows, halos, glories, mirages, and other common phenomena
Air masses, cyclonic systems, and severe storms
a. Air mass source regions, classification, and weather
b. development, vertical structure, spatial distribution, classification, and
weather associated with:
1) Mid-latitude cyclones
2) Frontal systems
3) Tropical cyclones
4) Thunderstorms
5) Tornadoes
c. Effects on human behavior and activities
Chabot College
Course Outline for Geography 8, Page 3
Fall 2004
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Interpretation of weather data and observations
Global climate classification systems
Human modification of surface-atmosphere interactions
a. Deforestation
b. Agricultural practices
c. Biomass and fossil fuel burning
d. Spatial and temporal patterns in carbon dioxide emissions
Cultural adaptations and human adjustments to:
a. Drought
b. Floods
c. Severe storms
Issues in global climate change
a. Paleoclimatology
b. Climatic variability: natural and anthropogenic causes
c. Global warming
Methods of Presentation:
1.
2.
3.
Lecture
Maps, PowerPoint slides, transparencies, and videotapes
Class discussions and student presentations
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1.
2.
Typical Assignments
a. Retrieve current weather observation data for Bay Area locations from the
Internet and draw weather station models using conventional symbology
b. Write an analysis of surface weather maps
1) Interpret meteorological symbols
2) Explain motion of frontal boundaries and 3) convergent/divergent
conditions in the atmosphere
c. Write diurnal observations of significant local atmospheric conditions:
temperature, atmospheric pressure, cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and
direction
d. Write a summary of a global/regional climate change article from a newspaper
or the periodical literature
Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
a. Written weather observations and map interpretations
b. Summaries of articles on climate change
c. Midterm exam(s) and quizzes, including map quizzes
d. Final exam
Chabot College
Course Outline for Geography 8, Page 4
Fall 2004
Textbook(s) (Typical):
Meteorology Today: An Introduction to Weather, Climate, and the Environment,
C. Donald Ahrens, Brooks/Cole, 2003, or latest edition.
Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere. Steven Ackerman and John Knox,
Brooks/Cole, 2003, or latest edition.
Essentials of Weather. Joseph M. Moran, Macmillan College Pub., 1995, or latest edition.
The Weather Book: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to the USA's Weather. Jack Williams,
Vintage Books, 1997, or latest edition.
Special Student Materials:
None.
tf:Doc:/Geog. 8
Revised: 11-11-03