Florida Institute of Technology College of Engineering
DEPARTMENT OF MARINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
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MET 4233/5233 Atmospheric Remote Sensing (3 credits) Fall 2014
Dr. Steven Lazarus
PHY 2002 (Physics II)
Link 325 (Synoptic Lab)
Tue/Thurs 3:30 - 4:45 p.m.
T/TH 10:00-11:30 a.m. (or by appointment)
394-2160
slazarus@fit.edu
Undergraduate: 1 midterm exam 20%, final 25%, homework 40%, quizzes/class participation 15%
**Graduate: 1 midterm exam 25%, final 30%, homework 15%, project 30%1
A (90-100%), B (80-89%), C (70-79%), D (60-69%), F (<60%) – as per university policy (see Academic
Overview section “Grading and Honors” in the FIT catalog).
For more information on plagiarism, class attendance, etc. visit the ‘course guidelines’ link here.
Class participation includes: attendance, discussion, etc.
ALL HW is to be fully typed (via MS Word) in this course. There will be approximately 6 HW assignments.
**Graduate students taking this course will be presented with more rigorous exam questions and they will be required
to complete a class project.
Course description: Prerequisite: PHY 2002 or permission of the instructor
CRN: 93762 (MET 4233) / 93827 (MET 5233)
Textbooks: In addition to lecture notes and on-line modules, material will be drawn from a number of books with the
primary (required) texts being:
 Reinhart, R. E., Radar for Meteorologists, 5th Edition
 Conway, E. D., An Introduction to Satellite Image Interpretation
 Petty, G. W., A First Course in Atmospheric Radiation, 2nd Edition
Other Resources (not required, excerpts will be provided as needed)
 Kidder, S. Q. and T. H. Vonder Haar, Satellite Meteorology An Introduction
 Bringi, V. N. and V. Chandrasekar, Polarimetric Doppler Weather Radar: Principles and Applications
 Richards, M. A., J. A. Scheer, and W. A. Holm, Principles of Modern Radar: Basic Principles
Course Objectives: The 4233/5233 course is designed fulfill the requisites associated with a B.S. in meteorology
that are consistent with the the AMS Information Statement. In particular, there are three basic
goals/objectives/outcomes of this course designed such that students:
1.
2.
3.
Develop a basic understanding behind the physical principles of remote sensing
Learn how to access, process, view, and interpret remote sensing data
Can directly relate remote sensing data to various scales of atmospheric phenomena
Topics Covered: Fundamentals of atmospheric radiation and the basic principles of radar, satellite, and microwave
remote sensing. There will be opportunities (in class) to mine and display different types of data sets and spontaneous
in-class discussion on current weather as seen through the remote sensing lens. We will be using Unidata’s Integrated
Data Viewer (IDV) available free here (it is also installed on all of the Synoptic Lab workstations). In addition, you
will need to register for COMET as the course makes use of several of the educational remote sensing modules.
1
Graduate students will meet with the instructor NO LATER than the second week of classes to design a relevant
project.
Approximate Course Outline
WEEK
Topics Covered
Reading and Assignments
18 Aug
Solar vs. IR; Radiation
Properties
Ch. 1 and 2 Petty
pg. 1—10; 11—23; 33—40
EM Spectrum; Reflection and
Refraction; Beer’s Law
IR emission (BB rad., Planck’s
Function, Wien’s Displacment,
Stefan-Boltzman, RJ Apx, and
Emissivity
Ch. 3 and 4 Petty
pg. 55—68; 74—89
25 Aug
01 Sep
08 Sep
Atm. Emission
Ch. 7 Petty
pg. 155—167;174—185;187—189
15 Sep
Atm. Absorption
Ch. 8
pg. 204—208; 210—211;217—235
22 Sep
29 Sep
Scattering and Absorption
Rayleigh and Mie
Clouds and Precip.
Mid-Term Exam (9/30) +
Intro to Radar
Ch. 9, 12 Petty
pg. 258—260;270—279;343—345
Weather Radar Fundamentals
Rinehart pg. 1—14
06 Oct
Radar Equation for Point and
Distributed Targets
Rinehart
pg. 65—78; pg. 81—95
13 Oct
Fall Break + Single Doppler
Velocity
Rinehart
pg. 97—123
20 Oct
Z-R, Bright Band, Drop Size
Rinehart
pg. 125—132; 133—149
27 Oct
Radar Wrap-Up: Dual-Pol
Rinehart
pg. 198—222
03 Nov
10 Nov
17 Nov
24 Nov
2
Basics of VIS and IR: Radiance
Ch. 6 Petty
pg. 115—131; 148—154
Veterans Day
Intro to Satellites, Image
Interpretation
(VIS, IR, WV)
Image Interpretation Cont’d
Cloud Type ID
Application to Squall Lines,
Thunderstorms, Tornados,
Land/Sea Breezes
Applications to TCs
Thanksgiving
01 Dec
Review
11 Dec
FINAL
Take the “Remote Sensing” module only (skip the “Explore Hurricanes”)
Basics of VIS and IR: Intro
Remote Sensing Using Satellites2
Conway Ch. 2, Ch. 3
Conway
Ch. 6
Conway
Ch. 11
Conway
12
COMPREHENSIVE