GEOG 492- Instruments and Climate Field
Methods
University of Tennessee at Martin
Department of Agriculture, Geosciences & Natural Resources
Course Syllabus, Spring 2013
Instructor:
Office:
Email:
Office Hours:
Course Time:
Room:
Required Text:
Chris Karmosky
201-C Johnson EPS
ckarmosk@utm.edu
M 2:00-3:00, T 1:00-2:30, R 12:15-1:00, otherwise by
appointment (email: ckarmosk@utm.edu)
TR 2:30-3:45
227 EPS
Burt, The Weather Observer’s Handbook
Why would I want to take this course?
As part of a well-rounded education as a Meteorology student, the study of
meteorological instrumentation is critical. This course will examine issues surrounding
the siting of weather stations, differences in accuracy and precision of various
instruments used to measure atmospheric variables, and will also examine issues
surrounding the storage and manipulation of data.
Evaluation:
The grade for this course will be based on presentation and discussion on a severe
weather topic, midterm exam, final project, and final exam:
Five Laboratory Assignments (200 Points)
Three Homework Assignments (120 Points)
Two Midterm Exams (100 Points)
Final Exam (100 Points)
Total: Approximately 520 Points
Students are expected to take all quizzes, midterms, and the final exam on the scheduled
dates. No make-ups will be administered unless the student has made prior arrangements
or has a valid excuse. If no prior arrangements are made to take an exam or quiz at an
alternate time, the exam or quiz shall be administered at the sole discretion of the
instructor. Unless otherwise stated, all projects are due at 5PM on the due date at the top of
the assignment. Electronic submissions of typed work will be accepted. Late work will be
accepted, but only for partial credit. A maximum deduction of 50% of the point value will
apply for work more than 48 hours late. No late work will be accepted after April 25.
Religious Holidays:
I will make every reasonable effort to allow students to observe their religious holidays
without penalty. If you must miss class, however, it is still your responsibility to make up
any missed material. Please let me know the dates you will miss well ahead of time.
Academic Honesty:
UTM requires me to place a blub about academic honesty in my syllabus. While it’s my
hope that this never becomes an issue, this is here for everyone’s benefit.
Academic honesty and integrity is expected in this course (and any other course at UTMartin for that matter). You are expected to produce work that is entirely your own for
each and every assignment. All exams are closed-note, closed-book, and closed-neighbor
unless otherwise specified. Take-home assignments must also be your own work. While
asking questions regarding the subject material is permissible, copying and/or
paraphrasing another person’s work will be considered plagiarism. Facilitating academic
dishonesty is also considered academic dishonesty. Operating by the “better safe than
sorry” principle works best, and I would encourage students who feel uncomfortable
giving assistance to a student to refer that student to me for assistance. Any academic
dishonesty will result in a failing grade for the assignment, and will be reported to the
Division of Student Affairs.
Student Success Center, Office of Disability Services:
If you require additional accommodations as the result of a disability, it is your
responsibility, within the first two weeks of class, to coordinate with the Office of
Disability Services as per the guidelines below.
Students have the following roles in the academic accommodation process:

Identify themselves to the Office of Disabilities Services if they need
accommodations;

Provide documentation of their disability to the Office of Disabilities Services;

Participate with the Office of Disabilities Services in the interactive process of
determining and implementing reasonable accommodations;

Make arrangements for accommodations by providing their professors with a
letter from the Office of Disabilities Services approving accommodations and
work directly with the professors and staff involved in the provision of an
approved accommodation; and

Inform the Office of Disabilities Services when accommodations are not
provided, accommodations are not working, accommodations need to be
modified, or symptoms change.
I will work within the guidelines suggested by the student success center, and will take all
reasonable actions necessary to provide necessary accommodations.
Please visit the following page for more information:
http://www.utm.edu/departments/success/disability.php
Writing Center:
The Hortense Parrish Writing center is a resource for any student who would like
individualized help in improving their writing. The Writing Center is open to students for
tutoring, computer use, printing, workshops, reading, and general study, and I encourage
you to take advantage of this resource! Their web URL is below:
http://www.utm.edu/departments/writingcenter/
Outdoor Component:
Seeing as how this is a meteorological instrumentation course, we will be spending several
of our class periods outdoors. While in the case of severe weather, safety will always take
precedence over the activity, light rain, snow, and/or cold temperatures does not constitute
severe weather. It is to your benefit to dress appropriately to the weather conditions for
these exercises. For students with disabilities, every effort will be made to provide
reasonable accommodations for these outdoor exercises.
***I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus as we go along. You will still be
responsible for the changes announced in class***
Schedule: (Assigned Readings in Italics)
Week 1:
Thursday (1/10)
Introduction
Week 2:
Week 3:
Tuesday (1/15)
Why measure the weather? pp. 3-29
**Assign Homework #1 (Unit Conversions)**
Thursday (1/17)
Choosing a weather station: pp. 32-53
Tuesday (1/22)
Thursday (1/24)
Siting and Exposure: pp. 76-86
**Homework #1 Due**
Measuring Air Temperature: pp. 89-123
**In-class Field Exercise #1 (Temperature)**
Week 4:
Week 5:
Week 6:
Week 7:
Week 8:
Week 9:
Week 10:
Tuesday (1/29)
Measuring Air Temperature, cont’d.: pp. 89-123
Thursday (1/31)
Measuring Precipitation: pp. 124-166
Tuesday (2/5)
Measuring Precipitation, cont’d.: pp. 124-166
Thursday (2/7)
**Exam #1**
Tuesday (2/12)
Measuring Atmospheric Pressure: pp. 167-182
**Assign Homework #2 (Isolines)**
Thursday (2/14)
Measuring Humidity: pp. 183-191
Tuesday (2/19)
Measuring Wind Speed and Direction: pp. 192221
** Homework #2 Due**
**In-Class Field Exercise #2 (Wind and
Humidity)**
Thursday (2/21)
Measuring Wind Speed and Direction: pp. 192221
Tuesday (2/26)
Measuring Grass and Earth Temperatures, Soil
Moisture: pp. 222-231
Thursday (2/28)
Measuring Grass and Earth Temperatures, Soil
Moisture: pp. 222-231
**In-Class Field Exercise #3 (Ground vs. Air
Temperature)**
Tuesday (3/5)
Spring Break (No Class)
Thursday (3/7)
Spring Break (No Class)
Tuesday (3/12)
Measuring Sunshine and Solar Radiation: pp.
232-270
Week 11:
Week 12:
Week 13:
Week 14:
Thursday (3/14)
Measuring Sunshine and Solar Radiation,
cont’d.: pp. 232-270
**In-Class Field Exercise #4 (Radiation)**
Tuesday (3/19)
**Exam #2**
Thursday (3/21)
Observing Hours and Time Standards: pp. 271281
Tuesday (4/2)
Dataloggers and AWS Software: pp. 282-293
Thursday (4/4)
Non-Instrumental Weather Observing: pp. 294303
Tuesday (4/9)
Non-Instrumental Weather Observing: pp. 294303
**In-Class Field Exercise #5 (Clouds)**
Thursday (4/11)
Calibration: pp. 304-321
Tuesday (4/16)
Thursday (4/18)
Week 15:
Tuesday (4/21)
Thursday (4/25)
Calibration, cont’d.: pp. 304-321
**Assign Homework #3 (Calibration)**
Metadata: pp. 322-331
Collecting and Storing Data: pp. 335-347
** Homework #3 Due**
Making Sense of the Data Avalanche: pp. 348377
Week 16: Final Exam: TBA
Please refer to http://www.utm.edu/departments/registrar/final.php for
information regarding the final exam scheduling.