ATM61: Final Exam Review
The final exam will be on Wednesday, May 16th between 1pm and 3pm. The exam is designed to
be around 2 hours, but extra time will be given if needed, so there should be no time pressure.
The final is comprehensive and worth 30% of your lecture grade. Note that the lecture component
is worth 75% of your final grade, with the lab worth the remaining 25%.
The final utilize a similar style to the previous midterms. There will be a few multiple choice/short
answers, while the majority of points will come from practical applications, derivations, and
problems.
I suggest that you use the following outline to help you focus on the important concepts we’ve
covered this semester. In addition, I’d review the notes carefully, and refer to either of the books
on sections that require further study. I’d also recommend looking over the activities, quizzes and
exams, as similar work or question will be asked on the final.
When thinking about some of the important relationships in the atmosphere, you may want to ask
yourself these questions. What is it, why is it important, what equations (if any) describe this and
how would I use this to describe some property of the atmosphere?
Equations with a * should be committed to memory. Other listed equations would be given, but
you would need to understand the symbols and how they work. Simple derivations may be
required as well.
I’ll be around before the final, so if you want to come to ask questions or get help on anything,
either just stop by, or email/phone to make an appointment.
Topic 1: Introduction
Composition and vertical structure of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Variation of pressure, density and temperature change with height.
Characteristic scales of motion
Meteorological conventions, ideal gas law for dry air.
Figs: 1.4, 1.9, 1.11
Eqs. 1.8*
Topic 2 Atmospheric Thermodynamics
Evaporation, condensation and saturation.
Latent heat, sensible heat and water vapor.
Saturation vapor pressure, relative humidity (RH) and dew point.
Relationship between RH and temperature.
Ideal gas law for moist air, virtual temperature, 1st law of thermo, Clausius-clapeyron equation,
Virtual temperature, mixing ratio, saturation mixing ratio, wet bulb temperature, dew point etc.
Use of thermodynamic diagrams to calculate LCL, Td, Tw, e etc, and Normand’s rule.
Hypsometric equation, equation of state, density and pressure variations with height (scale height),
hydrostatic balance and geopotential
Partial pressure, virtual temperature
Eqs: 3.2*, 3.12*, 3.15*, 3.17*, 3.20, 3.24, 3.27*
Eq (Thermo I): 1a*, 1b*, 13, 16, 22, 24*, 29*
Eq (Thermo II): 5
Stability
Idea of parcel stability versus wave stability
Effect of heating, cooling and mixing on atmospheric stability
Lapse rate (dry, moist, environmental); Determining stability from lapse rate
Brunt-Väisällä frequency: What does N represent, and how does one get an expression for N? Can
you explain why N2>0 is an oscillatory solution, while N2<0 is an exponential solution? What
does this mean physically?
Eq (Stability): 9-14
Topic 3: Radiative Transfer
Latent heat, sensible heat, conduction and convection.
Electromagnetic radiation: short wave and terrestrial radiation.
Absorption and emission.
Greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect.
Albedo, surface energy balance.
Stefan-Boltzmann Law, Wien’s displacement law, Plank’s law
Energy balance, Kirchhoff’s law
Transmissivity, reflectivity and absorptivity.
Seasonal and daily effects (pg 26 Stull).
1st law of thermodynamics. Physical and mathematical understanding.
Can you follow the steps and fill in missing parts of derivation for the dry lapse rate and potential
temperature?
Earth’s energy balance (L8S16), L9S16,
Eqs: 4.10, 4.11, 4.12*, 4.15, L8S24, L9S6, L9S8, L9S10, L9S12,
Topic 4 Atmospheric Dynamics
Forces that influence the wind: Pressure gradient force, Coriolis force, friction.
Can you draw the geostrophic wind (aloft and at surface) from weather map?
Difference between surface and upper level pressure gradients.
Relationship between horizontal winds and vertical motions
From weather map, determine sign of temperature advection
Hypsometric equation: What is it and can you work with it?
Conservations laws (3) that govern atmospheric motions (physical and mathematical descriptions)
Can you derive the Coriolis terms from 2U?
Geostrophic Wind. Can you derive the geostrophic wind relationship? Can you calculate the
magnitude of the geostrophic wind from a weather map?
Effect of Earth’s rotation of conservation equations.
Hydrostatic balance
Difference between local derivative and total derivative.
Scale analysis: How is it done, why is it important?
How does the continuity equation provide information on the vertical motion field?
Can you determine vorticity advection from weather map?
What is the thermal wind, and why it is important?
What is the difference between a barotropic and baroclinic atmosphere?
What is vorticity (physically and mathematically), and why is it important?
Given a field of wind observations, can you calculate the vorticity?
Conservation of absolute vorticity and vorticity advection
Eqs. (Dynamics) 2*, 14*, 18B, (derive 19, 20 and 21), 23, 24, 25, 29B, 32, 38, 40*, 41*, (derive
42), 43*
Global Circulation
Three cell model: Why does the ITCZ move with changing seasons?
Polar and subtropical jets: what causes the jets and during what season are they the strongest?
What affect does topography have on general circulation?
What is a monsoon circulation?
El Nino: What is it, what causes El Nino, and why it is important?
Meridional heat transport: tropics versus middle latitudes
Why are waves important in atmospheric science?
Topic 5: Midlatitude Cyclones
What are they, what does their vertical and horizontal structure look like?
What is polar front theory?
What is the difference between barotropic and baroclinic structure, and why is this important?
Stages in the development of a midlatitude cyclone, and role of divergence in midlatitude cyclones.
Role of vertical motion and vorticity advection.