Welcome to ATM 525
Troposphere-Stratosphere Interaction
Schematic of the dynamics of the troposphere-stratosphere-mesosphere circulation including contribution of gravity waves and planetary waves.
Credit: The ARISE project
This course will provide an introduction to the structure, composition, dynamics, chemistry and radiational properties of the stratosphere. We will analyze the two-way interaction between the troposphere and stratosphere in the tropics, extra-tropics and high latitudes and the implications of troposphere-stratosphere interactions on both weather and climate timescales.
This course is the combination of several parts, a lecture-based component, a student led journal article discussion component and a group project component. The lecture-based component will be weighted toward the beginning of the semester, it will provide you with the background to fully appreciate the research articles that you will choose and discuss with the class. Finally, the project based component will build upon information from the lectures and the article discussions in an analysis of a recent case of stratosphere-troposphere interaction.
Relevant Texts:
Middle Atmosphere Dynamics (1987), D. G. Andrews, J. R. Holton and C. B. Leovy
An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology (2012), J. R. Holton and G. J. Hakim
Stratosphere-Troposphere Interaction (2008), by K. Monanakumar
Online readings/papers will be provided throughout the semester
Web: http://www.atmos.albany.edu/facstaff/andrea/courses/atm525.html
Grading: A-E
- Homework assignments (4): 35%
- Quizzes (3): 30%
- Journal Discussions: 10%
- Final Project Paper: 15%
- Final Project Presentation: 10%
A PDF copy of the syllabus is avaialble here
U60 at 10-hPa from NASA Ozone Watch
Assignments & Handouts
Links to PDF versions of the homework or in-class links
As they are shown in-class or assigned, links will be posted here:
- 23 Jan (Thur) - The syllabus is avaialble here
- 6 Feb (Thur) - Homework 1 (pdf) is due 20 Feb
- 25 Feb (Tue) - Homework 2 (pdf) is due 6 Mar
- 10 Mar (Tue) - Homework 3 (pdf) is due 26 Mar
- 23 Mar (Mon) - Watch Videos 1 and 2 by 26 Mar
- 26 Mar (Thur) - Notes for Week 9 (pdf)
- 2 Apr (Thur) - Notes for Week 10 (pdf)
- 2 Apr (Thur) - Homework 4 (pdf) is due 16 April
- 2 Apr (Thur) - Final Project (pdf) is due 5 May
- 9 Apr (Thur) - Notes for Week 11 (pdf)
- 16 Apr (Thur) - Notes for Week 12 (pdf)
- 23 Apr (Thur) - Notes for Week 13 (pdf)
Calendar
Topics and notes from class will be posted as they become available.
The tentative schedule for the semester is below. It will be updated on Fridays based on material from the previous week:
| Week | Tuesday | Thursday |
|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 (Jan 21-23) | First Day of Class | |
| Wk 2 (Jan 28-30) | Intro & climatological features (pptx) | |
| Wk 3 (Feb 4-6) | Figures from class (pdf) | Chemistry slides (pdf) |
| Wk 4 (Feb 11-13) | Chemistry slides part 2 (pdf) | |
| Wk 5 (Feb 18-20) | ||
| Wk 6 (Feb 25-27) | Quiz 1 | Paper discussion: Andrea – Eliassen & Palm (1961) |
| Wk 7 (Mar 3-5) | Cam – Reutter et al. (2015) | |
| Wk 8 (Mar 10-12) | Mansour – Baldwin and Dunkerton (2001) | |
| Wk X (Mar 17-19) | No Class - Spring Break! | No Class - Spring Break! |
| Begin Online | ATM 525 Teams link | ATM 525 video playlist or check email for YouTube links |
| Wk 9 (Mar 24-26) | Tyler – Martius et al. (2009) | Week 9 Notes Mansour – Baldwin and Dunkerton (2001) |
| Wk 10 (Mar 31-Apr 2) | Quiz 2 this week | Week 10 Notes Peyton – Polvani et al. (2011) |
| Wk 11 (Apr 7-9) | Week 11 Notes Adam – Scaife et al. (2014) |
|
| Wk 12 (Apr 14-16) | Week 12 Notes Mike – Kidston et al. (2015) |
|
| Wk 13 (Apr 21-23) | Week 13 Notes | Quiz 3 Scott – Tao et al. (2017) |
| Wk 14 (Apr 28-30) | Check email for material | |
| Wk 15 (May 5-7) | Last Day: Project Presentations | No Class - Exam Week |
| Wk Finals (May 12-14) | Papers due today by noon |
From the most recent 0000 UTC GFS forecast. Left panel: A lon-height section of the departure from zonal-mean geopotential height averaged between 45-75N (fill; left panel) as well as the vertical profiles of zonal-mean U at 60N (left middle panel) and area-weighted average temperature poleward of 75N (middle panel). The vertical profiles wave amplitude by wavenumber according to the legend (right and right middle panels).
Relevant links
Current Research and Monitoring of Troposphere-Stratosphere Dynamics & Chemistry
Links of interest:
- NCEP/CPC Stratosphere-Troposphere Monitoring
- NOAA/ESRL EP Flux Plotting Page
- NASA MERRA Stratospheric Analysis
- JMA Stratospheric Circulation Monitoring
- ECMWF Stratospheric Analysis from A. Dörnbrack
- The Freie Universität Berlin Middle Atmosphere Products
- The ERA-40 Atlas from ECMWF
- NCEP CPC Teleconnections
- Real-time Stratospheric Forecasts by Z. Lawrence
About the Course
Instructor: Prof. Andrea Lopez Lang
ES 323 | alang - albany.edu | 518-442-4558
Office Hours:Mon & Wed 10:30-11:30 am or by appointment via Zoom
Location: HU 127 BB 213 online
Class Number: 9696
Time: Tu/Th, 11:45-1:05 am
Credits: 3
News and Updates
Spring 2020
Welcome to ATM 525. As of Mar 24, we are an online class!
Accessibility
If you have a documented issue and may require some accommodation or modification in procedures, activities, assessment, etc., please see me early in the semester with your academic accommodation letter. If you need forms or information, please visit the Disability Resource Center
Academic Integrity
Every student has the responsibility to become familiar with the standards of academic integrity at the University (as stated in the Graduate Bulletin). Student claims of ignorance, unintentional error, or personal or academic pressures cannot be excuses for violation of academic integrity. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the standards and behaving accordingly. Students caught cheating will be reported to the University.