Instructor: Prof. Kristen Corbosiero, ES 321, 442-5852, kcorbosiero@albany.edu

Class hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9:20-10:15 AM in Biology 248

Office hours: Monday 3-4 PM, Tuesday 2:30-3:30 PM, Wednesday 10:30-11:30 AM, and by appointment

T.A.s: Matthew Jenkins, ES 338A, mtjenkins@albany.edu, Monday  12:30-2:30 PM and Thursday 10 AM-12 PM

Minghao Zhou, ES 334, mzhou5@albany.edu, Tuesday 10 AM-
12 PM and Wednesday 12:30-2:30 PM

Course objectives: ATM 100 is an introductory course on our atmospheric environment, examining the nature and causes of weather phenomena, including atmospheric radiation and circulation, cyclones, clouds, precipitation, fronts, and hurricanes. The goal of this course is to provide you with a practical and relevant scientific framework that will help you understand and critically assess weather and climate information. 

Topics (tentative):

~ Atmospheric structure and composition

~ Radiation, seasons, and temperature

~ Humidity and clouds

~ Precipitation

~ Air pressure and winds

~ Atmospheric circulation

~ Air masses, fronts, and cyclones

~ Hurricanes

~ Thunderstorms

~ Weather forecasting

Required text and digital platform:

Ahrens, C. Donald, and R. Henson, 2018: Essentials of Meteorology: An Invitation to the Atmosphere. Eighth Edition, Cengage Learning, 509 pp.

MindTap, the digital platform that accompanies the text, is also required (see the “Digital Platform + Print” on the Cengage website). Once you have purchased MindTap, you will access it through the AATM 100 Blackboard page. Please watch the following video if you have any issues accessing MindTap through BlackBoard.

Grading: Final (20%); Exams (40%; Two @ 20% each); Homework assignments (25%); Pop quizzes and in-class activities (15%)

In lieu of taking attendance, pop quizzes and in-class activities will be given approximately every other week. Your lowest pop quiz/in-class activity score will be dropped from the calculation of your final grade.

Exams (tentative!): Wednesday, February 26 and Friday, April 10

Final: Saturday, May 9, 3:30-5:30 PM

Attendance: This is a fast paced class about the weather, which is always changing; unexcused absences are not acceptable and class attendance/participation is an integral part of this class (see Grading above). Make-up exams will not be given except for an illness documented by a physician, official college-sponsored activities with appropriate documentation, or a death in the immediate family with a note from the office of the Dean. Homework assignments that are turned in late will be subject to a 10% deduction in grade per day late.

Absence due to religious observance: Any student who is unable, because of her or his religious beliefs, to attend classes on a particular day or days shall, because of such absence on the particular day or days, be excused from any examination, study, and/or work requirements. Please notify me in a timely manner of any upcoming absences and see New York State Education Law, Section 224-A for further details.

Academic integrity: Cheating and plagiarism are unacceptable and will result in a zero for this class and can potentially result in suspension from the University. It is the responsibility of each student to become familiar with the standards of academic integrity. The following university website provides additional information:

http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/regulations.html.

Class conduct: It is expected that those attending lecture will be respectful of the professor, TAs, and those desiring to get maximum benefit from the class.

You are responsible for checking your UAlbany email address for messages sent by me and the TAs regarding this course. Remember, email is an official form of communication according to the University. Similarly, you are responsible for checking the class website for announcements and changes to the schedule.