GEOG 203: Meteorology, Fall 2004

Syllabus and Course Outline

Instructor

Office

Electronic Mail

Phone

Office Hours

Dr. Rob Hellström

301, Conant Science Bldg.

rhellstrom@bridgew.edu

(508) 531-2842

MWR 11-12, or by appointment

Courses at Bridgewater State College: GE 100:Physical Geography or GE 120: The Physical World. There are no other prerequisites for this course, although you will be exposed to some simple physics and mathematics as the course progresses. If you have not taken either of the two prerequisite courses, you may enter the class under the following conditions:

·         The course is not full (if it is full, remain posted until September 15^th)

·         You provide a course add/drop slip to the lecture instructor within one week of the first day of regularly scheduled classes (September 15^th)

·         You are an Aviation or Earth Science student; have the instructor sign a prerequisite waiver form

Meeting

Call #

Day, Time

Place

Lecture

90958

M&W, 12:00 – 12:50 AM

#208 Conant Science Bldg.

Laboratory

90959 or 90960

W 1:00 – 2:50 or 3:00-4:50 PM

#309 Conant Science Bldg.

This text is available at the Bridgewater State College bookstore:

• Ahrens, D.C., 2005: Essentials of Meteorology: An Invitation to the Atmosphere, 4^th Ed. Brooks/Cole. 473 pp.

This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of how the atmosphere works. Physical processes that occur in the atmosphere lead to the weather (storms, tornadoes, hurricanes...) that we experience on Earth. The main objective of this course is to introduce the fundamental processes responsible for weather phenomena and climate variability around the world. The course will conclude with discussions of how human activities depend on and may be altering weather patterns, including the greenhouse effect, aviation meteorology, air pollution, the ozone “hole” and winter weather. To enhance learning and for convenient access to information, a class web page is available through the Blackboard internet system at BSC: you may want to print lecture outlines prior to class meetings and take extra notes on the printouts as necessary. 

                                                        http://plato.bridgew.edu/ 

The course web page requires that you have a BSC account and have enrolled in the GE203: Meteorology blackboard course. Utilize instructor’s office hours for help with course materials.

Your final grade is based on three written examinations and weekly lab assignments. Examinations contain multiple choice, short answer/analysis, and essay questions; information is taken from material covered in the attached lecture outline. No makeup exams, except under extreme circumstances; you must notify instructor prior to the exam date.

·         Exam I (10%):  Wednesday, October 13^th, 12:00-12:50 pm.

·         Exam II (10%):  Monday, November 15^th, 12:00-12:50 pm; material since Exam I

·         Final Exam (30%):  Monday, December 20^th, 11:00 am-1:00 pm; comprehensive

·         Laboratory Exercises, Online Activities and Quizzes (40%):  Your lab grade consists of three components: independent and group lab Experiments, Online assignments, and lab Quizzes. There are eleven (11) lab experiments that must be completed within the lab period on Wednesday. In addition, you are required to complete six (6) online assignments. You may work alone or in groups to complete the online assignments. Three (3) 20 minute lab quizzes are randomly distributed throughout the semester and are administered during the beginning of the lab period; you will be informed in Lecture if and what day you have a lab quiz the following week. See the Exercise Outline for more details.

·         Forecasting (10%):  This is a team effort and each team of 4 or 5 members will forecast for a different city assigned on Monday of each week. You will gain skills and experience necessary to forecast the weather as you complete the exercises in this course. Every week (except the first and last) throughout the semester, you will be required to submit predictions (before Wednesday at 5:00 pm) of temperature (daily max and min) and precipitation (total daily water equivalent) for each Friday (two days ahead) for a different city (in the United States) selected every week. Your team should meet in a computer lab (such as the Science lab room #201) to analyze and discuss weather maps and forecast information. Each team member will receive the same grade. Your grade will be based on accuracy, and more importantly, a brief explanation of how your team came up with your prediction. Forecasts and explanations may be submitted by e-mail or typed on paper in a sealed envelope and dropped in the instructor’s mailbox (third floor Earth Sciences and Geography office) by 5:00 pm on Wednesdays. You should designate a team member to submit the final forecast.

Bonus option (Maximum +10% added to final grade): You may write a scientific review of a current weather or climate-related issue making news. You are not required to write a paper, but it can potentially raise your grade by one letter.

·         Final paper due Wednesday, December 8^th

·          Instructor will examine a draft of your paper and give constructive comments.

·          Draft due by Wednesday, November 24^th: allow instructor one (1) week to return paper

·         Inform the instructor of your topic choice by Wednesday, November 17^th

·         Please see instructor if you need ideas

·           Length requirements: 5 to 9 pages of text, double-spaced and typed: figures are in addition to this.

·         Include bibliography (references); news papers, magazines, science journals, web pages, etc. (references should be cited within your paper for full credit)

Format and Grading of paper: You will be graded based on the following content:

• Include original article or photocopy (news clipping, journal article, etc…)
• Background text on the topic [3-5 pages with citations]
• Summarize the author’s(s’) major point of view on the issue discussed [1-2 pages]
• Your scientifically-based opinion of the topic and a critique for or against author’s(s’) point of view. [1-2 pages with citations to back up your opinion/critique]
• Full 10% bonus requires that you cover all criteria above and provide a bibliography with at least 3 textbook (or full-text online journal) references

Attend all classes as scheduled in the course Outline. Role will be called periodically, as required by the college. If you cannot attend a particular class, please contact the instructor prior to that class period.

Any student eligible for and needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a disability is requested to speak with the professor within the first two weeks of scheduled classes. At any time during the semester, feel free to contact the Office of Disability Resources in the Academic Achievement Center, located in the basement of the Maxwell Library 001 (508) 531-1214.

“In compliance with Bridgewater State College policy and equal access legislation, I am available to discuss appropriate accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Requests for academic accommodations should be made during the add/drop period, unless there are unusual circumstances, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Students are encouraged to register with the Disability Resources Office in the Maxwell Library for disability verification and determination of reasonable academic accommodations.”