UW Bothell Course Descriptions
UW Tacoma Course Descriptions
Glossary
Detailed course offerings (Time Schedule) are available for
ATM S 100 Climate, Justice, and Energy Solutions (5) SSc/NSc, DIV
Presents visions of the future when the climate crisis is solved. Describes paths towards reaching these goals. Solutions include building a resilient society with clean energy, sustainable agriculture, climate justice, and a just transition for workers.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 100
ATM S 101 Understanding and Predicting the Weather (5) NSc
Students learn the essentials about weather, including basic concepts on how to read the sky, and how to interpret weather information and forecasts from a variety of sources. Covers origin and structure of the atmosphere, wind, rain, and snow storms, and other major weather features, as well as how weather forecasts are made and evaluated. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 101
ATM S 103 Hurricanes and Thunderstorms: Their Science and Impact (3) NSc/SSc
Explores the science, history, and impacts of thunderstorms and hurricanes. Includes basic processes responsible for thunderstorms and hurricanes and for the lightning, hail, high winds, and storm surges that accompany them. Presents significant historical examples, along with the impact on human activities, strategies for personal safety, and societal adaptation. Offered: SpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 103
ATM S 111 Global Warming: Understanding the Issues (5) SSc/NSc
Presents a broad overview of the science of global warming. Includes the causes, evidence, and societal and environmental impacts from the last century. Recounts future climate projections and societal decisions that influence greenhouse gas emission scenarios and our ability to adapt to climate change. Presents ways to identify disinformation versus correct science. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 111
ATM S 211 Climate and Climate Change (5) NSc/SSc
The nature of the global climate system. Factors influencing climate including interactions among the atmosphere, oceans, solid earth, and biosphere. Stability and sensitivity of climate system. Global warming, ozone depletion, and other human influences. Intended for nonmajors. Course overlaps with: ESS 201. Offered: AWSp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 211
ATM S 212 Air Pollution: Societal Impacts and Solutions (3) SSc/NSc
Explores the causes, impacts, and solutions for air pollution on local, regional, and global scales. Topics include urban smog, wildfires, acid rain, the ozone hole, and contrasts between indoor and outdoor air pollution. Health and environmental effects of air pollutants, technological solutions, environmental justice, and international policy regulations. Offered: AWSp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 212
ATM S 220 Exploring Atmospheric and Climate Science (1, max. 2) NSc
Focuses on current research in atmospheric and climate science and the related implications for public health, business, and environmental policy. Credit/no-credit only.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 220
ATM S 290 The Weather Challenge (1, max. 8) NSc
Includes participation in a national weather forecast contest; weekly discussion on forecast models, forecasting methods, and unique considerations for specific forecast locations. Prerequisite: either ATM S 101 or ATM S 301. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AW.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 290
ATM S 301 Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences (5) NSc
Composition and structure of the atmosphere. Clouds and weather phenomena. Thermodynamic processes. Solar and terrestrial radiation. Air motions. Daily weather discussions and forecasts. For majors and nonmajors. Prerequisite: minimum grade of 2.0 in each of MATH 124; MATH 125; MATH 126; PHYS 121; PHYS 122; and PHYS 123. Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 301
ATM S 310 Programming for Atmospheric Data Analysis (3) NSc
Introduces students to data analysis in the atmospheric sciences using modern programming languages and techniques. Provides hands-on experience through the exploration of atmospheric datasets. Course overlaps with: CSE 163. Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 310
ATM S 321 The Science of Climate (3) NSc
Evolution and present state of earth's climate. Emphasis on physical processes determining the climate of the earth's atmosphere and surface: radiative transfer, energy balance, hydrologic cycle, and atmospheric and oceanic energy transport. Factors controlling climate change. Prerequisite: minimum of grade of 2.0 each of MATH 124; MATH 125; MATH 126; PHYS 121; PHYS 122; PHYS 123. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 321
ATM S 340 Introduction to Thermodynamics and Cloud Processes (3) NSc
Examines thermodynamics and hydrostatics. Studies cloud and precipitation processes with emphasis on the microphysics. Prerequisite: ATM S 301. Offered: W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 340
ATM S 341 Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (3)
Comprehensive introduction to atmospheric radiation, including solar and infrared radiation, the earth's radiation budget, and remote sensing. Prerequisite: ATM S 301. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 341
ATM S 350 Ecological Climatology (3) NSc
Focuses on the connections between ecosystems and climate including physical, chemical and biological interactions. Investigates global scale implications and the expected response of a coupled earth system under past and future climate change. Recommended: MATH 120 or equivalent; and either PHYS 114; PHYS 115; PHYS 116, or PHYS 121; PHYS 122; PHYS 123
Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 350
ATM S 358 Fundamentals of Atmospheric Chemistry (3) NSc
Review of basic principles of physical chemistry; evolution and chemical composition of earth's atmosphere; half-life, residence and renewal time; sources, transformation, transport and sinks of gases in the troposphere; atmospheric aerosols; chemical cycles; air pollution; stratospheric chemistry. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 358
ATM S 361 Meteorology and the Media: Broadcast and Online Weather Communication (3, max. 6) SSc
Students practice presenting with a green chroma-key screen and camera, and write a daily weather blog for publication. Discusses the history and future of media-driven meteorology. Invited speakers present, and students take field trips to a local television station and the National Weather Service. Prerequisite: ATM S 101 or ATM S 301.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 361
ATM S 370 Atmospheric Structure and Analysis (5) NSc
Structure and evolution of extratropical cyclones, fronts, and convective systems. Surface and upper air analysis techniques. Radar and satellite data. Real-world applications of basic dynamical principles. Introduction to operational products and forecasting. Prerequisite: ATM S 301. Offered: W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 370
ATM S 380 Weather and Climate Prediction (3) NSc
Applies weather and climate models to solve problems in atmospheric sciences. Includes visualization of atmospheric phenomena and Earth's energy and hydrologic cycles; and basics in numerical modeling and high-performance computing. Prerequisite: MATH 126; PHYS 122; either ATMS 101, ATM S 111, ATM S 211, ATM S 301, ASTR 150, ASTR 321, or ESS 201. Offered: W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 380
ATM S 390 Honors Tutorial in Atmospheric and Climate Science (*, max. 6)
Review and discussion of selected problems in atmospheric and climate science. Introduction to research methods. Presentation of a research paper. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 390
ATM S 431 Boundary-Layer Meteorology (3) NSc
Introduction to boundary-layer meteorology. Surface energy budgets, structure and evolution of boundary layers, and basic ideas of turbulence theory. Prerequisite: either ATM S 340 or PHYS 224. Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 431
ATM S 441 Atmospheric Motions I (3) NSc
Basic equations governing atmospheric motions and their elementary applications; circulation and vorticity; dynamics of midlatitude disturbances. Prerequisite: either AMATH 353 or MATH 209; and MATH 224. Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 441
ATM S 442 Atmospheric Motions II (5) NSc
Wave dynamics, numerical prediction, development of midlatitude synoptic systems, and general circulation. Includes laboratory exercises. Prerequisite: ATM S 441. Offered: W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 442
ATM S 444 Design and Application of Ensemble Prediction Systems (4) NSc
Covers the fundamental of chaos theory to help compare and contrast traditional, deterministic forecasting versus ensemble forecasting. Explores the various components of an ensemble prediction system. Introduces decision science to show how to apply probabilistic weather information in optimal decision making. Prerequisite: ATM S 370; either STAT/MATH 390 or Q SCI 381; AMATH 301. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 444
ATM S 451 Instruments and Observations (4) NSc
Principles of operating instruments for measuring important atmospheric parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity, aerosol concentration). Concepts of sensitivity, accuracy, representativeness, time response. Manipulation of output data including signal processing and statistical analysis. Experimental design and implementation of the design in actual field experiments is included. Prerequisite: ATM S 370; and either STAT 390 or Q SCI 381. Offered: W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 451
ATM S 452 Weather Forecasting and Advanced Synoptic Meteorology (5) NSc
Basic forecasting techniques. Application of numerical modeling and statistical approaches. Structure, evolution, and forecasting of convective systems. Radar applications. Diurnal and topographically-forced circulations. Aviation meteorology. Laboratories include extensive practice in forecasting and surface map analysis. Prerequisite: ATM S 370; ATM S 442; either STAT/MATH 390 or Q SCI 381. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 452
ATM S 458 Air Pollution Chemistry (4) NSc
Global atmosphere as a chemical system emphasizing physical factors and chemical processes that give rise to elevated surface ozone, particulate matter, and air toxics; international issues of air pollution transport and changing tropospheric background composition; and regulatory control strategies and challenges. Aimed at science and engineering majors. Course overlaps with: B CHEM 350. Offered: jointly with CHEM 458; A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 458
ATM S 461 Weather Communication: Media and Meteorology (1, max. 11)
Students learn to create comprehensive forecasts for the Seattle area, design graphics to communicate the forecasts, post forecasts on social media accounts, and become comfortable with public speaking and communicating complex scientific ideas to a wide audience. For students participating in the DawgCast Club. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 461
ATM S 475 Current Research in Climate Science Seminar (3, max. 6)
Weekly lectures focusing on a particular aspect of climate from invited speakers, complemented by class discussion, readings, and final paper. Promotes interdisciplinary understanding of climate concepts. Prerequisite: either ESS 201, ATM S 211, or ATM S 321. Offered: jointly with ESS 475/OCEAN 475; A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 475
ATM S 480 Air-Quality Modeling (3) NSc
Evaluation of air-quality models relating air pollution emissions to environmental concentrations. Emphasis on models used for air pollution permits. Emphasizes current problems. Prerequisite: MATH 125. Offered: jointly with CEE 480; W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 480
ATM S 487 Fundamentals of Climate Change (3)
Examines Earth's climate system; distribution of temperature, precipitation, wind ice, salinity, and ocean currents; fundamental processes determining Earth's climate; energy and constituent transport mechanisms; climate sensitivity; natural climate variability on interannual to decadal time scales; global climate models; predicting future climate. Prerequisite: ATM S 321.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 487
ATM S 490 Current Weather Analysis (1, max. 6) NSc
Reviews and analyzes current weather situations and forecasts. Promotes active discussion between the leader and attendees, and provides exposure to practical aspects of forecasting, the structure of synoptic and local weather phenomena, and applications of basic meteorological concepts. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 490
ATM S 492 Readings in Meteorology or Climatology (*, max. 15)
Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 492
ATM S 495 EarthGames Studio (2-6, max. 15)
Students will work in teams to create their own video games or interactive digital experience relating to climate change or other pressing environmental issues. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 495
ATM S 497 Undergraduate Internship (1-5, max. 30)
Internship experience with a public agency or private company, supervised and approved by a faculty member. Requires preparation of a professional report reflecting on the experience. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 497
ATM S 498 Honors Synthesis and Communication (1-5, max. 6)
Students synthesize prior knowledge and experience gained through hands-on, applied work with academic research or off campus internship experience under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Students refine their writing skills and practice their presentation skills by conveying information orally and visually by making a formal presentation. Prerequisite: ATM S 497 or ATM S 499; recommended: internship or research experience. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 498
ATM S 499 Undergraduate Independent Research (1-5, max. 30)
Individual research supervised by a faculty member. May involve laboratory work, fieldwork, or surveys. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 499
ATM S 501 Fundamentals of Physics and Chemistry of the Atmosphere (5)
Fundamentals of hydrostatics, thermodynamics, radiation, cloud physics, and atmospheric chemistry. Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 501
ATM S 502 Introduction to Synoptic Meteorology (3)
Overview of weather systems; atmospheric observations and data assimilation. Elementary manual and computer-aided synoptic analysis techniques. Interpretation of satellite and ground-based observations. Kinematics. Fronts and frontogenesis; life cycles of extratropical cyclones; related mesoscale phenomena. Numerical weather prediction; interpretation of forecast products. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 502
ATM S 503 Atmospheric Motions I (3)
Basic equations governing atmospheric motions and their elementary applications; circulation and vorticity; dynamics of midlatitude disturbances. Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 503
ATM S 504 Atmospheric Motions II (5)
Wave dynamics, numerical prediction, development of midlatitude synoptic systems, and general circulation. Prerequisite: either ATM S 441 or ATM S 503. Offered: W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 504
ATM S 505 Introduction to Fluid Dynamics (4)
Eulerian equations for mass-motion; Navier-Stokes equation for viscous fluids, stress-strain relations; Kelvin's theorem, vortex dynamics; potential flows, flows with high-low Reynolds numbers; boundary layers, surface gravity waves; sound waves, and linear instability theory. Prerequisite: either a course in partial differential equations or permission of instructor. Offered: jointly with AMATH 505/OCEAN 511; A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 505
ATM S 508 Geochemical Cycles (4)
Descriptive, quantitative aspects of earth as biogeochemical system. Study of equilibria, transport processes, chemical kinetics, biological processes; their application to carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, phosphorus, other elemental cycles. Stability of biogeochemical systems; nature of human perturbations of their dynamics. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Offered: jointly with CHEM 523/OCEAN 523.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 508
ATM S 509 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics I (4)
Dynamics of rotating stratified fluid flow in the atmosphere/ocean and laboratory analogues. Equations of state, compressibility, Boussinesq approximation. Geostrophic balance, Rossby number. Poincare, Kelvin, Rossby waves, geostrophic adjustment. Ekman layers. Continuously stratified dynamics: Inertia-gravity waves, potential vorticity, quasigeostrophy. Prerequisite: OCEAN 511 or ATM S 505/AMATH 505. Offered: jointly with OCEAN 512; W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 509
ATM S 510 Physics of Ice (3)
Structure of the water molecule. Crystallographic structures of ice. Electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of ice. Growth of ice from vapor and liquid phases. Offered: jointly with ESS 531.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 510
ATM S 511 Snow and Ice on the Earth's Surface (3)
Snow and ice climatology. Formation of the ice crystals in clouds. Snow metamorphism. Transfer of radiative, sensible, and latent heat at snow and ice surfaces. Remote sensing of snow and ice. Growth and melt of sea ice. Climatic records from ice. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Offered: jointly with ESS 532.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 511
ATM S 512 Dynamics of Snow and Ice Masses (3)
Rheology of snow and ice. Sliding and processes at glacier beds. Thermal regime and motion of seasonal snow, glaciers, and ice sheets. Avalanches and glacier surges. Deformation and drift of sea ice. Response of natural ice masses to change in climate. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Offered: jointly with ESS 533.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 512
ATM S 519 Scientific Writing and Graphics (2)
Covers principles of scientific writing; methods of ensuring clarity in writing for scientific journals and research proposals; principles of graph construction; and authorship, peer review, and citations. For graduate students in Earth-science related fields. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: jointly with ESS 519/OCEAN 518.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 519
ATM S 520 Atmospheric Sciences Colloquium (1, max. 24)
Seminars on current research in advanced topics related to atmospheric sciences, conducted by faculty and visiting professors/scientists. Includes presentation of doctoral dissertations by department graduate students. For Atmospheric Sciences graduate students only. Prerequisite: permission of department. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 520
ATM S 521 Seminar in Atmospheric and Climate Dynamics (*, max. 24)
Directed at current research in the subject. For advanced students. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 521
ATM S 523 Seminar in Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry (*, max. 24)
Directed at current research in the subject. For advanced students. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AW.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 523
ATM S 524 Seminar in Climate Dynamics and Energy Transfer (*, max. 24)
Directed at current research in the subject. For advanced students. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 524
ATM S 525 Seminar - Topics in Atmospheric Chemistry (1-3, max. 6)
Seminar for atmospheric scientists, chemists, engineers in problems associated with the chemical composition of the atmosphere. Covers wide variety of topics, ranging from the natural system to urban pollution and global atmospheric change. Prerequisite: ATM S 301 or permission of instructor. Offered: jointly with CEWA 553.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 525
ATM S 532 Atmospheric Radiation: Introductory (3)
Fundamentals of radiative transfer; absorption and scattering by atmospheric gases; elementary applications to constraints on the thermal structure, photochemistry, and remote sensing. Prerequisite: PHYS 225 or permission of instructor. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 532
ATM S 533 Atmospheric Radiation: Advanced (3)
Optical properties and particle absorption and scattering; solutions of radiative transfer equation in multiple scattering atmospheres; applications to atmospheric and surface energy balance and remote sensing. Prerequisite: ATM S 532/ESS 571 or permission of instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 533
ATM S 534 Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere and Climate System (3)
Satellite systems for sensing the atmosphere and climate system. Recovery of atmospheric and surface information from satellite radiance measurements. Applications to research. Prerequisite: ATM S 532 or ATM S 533.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 534
ATM S 535 Cloud Microphysics and Dynamics (3)
Basic concepts of cloud microphysics, water continuity in clouds, cloud dynamics, and cloud models. Prerequisite: ATM S 501 or permission of instructor. Offered: jointly with ESS 573; Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 535
ATM S 536 Mesoscale Storm Structure and Dynamics (3)
Techniques of observing storm structure and dynamics by radar and aircraft, observed structures of precipitating cloud systems, comparison of observed structures with cloud models. Prerequisite: either ATM S 535, ATM S 504, or ATM S 509.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 536
ATM S 542 Synoptic and Mesoscale Dynamics (3)
Quasi-geostrophic theory, baroclinic instability, symmetric instability, tropical disturbances, frontogenesis, orographic disturbances, convective storms. Prerequisite: ATM S 509/OCEAN 512 and AMATH 402 or equivalents. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 542
ATM S 544 Design and Application of Ensemble Prediction Systems (4)
Covers the fundamental of chaos theory to help compare and contrast traditional, deterministic forecasting versus ensemble forecasting. Explores the various components of an ensemble prediction system. Introduces decision science to show how to apply probabilistic weather information in optimal decision making. Prerequisite: ATM S 501; ATM S 502; and ATM S 552 or permission of instructor. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 544
ATM S 545 General Circulation of Atmosphere (3)
Requirements of the global angular momentum, heat, mass, and energy budgets upon atmospheric motions as deduced from observations. Study of the physical processes through which these budgets are satisfied. Prerequisite: ATM S 509/OCEAN 512 or permission of instructor. Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 545
ATM S 547 Boundary Layer Meteorology (3)
Turbulence, turbulent fluxes, averaging. Convection and shear instability. Monin-Obukhov similarity theory, surface roughness. Wind profiles. Organized large eddies. Energy fluxes at ocean and land surfaces, diurnal cycle. Convective and stably stratified boundary layers. Cloud-topped boundary layers. Remote sensing. Boundary layer modeling and parameterization. Prerequisite: ATM S 505, AMATH 505, or OCEAN 511.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 547
ATM S 551 Atmospheric Structure and Analysis I: Synoptic Scale Systems (4)
Extratropical cyclones and cyclogenesis. Jet streams. Upper waves in the westerlies. Diagnosis of vertical motions. Fronts and frontogenesis. Prerequisite: ATM S 502 and ATM S 509/OCEAN 512.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 551
ATM S 552 Objective Analysis (3)
Review of objective analysis techniques commonly applied to atmospheric problems; examples from the meteorological literature and class projects. Superposed epoch analysis, cross-spectrum analysis, filtering, eigenvector analysis, and optimum interpolation techniques. Offered: W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 552
ATM S 554 Paleoclimate Proxies (3)
Provides a critical evaluation of the most commonly applied paleoclimate proxies from the ocean, land, and ice sheets. Offered: jointly with ESS 554/OCEAN 554.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 554
ATM S 555 Planetary Atmospheres (3)
Problems of origin, evolution, and structure of planetary atmospheres, emphasizing elements common to all; roles of radiation, chemistry, and dynamical processes; new results on the atmospheres of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and other solar system objects in the context of comparative planetology. Offered: jointly with ASTR 555/ESS 581.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 555
ATM S 556 Planetary-Scale Dynamics (3)
Zonally symmetric circulations, planetary waves, equatorial waves, dynamics of the middle atmosphere, trace constituent transport, nonlinear aspects of atmospheric flows. Prerequisite: ATM S 542 or permission of instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 556
ATM S 558 Atmospheric Chemistry (3)
Photochemistry of urban, rural, and marine tropospheric air, and of the natural and perturbed ozone in the middle atmosphere. Unity of the chemistries in these apparently different regimes. Prerequisite: ATM S 458 or ATM S 501 or CHEM 457 or permission of instructor. Offered: Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 558
ATM S 559 Climate Modeling (3)
Principles of Earth system modeling. Emphasis on atmosphere, ocean sea ice, and land-surface components. Climate forcing. Appropriate use of models. Topics of current interest including carbon cycle, atmosphere chemistry, and biogeochemistry. Prerequisite: either ATM S 587/OCEAN 587/ESS 587, ATM S 504 or ATM S 505. Offered: jointly with ESS 559/OCEAN 558.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 559
ATM S 560 Atmosphere/Ocean Interactions (3)
Observations and theory of phenomena of the coupled atmosphere-ocean system. El Nino/Southern Oscillation; decadal tropical variability; atmospheric teleconnections; midlatitude atmosphere-ocean variability. Overview of essential ocean and atmospheric dynamics, where appropriate. Prerequisite: OCEAN 512/ATM S 509 Offered: jointly with OCEAN 560.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 560
ATM S 564 Atmospheric Aerosol and Multiphase Atmospheric Chemistry (3)
Physics and chemistry of particles and droplets in the atmosphere. Statistics of size distributions, mechanics, optics, and physical chemistry of atmospheric aerosols. Brownian motion, sedimentation, impaction, condensation, and hydroscopic growth. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 564
ATM S 565 Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling (3)
In this course we will discuss the foundations of mathematical models for atmospheric chemistry. Our focus will be on three-dimensional numerical models that simulate transport, chemistry, emissions, and deposition of chemical species in the atmosphere. Prerequisite: ATM S 558
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 565
ATM S 571 Advanced Physical Climatology (3)
Physical processes that determine the climate of Earth and its past and future changes. Greenhouse effect. Climate modeling. Radiative and dynamical feedback processes. Orbital parameter theory. Critical analysis of climate change predictions. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Offered: A.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 571
ATM S 575 Large Scale Dynamics of the Tropical Atmosphere (3)
Observations and underlying dynamics of large-scale tropical circulations. Factors that determine regions of large-scale persistent precipitation in the tropics, thermal forcing of atmospheric circulations by these regions, and temporal variability of the forcing and response. Prerequisite: ATM S 509/OCEAN 512, ATM S 542.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 575
ATM S 581 Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations (5)
Method of lines discretization. Initial and boundary value problems, including finite difference methods and spectral methods. Elliptic, parabolic, hyperbolic and dispersive equations. Stability, accuracy, and convergence theory. Prerequisite: either AMATH 352 (or equivalent), AMATH 481 (or equivalent), AMATH 569 (which may be taken concurrently), AMATH 581, AMATH 584/MATH 584, AMATH 585/MATH 585, or permission of instructor; recommended: AMATH 584/MATH 584 and AMATH 585/MATH 585. Offered: jointly with AMATH 586/MATH 586; Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 581
ATM S 582 Advanced Numerical Modeling of Geophysical Flows (3)
Topics of current interest including: efficient time differencing, semi-implicit and multiple time-step techniques. Semi-lagrangian schemes. Treatment of poorly resolved gradients. Flux-corrected transport. Positive definite advection schemes. Aliasing error and nonlinear instability. Wave permeable boundary conditions. Prerequisite: ATM S 581 and AMATH 586 or MATH 586.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 582
ATM S 585 Climate Impacts on the Pacific Northwest (4)
Knowledge of past/future patterns of climate to improve Pacific Northwest resource management. Topics include the predictability of natural/human-caused climate changes; past societal reactions to climate impacts on water, fish, forest, and coastal resources; how climate and public policies interact to affect ecosystems and society. Offered: jointly with ENVIR 585/ESS 585/SMEA 585; Sp.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 585
ATM S 586 Current Research in Climate Change (2, max. 20)
Weekly lectures focusing on a particular aspect of climate (topic to change each year) from invited speakers (both UW and outside), plus one or two keynote speakers, followed by class discussion. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: jointly with ESS 586/OCEAN 586.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 586
ATM S 587 Fundamentals of Climate Change (3)
Examines Earth's climate system; distribution of temperature, precipitation, wind ice, salinity, and ocean currents; fundamental processes determining Earth's climate; energy and constituent transport mechanisms; climate sensitivity; natural climate variability on interannual to decadal time scales; global climate models; predicting future climate. Offered: jointly with ESS 587/OCEAN 587.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 587
ATM S 588 The Global Carbon Cycle and Climate (3)
Oceanic and terrestrial biogeochemical processes controlling atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Records of past changes in the earth's carbon cycle from geological, oceanographic, and terrestrial archives. Anthropogenic perturbations to cycles. Develop simple box models, discuss results of complex models. Offered: jointly with ESS 588/OCEAN 588; W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 588
ATM S 589 Paleoclimatology: Data, Modeling, and Theory (3)
Evidence for past changes in land and sea surface temperature, in precipitation and atmospheric dynamics, and in ocean circulation: both long and interannual timescales. Paleoclimate modeling and theory. Time series analysis and climate noise. Rapid climate change. Statistical reconstruction of interannual variability. Offered: jointly with ESS 589/OCEAN 589.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 589
ATM S 591 Special Topics (1-4, max. 9)
Lecture series on topics of major importance in the atmospheric sciences. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 591
ATM S 593 Climate Science Seminar (1)
Focuses on how to communicate climate science to many different audiences through careful construction of figures and through written and oral communication. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: jointly with ESS 593/OCEAN 593; W.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 593
ATM S 596 Climate Science Capstone Project ([1-5]-, max. 5)
Climate capstone directed by a mentor, may be a group effort, and may encompass curriculum development, internships, workshop organization, etc., capturing interdisciplinary aspects of climate science and effective communication of climate science. Offered: jointly with ESS 596/OCEAN 596; AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 596
ATM S 597 Directed Discussion and Presentation (1, max. 18)
Intensive discussion of reading material and short presentation of atmospheric science topics including climate, atmospheric chemistry, weather, clouds, and data science. Directed by graduate faculty research group leaders. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 597
ATM S 600 Independent Study or Research (*-)
Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 600
ATM S 601 Internship (1-5, max. 10)
Graduate internship under the supervision of a faculty member. Credit/no-credit only. Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 601
ATM S 700 Master's Thesis (*-)
Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 700
ATM S 800 Doctoral Dissertation (*-)
Offered: AWSpS.
View course details in MyPlan: ATM S 800
