Summer GEO2242, Sect 0086
Period 4 MTWRF, 12:30-1:45, TUR L011
Extreme Weather
Mr. Joe AndreoliSummer A 2018
Office: ROLFS 100
Office Hours: By appointment
INTRODUCTION
This course will address issues relating to extreme weather events and extreme climates here on planet earth. This course will introduce students to the basic concepts of the science of weather, climate, and current scientific developments in such areas as extreme weather prediction, global climate change, and improved forecasting of events. In addition, the course will address the impact of extreme climate and weather events on society and the environment. The goal of this course is to bring weather and climate alive in the classroom through lectures, video presentations, satellite technologies and computer simulations. Weekly lectures will be enhanced with such multimedia products and students will study the global occurrence and explanations for situations of extreme climate and severe weather events. The course will be taught in three (3)sections.
Section I: Weeks 1-3
The first section will provide background and introductory information on weather and climate systems. Here we will concentrate on basic atmospheric principles, the energy balance and energy transfer processes, frontal systems, the jet stream and weather forecasting techniques and procedures. Real time weather forecasting using satellite technologies and computer simulation models will be incorporated into the classroom experience.
Section II: Weeks 4-5
The second section of the course will study extreme weather events: how they occur, where they occur, and why they occur there. Given the frequency of extreme weather, here in Florida the course will use examples that are local (state of Florida) and United States-based, and then locate other areas in the world where similar extreme events are found, often with different causes. As such, and as a geography course, the students will be able to relate directly to the extreme weather events as most are familiar with them here in Florida, and as such will then be able to relate to other location globally, where similar events occur. Such familiarity with the occurrence of these events will greatly facilitate the learning process. In addition, multimedia will be used to help illustrate the events, which it would be much too dangerous to allow students to experience first hand. As such, each week’s topic will be accompanied by a video of the extreme weather events under discussion: thunderstorms and lightning, hurricanes and tornadoes will all be covered in this manner. We will also look at the issues relating to the changing climate, changing climate variability and implications for future societies. We will look at how future predictions are made, the science behind climate change, and again incorporate multimedia into the classroom using both video and computer simulation techniques.
Section III: Week 6
Visits the world's hottest, coldest, wettest and driest inhabited places around the world. We will consider how and why people live in these harsh environments. It looks at the geographical and meteorological conditions in place. It studies the way both the population, and the flora and fauna, have adapted physically to the climate, and considers the psychological impact of living under such conditions. Throughout, this series has a strongly integrated theme of ecology and global climatic conditions, which ties in perfectly with the rest of the course.
LECTURES
Daily, Period 4, 12:30-1:45
OFFICE HOURS
Office hours will be held in Rolfs 100 by appointment. My email is . Please allow 24 hours for me to respond. See me early in the semester if you have any questions or concerns!
EXAMINATIONS, ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADES
All examinations held in the lecture room during lecture hours on the stated dates in the classroom.
a) Two (2) tests each worth 25% of final grade:
Test #1 (Section I)
Test #2 (Section I and II)
Tests will consist of multiple-choice questions. Material since previous evaluation of any form will be examined.
b) One (1) final group project worth 20% of final grade:
Final Project, Entire course – Sections I, II, and III
c) Five (5) weekly assignments worth 30% of final grade:
In-class activities, class discussions on Canvas, weather blogs, participation points
These examinations will each consist of regular multiple-choice questions and multiple choice questions directed to maps and diagrams from the course materials, as well as some short answer or essay questions. The sections of the course to be tested on each exam are indicated by the dates.
Dates to remember:
Assignment #1 Friday May 18th
Test #1 Friday June 1st(Section I)
Test #2, FridayJune 22nd(Sections I and II)
Final Group Project, Wednesday and Thursday June 20th and 21st(Sections I, II, and III)
No Classes:
Monday May 28thMemorial Day
GRADING SCHEME:
[93-100% = A, 90-92.9% = A-, 87-89.9% = B+, 83-86.9% = B, 80-82.9% = B-, 77-79.9% = C+, 73-76.9% = C, 70-72.9% = C-, 67-69.9% = D+, 63-66.9% =D, 60-62.9% = D-, Less than 60 = E]
All grades will be available for you to see during office hours, and at the time of each test, and final exam current course standing with a grade on the exam and in the class so far will be given out. Marks will be continuously updated on Canvas. It is your responsibility to know how well you are doing in the class.
WEB PAGE INFORMATION:
A copy of this syllabus will be available at:
COURSE TEXT:
There are no required textbooks for this course.
THE COMMERCIAL NOTES WARNING:
In the eventuality of a discussion over grading, I will recognize my notes and any textbook as being an authoritative source. However, I will not recognize any commercially reproduced course notes, as undergraduate students have drafted these, and have in the past proved erroneous.
ACADEMIC HONESTY:
You are all bound by the student academic honor code.
“We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.”
"On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."
Each student answers the same examination;however, the computer shuffles the order of the questions and the order of the possible answers. In this way, each examination is unique, at least in its order but not its content. When grading the answers, the computer scans for similarities in answers and notifies me of any remarkable coincidences! The first time a student is caught cheating, they will get zero on the test. (In a multiple-choicetest, you would probably score 20% simply by guessing!). On the second offense, the student will be reported to the appropriate student body.
UF POLICIES:
University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities: Students requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students Office Disability Resource Center - DRC. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. You must submit this documentation prior to submitting assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations.
EXCUSED ABSENCES AND EXTRA CREDIT:
In the interest of fairness to all students in the class, there will be noextra credit. However, I appreciate that unexpected events occur in all of our lives. If such events (illness, personal problems, etc.) befall you, I will give you the choice of either taking a make-up exam or skipping the exam, upon production of official documentation of your case. If you chose to skip the exam, your grade will be based purely upon your performance in those forms of evaluation that you did take. An exception to this rule is the final examination, which must be taken by all students.
THREE THINGS THAT REALLY ANNOY ME:
1. Cell phones - turn them off!
2. Talking in class - if you do not want to hear what I have to say, do not show up, and let those who do want to hear, hear more clearly.
3.Using laptops for non-course activities – stay home if you want to surf the web!
I have no policy of mandatory attendance. When you enter the lecture room, you are doing so of your own volition, not because you are being forced to. When you make that choice, you are also agreeing to show respect to your fellow students by allowing them to hear the lecture material without having to compete with cell phones and background chitchat.
LECTURE TOPICS
SECTION I
Week 1 – Energy and Matter
Week 2 – Atmospheric Motion
Week 3 – Atmospheric Moisture
SECTION II
Week 4 – Weather Systems
Week 5 – Atmosphere-Ocean-Cryosphere Interactions
SECTION III
Week 6 – Climates around the World
1