Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

The purpose of this course is to gain knowledge and appreciation of meteorology.

Students are expected to be able to read and comprehend college-level science texts and perform basic mathematical operations to successfully complete this course.

Earth and space sciences are based on observations, measurements and samples collected in the field. Field-based learning is recommended by numerous professional Geology organizations, including the American Geological Institute and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers. Field-based learning improves both metacognition and spatial/visualization abilities while helping to transfer basic concepts to long-term memory by engaging multiple senses at the same time. Spatial thinking is critical to success in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) disciplines. Field work may include:

• Developing skills in site characterization
• Application of key terms and concepts
• Measurement and data collection
• Interpretation of data and observations, and fitting them to a larger context

Field work may be physically challenging and may require overland travel on foot or other means to field sites, carrying equipment and supplies, and making measurements in unusual or awkward positions for a length of time.  Field work may include inherent risks (uneven terrain, variable weather, insects, environmental irritants, travel stress, etc.). Field work can be adapted to individual abilities.

Regarding the teaching of basic scientific principles (such as geologic time and the theory of evolution), the Portland Community College Geology/General Science Subject Area Committee stands by the following statements about what is science.
 

• Science is a fundamentally non-dogmatic and self-correcting investigatory process. A scientific theory is neither a guess, dogma, nor myth. The theories developed through scientific investigation are not decided in advance, but can be and often are modified and revised through observation and experimentation.
• “Creation science,” also known as scientific creationism, is not considered a legitimate science, but a form of religious advocacy. This position is established by legal precedence (Webster v. New Lenox School District #122, 917 F.2d 1004).
• Geology/General Science instructors at Portland Community College will teach the generally accepted basic geologic principles (such as geologic time and the theory of evolution) not as absolute truth, but as the most widely accepted explanation for our observations of the world around us. Instructors will not teach that “creation science” is anything other than pseudoscience.
• Because "creation science", "scientific creationism", and "intelligent design" are essentially religious doctrines that are at odds with open scientific inquiry, the Geology/General Sciences SAC at Portland Community College stands with such organizations such as the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Society of America, and the American Geological Institute in excluding these doctrines from our science curriculum.

Upon successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Explain the practice of weather prediction using an understanding of the interaction of solar energy with the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. 
2. Explain the geographic distribution of the Earth’s climate zones using an understanding of atmospheric structure and global circulation.
3. Evaluate a meteorology-related problem or issue impacting society or the environment using scientific reasoning based on field and/or laboratory and/or remote measurements and observations. 
4. Assess the contributions of meteorology to our evolving understanding of global change and sustainability while placing the development of meteorology in its historical and cultural context.

The material in this course will be presented in a lecture/discussion format accompanied by laboratory exercises. Other educationally sound methods may be employed such as guest lectures, field trips, research papers, presentations and small group work. 

The instructor will choose from the following methods of assessment: exams, quizzes, lab exercises, written reports, oral presentations, group projects, class participation, homework assignments, and field trips. The instructor shall detail the methods to be used to the students at the beginning of the course.

1. Explain the nature and history of meteorology as a science
2. Discuss the structure and dynamics of the earth’s atmosphere.
3. Discuss the basic physical principles of energy
4. Explain how solar and gravitational energy drive weather
5. Describe the different facets of the hydrologic cycle and atmospheric circulation
6. Outline the details of weather observation
7. Discuss weather systems and major theories used to explain and predict the behavior of these systems
8. Outline the details of weather forecasting
9. Discuss climate, climate zones, and the factors that shape them
10. Explain how and why climate changes
11. Discuss humans impact weather and climate change
12. Other topics as desired by the instructor.

Meteorology as a science
 

1. The scientific method as it applies to meteorology
2. Major divisions and activities of meteorology
3. Short history of meteorology

Atmospheric basics
 

1. Physical and chemical properties of air
2. Structure of the atmosphere
3. Energy flow and dynamics of the atmosphere

Basics of weather
 

1. Physics of energy – States and forms of energy, energy conversions, and types and behavior of radiant energy.
2. Flow of energy through the atmosphere
3. Heat and temperature – Basic physics, measurement, and temporal and geographic variation
4. Physics and chemistry of water
5. Water cycling within the atmosphere
6. Humidity
7. Clouds, cloud formation, and precipitation
8. Physics of air – Air pressure and density
9. Movement of air within the atmosphere
10. Measuring and mapping air pressure and winds
11. Types of winds – Micro, meso, global scale

Weather systems
 

1. Typical global and regional weather patterns
2. Systems, theory, and modeling
3. Global atmospheric circulation within the troposphere
4. Air mass characteristics and development
5. Weather front characteristics and behavior
6. Mid-latitude and tropical cyclone characteristics and development

Weather forecasting
 

1. Weather data gathering and organization
2. Forecast techniques

Climate and climate change