Atmospheric Dynamics I

By the end of the course students should be able to:·         Explain and describe the fundamental forces that act upon the atmosphere,·         Apply Newton’s second law of motion to the atmosphere to derive the momentum equations in both vector and scalar form,·         Explain how rotation of the Earth modifies the equations of motion and introduce Carioles force and centrifugal force,·         Derive the mass continuity equation and explain its meaning and use,·         Apply scale analysis to the governing equations and explain under what conditions the hydrostatic and geostrophic approximation are valid·         Derive thermal wind equation and explain how the vertical shear of the geostrophic wind relates to the horizontal temperature gradient,·         Derive circulation theorem and explain its significance to atmospheric motion,·         Derive vortices equation, and explain the significance of this equation for atmospheric motion,·         Define potential vortices and describe its application to atmospheric motion.