Embedded Files
Click the hyperlink (๐บ) to access the recorded lectures by the professors.ย Each video link has been timed to start at the point of the topic.ย You can pause or end the video after the topic is covered.
These lectures were provided by the National Central University's Department of Atmospheric Science.
Atmospheric Principles
Atmospheric Principles
๐บ The continuum of the atmosphere, its forces and units so we can have a universal description.
๐บ The concept of Scale Analysis on principle equations -- getting to know what's more important.
๐บ Introducing the fundamental forces of the atmosphere, including F=ma, pressure gradient force, gravitational force, etc.
Recap by former student, Lydia
Recap by former student, Brad.
๐บ Reference frames and apparent forces.ย ย
When you walk in a moving train, both you, the train, and the Earth are moving together.๐บ Centrifugal force and gravitational force - are they imaginary?
๐บ Mathematical derivation of the Coriolis "force". Important hour-long lecture!ย And here is a nice graphical demo.
๐บ Getting serious about F = mใปa and how F acts in the confinement of boundaries, between the top of the atmosphere and the Earth's surface.
๐บ The upper and lower boundaries: how do they affect mass and acceleration?
To assist in learning, here is another lecture introducing these concepts โฌ๏ธ
Recap by former student, Casey
Recap by former student, Abby.
Structure of the Atmosphere
Structure of the Atmosphere
See the full course here or click next for individual subjects.
๐บ Structure of the static atmosphere: how does air pressure forms and how it changes.
See Lydia's explanation:
๐บ The hydrostatic equation - concept and derivation.
See here for Hydrostatic Pressure: Definition, Equation, and CalculationsSee Casey's explanation:
๐บ What is the Geopotential Height and how is it related to the atmospheric thickness?
๐บ The scale height - why thickness changes with temperature
๐บ Pressure as the vertical coordinate.ย In meteorology, vertical coordinate is mostly based on barometric pressure and not on geometric height.
๐บ Some exercises to quantify meteorological variables using the aforementioned equations.
A recap by Casey
A recap by students and Dr. S
Conservation laws of the atmosphere
Conservation laws of the atmosphere
This section introduces the mathematical tools including total differentiation, partial differentiation, and conservation.ย The lecture may be tedious but it covers the basics.
๐บ What is the advection effect? How is temperature advection derived?
๐บ Derivation of conservation laws in a spherical coordinate, like a planet.ย Now we need to consider latitude, longitude and curvature.
๐บ Derivation of conservation laws on a rotating sphere, like the Earth.ย We need to consider the Coriolis effect on all motions.ย ย
Here are some tools helping you learn these derivations:
Vector Algebra (that deals with quantities that have both magnitude and direction)
What is a partial differential equation? | a nice video
A recap by former students and Simon who covered these subjects:
โ โ โ
Nonlinear Equations and Scale Analysis
Nonlinear Equations and Scale Analysis
The atmosphere does not act in a linear fashion. Learn the nonlinear nature of the weather while parsing out what's most important in the processes.
๐บ Nonlinear equations of motion - the governing equations of the atmosphere.
๐บ Scale analysis - a critical step to sort through the most relevant processes in the time scale and space of interest.
๐บ Geostrophic approximation - the output of the first-order scale analysis on motion.
A recap by Lydia:
A recap by Abby and Simon:
๐บ Ageostrophic wind and Rossby number. A = non.ย Who is Rossby?
๐บ Hydrostatic approximation - assuming that the horizontal scale is large compared to the vertical scale.
๐บ The Continuity Equation. How does air mass maintains continuity and how to describe it in different coordinates?
๐บ (con'd) Continuity equation, its relationship with divergence and vertical motion. *This is why we have weather!
๐บ Thermodynamic property of the atmosphere: energy conservation, pressure change. See also thermodynamics of dry atmosphere.
๐บ The Heat Budget equation, derivation and meaning.
A recap by Lydia
A recap by Brad and Simon, starting with the Rossby Number
Heat, motion, and stability
Heat, motion, and stability
These are the key ingredients driving precipitation and weather extremes.
๐บ Potential temperature is the expected temperature an unsaturated parcel would achieve if displaced to a level of 1000 mb. It is a conserved variable (i.e. it remains the same as an unsaturated air parcel rises and sinks).
๐บ The adiabatic lapse rate, a deterministic way to say how unstable the atmosphere is.
Here is an interactive demo of the skew-T chart for temperature and dew point.
๐บ The concept of buoyancy.
A recap by Lydia
A recap by Brad and Simon
Pressure as the coordinate
Pressure as the coordinate
Re-deriving the key governing equations in the isobaric coordinates.ย Eliminating density from the equation mess...
๐บ Horizontal momentum equation: How the most important balance in dynamic meteorology is derived.
๐บ Vertical motion as a function of pressure change - the omega.
๐บ Balanced flows in the natural coordinate.
A recap by Casey
A recap by Abby and Simon
Geostrophic Wind
Geostrophic Wind
The Mother of All Winds in the climate system!
The Mother of All Winds in the climate system!
This part is so important that you just have to watch the whole lecture here.ย ย
๐บ Cyclostrophic flow - how tornado forms and why Coriolis effect isn't important.
๐บ Gradient wind approximation.ย Cyclonic and anticyclonic flows.
๐บ In-class exercises on hydrostatic equation, thermodynamics, and temperature lapse rate.
๐บ Trajectory and streamline - a cool and useful way to depict atmospheric flows.
๐บ The thermal wind balance. This is why we have jet streams high-up in the atmosphere.
A recap by Abby and Simon on Geostrophic Wind balance
โ โ โ
Casey on types of flow:
And Abby's note on thermal winds:
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse