Atmospheric Sciences 5300
Atmospheric Thermodynamics & Boundary Layer Processes
Fall 2025

• Atmospheric Thermodynamics

• In-Class Presentations and Lecture Notes

• Week 1: Introduction  Figures Visualizations Turbulence
• Week 2: Turbulence Kinetic Energy and Fluxes TKE Equation Turbulence Closure
• Week 3: Surface Energy Balance  Extra
  
• Week 4: Vertical Structure  Surface layer wind profiles
  
• Week 5: Evolution
• Week 6: Special Effects
• Week 7: Wildfires Wildfires in the CBL Lake Effect Snow
  
• Week 8: Boundary Layer in Context

• Study Guides for Exam (Friday, December 12,  2025, 1:00–3:00 pm)

• Exercises from Wallace & Hobbs Ch 9 (boxed questions; 9.13 & 9.18 are for grad students only)
• Sample problems
• Review slides
  

• Reading Assignments
  

• Week 1 (Oct 20-24): WH  9.0-9.1.2
• Week 2 (Oct 27-Oct 31): WH 9.1.3-6
  
• Week 3 (Nov 3-7): movie on turbulence, WH 9.2
• Week 4 (Nov 10-14): WH 9.3
• Week 5 (Nov 17-21): WH 9.4
• Week 6 (Nov 24-26): WH 9.5
• Week 7 (Dec 1-3):  Great Salt Lake-Effect Precipitation

• Homework (DUE DATES have all been UPDATED for 2025)
  

• HW 1 (due Fri., Oct 24): WH 9.7 a, c, g, h, aa, bb
• HW 2: Turbulent Fluxes (due Fri., Oct 31)
  
• Example Problems: Heat Capacity
• Fluxes and Rates-of-Change
• HW 3 (due Wed., Nov 12): Stull 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.8, 5.3, 5.26 (indicated by UG)
• Flow stability and Nonlocal influence of Stratification
  
• HW 4: Surface Fluxes and Surface Layer Wind Profiles (due Wed., Nov 26)
• Log wind profile and example calculations
  
• HW 5: Boundary layer evolution (due Wed., Dec 3)
  
• Plot for Problem 9.27 (not needed in 2025)
  
• HW 6: Great Salt Lake-Effect Precipitation  (TBD)

• For Reference
  

• Fundamental equations
• Thermodynamics Notes
• Glossary of Meteorology
• How to access online article databases

• Boundary layer and turbulence visualizations

• Key Bank building implosion and resulting dust cloud
  
• Phoenix dust storm (haboob)
• Vortex ring instability  1  2
• Benard-Marangoni convection
• Fall 2011 (submitted by students)
• Fluid Dynamics movies
• Cumulus humilis time-lapse movie (Mar 3, 2011)
• Cumulus humilis time-lapse movie (Nov 8, 2011)
• Cumulus congestus time-lapse movie (Aug 16, 2002, Santa Catalina Mts, Arizona)
• Fog time-lapse movie (Salt Lake Valley: Jan 26, 2006 and Feb 2, 2006)
• Radar loop of lake effect snow producing a localized storm over Buffalo, NY, October 12-13th, 2006 (Lake Storm "Aphid") (loop of 80 frames from October 12 2006 21:01:25Z to October 13 2006 04:38:54Z). Notice the continual formation of heavy snow over lake Erie in a narrow line.
  

---

Last updated October 29, 2025