Courses

    Introduces principles of modern meteorology for nonscience majors, with emphasis on scientific and human issues associated with severe weather events. Includes description, methods of prediction, and impacts of blizzards, hurricanes, thunderstorms, tornadoes, lightning, floods, and firestorms. Approved for GT-SC1. Meets MAPS requirement for natural science: non-lab. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science.

    Discusses the Earth's climate for nonscience majors, focusing on the role of the atmosphere, oceans, and land surface. Describes the water cycle, atmospheric circulations, and ocean currents, and how they influence global climate, El Nino, and the ozone hole. Discusses human impacts from climate change. Prereq., ATOC 1050. Credit not granted for this course and GEOL 1060. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science.

    Optional laboratory for ATOC 1050. Laboratory experiments illustrate fundamentals of meteorology. Covers collection, analysis, and discussion of data related to local weather. Uses computers for retrieval and interpretation of weather data from Colorado and across the U.S. Prereq. or coreq., ATOC 1050 or instructor consent. Approved for GT-SC1. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science.

    Investigates the broad-scale features and dynamics of the Earth's oceans. The course is roughly divided amongst the four major, interrelated disciplines of oceanography: marine geology, marine chemistry, physical oceanography (i.e. circulation), and marine biology. Specific topics include sea floor spreading, marine sediments, salinity, biogeochemical cycles, currents, waves, tides, primary production, marine ecology, marine resources, global warming, and much more. Prereq., any two-course sequence of natural science courses. Same as GEOL 3070. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science.

    Familiarizes students with a wide range of atmospheric behavior pertinent to air travel: rudiments of aerodynamics; aircraft stability and control; atmospheric circulation, vertical motion, turbulence, and wind shear; fronts, clouds, and storms. Prereq., ATOC 1050 or equivalent. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science.

    Discusses instruments, techniques, and statistical methods used in atmospheric observations. Covers issues of data accuracy and analysis of weather maps. Provides application to temperature and precipitation records, weather forecasting, and climate change trends. Uses computers to access data sets and process data. Prereqs., ATOC 1050 and 1060, or ATOC 3600/GEOG 3601/ENVS 3600, or GEOG 1001 and 1-semester calculus. Same as GEOG 3301. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science.

    Examines the composition of the atmosphere, and sources of gaseous and particulate pollutants: their chemistry, transport, and removal from the atmosphere. Applies general principles to acid rain, smog, and stratospheric ozone depletion. Prereqs., two semesters of chemistry. ATOC 3500 and CHEM 3151 are the same course. CHEM 3151 was formerly CHEM 3500. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science.

    Describes the basic components of the climate system: the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and lithosphere. Investigates the basic physical processes that determine climate and link the components of the climate system. Covers the hydrological cycle and its role in climate, climate stability, and global change. Includes forecasting climate and its application and human dimensions. Prereqs., one semester of calculus and ATOC 1050 and 1060, or ATOC 3300/GEOG 3301, or GEOG 1001. Same as GEOG 3601/ENVS 3600. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science.

    Explores the physics and chemistry of the atmospheres of Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Titan. Examines evolution of the atmospheres of Earth, Venus, and Mars; and the escape of gases from the Galilean satellites, Titan and Mars; the orbital characteristics of moons, planets, and comets. Uses recent results of space exploration. Elective for APS major and minor. Prereq., PHYS 1110-1120, and either MATH 1300-2300, or APPM 1350-1360, or instructor consent. Same as ASTR 3720. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior) Astronomy (ASTR) or Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) majors only.

    Provides a large-scale synthesis of the processes impacting ocean biogeochemistry. Transforms theoretical understanding into real-world applications using oceanographic data and models. Topics include: chemical composition, biological nutrient utilization and productivity, air-sea gas exchange, carbonate chemistry, ocean acidification, ocean deoxygenation, iron fertilization, biogeochemical climate feedbacks, and much more. Same as ATOC 5200.

    Introduces descriptive and dynamical physical oceanography, focusing on the nature and dynamics of ocean currents and their role in the distribution of heat and other aspects of ocean physics related to the Earth's climate. Dynamical material limited to mathematical descriptions of oceanic physical systems. Same as ATOC 5215 and ASEN 4215. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

    Acquaints students with current research in atmospheres, oceans, and climate. Topics may vary each semester. May be repeated for a total of 9 total credit hours within the degree. Students may register for more than one section of this course in the same semester.

    Investigating main processes that control weather and climate in the western United States and other mountain ranges around the world is the emphasis of this course. Provides an advanced survey of synoptic, mesoscale, and microscale meteorology in complex terrain including orographically modified cyclone evolution, front-mountain interactions, terrain and thermally driven flows, mountain waves, downslope winds, and orographic precipitation. Recommended prereq., ATOC 1050. Same as ATOC 5550.

    Utilizing a range of operational weather observations to analyze current weather conditions, providing hands-on experience interpreting observations and relating those observations to the physical principles that govern atmospheric behavior is the course emphasis. It focuses on how to read weather reports, analyze observations, and how to prepare weather maps to analyze current conditions and how to interpret numerical weather forecasts. Prereqs., ATOC 1050 or 1060. Recommended prereq., ATOC 4720. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science.

    Introduces the fundamental physical principles that govern the atmosphere, and provides an elementary description and interpretation of a wide range of atmospheric phenomena. Topics include atmospheric structure and composition, electromagnetic radiation, clouds, precipitation, energy balance, atmospheric motion, and climate. Prereqs., one year of calculus and one year of physics with calculus.

    Introduces students to the dynamic causes of deserts in the context of atmospheric processes and land-surface physics. Discusses desert severe weather, desert microclimates, human impacts and desertification, inter-annual variability in aridity (drought), the effects of deserts on global climate, and the impact of desert climate on humans. Prereq., ATOC 1050 or equivalent. Same as ATOC 5750. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural sciences.

    Explores the complex interactions of the atmosphere and wind energy generation. Surveys wind turbine designs. Explores planetary boundary layer dynamics, traditional and novel wind measurement methods, forecasting methods, wind turbine and wind far wakes, wind far optimization, sound propagation from wind plants, climate change impacts on wind resources, and the impacts of wind plants on local environments. Same as ATOC 5770. Prerequisites: Requires a prerequisite course of ATOC 1050 (minimum grade D-).

    Examines controversial issues related to the environment, including climate change. Covers scientific theories and the intersection between science and governmental policy. Includes discussion, debate, and critical reading of textual materials. Prereqs., ATOC 1060 or 3600. Credit not granted for this course and ATOC 5000.

    May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Prereq., instructor consent.

    Students work independently on a research topic under the guidance of a faculty member. A written thesis and an oral presentation of the work are required. Registration by arrangement and with consent of faculty mentor. Prereq., junior or senior standing, and minimum 3.00 GPA. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

    Discusses current issues such as ozone depletion, global warming, and air quality for graduate students in nonscientific fields. Provides the scientific background necessary to understand, follow scientific developments, and critically evaluate these issues. Same as ENVS 5830. Credit not granted for this course and ATOC 4800.

    Covers atmospheric motion and its underlying mathematical and physical principles. Explores the dynamics of the atmosphere and the mathematical laws governing atmospheric motion. Topics include atmospheric composition and thermodynamics, conservation laws, geostrophic balance, vorticity dynamics, boundary layers, and baroclinic instability. Prereq., one year of college chemistry and calculus-based physics and math up through differential equations. ATOC graduate core course. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
    Provides fundamental knowledge of the basic dynamics and chemical composition of the ocean. Prereq., one year of college chemistry and calculus-based physics and math up through differential equations. ATOC graduate core course. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

    Examines large-scale motions in a stratified rotating atmosphere, and quasi-geostrophic flow, barotropic and baroclinic instabilities, cyclogenesis, global circulations, and boundary layer processes. Ageostrophic motions, including Kelvin waves, internal gravity waves, and the theory of frontogenesis are also considered. Prereq., ATOC 5050 or equivalent, one year of college chemistry and calculus-based physics and math up through differential equations. ATOC graduate core course.

    Explores theories of the large-scale ocean, including quasigeostrophic, planetary geostrophic, and shallow water equations. Topics may vary to focus on ocean climate (e.g. thermocline, westward intensification), ocean waves (e.g. gravity, Rossby, and Kelvin), or ocean models (toy, analytic, and numerical). Maybe repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereqs., ATOC 5400 and ATOC 5051 or 5060 or equivalent. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

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