Air Quality Meteorology Curriculum
for On-Line Tutorial

Revised 12-31-96

Session 1

The Composition and Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere

Part 1: Composition of the Atmosphere
• The Permanent Atmospheric Gases
• Variable Gases
  • Water Vapor in the Atmosphere
• Air Quality in the Atmosphere
  • Pollutants
    • Nitrogen Oxides
    • Sulfur Dioxide
    • Volatile Organic Compounds
    • Ozone
    • Aerosols
  • Greenhouse Gases

Part 2: The Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere

• Change of Density, Pressure, and Temperature in the Vertical
• Sea Level
• Layers and their Characteristics
  • Troposphere
  • Stratosphere
  • Mesosphere
  • Thermosphere
  • Exosphere

Focus on Air Quality

Session 2

Atmospheric Energy Balance

Part 1: Energy and Heat Transfer
• Radiation
• Conduction
• Convection
• Advection

Part 2: Radiation Basics

• Electromagnetic Spectrum
• Albedo

Part 3: Factors Influencing Energy Balance

• Ground Cover
• Cloud Cover
• Greenhouse Gases
• Pollution

Part 4: Energy Balance

• Solar Constant
• Earth's Energy Balance
• Latent Heat
• Daily Temperature Variations

Focus on Air Quality

Session 3

Measures of the Atmosphere

Part 1: Why We Measure the Atmosphere

Part 2: What We Measure (A Snapshot of the Atmosphere)

• Temperature
• Moisture
• Pressure
• Winds

Part 3: Values We Infer
• Equation of State
  • Computing with the Equation of State
• Virtual Temperature
  • Calculating Virtual Temperature (Tv)
• Potential Temperature
  • Calculating Potential Temperature
• Lifting Condensation Level
  • Calculating the LCL
• Equivalent Potential Temperature
• Reduction to Sea Level (Hypsometric Equation)

Part 4: Where and How We Take Measurements (Mapping the Atmosphere)

• Surface and Aloft
• Remote Sensing Techniques
  • Ground Based Remote Sensing Devices
  • Satellites

Focus on Air Quality

Session 4

Forces Influencing Atmospheric Motion

Part 1: Horizontal Motion
• Pressure Gradient Force
• Coriolis Force
• Friction
• Acceleration
• Geostrophic Wind
• Thermal Wind

Part 2: Vertical Motion

• Pressure Gradient Force
• Gravity
• Friction
• Convergence
• Buoyancy
• Terrain

Part 3: Equation of Motion

Part 4: Hydrostatic Equilibrium

Focus on Air Quality

Session 5

Scales of Motion

Part 1: Global Scale
• Westerlies
• Jet Streams

Part 2: Synoptic Scale

• Air Masses
• Fronts
  • Cold Front
  • Warm Front
  • Occluded Front
  • Stationary Front
• Cyclones
  • Mid-Latitude Cyclones
  • Tropical Cyclones
• Anticyclones

Part 3: Mesoscale

• Thermal Circulations
  • Sea Breeze
  • Land Breeze
  • Mountain-Valley Breezes
• Mechanical Circulations
  • Chinook Winds
  • Katabatic Winds

Part 4: Microscale

• Thermal Turbulence
• Mechanical Turbulence
• Microscale Flow
  • Flow Obstructions and Wakes
  • Street Canyons
  • Rotors

Part 5: Grids and Time Zones

• Grids
• Time Zones and UTC

Focus on Air Quality

Session 6

Atmospheric Stability

Part 1: A Review of Lifting Mechanisms in the Atmosphere

• Orographic Lifting
• Convergence
• Diabatic Heating
• Frontal Systems

Part 2: A Review of Adiabatic Processes

• The Dry Adiabatic Process
• The Moist Adiabatic Process
• The Pseudoadiabatic Process

Part 3: Hydrostatic Equilibrium Revisited

Part 4: Stable, Neutral, and Unstable Atmospheres

• The Stable Atmosphere
• The Neutral Atmosphere
• The Unstable Atmosphere
• Conditional Instability
• Convective Instability: Lifting Entire Layers

Part 5: Factors That Influence Atmospheric Stability

• The Non-Static Environment
• Entrainment

Focus on Air Quality

Session 7

The Planetary Boundary Layer

Part 1: What is the PBL?

Part 2: Structure of the PBL

• Surface Layer
• Mixed Layer
• Stable Layer
• Residual Layer
• Mixing Height

Part 3: Factors Influencing the PBL


• Energy Budget
• Moisture
• Diurnal Variations
• Buoyancy
• Shear
• Roughness Length

Part 4: Processes in the PBL

• Weather Processes
• Pollutant Removal Mechanisms
  • Wet Deposition
  • Dry Deposition
  • Chemical Reactions
• Evapotranspiration

Focus on Air Quality

Session 8

Physical Meteorology and Visibility

Part 1: More About Aerosols
• Categorization of Aerosols and Their Sources
• Global Distribution of Aerosols

Part 2: Cloud Physics

• The Role of Aerosols in Cloud Formation
• Droplet Growth Processes
  • The Diffusion Process
  • The Collision-Coalescence Process
• Ice Formation
• Clouds and Air Quality
  • Cumulus and Cumulonimbus Clouds
  • Stratus and Nimbostratus Clouds

Part 3: Visibility

• Scattering Light
• Fog
• Haze
• Smog



Part 4: Measuring Visibility

• Extinction Coefficient (bext)
• Visual Range (vr)
• Deciview (dv)
• Cumulative Frequency



Focus on Air Quality

Session 9

Atmospheric Models

Part 1: Introduction to Numerical Modeling

Part 2: Approaches to Modeling

• Diagnostic
• Prognostic
• Lagrangian
• Eularian

Part 3: Meteorology Models

• Barotropic
• Baroclinic

Part 4: Model Parameters

• Surface Factors
• Grid Factors

Part 5: Air Quality Models

• Gaussian Plume and Gaussian Puff Model
  • Gaussian Plume Model
  • Gaussian Plume Case Study
  • Gaussian Plume Model Interface
• Plume-in-Grid

Part 6: Four Dimensional Data Assimilation

Focus on Air Quality

Session 10

Application of Meteorology to Air Quality Modeling

Part 1: Before Executing the Meteorological Model
• Selecting Domain and Grid Resolution
  • Input Requirements
  • Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Data
  • Computer Resources
• Pre-processing the Data

Part 2: Post-processing of Data for Use in AQMs

• Vertical and Horizontal Structure
• Data Requirements of the Emissions Model
  • Point Sources
  • Motor Vehicles
  • Biogenic
• Data Requirements of the AQM

Focus On Air Quality

Course Wrap-Up

Developed by
The Shodor Education Foundation, Inc.
Copyright © 1996