Courses: GEOF328 Mesoscale Dynamics - Spring 2017
Credits
10.0Language of Instruction
English, Norwegian if only Norwegian students.
Teaching semester
Spring. The course is only offered if enough students enrol.
Place of Instruction
Bergen
Objectives and Content
GEOF328 addresses a wide variety of weather phenomena that are smaller than synoptic scale but larger than micro-scale. These phenomena have spatial scales generally ranging from around a few hundred meters to several hundred kilometers, temporal scales of a day or less, and large horizontal and vertical wind accelerations, for which the Rossby number is large and the hydrostatic approximation is not valid any longer. It is the world in which quasi-geostrophic theory breaks down. The material covered in GEOF328 includes fronts, land-sea breezes, gravity waves, hydraulic theory, downslope windstorms, orographic flow distortion, valley wind systems, thunderstorms and squall lines. The course will build on conceptual models and theoretical derivations to describe observed phenomena.
Learning Outcomes
On completing this course you should be able to:
- define and characterize a mesoscale phenomena
- formulate the problem in a physical and mathematical framework
- develop ideas for analytical and (to some extend) numerical solutions to the problem
- write a computer code to solve your numerical problem and visualize the results
Required Previous Knowledge
Bachelors degree in Meteorology and Oceanography, or equivalent programs.
Recommended Previous Knowledge
GEOF220, GEOF326 or GEOF213 in addition to GEOF311, or GEOF310, or equivalent courses.
Access to the Course
Students who have been admitted to a program of study at the University of Bergen that includes access to this course are eligible to register. For information about admission requirements see Admission.
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
Regular attendance of the course exercise including presentation of own solutions. Presentation of seminar assignment. Mid-term exam, written, must be passed in order to be allowed to take final exam.
Forms of Assessment
Written mid-term exam, counts 20 % of the final grade and must be done, valid for two semesters.
Final exam, oral, 45 minutes. Counts 80 % of the final grade and must be passed. No auxiliary material allowed for the exam.
Grading Scale
The grading scale used is A to F. Grade A is the highest passing grade in the grading scale, grade F is a fail.
Contact Information
studierettleiar@gfi.uib.no
Department
Geophysical Institute