Professors: Askelson, Dong, Grainger, Osborne (Graduate Program Director), Mewes and Poellot (Chair)

Program Description

The Department of Atmospheric Sciences offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy. The Master of Science program is intended to serve those who are interested in continuing graduate studies at the doctoral level as well as those seeking advanced knowledge for professional work in the atmospheric sciences in general. The Doctor of Philosophy program is intended to prepare students for leadership roles in academia, government, and private industry in the field of atmospheric science by enabling graduates to fill critical roles in leading research efforts, guiding science policy, educating future scientists, and creating opportunities in private industry.

Admission Requirements

1. A Bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university.
2. Completion of a minimum of 20 semester credits of appropriate undergraduate work, e.g., physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, and/or atmospheric science.
3. A cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 for all undergraduate work or a GPA of at least 3.00 for the last two years.
4. Scores on the general portion of the Graduate Record Examination.

Doctor of Philosophy

Students seeking approved admission status to the University of North Dakota Department of Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. program are subject to the admission requirements set forth by the Graduate School. In addition, the following requirements must be met:

1. A master’s degree from an accredited institution, normally in the field of proposed specialist or doctoral study.
2. A cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 for all undergraduate work.
3. A GPA of at least 3.00 in all graduate level work.
4. A combined score of 1050 in the quantitative and verbal sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Applicants will be evaluated on an individual basis and those with limited backgrounds in the aforementioned areas (physics, mathematics, chemistry, and atmospheric science) but with a distinguished record in other disciplines may be accepted on a qualified basis with the understanding that deficiencies would be remedied early in the program.

Degree Requirements

Master of Science
The Master of Science program requires that students complete a minimum of 30 credit hours for the thesis option or a minimum of 32 credit hours for the non-thesis option. Approval of the thesis option will be granted based upon alignment of research interests with departmental faculty’s research interests and faculty availabiity. The non-thesis option requires the student to independently investigate a topic related to the major field and successfully complete a written comprehensive examination. This study need not be an original contribution to knowledge, but may be a presentation, analysis, and discussion of ideas already in the literature of the field. The non-thesis requirement is to ensure that the student can investigate a topic and organize a scholarly report.

Required Courses: All students are required to complete at least one course from each of the core areas below in addition to completing AtSc 500, Introduction to Atmospheric Research. Non-thesis option students must also complete two credits of 997, Independent Study Report.

Dynamics:
AtSc 505: Advanced Atmospheric Dynamics
AtSc 518: Advanced Synoptic Meteorology
AtSc 548: Advanced Mesoscale Dynamics

Physical:
AtSc 450: Introduction to Cloud Physics Meteorology**
AtSc 520: Atmospheric Chemistry
AtSc 525: Atmospheric Radiation
AtSc 555: Advanced Surface Transportation Weather
AtSc 560: Boundary Layer Meteorology
AtSc 565: Air Quality

Climate System:
AtSc 510: General Circulation
AtSc 515: Advanced Climatology
AtSc 545: Hydrometeorology
AtSc 550: Tropical Meteorology
AERO 530: Advanced Earth System Science

Tools:
AtSc 441: Radar Meteorology**
AtSc 528: Atmospheric Data Analysis
AtSc 530: Numerical Weather Prediction
AtSc 535: Measurement Systems
AtSc 540: Statistical Methods in Atmospheric Science


**Courses taken at the undergraduate level cannot be
repeated for graduate credit.

Doctor of Philosophy

Students seeking the Doctor of Philosophy through the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of North Dakota must satisfy all general requirements set forth by the Graduate School as well as particular requirements set forth by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences. The particular requirements of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences are:

1. Two consecutive years of full-time academic work completed in residence at the University of North Dakota campus. With approval of a student’s Faculty Advisory Committee, one of these years may be completed through full-time academic work and/or research at another institution or location.
2. At least 27 of the post master’s credits must be class credits.
3. At least 18 of the 27 class credits must be taken within the Department of Atmospheric Sciences.
4. Up to 9 of the post master’s credits may be taken through distance education.
5. Completion of AtSc 500 and 505 or equivalent classes.
6. A departmental seminar on dissertation research topic.

A departmental seminar on dissertation research topic.

Courses

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES

500. Introduction to Atmospheric Research. 1 credit. This course is required for all Atmospheric Science graduate students. A course in the methodology and philosophy of doing research in the atmospheric sciences. Also includes discussion of related topics, including creativity, publication, science and society, and career-related activities. S/U grading only.

505. Advanced Atmospheric Dynamics. 3 credits. A graduate level course in linear perturbation theory, atmospheric oscillations, hydrodynamic instability and the life cycle of extratropical cyclones.

510. General Circulation. 3 credits. Prerequisite: AtSc 505. Covers the large-scale dynamical process in the atmosphere, including the observed circulation, processes that maintain the circulation, mid-latitude wintertime circulation anomalies, large-scale structure of the tropical atmosphere, and the stratosphere and its link to the troposphere.

515. Advanced Climatology. 3 credits. Prerequisite: AtSc 540. A course on climate from the perspective of utilizing climatic knowledge and information to examine the current state of the climate and how this can be used to explore potential future states. Topics included are an introduction to climatology, basic data and their analysis, climatological analysis, statistical methods, applications and synoptic climatology.

518. Advanced Synoptic Meteorology. 3 credits. Prerequisite: AtSc 505 or equivalent. Advanced analysis of atmospheric processes important to large-scale flows. Quasi-geostrophic and semi-geostrophic theory, behavior of extratropical systems, fronts and jets, geostrophic adjustment, blocking and IPV thinking.

520. Atmospheric Chemistry. 3 credits. Composition of clean and polluted air. Sources and sinks of atmospheric gases and aerosols. The role of atmospheric chemistry in global environmental issues such as acid rain, visibility reduction, climatic change, oxidant enhancement, etc.

525. Atmospheric Radiation. 3 credits. Radiation transfer processes in the atmosphere. Scattering and absorption of solar and thermal radiation by aerosols and gases. Effects of clouds on the atmospheric radiation budget.

528. Atmospheric Data Analysis. 3 credits. Prerequisite: Proficiency in a programming language. Introduction to techniques used in the analysis of meteorological data and methods for interpreting their effects: polynomial fitting, method of successive corrections, statistical methods, variational techniques, model initialization, data assimilation, and filter design.

530. Numerical Weather Prediction. 3 credits. Prerequisite: AtSc 505. Covers scale analysis in atmospheric prediction; numerical methods; various atmospheric prediction models; the use of filtering, smoothing, interpolation, weighting and adjustment in objective analysis techniques; numerical forecasting; current NWP structures and applications.

535. Measurement Systems. 3 credits. An advanced course in meteorological measurement systems, including coverage of performance characteristics of sensors, calibration standards, measuring devices, the effects of making measurements in the atmospheric environment, meteorological measurement systems, and digital data logging and processing.

540. Statistical Methods in Atmospheric Science. 3 credits. Prerequisite: Must have completed coursework in statistics or consent of instructor. A course on statistical methods used to describe, analyze, test, and predict atmospheric phenomena. The topics will review basic statistical concepts, statistical data interpretation, theoretical probability distributions, hypothesis testing, uncertainty analysis, regression, time series analysis, and statistical weather predication and verification.

545. Hydrometeorology. 3 credits. A course designed to study the coupling of atmospheric and hydrologic processes. Topics will cover basic hydrologic concepts, review of atmospheric thermodynamics, atmospheric moisture, precipitation processes, hydrologic cycle, evaporation/evapotranspiration, infiltration, snow and snowmelt processes, runoff mechanisms, land surface processes, and hydrologic modeling.

548. Advanced Mesoscale Dynamics. 3 credits. Prerequisite: Upper division or graduate course in dynamics or consent of instructor. Corequisite: AtSc 505 recommended, but not required. An in-depth theoretical and analytical examination of mesoscale convective processes, initiation and characteristics; mesoscale features of tropical systems; orographically-forced and -influenced circulations; local and regional circulations; high-latitude mesoscale systems; an introduction to mesoscale model design, parameterization development, and evaluation.

550. Tropical Meteorology. 3 credits. Prerequisites: Graduate standing. A study of tropical phenomena over a range of scales, including small scale (cumulus clouds, thunderstorms), mesoscale (sea breezes, squall lines), large scale (waves and cyclones), and planetary scale circulations (trade winds, equatorial trough, equatorial waves, monsoons, intraseasonal oscillations, ENSO). Methods for obtaining and using information to study tropical phenomena are examined.

555. Advanced Surface Transportation Weather. 3 credits. Prerequisite: AtSc 510 or consent of instructor. Addresses weather research topics in contemporary surface transportation. Includes maintenance decision support systems construction, applications of artificial intelligence methods, and investigation of land surface effects and applications of advanced mesoscale weather prediction modeling in a surface transportation environment.

560. Boundary Layer Meteorology. 3 credits. Prerequisite: AtSc 505. The interaction of the atmosphere with the earth’s surface. The transfer of heat, moisture, and momentum between the atmosphere and the underlying surface. The description of turbulence and the effects of turbulence on the transfer properties of the atmosphere.

565. Air Quality. 3 credits. Prerequisites: Chem 121 or equivalent and Phys 251 or equivalent. An in-depth introduction to important areas within the air quality field. Topics covered include the physical and chemical nature of air pollutants; their sources, control, and transport through the atmosphere; their interaction with other atmospheric constituents; their removal through cloud processes, fallout and wet deposition; their effects on visibility, human health, ecosystems, and global climate. Methods related to the measurements of atmospheric pollutants, air quality modeling, and air quality forecasting are discussed.

570. Seminar. 1credit, repeatable to 3. A discussion course on current research topics and publications related to the field of atmospheric sciences. Students, faculty and guest speakers will present their research and lead the discussion during seminar. S/U grading only.

575. Current/Special Topics in Meteorology. 3 credits, repeatable to 12. A course in specific advanced topics in atmospheric sciences. Largely done in a structured, lecture format. Special topics will likely include (but not be limited to): satellite meteorology, atmospheric turbulence, mesoscale meteorology, convective and planetary boundary layer, chemical and aerosol measurement systems, tropical meteorology, atmospheric electricity, hydrometeorology, and radiative transfer modeling.

594. Independent Studies. 2 credits, repeatable to 4. Survey investigations, literature searches and preliminary research topic of interest to the student.
599. Supervised Research. 1 to 4 credits, repeatable to 12. Prerequisite: consent of the instructor. Research in consultation with departmental faculty. S/U grading only.

997. Independent Study Report (Non-thesis option). 2 credits. Prerequisite: Students are required to complete at least one course from each of the core areas: dynamics, physical, earth system, and tools, as well as AtSc 500. This course is required for all Atmospheric Science graduate students enrolled in the non-thesis option. Students will be required to independently investigate a topic related to the major field. This study need not be an original contribution to knowledge, but may be a presentation, analysis, and discussion of ideas already in the literature of the field. S/U grading.

998. Thesis. 1 to 6 credits, repeatable to 9.

441. Radar Meteorology. 4 credits.

450. Introduction to Cloud Physics Meteorology. 4 credits.