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ESE 133
Global Atmosphere Dynamics
9 units (3-0-6)  | third term
Prerequisites: ESE 101 and ESE 130, or instructor's permission.
Introduction to the global-scale fluid dynamics of atmospheres, beginning with a phenomenological overview of observed circulations on Earth and other planets and leading to currently unsolved problems. Topics include constraints on atmospheric circulations and zonal winds from angular momentum balance; Rossby wave generation, propagation, and dissipation and their roles in the maintenance of global circulations; moist convection and its coupling to waves and circulations; Hadley circulations and tropical-extratropical interactions; energy cycle and thermodynamic efficiency of atmospheric circulations. The course focuses on Earth's atmosphere but explores a continuum of possible planetary circulations and relationships among them as parameters such as the planetary rotation rate chance.
Instructor: Schneider