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<u>http://www.canadian-universities.net/Universities/Programs/Atmospheric_Science_and_Meteorology.html</u>
Atmospheric science is the umbrella term for the study of the atmosphere. It includes meteorology (short term weather forecasting), climatology (long term weather forecasting), and aeronomy (the study of the upper atmosphere).
Atmospheric science is a subfield of earth science. It is related to chemistry, planetary science, and physics.
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<u>http://www.ucar.edu/student_recruiting/science.jsp</u>
What are the atmospheric and related sciences? Main disciplines and some of the specialties that come under the umbrella of "Atmospheric and Related Sciences" are listed below.
Click on a discipline below for a definition:
Agricultural Meteorology Bioclimatology      Micrometeorology
Air Pollution                 Climatology     Oceanography
Atmospheric Chemistry         Hydrology     Satellite Meteorology
Atmospheric Physics         Meteorology     Space Weather
   
Our globe's atmosphere and oceans are fluid systems. Many related disciplines study the behavior of fluids. Some subjects are common to all of these disciplines: thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, radiation, and many more. These disciplines also have in common the use of computational mathematics, statistics, and data visualization, among others.
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<u>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos051.htm</u>   
Atmospheric science is the study of the atmosphere—the blanket of air covering the Earth. Atmospheric scientists study the atmosphere's physical characteristics, motions, and processes, and the way in which these factors affect the rest of our environment. The best-known application of this knowledge is forecasting the weather. In addition to predicting the weather, atmospheric scientists attempt to identify and interpret climate trends, understand past weather, and analyze current weather. Weather information and atmospheric research are also applied in air-pollution control, agriculture, forestry, air and sea transportation, defense, and the study of possible trends in the Earth's climate, such as global warming, droughts, and ozone depletion.
Some atmospheric scientists work exclusively in research. Physical meteorologists, for example, study the atmosphere's chemical and physical properties; the transmission of light, sound, and radio waves; and the transfer of energy in the atmosphere. They also study other atmospheric phenomena, such as the factors affecting the formation of clouds, rain, and snow; the dispersal of air pollutants over urban areas; and the mechanics of severe storms. Environmental problems, such as pollution and shortages of fresh water, have widened the scope of the meteorological profession. Environmental meteorologists study these problems and may evaluate and report on air quality for environmental impact statements. Other research meteorologists examine the most effective ways to control or diminish air pollution.
About 34 percent of atmospheric scientists are employed by the Federal Government; most of these work in the National Weather Service.
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John Michael Wallace and Peter Victor Hobbs (2006). ''Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey'', 2nd Edition. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-732951-X.
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'''Atmospheric sciences''' is an [[umbrella term]] for the study of the [[Earth's atmosphere|atmosphere]], its processes, the effects other systems have on the atmosphere, and the effects of the atmosphere on these other systems.  [[Meteorology]] includes [[atmospheric chemistry]] and [[atmospheric physics]] with a major focus on [[weather forecasting]]. [[Climatology]] is the study of atmospheric changes (both long and short-term) that define average climates and their change over time, due to both natural and anthropogenic [[climate change|climate variability]]. [[Aeronomy]] is the study of the upper layers of the atmosphere, where [[dissociation (chemistry)|dissociation]] and [[ionization]] are important. Atmospheric science has been extended to the field of [[planetary science]] and the study of the atmospheres of the [[planet]]s of the [[solar system]].
==Atmospheric chemistry==
File:Atmosphere composition diagram.jpg (use table from [[Air]])
{{Main|Atmospheric chemistry}}
Atmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science in which the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets is studied. It is a multidisciplinary field of research and draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteorology, computer modeling, oceanography, geology and volcanology and other disciplines. Research is increasingly connected with other areas of study such as climatology.
The composition and chemistry of the atmosphere is of importance for several reasons, but primarily because of the interactions between the atmosphere and living organisms. The composition of the Earth's atmosphere has been changed by human activity and some of these changes are harmful to human health, crops and ecosystems. Examples of problems which have been addressed by atmospheric chemistry include acid rain, photochemical smog and global warming. Atmospheric chemistry seeks to understand the causes of these problems, and by obtaining a theoretical understanding of them, allow possible solutions to be tested and the effects of changes in government policy evaluated.
== Atmospheric dynamics ==
{{See also|Synoptic scale meteorology}}
Atmospheric dynamics involves the study of observations and theory dealing with all motion systems of meteorological importance.  The list includes diverse phenomena as [[thunderstorms]], [[tornado]]es, [[gravity wave]]s, [[tropical cyclone]]s, [[extratropical cyclone]]s, [[jet stream]]s, and global-scale circulations.  The goal of dynamical studies is to explain the observed circulations on the basis of fundamental principles from [[physics]].  The objectives of such studies include improving [[weather forecasting]], developing methods for predicting seasonal and interannual climate fluctuations, and understanding the implications of human-induced perturbations (e.g., increased carbon dioxide concentrations or  depletion of the ozone layer) on the global climate.<ref>[[University of Washington]]. [http://www.atmos.washington.edu/academic/atmosdyn.html Atmospheric Dynamics.] Retrieved on 1 June 2007.</ref>
== Atmospheric physics ==
{{Main|Atmospheric physics}}
Atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, chemical models, radiation balancing, and energy transfer processes in the atmosphere and underlying oceans.  In order to model weather systems, atmospheric physicists employ elements of scattering theory, wave propagation models, [[cloud physics]], statistical mechanics and spatial [[statistics]] which are highly mathematical and related to physics.  It has close links to meteorology and climatology and also covers the design and construction of instruments for studying the atmosphere and the interpretation of the data they provide, including remote sensing instruments.
In the UK, atmospheric studies are underpinned by the Meteorological Office. Divisions of the U.S. [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) oversee research projects and weather modeling involving atmospheric physics. The U.S. National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center also carries out studies of the high atmosphere.
The [[Earth's magnetic field]] and the [[solar wind]] interact with the atmosphere, creating the [[ionosphere]], [[Van Allen radiation belt]]s, [[telluric current]]s, and [[radiant energy]].
== Climatology ==
{{Main|Climatology}}
In contrast to [[meteorology]], which studies short term [[weather]] systems lasting up to a few weeks, climatology studies the frequency and trends of those systems. It studies the periodicity of weather events over years to millennia, as well as changes in long-term average weather patterns, in relation to atmospheric conditions. '''Climatologists''', those who practice climatology, study both the nature of climates - local, regional or global - and the natural or human-induced factors that cause climates to change. Climatology considers the past and can help [[prediction|predict]] future [[climate change]].
Phenomena of climatological interest include the [[atmospheric boundary layer]], [[atmospheric circulation|circulation patterns]], [[heat transfer]] ([[thermal radiation|radiative]], [[convection|convective]] and [[latent heat flux|latent]]), interactions between the atmosphere and the [[oceans]] and [[Landform|land]] surface (particularly [[vegetation]], [[land use]] and [[topography]]), and the chemical and physical composition of the atmosphere. Related disciplines include [[astrophysics]], [[atmospheric physics]], [[chemistry]], [[ecology]], [[geology]], [[geophysics]], [[glaciology]], [[hydrology]], [[oceanography]], and [[volcanology]].
== References ==
{{reflist}}

Revision as of 16:46, 25 March 2012

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