Class meets Monday evenings from 6 to 9 pm in Arsht Hall.
Instructor: Dr. Amy Tetlow Smith
tetlow@udel.edu
831-2294 for messages only
Course Description: Introduction to processes responsible for weather, climate and climatic change. Implications of climate for ecosystems and human activities. Earth-sun relations, geographic coordinate systems and map interpretation.
Text: Physical Geography: Science and Systems of the Human Environment. 1997. Alan Strahler and Arthur Strahler. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York.
Grading:
Exercises
20%
Exam 1
25% October
15th
Exam 2
25% November
19th
Comprehensive Final Exam
30% Finals
Week
Exercises will be given periodically throughout the semester, accompanied by a due date. Exercises turned in after the due date will be assessed a late penalty. Exercises will not be accepted more than one week after the due date.
Make up exams will be given only in cases where the absence has been approved prior to the exam date or in cases of illness or family emergency. Documentation may be required. Expect any make up exam to be in a format different from that of the original exam.
Academic honesty is expected of all students at
all times. Dishonest acts such as copying assignments or cheating
on exams will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted through the Student
Judicial System.
Tentative Schedule
Topic Chapter
Earth's Rotation, Geographic Grid, Mapping, Time and Seasons Ch. 1, Appendix 1
The Atmosphere, Temperature, and the Global Energy Balance
Ch. 2-3
and pp. 117-120
skip pp.73-78 World Patterns
END MATERIAL FOR EXAM 1
Exam 1 Key
Dynamics: Winds, Atmospheric and Oceanic Currents Ch. 5
Atmospheric Moisture, Precipitation, and Pollution Ch. 4
Weather Systems: Air Masses and Fronts Ch. 6
END MATERIAL FOR EXAM 2
Exam 2 Key
Soil Water Balance
pp. 496-498 and
Working It Out 19.1
Climate Classification and Biogeography
no readings