An Introduction to Climate Dynamics, Variability and Monitoring

ABOUT THE COURSE: As climate change and associated climate mitigation and adaptation strategies become an increasingly important concern for the government, the industry as well as multiple disciplines within the academia, there is need for a course that provides a physics-based understanding of the parameters controlling climatic variability and human influence on climate variability to UG/PG students from diverse science/technology backgrounds. A basic grounding on instruments and methodologies to monitor climate relevant variables will also prove useful and interesting to students of engineering disciplines. Such a course will also prove beneficial to industry professionals who are interested in developing technology/policy/business solutions for climate change. This course will provide the participant with a thorough introductory grounding of climate physics, climatic patterns of variability, and the human influences in the ongoing climate change. In addition, the participant will also gain an understanding of how various climatological and meteorological variables are measured using ground based, upper air and satellite based instrumentation. The course will also be very useful for those who wish to specialize further in climatological modelling, satellite based observation of weather and climate etc. INTENDED AUDIENCE: Graduate Students in Science and Engineering Disciplines related to Climate, Environment and Sustainability. Undergraduate students in Engg. Science, Environmental Science as well as those interested on minor in Sustainable Energy/Engg.Professionals interested in Climate Change Science.PREREQUISITES: Students and Professionals with Civil Engg, Env and Atmospheric Science, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Geology and Geophysics Background. While a PG course, materials learnt upto 2nd year UG should be sufficient.

Week 1:Introduction to Climatology and Climatic Variables; Atmospheric Variables:- Temperature, Composition, Pressure. Variations in weather and climate influenced by these Atmospheric Variables.

Week 2:Atmospheric Variables Continued:- Humidity, Hydrostatic Balance, Lapse Rate and Stability. Influence of these variables on geographical variations in Climate . Impact of Global Warming on Stability and Lapse Rates
The Oceanic Variables: Temperature and Salinity; The Cryosphere.
Week 3:The Global Energy Balance and Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneities in Energy Balance. Energy flux from the Sun and Variabilities in Solar Insolation, Emissions from Earth, Mean temperature and the Greenhouse Effect, global radiative flux balance, poleward energy flux.

Week 4:The Radiative Energy fluxes in the atmosphere, transmission and absorption of SW and LW radiation by the gases, the Lambert-Beer law, the infrared radiative transfer equationsand the radiative equilibrium model, Greenhouse effect in a continuously stratified atmosphere, radiation and the clouds.
Week 5:Atmospheric Fluid Dynamics; the Atmospheric General Circulation : energy balance, atmospheric motions, meridional energy transport, angular momentum balance, large scale circulation patterns and climate types.

Week 6:Oceanic Fluid Dynamics; Oceanic General Circulation : mixed layers, wind driven circulation, thermohaline circulation, energy transport in the oceans and their influence on regional climate.

Week 7:Climatic Variabilities due to Atmosphere-Ocean Interactions. Intra-seasonal and inter-annual variabilities, PNA, NAO, SAM, MJO and ENSO variabilities, Decadal variations of weather and climate.

Week 8:Physics of Climate Change: Climate Forcing, Climate Sensitivity and Feedback - Measures of forcing, sensitivity and feedback, Radiative feedback, Dynamical feedback in energy transport, Cloud feedback, bio-geochemical feedback. Overview of current anthropogenic forcing.

Week 9:Principles of Measurement and Instrumentation: Measuring systems, response times, errors and uncertainties, data acquisition. Land Based Measurements of Temperature and Pressure.

Week 10:Land based measurements of humidity, precipitation and wind speed. Measurement of Radiation: SW and LW

Week 11:Upper Air measurements using Radiosondes; Principles of Atmospheric Remote Sounding

Week 12:Satellite based Remote Sensing for Climatological Applications. Satellite based Weather Imaging; VNIR and TIR imaging systems and applications. Wrap Up.