Atmospheric and Space Physics
The physics of the Earth's atmosphere and near-Earth space as one coupled system driven by the Sun: the regions from the neutral atmosphere to the solar wind and the scales of pressure, energy and time that separate them; hydrostatic balance, the ideal gas law and the scale height, the standard atmosphere and the temperature structure of the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere; the thermodynamics of rising air, with the dry and moist adiabatic lapse rates, potential temperature, the lifting condensation level, static stability, the buoyancy frequency, convective available potential energy and the formation of clouds and precipitation; atmospheric dynamics on a rotating planet, with the Coriolis parameter, the Rossby number, geostrophic, gradient and thermal winds, the jet streams and the general circulation of Hadley, Ferrel and polar cells; radiative transfer through an absorbing and emitting atmosphere, with the Beer–Lambert law, the Schwarzschild equation, the gray atmosphere and the greenhouse effect explained through the effective emission height; climate physics, with the global energy budget, radiative forcing by carbon dioxide, the Planck response, water vapor, lapse rate, albedo and cloud feedbacks, equilibrium climate sensitivity and the ocean's delay of the response; photoionization and Chapman's theory of ionospheric layers, recombination and the chemistry of the D, E, F1 and F2 regions; radio propagation through the ionosphere, with the plasma frequency, ionosondes, the secant law, the maximum usable frequency, the skip zone, total electron content and the correction of GNSS delays; the Sun's corona and activity cycle, Parker's transonic solar wind, the Parker spiral and coronal mass ejections; the dipole magnetosphere, the magnetopause from pressure balance, the bow shock and magnetotail, and the gyration, bounce and drift of radiation belt particles followed with a Boris-pusher simulation; magnetic reconnection, substorms, auroral emissions, the auroral oval and geomagnetic storms measured by Kp and Dst and modeled with the Burton equation; and a capstone on space weather, with geomagnetically induced currents in power grids, the 1989 Québec blackout, satellite drag and charging, navigation and radio disruption, aviation and astronaut radiation, and forecasting from L1 monitors and ground networks, all supported by runnable Python examples.
PHYS-481 Year 4 3 credits 12 lessons · 4 h 44 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Physics
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Describe the atmosphere, ionosphere, magnetosphere and solar wind as a coupled system, and estimate the scales of pressure, energy and time that separate them.
- Derive hydrostatic balance and the scale height, compute pressure and temperature through the standard atmosphere, and explain the layering of temperature with height.
- Derive the dry and moist adiabatic lapse rates, use potential temperature, find the lifting condensation level, and assess static stability, buoyancy frequency and CAPE.
- Apply the Coriolis force and the Rossby number, compute geostrophic, gradient and thermal winds, and explain the general circulation of the atmosphere.
- Apply the Beer–Lambert law and the Schwarzschild equation, solve the gray-atmosphere model, and explain the greenhouse effect through the effective emission height and the lapse rate.
- Use the global energy budget, radiative forcing and feedback parameters to estimate equilibrium climate sensitivity and the time scale of the climate response.
- Derive the Chapman production function, relate electron density to production and recombination, and explain the D, E, F1 and F2 layers of the ionosphere.
- Relate critical frequencies to electron density, apply the secant law to find maximum usable frequencies and skip zones, and compute and remove the ionospheric delay of GNSS signals.
- Describe the solar corona, activity and solar cycle, derive Parker's transonic solar wind, and compute the Parker spiral and the travel times of coronal mass ejections.
- Use the dipole field and pressure balance to find the magnetopause, and analyze the gyration, bounce and drift of trapped particles, including with a Boris-pusher simulation.
- Explain magnetic reconnection, substorms, auroral emissions and the auroral oval, and model geomagnetic storms with the Kp and Dst indices and the Burton equation.
- Estimate geoelectric fields and induced currents in power grids, describe space weather effects on satellites, navigation, aviation and astronauts, and explain how space weather is forecast.
Course content
12 lessons · 4 h 44 min total · final exam
- 1 Why atmospheric and space physics: the Earth as a coupled system 25 min · quiz
- 2 Atmospheric structure: hydrostatic balance, scale height and lapse rates 23 min · quiz
- 3 Thermodynamics of the atmosphere: adiabats, stability and clouds 25 min · quiz
- 4 Atmospheric dynamics: Coriolis, geostrophic wind and circulation 23 min · quiz
- 5 Radiative transfer: absorption, emission and the greenhouse effect 23 min · quiz
- 6 Climate physics: energy balance, feedbacks and sensitivity 22 min · quiz
- 7 The upper atmosphere and the ionosphere: photoionization and layers 23 min · quiz
- 8 Radio propagation and the ionosphere: plasma frequency, skywave and GNSS delays 23 min · quiz
- 9 The Sun and the solar wind 23 min · quiz
- 10 The magnetosphere: dipole field, magnetopause and radiation belts 25 min · quiz
- 11 The aurora and geomagnetic storms 24 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: space weather — impacts on power grids, satellites, aviation and forecasting 25 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
The physics of the Earth's atmosphere and near-Earth space as one coupled system driven by the Sun: the regions from the neutral atmosphere to the solar wind and the scales of pressure, energy and time that separate them; hydrostatic balance, the ideal gas law and the scale height, the standard atmosphere and the temperature structure of the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere; the thermodynamics of rising air, with the dry and moist adiabatic lapse rates, potential temperature, the lifting condensation level, static stability, the buoyancy frequency, convective available potential energy and the formation of clouds and precipitation; atmospheric dynamics on a rotating planet, with the Coriolis parameter, the Rossby number, geostrophic, gradient and thermal winds, the jet streams and the general circulation of Hadley, Ferrel and polar cells; radiative transfer through an absorbing and emitting atmosphere, with the Beer–Lambert law, the Schwarzschild equation, the gray atmosphere and the greenhouse effect explained through the effective emission height; climate physics, with the global energy budget, radiative forcing by carbon dioxide, the Planck response, water vapor, lapse rate, albedo and cloud feedbacks, equilibrium climate sensitivity and the ocean's delay of the response; photoionization and Chapman's theory of ionospheric layers, recombination and the chemistry of the D, E, F1 and F2 regions; radio propagation through the ionosphere, with the plasma frequency, ionosondes, the secant law, the maximum usable frequency, the skip zone, total electron content and the correction of GNSS delays; the Sun's corona and activity cycle, Parker's transonic solar wind, the Parker spiral and coronal mass ejections; the dipole magnetosphere, the magnetopause from pressure balance, the bow shock and magnetotail, and the gyration, bounce and drift of radiation belt particles followed with a Boris-pusher simulation; magnetic reconnection, substorms, auroral emissions, the auroral oval and geomagnetic storms measured by Kp and Dst and modeled with the Burton equation; and a capstone on space weather, with geomagnetically induced currents in power grids, the 1989 Québec blackout, satellite drag and charging, navigation and radio disruption, aviation and astronaut radiation, and forecasting from L1 monitors and ground networks, all supported by runnable Python examples.
Part of the Science stream, typically taken in year 4.