Have you ever wondered...

    Why Earth's climate is just right for life?
    Why the west coast and the east coast have very different climate?
    How El Nino takes place?
    What caused the great ice age cycles?
    What  is the future of our climatic environment?

These are just some sample questions we will address in this  Meteorology graduate  core course.The goal of the course is to understand what determines Earth's climate and how it changes.  Key topics include:

• Observed climate and its variability
• Energy balance of Earth
• The hydrological cycle
• General circulation of the atmosphere
• General circulation of the oceans
• Regional climate systems; Large-scale circulation patterns and climatic zones.
• Climate variability and climate change

Instructor: Prof. Ning Zeng  Work Phone: (301) 405-5377  Fax: (301) 314-9482  Email: zeng@atmos.umd.edu  http://atmos.umd.edu/~zeng/meto617