UBC ATSC 303 - Methods in Atmospheric Science

Schedule of Assignments, and Associated Learning Goals


Course Learning Goals

This course focuses on in-situ weather instruments.

By the end of this course, you should be able to:
• use traditional and electronic weather instruments
• use and program modern data loggers
• explain how weather instruments work and describe their accuracy and precision
• design and implement measurement strategies
• analyze data, including error propagation


The course does not cover remote sensors (radar, satellite), which are covered in ATSC 301 "Atmospheric Radiation and Remote Sensing".
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(Under construction.)

Learning Goals for Each Period - Spr 2023

Legend:
Lecture
by Roland Stull or the TA Davi Monticelli.  At 11 am  Mondays in room 3016 ORCH (Orchard Commons), plus other days as needed.
Student Presentations
During the period starting at 11 am Wednesdays in room 3016 ORCH.
Demo & Lab
(3 hours) by Roland Stull and TA Davi Monticelli.  During 11am - 2pm Fridays in room 107 EOSM, or elsewhere as indicated in the calendar below.

 

Schedule of Assignments and Learning Goals

Monday Wednesday Friday
Week 1:


9 Jan - Lecture - Intro.

Readings: Harrison Ch 1; and Brock Ch 1.
Also, skim Foken Ch 1, 3, 4, & 5.


By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. Explain how lectures, demos, labs and field trips relate to course requirements and learning goals.
  2. List the sequence of functions of most instrument systems, and describe how they are integrated into the system.
  3. Explain the roles of standards, calibration, performance, exposure, procedure, and quality assurance.
  4. Debate the positive and negative influences of humans in the measurement process.
  5. Select instruments that are appropriate for the time and space scales of the phenomena that you want to measure.
11 Jan - Lecture - Circuits.

Readings: Brock Appendix D.
Also skim: and Harrison Ch 3,.


By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. Recognize and draw the symbols for circuit components (e.g., resistors, capacitors, etc.).
  2. Describe and use equations for the basic circuit laws (e.g., Ohm's Law, Kirchhoff's Law, etc.).
  3. Explain how to measure current by measuring voltage drop across a resistance.
  4. Explain how voltage divider circuits work, and draw their circuit diagrams.
  5. Explain the principle of a bridge circuit, and be able to design and use such a circuit to measure resistance.
  6. Show how to use e-folding voltage change to estimate capacitance.

13 Jan - Lecture - Short Circuits & Proper Use of Multimeters.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. Recognize open circuits and short circuits, and explain the hazards of short circuits and how to avoid them.
  2. Demonstrate how to set up a multimeter BEFORE connecting it to a circuit to measure: voltage, current, resistance, and other characteristics. 
Lab - Bridge circuits.
By the end of this 2-hour lab, you would be able to:
  1. design, build, and use a bridge circuit and associated multi-meters.
Week 2:


16 Jan - Lecture - Temperature.

Readings BEFORE class: Brock Ch 4, Harrison Ch 5, Foken Ch 7 and WMO8-Ch 2. Instructor covers Foken sections 7.3 - 7.6.


By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. List 5 or more types of thermometers and describe how they work and how you use them.
  2. Calculate and plot the thermometer response (voltage, resistance, size, etc.) vs. temperature.
  3. Describe the advantages, disadvantages, and typical errors of each type of thermometer.
  4. Select the appropriate thermometer and associated infrastructure (e.g., screens) for any measurement program.
  5. Convert between different temperature units.
  6. Explain the reasons for using radiation shields.

18 Jan - Lecture, Student Presentations & Demo - Temperature.

Skim: Foken Ch 20. Finish readings from Monday.
Student presentations from any of sections: Foken 7.1, 7.2, 7.8-7.9, 20.1, 20.2
.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Explain and use measurement principles and parameters.
  2. Summarize the history of instruments used to measure this weather variable.
  3. Explain requirements for various applications, including for measuring climate.
  4. Identify different instruments by their appearance.
  5. Explain the physical and electrical set up needed to make these instruments work.
  6. Anticipate the types of output from these instruments.
  7. Participate in the subsequent Lab with high safety awareness and less trepidation.
20 Jan - Lecture, Demo & Lab - Thermocouples.

By the end of this lab, you should be able to:
  1. Be confident in your handling of the physical sensors and software covered in this lab.
  2. Safely make a thermocouple.
  3. Identify types of thermocouples based upon their output.
  4. Use a thermocouple to measure temperature.
  5. Reinforce the learning goals from the lecture and demo.
Week 3:


23 Jan - Lecture - Data Loggers & Data Loggers

Readings BEFORE class: Harrison Ch 4 and Brock Ch 13 & Appendix C. Skim Foken section 2.7.


By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. List the main components and their purposes in data loggers.
  2. Discuss the pitfalls in analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), and ways to avoid these errors.
  3. Relate sampling frequency to Nyquist frequency, both in physical and phase (Fourier) space.
  4. Describe the measurement limitations of signal amplitude, and the role of amplifier gain.
  5. Describe some data transfer/storage and quality control methods.
25 Jan - Lecture, Student Presentations & Demo - Data Loggers

 

Student presentations: Create & discuss a table comparing the attributes of the different data loggers, including price. Give your recommendation of which is best.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Recognize a Campbell Scientific data logger.
  2. Explain why different types of meteorological inputs need to be connected to the appropriate terminals on the data logger.
  3. Explain how to program a data logger and get it to start running its program, so you can participate in the subsequent Lab with less trepidation. 
  4. Contrast the capabilities and limitation of Hobo vs. Campbell Scientific data loggers.
27 Jan - LectureLab - Data Loggers

By the end of this lab, you should be able to:
  1. Use Campbell Scientific's Loggernet software to write simple data-logger programs in CRBasic, and explain what the main sections of that program will do.
  2. Wire simple electrical circuits to connect weather sensors to data loggers, and explain how they work.
  3. Teach others about analog-to-digital sampling issues, and apply this knowledge to guide your own datalogger programming.
  4. Program and access data from Hobo data loggers.
  5. Reinforce the learning goals from the lecture and demo.
Week 4:


30 Jan - Lecture - Principles of Measurement and Instrumentation - Static Response.

Readings BEFORE class: Harrison Ch 2 , Brock Ch 3, Stull Appendix A.4, and Foken section 2.3 & p40-41.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. Compare and contrast static vs. dynamic performance.
  2. Explain the motivation for static calibration, explain how to do it, and how calibration curves relate to transfer curves.
  3. Explain the difference between accuracy, precision, resolution, and sensitivity.
  4. Use appropriate significant figures for your measurement and calculations.
  5. Compare and contrast different types of error, and how to mitigate them.
  6. Propagate errors through equations.
1 Feb - Lecture - Principles (continued) - Dynamic Response .

Readings BEFORE class:  Brock Chapters 6 & 8, Harrison Ch 2, and Foken p39 & p42-43.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Estimate the response time of various sensor systems.
  2. Understand and interpret dynamic-response equations for simple (first-order) sensor systems.
  3. Relate e-folding response time to dynamic lag and dynamic error for step and ramp signal inputs.
  4. Experimentally determine the dynamic response of a noisy signal.
  5. Explain how response time affects the amplitude and phase of oscillating signals as a function of signal frequency.
  6. Describe how filters work, and how sensors can act like filters to smooth the signal.
3 Feb - LectureLab - Calibration and Time Response

By the end of this lab, you should be able to:
  1. Be confident in your handling of the physical sensors and software covered in this lab.
  2. Use Excel spreadsheets (or any similar data analysis tool such as R, Matlab, python) to compute data statistics and create calibrated data.
  3. Create the equations needed to propagate error for any sensor.
  4. Compare the response time of thermocouples vs. hobo temperature measurements to step changes in temperature.
  5. Reinforce the learning goals from the lecture and demo.
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MondayWednesdayFriday
Week 5:


6 Feb - Lecture - Pressure.

Readings BEFORE class: Harrison Ch 7 , Brock Ch 2, skim Foken Ch 10, & skim WMO8 ch 3.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. List 4 or more types of barometers and describe how they work and how you use them.
  2. Describe the advantages, disadvantages, and typical errors of each type of barometer.
  3. Select the appropriate barometer and associated infrastructure for any measurement program.
  4. Convert between different pressure units, and reduce pressure to sea level, and apply other necessary corrections.

8 Feb - Midterm Exam #1.

Covers all learning goals (lectures, labs, readings, HW) from weeks 1 - 4. (Does not cover Pressure.)
Exam procedure: Individual exam (30 minutes) and group exam (15 minutes). Closed-book, but 1 crib sheet allowed. We will provide additional sheets with eqs. (see example from previous exams).

By the end of this period, you should be able to demonstrate for the sensors and methods covered so far:

  1. Explain the physical principles behind each sensor.  Namely, how do they work?
  2. Describe the advantages, disadvantages, and typical errors of each type of sensor.
  3. Calculate and use static and dynamic response characteristics.
  4. Explain how data loggers work, and discuss their characteristics and limitations, and program them.
  5. Convert between different units. Also calculate and propogate errors.
An equation sheet will be provided.  You can find a copy under the Lectures tab of this website.

10 Feb - Demo & Lab - Pressure.

Special guest lecture by ECCC senior meteorologist Mariette Kulin. Topic: recruitment and training of ECCC meteorologists.

By the end of the lab, you should be able to:

  1. Be confident in your handling of the physical sensors and software covered in this lab.
  2. Read, interpret, and compare the pressure from different barometers
  3. Apply appropriate corrections to raw pressure and gravity data.
  4. Convert between pressure units.
  5. Reinforce the learning goals from the lecture and demo.
Week 6:


13 Feb - Lecture - Humidity.

Readings BEFORE class: Harrison Ch 6 , Brock Ch 5, Stull section 4.1 & 4.2, skim Foken Ch 8, and skim WMO8 Ch 4.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. List 4 or more types of hygrometers and describe how they work and how you use them.
  2. Calculate and plot the hygrometer response (voltage, resistance, size, temperature) vs. humidity.
  3. Describe the advantages, disadvantages, and typical errors of each type of hygrometer, and describe how you can calibrate the hygrometer.
  4. Select the appropriate hygrometer and associated infrastructure for any measurement program.
  5. Convert between different humidity units.
15 Feb - Lecture & Student Presentations - Humidity.


Finish the readings. Student presentations from any of the subsections in Foken 8.2, 8.6.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Identify different instruments by their appearance
  2. Explain the physical and electrical set up needed to make these instruments work
  3. Anticipate the types of output from these instruments
  4. Participate in the subsequent Lab with less trepidation.
17 Feb - LectureLab - Humidity.

By the end of this lab, you should be able to:
  1. Be confident in your handling of the physical sensors and software covered in this lab.
  2. List the potential problems and sources of error for each sensor.
  3. Calculate and convert between different humidity variables.
  4. Reinforce the learning goals from the lecture and demo.
20 Feb - Spring Break 22 Feb - Spring Break 24 Feb - Spring Break
Week 7:


27 Feb - Lecture - Precipitation.

Readings BEFORE class: Harrison Ch 10.4 , Brock Ch 9, skim Foken Ch 12, skim WMO8 Ch 6.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. Bin precipitation rates into qualitative categories.
  2. List 4 types of precipitation gauges and explain how they work.
  3. Describe the advantages, disadvantages, and typical errors of each type of gauge.
  4. Describe ways to measure snow depth.
  5. Explain typical difficulties in precipitation measurement and how they can be mitigated.
1 Mar - Lecture & Demo - Precipitation.


Finish the readings. Student presentations from any of the subsections in Foken 12.2, 12.6.1, 12.6.5, 12.6.6, 12.7 .

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Identify different instruments by their appearance
  2. Explain the physical and electrical set up needed to make these instruments work
  3. Anticipate the types of output from these instruments
  4. Participate in the subsequent Lab with less trepidation.
3 Mar - LectureLab - Precipitation.

By the end of this lab, you should be able to:
  1. Be confident in your handling of the physical sensors and software covered in this lab.
  2. Perform calculations to critically analyze data from these sensors.
  3. Discern which precipitation sensors are appropriate for which situations/ applications.
  4. Reinforce the learning goals from the lecture and demo.
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MondayWednesdayFriday
Week 8:


6 Mar - Lecture - Wind Speed and Direction.

Readings BEFORE class: Harrison Ch 8, Brock Ch 7, Foken Ch 9, WMO8 Ch 5.

By the end of this (and the next) period, you should be able to:
  1. Select the appropriate anemometer  and/or wind vane and associated infrastructure for any measurement program
  2. Convert between different wind speed units, and between true and magnetic directions
  3. Describe WMO-8 standards for siting, averaging, and gust determination.
  4. Plot and utilize wind-speed frequency distributions and wind-direction roses.

8 Mar - Lecture & Demo - Wind Speed and Direction.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. List 5 or more types of anemometers and describe how they work and how you use them.
  2. Calculate and plot the anemometer and wind-vane response (voltage, resistance, size, temperature) vs. wind speed.
  3. Describe the advantages, disadvantages, and typical errors of each type of anemometer and wind vane.

10 Mar - LectureLab - Wind Speed and Direction

Field Trips to:
(1) the wind tunnel in the MECH Rusty Hut
) &
(2) Field Trip to ESB rooftop weather station.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Design a calibration scheme for anemometers using wind tunnels.
  2. Identify different instruments by their appearance
  3. Explain the physical and electrical set up needed to make these instruments work
  4. Anticipate the types of output from these instruments
  5. Analyze wind-data output from various sensors.
Week 9:


13 Mar - Lecture - Radiation.

Readings BEFORE class: Harrison Ch 9 and Brock Ch 10, Foken Ch 11, WMO8 Ch 7 & 8.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. List and describe 3 or more ways to measure radiation.
  2. Name 3 or more categories of radiometers and explain what type(s) of radiation they measure.
  3. Compare and contrast solar vs. terrestrial radiometers.
  4. Discuss how you deploy and use radiometers and their infrastructure, and what typical pitfalls and errors are.
  5. Explain what emits (or reflects) the radiation being measured, and how the radiation path influences the result.
  6. Convert between different radiation units.

15 Mar - Midterm Exam #2.

Covers all learning goals (lectures, labs, readings, HW) from the weeks covering pressure, humidity, precipitation, and wind. (Does not cover radiation.)
Exam procedure: Individual exam (30 minutes) and group exam (15 minutes). Closed-book, but 1 crib sheet allowed. We will provide additional sheets with eqs. (see example from previous exams)
.

By the end of this period, you should be able to demonstrate for the sensors and methods covered so far:

  1. Explain the physical principles behind each sensor.  Namely, how do they work?
  2. Describe the advantages, disadvantages, and typical errors of each type of sensor.
  3. Calculate and use static and dynamic response characteristics of these sensors.
  4. Convert between different units. Also calculate and propogate errors.
An equation sheet will be provided.  You can find a copy under the Lectures tab of this website.
17 Mar - Lecture Pollutant Sensors - part 1
Lab - Radiation
.

Readings BEFORE class: WMO Ch 16 ;

By the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
  1. Identify typical pollutants that are measured in the atmosphere.
  2. Identify some of the ways that pollutants are measured.

By the end of the lab, you should be able to:

  1. Be confident in your handling of the physical sensors and software covered in this lab.
  2. Anticipate the types of output from these instruments.
  3. Interpret and analyze real radiation data.
  4. Reinforce the learning goals from the lecture and demo.



Week 10:


20 Mar- Lecture - Visibility & Cloud Height/Ceiling .
Guest Lecturer: Hanrui Duan - Topic: Clouds and Solar Radiation.

Readings BEFORE class: Harrison Ch 10 sections 10.1 - 10.3; Brock Ch 11 ; Foken Ch 13, 22 & 24; and WMO8 Ch9 & 15.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Define visibility, cloud height and ceiling, and explain why they are important
  2. List two visibility measurement methods and explain how they work
  3. Compare and contrast remote sensors vs in-situ methods of measuring visibility and ceilings, and explain the relevant physical principles.
  4. List two automated ground-based methods for measuring cloud coverage, and explain how they work.
  5. Explain the standards for making these measurements, and discuss typical errors.



 

22 Mar - Lecture & Demo - - Pollutant Sensors - part 2.
Guest Lecturer: Davi Monticelli

Readings BEFORE class: WMO Ch 16 ;

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Identify typical pollutants that are measured in the atmosphere.
  2. Identify some of the ways that pollutants are measured.
  3. Contrast advantages and disadvantes of open path vs. closed-path sensors.
  4. Estimate the response time and errors associated with pollutant measurement methods.
  5. Calibrate the pollutant sensors.

 

24 Mar  - Lecture - Upper Air Soundings.
Guest Lecturer: Chris Rodell

Readings BEFORE class: Harrison Ch 11 and Brock Ch 12.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. List at least four different platforms for in-situ measurement, and discuss the sondes carried by those platforms.
  2. Compare Vaisala and Windsond sondes, including the methods used to determine temperature, humidity, pressure, and wind.
  3. Describe and explain the errors associated with radiosonde measurements.
  4. Compare and contrast in-situ and remote-sensor methods for making upper-air measurements (soundings).
  5. Discuss the limitations of the upper-air network, and regions where coverage is inadequate.

Lab - - Upper Air Soundings. 

(Includes tutorial review of thermo diagrams and hodographs.)


By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Calculate the required balloon size and inflation amount using helium pr hydrogen for Vaisala and Windsond sondes.
  2. Determine mandatory and significant levels from raw sounding data.
  3. Plot the sounding on a thermo diagram (skew-T or tephigram).  You can either do it by hand, or use a canned sounding plotting program.
  4. Plot the winds on a hodograph.
  5. Determine static stability, dynamic stability, likelihood of turbulence, and thunderstorm indices.
 
Week 11:


27 Mar - Lecture - Running Field Programs
Guest Lecturer: Claude Labine (Campbell Scientific - Canada)

-

29 Mar - Lecture- Visibility and Clouds -Part 2.
& Demo - Drones

Readings BEFORE class: Harrison Ch 12.5 and Stull-Boundary Layer Met. Ch 8 section 4, 6, 7.

In addition to the Learning Goals from 20 March, ...
By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Recognize drones and explain their capabilities and limitations for making meteorological measurements.


31 Mar - Lab - Microcontrollers.
Guest Lecturer: Reagan McKinney  

By the end of this lab, you should be able to:
  1. **Explain the capabilities and limitations of microcontrollers such as Arduino.
  2. Learn how to install the Arduino software and its dependencies.
  3. Write sketches (i.e., computer programs) and upload them to a microcontroller board (https://www.adafruit.com/product/3333).
  4. **Explain how particulate matter is measured using an optical particle counter.
  5. **Explain how data can be wirelessly transmitted between an instrument and data logger.
  6. Learn how to wire a board (https://www.adafruit.com/product/2772) to a particulate matter sensor (https://www.plantower.com/en/).
  7. Conduct a calibration of the https://cerodell.github.io/fire_sensors/build/html/index.html with the https://rrmckinney.github.io/ramp/build/html/intro.html.

 

For this topic only, the subset of learning goals indicated with ** are testable on the final exam.

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MondayWednesdayFriday
Week 12:


3 Apr - Lecture - Eddy-correlation and Fluxes of Heat, Moisture and Momentum .

Readings BEFORE class: Stull (Practical Met.) 3.6, 4.5, 4.6 & 18.6 ; Harrison section 12.1 ;
and skim the following: Burba (Eddy Correlation) ,
Foken Ch 55 ;

By the end of this period, you should be able to:
  1. Define a flux in both dynamic and kinematic units, and interpret those units physically.
  2. Relate statistics to energies and fluxes.
  3. Contrast the capabilities and limitations of eddy-correlation, profile, Bowen-ratio, and other methods for flux measurement.
  4. Identify fast-response instruments suitable for eddy-correlation measurements of temperature, wind, and humidity.
  5. Explain why physical co-location and precise timing are critical to successful eddy-correlation measurements.
  6. Compute turbulence spectra from fast-response sensors, and explain the nature of spectral subranges.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Recognize fast-response turbulence sensors and explain how they work.
  2. Explain why these sensors are often very delicate and easily damaged.
  3. Set up data loggers to handle the extremely high sampling rates needed for turbulence measurements.
  4. Interpret the spectra of turbulence.
5 Apr - Lecture - Eddy correlation & Fluxes (continued)

 - Lab Homework - Eddy-correlation and Sensible and Latent Turbulent Heat Fluxes.

Eddy-correlation data will be provided to you to use for the Lab homework. You can work on the lab homework (see online assignment) with your classmates during the remainder of this period.

By the end of this lab homework, you should be able to:
  1. Use observations to calculate turbulence statistics such as mean wind (M), standard deviation (sigma), turbulence kinetic energy (TKE), and turbulence intensity (sigma/M). 
  2. Combine fast-response-sensor outputs to estimate heat fluxes using the eddy-correlation method.
  3. Use K-theory, Bowen-ratio, and other surface-layer mean-profile methods to estimate surface fluxes.
  4. Reinforce the learning goals from the lecture and demo.

7 Apr - Holiday

-.

 

Field Trip to ECCC MOC - Will be moved to a different date.

Week 13:


10 Apr - Holiday

 

12 Apr - Lecture & Demo

Guest Lectures - Dr. Rosie Howard, Chris Rodell & Roland Stull will present their field experiences.

By the end of this period, you should be able to:

  1. Plan a field program. 
  2. Set it up.
  3. Run it.
  4. Anticipate potential problems.
  5. Organize the results for quality control and analysis.


By the end of this lecture, you should be able to:

  1. Explain how logistics are important to field programs.  Namely, all the non-scientific aspects of setting-up and running a field program.
  2. Anticipate difficulties in harsh Canadian environments; e.g., cold and snowy,  forest fires,  steep mountains, etc.
  3. Expect that field programs do not always work as planned.
  4. Design and execute your own field program.
  5. Discuss how instrumented aircraft and drones can be used for field experiments.
  6. Explain why it is important to inspect the data you are gathering while you are still out in the field.

Last class day of term.

(The final exam will be scheduled by UBC.)

(Under construction.)



For more details on final-exam weights, please go to the Evaluation link from the Home page.