An introduction to instrumentation used in monitoring the state of the atmosphere; a brief survey of methods of analysis of meteorological data. [2-2-0] Prerequisite: One of EOSC 211, CPSC 111 and one of ATSC 201, GEOB 200.
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
• design and implement measurement strategies
• analyze data, including error propagation
• build new sensors using microcontrollers such as Arduino or Raspberry Pi.
Prof. Roland Stull, with help from Chris Rodell, Tim Chui, Dr. Rosie Howard
Selected readings from textbooks with free online access via the UBC Library:
"Meteorological Measurement Systems" (2001) by Fred V. Brock and Scott J. Richardson
"Meteorological Measurements and Instrumentation" (2015) by R. Giles Harrison
"Springer Handbook of Atmospheric Measurements" (2021), edited by Thoms Foken.
Online CIMO (WMO-8) Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Methods of Observation.
Lecture Topics
| Week | Topic | Chapter of Brock's book |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Overview, and review of electrical circuits | 1, Appendix A |
| 2 | Thermometry | 4, Appendix D and B |
| 3 | Data Loggers, Sampling, and analog-to-Digital Conversion | 13, Appendix C |
| 4 | Barometry | 2 |
| 5 | Static Performance Characteristics of Instruments | 3 |
| 6 | Hygrometry | 5 |
| 7 | Dynamic Performance Characteristics of Instruments | 6 |
| 8 | Anemometry | 7 |
| 9 | Precipitation Rate | 9 |
| 10 | Solar and Earth Radiation | 10 |
| 11 | Visibility, Cloud Height, Air Pollution Sensors | 11 |
| 12 | Building and programming microcontrollers for weather instruments | |
| 13 | Upper Air Measurements | 12 |
| 14 | Sensible and Latent Heat Fluxes, and Field Program Design | Review and Catch-up |