Course Description:GEO 212. Introduction to Meteorology (4 credit hour). Physical and chemical conditions that regulate global weather phenomena. Includes structure of the atmosphere, temperature, humidity, air pressure and winds, the development of weather systems, tornadoes and hurricanes, and the parameters that affect local and global climate. Laboratory includes image interpretation, field observation and prediction. This is formatted as an 8 week/module course.Learning Outcomes:1. Describe the origin and structure of the earth and its atmosphere. (1, 7)2. Use scientific reasoning to explain the relationship between the earth and sun and how solarand terrestrial radiation affects temperature, air pressure and wind patterns. (1, 2, 7, 8)3. Explain the role of heat, moisture and winds in generating clouds, precipitation and severeweather. (2-6, 8)4. Model major atmospheric circulation systems and oscillations. (1-8)5. Describe climatic regions and assess climate change predictions. (1-8)6. Interpret meteorological data to predict weather conditions. (1-8) 

Weather and climate is designed to function as two mini-courses that are highly integrated and interdependent. It is necessary to understand the elements of weather in order to understand climatic systems and outcomes. The course is not taught in a deterministic manner but from an ecological standpoint with a focus upon the interaction of site and situation, basic concepts to Geographers.

The books selected for this list complement articles in the issue of Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle that introduce the concepts of water availability and of extreme weather conditions. In nonfiction and fiction, the books for Grades K-5 emphasize that freshwater is a limited resource and explain how and why extreme weather events occur.

Featuring images of glacier formations, this interactive resource adapted from the National Park Service explains what glaciers are, where they are found, how they form, and how they move.

Students learn how the greenhouse effect is related to global warming and how global warming impacts our planet, including global climate change. Extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and how we react to these changes are the main points of focus of this lesson.

This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE examines the greenhouse effect, its role in keeping Earth habitable, and the industrial changes that have led to an increase in the planet's average temperature.

In this video segment adapted from Spanner Films, visit the Alaska Native village of Shishmaref, and learn how an entire town may be forced to relocate because of warmer temperatures, melting sea ice, and coastal erosion.

Students build and observe a simple aneroid barometer to learn about changes in barometric pressure and weather forecasting.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a meteorologist explains how an unusual weather pattern led to one of the most devastating floods of this century.

This article provides links to standards-based science and literacy lessons about weather, climate, polar climates, and climate change.

This article provides links to hands-on science activities that could be used in an festival or informal learning event. National standards correlations are provided.

This lesson introduces the ways that engineers study and harness the wind. Students will learn about the different kinds of winds and how to measure wind direction. In addition, students will learn how air pressure creates winds and how engineers build and test wind turbines to harness energy from wind.

In this video segment adapted from United Tribes Technical College, meet Native Americans who are concerned about climate change and believe that action today can help future generations once again live in harmony with Earth.

Students use a hurricane tracking map to measure the distance from a specific latitude and longitude location of the eye of a hurricane to a city. Then they use the map's scale factor to convert the distance to miles. They also apply the distance formula by creating an x-y coordinate plane on the map. Students are challenged to analyze what data might be used by computer science engineers to write code that generates hurricane tracking models. Then students analyze a MATLAB® computer code that uses the distance formula repetitively to generate a table of data that tracks a hurricane at specific time intervals. Students come to realize that using a computer program to generate the calculations (instead of by hand) is very advantageous for a dynamic situation like tracking storm movements. Their inspection of some MATLAB code helps them understand how it communicates what to do using mathematical formulas, logical instructions and repeated tasks. They also conclude that the example program is too simplistic to really be a useful tool; useful computer model tools must necessarily be much more complex.

This video segment adapted from Interactive NOVA profiles two scientists who were surprised in 1984 to discover a hole in our atmosphere's ozone layer as big as the United States.

ŕHottest, Coldest, Highest, DeepestĚŇ takes the reader on a journey around the world to various continents found on Earth that contain unique natural features.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, dramatic footage of avalanches and animations of ice crystals illustrate how a layer of weakly-bonded snow can contribute to a devastating avalanche.

Students explore the greenhouse effect in this lesson using a computer simulation and develop a model for how it works.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists use computer simulations to explore the question of how supercell thunderstorms produce tornadoes.