AOS 441 – Satellite and Radar Meteorology

Instructor: 
Prof. Tristan L’Ecuyer (AOSS 1511)
Office Hours: 
Immediately following class or by appointment
Course Lectures: 
Wed/Fri 11-11:50 (AOSS 1411)
Course Lab: 
Monday 11-12:50 (AOSS 1411)
Course Overview: 

This course provides an overview of basic principles of radar meteorology and satellite remote sensing. Through a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on computer exercises, students will learn to apply basic radiative transfer theory to identify the “fingerprints” of weather-related phenomena in measurements from satellite and ground-based instruments. Principles of radar operation, design and implementation of satellite missions, interpretation of imagery across a range of electromagnetic frequencies from the ultraviolet to microwave, and basic retrieval of atmospheric variables from active and passive systems are discussed.

Satellite imagery (top: visible; bottom: radar) of the 2011 Joplin, MO tornado