Atmospheric Physics and Climate

This module has three parts, each one of 3-months length. Firstly, the students learn the basic and advanced concepts of: atmospheric physics, thermodynamics, dynamics, atmospheric compounds and radiative transfer. These concepts are considered fundamental for the research in the fields of climate processes and the interaction of different atmospheric factors. The second part adds advanced knowledge about the ground-based and satellite-based instrumentation used to retrieve atmospheric parameters. Finally, the last part includes the explanation of the most novel techniques that are nowadays used in climate models and in climate data analysis.

All subjects have an experimental part (including lab practices) which makes attendance be mandatory for every subject. Other abilities and skills that students of “Atmospheric Physics and Climate” will acquire are:

      • Understanding of the physical basis of the instrumentation related to climate and atmosphere sciences.
      • Expertise knowledge of data series analysis.
      • Capability to interpret measurements and results provided by hardware systems and models.
      • Knowledge of interaction between different climatic and atmospheric factors at planetary scale.

One of the main challenges of the Atmosphere and Climate community is the study of atmosphere optical and physical properties by means of the most novel techniques. Both ground-based and satellite instrumentation are suitable tools for these studies.

Among all the research lines on this topic, meteorology is one of the predominant fields. All the factors contributing to the Climate Change are investigated and their knowledge is essential.

Climate Change is real and Polar Regions are the most suitable areas for addressing scientific studies about atmosphere. Since the 70s, a large loss of ice mass in Polar Regions is observed from several satellite instruments. The phenomenon of Ozone Depletion in Earth’s stratosphere is another indicative about the importance of atmospheric dynamics and disturbances caused.

The ground-based observations sites are complemented by a large number of satellite instruments observing the atmosphere. With this information available, a global map about climate and its evolution can be addressed.

The lectures are given by professors of University of Valladolid and other international institutions such as University of Lille (France) and the German Aerospace Center (Germany).

This speciality is led by the Atmospheric Optics Group (GOA). The three grupos belong to two different departments: Department of Theoretical Physics, Atomic Physics and Optics and Department of Applied Physics. The research groups supporting the “Atmosphere and Climate” speciality are:

Syllabus

Arctic Campaigns

For more information contact Roberto Román