Module

Meteorology and Climatology

Introduction to Meteorology and Climatology
Responsible: Dr. Frank Zimmermann
Lecturers: Dr. Frank Zimmermann

• Lectures: Tu, 08:00–09:30 hrs, WER-1118

• Exercise/Seminar: WE, 08:00–09:30 hrs, WER-1118
 Introduction to
Meteorology & Climatology

Please register at
DWD-Broschüre: Wettervorhersage, Messen – Berechnen – Interpretieren
https://bildungsportal.sachsen.de/opal/url/RepositoryEntry/759857155/CourseNode/78482263850934
General Information on the course

 Course aims
 Syllabus
 References

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Course aims
You can:
• Transfer the knowledge of physical laws in
the atmosphere on practical examples and
perform respective calculations
• Outline fundamental differences between
weather (synopsis and forecast) and climate
Spiral contrails above the North Sea
(integration and projection) http://www.dwd.de/bvbw

• Outline relations between the general circulation of the Earth, its climate zones
and Earth‘s radiation balance
• Explain anthropogenic influences on the climate system
• Explain basic measuring approaches of meteorological parameters and
assess the measurement errors

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Syllabus – lectures; Tuesdays 08:00–09:30 hrs, WER-1118
Date Topic
17.10.23 Introduction / Structure and Composition of Atmosphere
24.10.23 Radiation and Heat (Laws, Earth’s Energy Balance, Greenhouse Effect, Seasons)

07.11.23 Atmospheric thermodynamics

14.11.23 Water in the atmosphere
21.11.23 Atmospheric Dynamics (Pressure, Wind, Local Wind Systems, Air Masses, Fronts)
28.11.23 Circulation (atmospheric & oceanic circulation, Middle Latitude Cyclones)

05.12.23 Climate Classification (record weather events, Koeppen System)

12.12.23 Paleoclimate and Climate Variability (Evolution of Earth’s Atmosphere, Earth’s Climate
Record, Climate Archives, internal and external drivers of climate variability)
19.12.23 Planetary Boundary Layer and urban climate (PBL structure, Urban Heat Island)
09.01.24 Weather Prognosis and Climate Projections (Approaches & Accuracy)
16.01.24 Anthropogenic Climate Change (Observed & Future changes)
23.01.24 Regional Climate Change
30.01.24 Measuring Meteorological Parameters (instruments and errors)
12.02.24 Written exam: 13:00 -14:30 hrs
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Literature
• Ahrens D, Henson R (2021) Meteorology Today (13th. Edition)
• Brönnimann S (2018) Klimatologie. Utb. basics 4819; 319 p.
• Emeis S (2010) Measurement methods in atmospheric sciences. In situ
and remote. Quantifying the environment. Borntraeger; 257 p.
• Häckel H (2021) Meteorologie. 9th ed.; Ulmer UTB, 1338, 473 p.
• Hupfer P, Kuttler W (2015) Witterung und Klima (11. Auflage)
• Kappas M (2009) Klimatologie. Spektrum; 356 p.
• Klose B (2008) Meteorologie – Eine interdisziplinäre Einführung in die
Physik der Atmosphäre. (ebook: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-
71309-8)
• Latif, M (2009) Klimawandel und Klimadynamik, 1th ed. Ulmer UTB
3178
• Schönwiese CD (2020) Klimatologie. 5th ed. Ulmer UTB 1793; 492 p.
• Zmarsly E, Kuttler W, Pethe H (2007) Meteorologisch-klimatologisches
Grundwissen. 3th ed., Ulmer UTB 2281, 182 p.
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Webpages
• www.dwd.de (Deutscher Wetterdienst)
• www.wmo.int/pages/index_en.html (World Meteorological Organization)
• www.gletscherarchiv.de
• www.dkrz.de (Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum)
• www.wetteronline.de/satall.htm
• https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data/datasets
• www.wolkenatlas.de (der Karlsruher Wolkenatlas)
• http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/
• www.hamburger-bildungsserver.de/index.phtml?site=themen.klima
• www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2007/05/start-here/
• www.meted.ucar.edu/
• www.cci-reanalyzer.org (Climate Change Institute, Univ. of Maine)
• http://fichtelberg.glorie.de oder https://fichtelbergwetter.wordpress.com
• https://www.co2.earth/ (Scripps and others)…

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 Structure and Composition of the
Atmosphere

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sunset_from_the_ISS.JPG
Content

• Meteorology vs. Climatology

• History of Meteorology and Climatology
• Chemical Composition of the atmosphere
Two mean difference between Meteorology and Climatology
• Homosphere and Heterosphere Time Scale:
• Atmospheric vertical structure Meteorology: Focuses on short-term atmospheric conditions and
weather patterns, often dealing with forecasts for days, weeks, or

• Defining weather and climate

months.

• Climate system Climatology: Examines long-term patterns and trends in weather

conditions, looking at climate over periods of decades, centuries,
• Scales or even millennia.

• Sub-disciplines of meteorology Scope:

Meteorology: Primarily concerned with the study of individual weather

events, atmospheric phenomena, and their immediate impacts.

• To read: Chapter 1 of Ahrens “Meteorology today”; Häckel Chapter

1.1; 1.3; 1.7
Climatology: Encompasses a broader perspective, studying the overall
climate of regions and the Earth as a whole, considering long-term
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averages and variations.
 Meteorology Climatology
• From Greek μετέωρος (metéōros) • From Greek κλίμα (klima)
"lofty; high (in the sky)"  "region, zone"; and -λογία
from µετα-(meta-) "above" and (-logia)  "-(o)logy“ (the word of
ἐωρ (eōr)  "to lift up” …)
and -λογία (-logia)  "-(o)logy“, (the
• Study of climate, scientifically
word of…)
defined as weather conditions
• Study of atmosphere’s motion and averaged over a period of time
other phenomena to aid in
• Deals with atmospheric conditions
forecasting weather and explaining
over longer periods
the processes involved
• Studies the frequency and trends of
• Deals with the status of the
short term weather systems
atmosphere over a short period
• Development of climate models
• Uses principles of physics to
interpret the atmosphere
• Weather forecasting
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 History of Meteorology/Climatology
• ca. 350 B.C. Aristotle’s Meteorologica (discussion of weather sciences)
• ca. 350 B.C. Theophrastus compiled a book on weather forecasting
• ca. 1593 Galileo describes the thermoscope
• 1643 Torricelli invents the barometer
• 1654 Ferdinando II de Medici establishes the first weather
observing network (Florence, Cutigliano, Vallombrosa, Bologna,
Parma, Milan, Innsbruck, Osnabrück, Paris and Warsaw)
• 1817 Alexander von Humboldt constructs the first maps
showing mean annual temperature over the globe
• 1824 Greenhouse effect described by Jean-Baptiste Fourier
• 1845 First precipitation world map by Berhaus
• 1892 Systematic use of balloons to monitor free air
http://en.wikipedia.o
• 20th Century: Computer models, satellite registration (world) rg/wiki/Galileo_ther
mometer
• 21st Century: Climate-change challenge

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 The atmosphere seen from space
What is the atmosphere?

• Gaseous envelope surrounding the Earth

• Mixture of gases, also contains suspended solid and liquid particles (aerosols)
Aerosol = dispersed condensed phase suspended in a gas

Aerosols are the “visible” components of the atmosphere

Pollution haze over East Coast Dust off West Africa
 • Size of air molecules  0.3 nm << 
Sun seen from space shuttle
 scattering is inefficient and ~ -4
• Absorption at visible wavelengths is also
very weak

scatter

scatter
cloudy sunset Sky is blue

Sun is yellow
Sunset is red
Atmospheric gases are “visible” too… if you look in UV or IR
Vis
UV 0.4-0.7 µm IR

Fraction of
solar
radiation
absorbed by
atmospheric
gases

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ) observed by satellite in the UV

What about clouds?

Clouds are made up of water droplets or ice crystals (1-100

µm), much larger than typical aerosols (0.01-10 µm). They are
technically aerosols but have unique properties and are in
practice considered separately. They form by condensation
on particles when humidity exceeds 100%.
Atmospheric and Oceanic Drivers  Climate

www.eoearth.org/article/Energy_balance_of_Earth
Oceans Atmosphere

http://sos.noaa.gov/download/dataset_table.html rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect14/Sect14_1c.html

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Chemical composition
of the atmosphere

• Water vapour: Highly variable constituent

 from 10 ppmv (in the coldest regions of Earth’s
atmosphere) to 5 Vol.-% (in hot, humid air masses)
• Greenhouse gases: Water vapour, carbon
dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3), methane (CH4),
nitrous oxide (N2O) plus some more
• Aerosols and cloud droplets  Mediate
CO2 (2023):
condensation of water vapour in the
ca. 0.042%
atmospheric branch of the hydrologic cycle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth
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 Air pressure and height

???

Vertical profile of pressure, density, and mean free

path for typical conditions in the Earth's
atmosphere. 1 millibar = 102 Pa. 1 m = 3. 28 ft.
(After R. C. Weast, ed., CRC Handbook of Chemistry
and Physics, 70th ed., CRC Press, 1989)

http://www.accessscience.com/popup.aspx?figID=
421000FG0010&id=421000&name=figure

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http://apollo.lsc.vsc.edu/classes/met130/notes/chapter1/vert_pres3.html
 Molecular view of atmospheric pressure

gravity random
motion

• Weight of all air molecules is propagated to surface

by random motion of molecules

• Random motion of molecules causes pressure to be

applied in all directions

EARTH SURFACE
Measurement of atmospheric pressure with the mercury barometer

vacuum

atmospheric pressure
h (weight of atmosphere per unit area of surface)
A
Atmospheric pressure p = pA = rHg gh

SI unit for pressure is the Pascal (Pa): 1 Pa = 1 kg m-1 s-2

Mean sea-level pressure:

p = 1.013x105 Pa = 1013 hPa
= 1013 mb
= 1 atm
= 760 mm Hg (torr)
Consatituent =referring to the various gases and particles present in the atmosphere and the patterns or changes in their concentrations over time.

Homosphere and Heterosphere

Homosphere: Concentrations of long-
lived constituents tend to be quite uniform
and independent of height due to mixing
by turbulent fluid motions
Exceptions:
• Water vapour (condensates and
precipitates, when air is lifted)
• Ozone (O3) and other highly reactive
trace species (do not remain in the
atmosphere long enough to become
well mixed)
Heterosphere: Individual molecules are
sufficiently mobile so that each molecular
turbopause
species behaves as if it alone were present
 Concentrations of heavier constituents
decrease more rapidly with height than those
of lighter constituents

http://www.shodor.org/os411/courses/411b/module02/unit01/pag
Definition: The homosphere is the lower part of the Earth's
e04.html
atmosphere where the composition of gases remains relatively
uniform. In this region, the major atmospheric constituents, such as nitrogen and oxygen, are well-mixed. 22
The homosphere extends from the Earth's surface up to an altitude of about 80 kilometers (50 miles).
Definition: The heterosphere is the upper part of the Earth's atmosphere where the composition of gases becomes more stratified or
layered. Unlike the homosphere, the heterosphere is characterized by distinct layers with variations in the concentrations of different
gases. This region extends beyond the homosphere, typically starting around 80 kilometers (50 miles) above the Earth's surface and
extending into the exosphere.

Atmospheric stratification

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www.kowoma.de/en/gps/additional/atmosphere.htm
Atmospheric vertical structure
Exosphere:
• Mainly composed of hydrogen and helium
• Particles rarely collide  atmosphere no longer behaves like
a fluid
• Exobase height (bottom of the exosphere) varies with solar
activity and ranges from about 350–800 km
• Small fraction of hydrogen atoms above 500 km acquire
velocities high enough to escape from Earth’s gravity
Thermosphere:
• Temperature increases with height (up to 1,500°C) due to
absorption of highly energetic solar radiation by the small
amount of residual oxygen still present
• UV radiation causes ionization (ionosphere)
• International Space Station (ISS) orbits in this layer, between
320 and 380 km
• Air is poorly mixed (few molecular collisions)
 Becomes compositionally stratified
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 Mesosphere:
• Temperature decreases with height
 Water vapour is frozen: Ice clouds (Noctilucent clouds)
• Most meteors melt or vaporize in mesosphere
Stratosphere:
• Temperature increases with height due to increased absorption
of ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, which restricts
turbulence and mixing (dynamically stable)
Troposphere:
• Mostly heated by transfer of energy from the surface
 Temperature decreases with altitude (av. lapse rate = rate of
decrease with height: ~ 6.5°C km–1)
 Vertical mixing is promoted
• Contains approximately 80% of the atmosphere's mass and
99% of its water vapour and aerosols
• Planetary boundary layer: lowest part of the troposphere,
where friction with the Earth's surface influences air flow
(typically a few hundred meters to 2 km deep)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth
Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL)
Daytime Nighttime

Jacobson, 2005
 Defining weather and climate
Weather = State or condition of the atmosphere at a particular place
and time
Climate = Synthesis of weather in a particular region (weather statistics)

• Quantitative definition using climatic elements (= the expected values of the

meteorological elements) at a location during a certain month or season
• Climate fluctuates on all time scales  Climate is a statistical collective

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Climate System

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http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/analclim/glbwnd.htm
 Spatial scales
• Microscale: Atmospheric phenomena of about 1 km or less
 e.g., individual thunderstorms, clouds, and local turbulence caused by
buildings and other obstacles
• Mesoscale: Atmospheric phenomena that has horizontal scales ranging from
about 5 km to several hundred kilometers (vertical scale: from Earth's surface up to
the lower section of the stratosphere)
 e.g., thunderstorms, squall lines, fronts, precipitation bands in tropical
and extratropical cyclones, and topographically generated weather systems
such as mountain waves and sea and land breezes
• Synoptic scale (also known as large scale or cyclonic scale): large-area
dynamics (horizontal length scale of the order of 1000 kilometres)
 e.g., extratropical cyclones, baroclinic troughs and ridges, frontal zones,
and to some extent jet streams
• Global scale: Weather patterns related to the heat transport from the tropics
to the poles. Includes very large-scale oscillations with time periods typically
longer than a full annual seasonal cycle, such as ENSO (El Niño-Southern
Oscillation), PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation), MJO (Madden–Julian
oscillation)
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Horizontal meteorological scales (WMO 2008)

• Microscale (less than 100 m) for agricultural meteorology, for

example, evaporation;
• Toposcale or local scale (100 m – 3 km), for example, air pollution,
tornadoes;
• Mesoscale (3–100 km), for example, thunderstorms, sea and
mountain breezes;
• Large scale (100–3.000 km), for example, fronts, various cyclones,
cloud clusters;
• Planetary scale (> 3.000 km), for example, long upper tropospheric
waves (e.g., Rossby waves).

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Satellite image illustrating spatial scales

from Ahrens (2009: fig. 1.15 )

Meteorology Today

This satellite image (taken in visible

reflected light) shows a variety of
cloud patterns and storm in the
earth’s atmosphere 31
 Temporal scales
“Weather is what we get, climate is what we expect“

• Mean lifetime (e.g., of a cloud or a gust of wind) or mean cycle duration

(e.g., diurnal or annual variations)
• Distinction of weather events from climate phenomena

Weather: Weather Climate: Climate change:

Current state (Witterung): Averaged weather Considerable change
of the Episode of weather of a defined in the mean state of
atmosphere at during many days, region (weather climate or its
a defined weeks, months or statistics including variability (extremes)
place even individual extremes) lasting for an
seasons extended period 32
Space and time-scales of dynamical atmospheric
processes

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Sub-disciplines of Meteorology

• General meteorology (fundamentals and phenomena of atmosphere)

• Theoretical meteorology (physics and chemistry of earth’s atmosphere)
• Experimental meteorology (measurements and experiments within the atmosphere,
instrumental developments)
• Applied meteorology:
• Synoptic meteorology (weather analysis and forecast)
• Aviation meteorology (impact of weather on air traffic management)
• Maritime meteorology (air and wave forecasts for ships operating at sea)
• Hydrometeorology (deals with the hydrologic cycle, the water budget, and the
rainfall statistics of storms)
• Biometeorology (interaction between atmosphere and plants, animals, and
humans; e.g., agricultural, forest and medical meteorology)
• Technical meteorology (interaction with technical processes like traffic or industrial
production)
•…

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Sub-disciplines of Climatology

• General or theoretical or physical climatology (Incorporation of physical principles

to explain climate; focuses on energy and water balance and budgets)
• Dynamic climatology (Studies based on atmospheric motion characteristics and
thermodynamic processes that produce them; modelling; often global)
• Synoptic climatology (Study of climate from the viewpoint of atmospheric circulation
with emphasis upon connections between circulation pattern and climatic differences;
concerns mainly hemispheric and local climatologies)
• Regional climatology (Weather and climate of individual climate zones; use of climate
classifications)
• Applied climatology (Applications in different sectors, e.g. agriculture, industry,
transportation, nuclear power plants, infrastructures, etc.; also deals with solutions for the
challenge of climate change)
• Paleoclimatology (Reconstruct past climates by examining records)
• Bioclimatology (Similar to biometeorology)
• Attribution science
•…

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Cyclone "Kyrill" (18.01.2007):

Abfolge der Infrarotbilder von METEOSAT 8 mit Hintergrund

(http://www.dwd.de/bvbw/appmanager/bvbw/dwdwwwDesktop?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=_dwdwww_spezielle_nutzer
_hobbymeteorologen_satelliten&T19605431212153463120155gsbDocumentPath=Content%2FOeffentlichkeit%2FWV
%2FWVFK%2FInteressantes%2FkyrillAnim.html)
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 Take home messages – Earth’s atmosphere
The atmosphere Spatial and temporal
makes earth scales of meteorological
habitable. and climatological
phenomena are
interconnected.

Earths atmosphere
may be structured
in several ways
Weather is what you get,
(e.g., according to the
typical air pressure, its climate is what you
temperature profile and expect.
the mixing state of its
constituents).
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