THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE FACULTY SENATE Senate Document Number 0591F Date of Senate Approval 12/12/91 Signature of Senate Chair __________________________ Date________ Action of Vice Chancellor: Approval _______________________________ Date________________ Denied _______________________________ Date________________ Reasons for denial and suggested modifications: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Statement of Faculty Senate Action: APC Document #4: Proposed new five hour Natural Sciences General Education Course and Catalog Changes for Atmospheric Sciences. Effective Date: Spring 1992 CHANGE I Add: "ATMS 105 Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences" (5) An introduction to meteorology and climatology with laboratory. Topics include fundamentals of physical processes and weather systems, climatological principles, the historical role of weather and climate, and the influence of weather and climate on modern society. It also includes applications of mathematics and microcomputers in atmospheric sciences. Lecture: 3 hours; recitation: 1 hour, and laboratory: 2 hours. Prerequisite: Math 155 or equivalent. (Students may not receive credit for both ATMS 103 and ATMS 105.) Impact Statement: 1. Due to the requirement of computer facilities and the need of individual attention for the students in the lab sections, the enrollment of ATMS 105 will be limited to 20 to 30 students per semester. Therefore, this course will have minimal impact on the other 5-credit hour Natural Sciences General Education courses already being offered. 2. All UNCA students must take MATH 155 or a substitute, because it is a general education requirement. There will be no impact on the Mathematics Department. 3. This course may be used as a substitute for ATMS 103 (3 hrs) for meteorology majors. Therefore, it can fulfill the prerequisite requirement for any course that requires ATMS 103. Rationale: This course is the contribution of Department of Atmospheric Sciences to the broadening base of the Natural Sciences General Education Offerings. The details of the course are attached. Description: This is an integrated and interdisciplinary science course. Students will learn the principles of meteorology and climatology, global climate, geographical influence on climate, and applications of mathematics and microcomputers in meteorology. Faculty from the Departments of Mathematics and Computer Sciences will give introductory presentations on mathematics and computer science during recitation periods. The faculty of Atmospheric Sciences and staff from the National Climatic Data Center will be drawn upon to discuss the current climatic issues. The format for recitation will be paper reviews, scientific seminars, video presentations, and/or round-table discussions. ATMS 105 will also include a two-hour per week laboratory section. The laboratory will present practical examples of weather and climate, applications of mathematics, and utilization of microcomputers. It will supplement the lecture and strengthen the understanding of the material. Both lecture and lab sections of ATMS 105 will be taught by the same instructor, in order to maintain its continuity and completeness. General Education Guidelines: The proposed ATMS 105 will satisfy the Senate General Education Guidelines specified in Senate Document 2285. These are itemized below: 1. It is an integrated and interdisciplinary science course. 2. There will be a laboratory course which will give hands-on experience on weather data processing and manipulating, and interactive graphic displays. 3. The course will discuss the historical aspects of atmospheric sciences and the relation of Atmospheric Sciences to other sciences. Historical topics will include: a. Ancient perceptions of meteorology; b. Significant scientific breakthroughs which helped modernize the field of atmospheric sciences; c. Influences of weather and climate on great historical events; and d. How human activities alter the global climate. 4. The scientific method and its application will be discussed and implemented in the laboratory section. 5. This course is offered to UNCA students for fulfillment of the Natural Sciences General Education requirement. It is not intended for Atmospheric Sciences majors. 6. The current ATMS 103 is an integrated science course without the recitation and lab sections, and it does not include the discussion of mathematics and microcomputers. The current ATMS 106 is a lab section primarily for the ATMS majors, and it is not part of UNCA Natural Sciences General Education requirement. Prerequisites: A knowledge of basic mathematical techniques is expected for ATMS 105. This can be fulfilled by MATH 155 or equivalent which is required of all UNCA students. Resources: The NSF grant to Dr. Alex Huang will be sufficient to develop and implement this new course in Spring 1992. Once it is established, the state budget will be enough to cover the expense of this course. Faculty of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences will be able to teach this course, other faculty members from Departments of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Environmental Studies will be invited to give guest lectures during the recitation period. The Meteorology Lab in RBH 238 will be used extensively during the lab sections. The adjacent classroom, RBH 239 is proposed for use in this course, because of its size and convenience. No renovations or additions will be necessary for RBH 239 for this course. Proposed Syllabus Lecture Topics (3 hours per week) Approx. No. of Lect. Introduction 2 Atmosphere 2 Radiation 2 Energy Budget 2 Temperature 2 Humidity 2 Clouds and Precipitation 2 Air Pressure 2 The winds 2 Air Masses and Fronts 2 Weather Analysis and Forecasting 2 Global Circulation 2 Severe Weather 2 Geographical Influence on Climate 1 Global Climate 1 Climatic Changes 2 Proposed Text: Meteorology Today (1991) by C. Donald Ahrens. Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences (1992) by H.-J. Huang. Recitation Topics: (1 hour per week) Review of Basic Mathematics Introduction of Basic Computer Sciences Computer Facility in Meteorology Lab Access to Meteorological Software Historical Perspectives of Meteorology Recent Significant Weather Severe Weather Weather Modification Current Issues on Climate Man's Impact on Climate: Global Warming, Stratospheric Ozone Depletion, Acid Rain. Video Presentations Lab Topics: (2 hours per week) Basics of Microcomputers PC-McIDAS, WXP, and UNAWIPS* The Atmosphere Radiation Temperature Humidity Precipitation Air Pressure The Winds Synoptic-scale Weather Weather Map Analysis Severe Weather Weather Forecast Global Climate Climate Changes * PC-McIDAS: Personal Computer-Man-computer Interactive Data Access System; WXP: The Weather Processor; and UNAWIPS: University of North Carolina at Asheville Weather Information Processing System. Lab Manual: Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences Manual (1992) by H.-J. Huang. It will be a combined and revised version of Introductory Meteorology Lab Manual (1990) and Introductory Climatology Lab Manual (1987) by Huang. The most significant addition will be the introduction of basic mathematics and microcomputers, and the applications of computer software packages to the meteorology and climatology. CHANGE 2 Add: (to page 45, under Natural Sciences title between ASTR 105...and BIOL 105...) "ATMS 105 Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences 5 semester hours" Impact Statement: The impact issue has been addresses in the above course proposal. This change assumes APC's approval of ATMS 105. Rationale: This updates the list of courses available for satisfaction of the Natural Sciences courses five-hour requirement to include Atmospheric Sciences' offering. CHANGE 3 Add: (to page 66 to end of ATMS 103 Intro Met.) "ATMS 105 may be substituted for ATMS 103 by majors. Students may not receive credit for both ATMS 103 and ATMS 105." Impact Statement: No impact is expected because it is doubtful that any students would plan to take both these courses. Rationale: Though not designed as a major's course, the introductory concepts offered in ATMS 105 will have a broad enough coverage to satisfy the prerequisites needed from ATMS 103. Some atmospheric sciences students declare their major after their freshman year and it is anticipated that some will have taken ATMS 105. Permission to allow substitution of ATMS 105 for ATMS 103 will formalize the flexibility needed in these cases. Though the climatological and applied math and microprocessor topics are unique to ATMS 105, there is some overlap of meteorological portions of ATMS 103 and ATMS 105. Therefore it would not be appropriate for a student to apply credits from both toward graduation. CHANGE 4 The prerequisites listed on pages 66 through 68 should be changed "FROM" --> "TO": ATMS 115: "ATMS 103" --> "ATMS 103 or ATMS 105" ATMS 205: "ATMS 103 or permission of instructor." --> "ATMS 103 or ATMS 105 or permission of instructor." ATMS 210: "ATMS 103; MATH 191; or permission of instructor." --> "ATMS 103 or ATMS 105; MATH 191; or permission of instructor." ATMS 211: "ATMS 103, 210; MATH 191." --> "ATMS 210; MATH 191." ATMS 305: "ATMS 103, 210, 211; MATH 291; PHYS 222." --> "ATMS 211; MATH 291; PHYS 222." ATMS 310: "ATMS 103, 210, 211, 305; MATH 291; PHYS 222." --> "ATMS 305" ATMS 315: "ATMS 200 (typo, should be 210), 211; MATH 191; PHYS 222." --> "ATMS 211; PHYS 222." ATMS 316: "ATMS 210,211,315; PHYS 222." --> "ATMS 315." ATMS 320: "ATMS 103 or equivalent training" --> "ATMS 103 or 105, or equivalent training." ATMS 338: "ATMS 103; MATH 191." --> ATMS 103 or 105; MATH 191." ATMS 340: "ATMS 210,211; MATH 191." --> "ATMS 211." ATMS 405: "ATMS 103, 115, 210, 211, 340; MATH 291; STAT 225." --> "ATMS 340; MATH 291; STAT 225." ATMS 410: "ATMS 103, 210, 211, 305, 310; MATH 291; PHYS 222; or permission of instructor." --> "ATMS 310; or permission of instructor." ATMS 411: "ATMS 103, 210, 211, 305, 310, 410; MATH 291; PHYS 222." --> "ATMS 410." ATMS 420: "ATMS 103, 115, 210, 211, 340, 405; MATH 291; STAT 225." --> "ATMS 405." ATMS 455: "ATMS 103, 210, 211; MATH 191." --> "ATMS 211." ATMS 460: "ATMS 103, 115, 210, 211; MATH 291; STAT 225." --> "ATMS 211; MATH 291; STAT 225." Impact Statement: The only new prerequisite is from "ATMS 103" to "ATMS 103 or 105." This is explicitly shown for the courses ATMS 115, 205, 210, 320 and 338, and implied for others. Otherwise the changes above are proposed to show only the highest ranking prerequisites. Rationale: This is being done to allow substitution of ATMS 105 for ATMS 103 (see Change 1 above) and to reduce catalog copy. CHANGE 5 (on page 65 under Track in Climatology and Program in Weather forecasting): Required courses in major changed from "35" to "35-37." (on page 65 under Atmospheric Sciences Minor): "20 hours in Atmospheric..." to "20-22 hours in Atmospheric..." Impact Statement: None. Rationale: This reflects the possibility that a major or minor could have used ATMS 105 as a substitute for Atms 103.