1982-1983





                                 SENATE DOCUMENT #35



                                   APC DOCUMENT #32



                ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AS A NATURAL SCIENCE REQUIREMENT







           Proposal:  Include Atmospheric Science 105 and 105.LI

                      "Introduction to Meterology" and Atmospheric

                      Science 115 and 115.LI "Introduction to 

                      Climatology" as a two course sequence fulfilling

                      the Natural Science requirement.





           Rationale:  These two courses provide the general student

           with a background in the sciences of meterology and

           climatology.  The Introductory Meteorology course deals

           with the elements of weather such as temperature,

           precipitation, etc., the measurement of these elements, the

           weather systems from hemispheric to mesoscale which produce

           the surface weather and the basic principles of weather

           forecasting.  The Introductory Climatology course builds on

           the material presented in Introductory Meterology.  The

           elements of weather in the long term become the elements of

           climate.  Climatic controls include many meteorological

           factors but other influences such as topography, long term

           air-sea interactions, etc. must be allowed for.  Other

           topics covered in this course include climatic

           classification, climatic zones of the world, and theories

           of climatic change.  Besides general knowledge in science,

           the lab sections of these courses provide practical

           experience with scientific methods.  Instrumentation and

           measurement are demonstrated.  Lab assignments include map

           analysis and determination of climatic type from basic

           observational data.  Students have access to the fully

           equipped Meteorology Lab and the campus Weather Station.

           Besides gaining an insight into the workings of weather and

           climate, students will learn much practical information

           which will help them make the weather--related decisions

           that occur daily.