38:250 Weather and Climate
Instructor: Dr. Dion J. Wiseman
Office: Brodie Room 4-07
Office Hours: M, W, F; 11:30 am – 12:30 pm; or by Appointment
Phone/Text: (204) 727-9774
Email: wiseman@brandonu.ca
Course Resources
Recommended Text:
Ross, Sheila. Weather and Climate: an introduction, 3rd edition. Oxford University Press, 2024.
Course Description
This course is an introductory geography course that investigates the physical characteristics of Earth’s orbit around the Sun and the processes operating in the atmosphere that affect seasonality and determine short-term weather patterns and long-term climatic characteristics. There are three broad areas of study: 1) processes in the atmosphere, which determine variations in temperature, precipitation, and humidity; 2) atmospheric motions, which dictate weather patterns; and 3) the global distribution of climates and climate change.
Grading Scheme
| Test I | 25%* | > 90% | A+ | 70 – 72% | B- | ||
| Test II | 25%* | 85 – 89% | A | 67 – 69% | C+ | ||
| Quizzes/Assignments | 25%# | 80 – 84% | A- | 63 – 66% | C | ||
| Final | 25%* | 77 – 79% | B+ | 60 – 62% | C- | ||
| Total | 100% | 73 – 76% | B | 50 – 59% | D | ||
| Optional Extra Credit 3% | < 50% | F | |||||
* Variably weighted, best exam vs. worst exam +/- 5 percent.
# Best x-2/x are counted for marks. For example, if there are 15 quizzes, the best 13 out of 15 will be counted for marks.
Tentative Course Outline
| Topic | Description | Chapter(s) |
| 1 | Composition and Behaviour of the Atmosphere | 1, 2, 3 |
| 2 | Energy and Radiation Balances | 4, 5, 6 |
| Test 1 | Friday, February 27th | |
| 3 | Humidity and Adiabatic Lapse Rates | 7 & 8 |
| 4 | Condensations and Precipitation | 9 & 10 |
| Test 2 | Friday, March 20th | |
| 5 | Global Atmospheric Circulation and Local Winds | 11 & 12 |
| 6 | Air Masses, Fronts, and Mid-latitude Cyclones | 13 & 14.1 |
| 7 | Global Climate Systems | — |
| 8 | Climate Change | 15 |
| Final | Friday, April 17th, 2 pm |
Acceptable Use of Online Resources
The most useful resources to you for this course will be the recommended course textbook, lecture notes provided to you, and your own notes taken during class. Online resources, including AI (e.g. ChatGPT), may be used to look up terms and definitions or acquire additional information about key concepts discussed throughout the course, but should not be used when completing quizzes, term tests, or the final exam. Online sources may be used as a resource for researching optional extra credit assignments, provided that any information obtained is properly referenced, and they are not used to generate content that is presented as your own.