METR 4330 Micrometeorology
Micrometeorology is the detailed study of physical meteorological phenomena taking place in the lowest layers of the earth’s atmosphere. This is the region where human, animal and plant activity predominate and dramatic thermodynamic and kinematic processes take place. The development of micrometeorology as an exact science requires interpretation of detailed observations of the layers of air closest to the earth’s surface and the examination of the physical processes that produce microclimates. The earth’s boundary layer plays a central role in the exchange of heat, moisture, momentum, trace gases and aerosols between land, ocean and ice surfaces, in cloud formations and in the general circulation of the atmosphere. The motion of air over a surface of varying shape and temperature is often turbulent and generates mixing in the boundary layer. This characteristic due to turbulence in the boundary layer has vast implications for the distribution of heat, particles, aerosols and moisture around the world. Climate and numerical forecast models depend upon accurate knowledge of the conditions within the boundary layer.