Are you interested in how weather and climate relate to the environment? For much of the globe, synoptic-scale systems (the familiar highs and lows on a weather map) are the dominant feature of regional and local climates. Synoptic climatology is an active field of research that explores relationships between these atmospheric circulation patterns, associated climatic conditions, and environmental variables.

This research seminar will review the methods and applications of synoptic climatology via weekly readings and discussions. Students will work on individual research projects, analyzing physical or human environmental phenomena related to weather and climate (e.g., atmospheric, biological, hydrological, agricultural, economic, social, and other climate-related variables). The course will cover the breadth of synoptic climatology, plus an in-depth examination of US-Mexico border-region synoptic climatology. Student projects will build on current border region research to form a set of complementary research papers. This format will enable constructive discussion of theoretical and practical research issues among the group, and will advance our understanding of climate-environment interactions in the region.

Meeting time to be agreed upon by participants, probably one weekday afternoon per week

Interested? For more information, contact:

Dr. Andrew C. Comrie

Harvill 453B

621-1585

E-mail: comrie@geog.arizona.edu