1. ATMO 336, Section 2 Weather, Climate, and Society

2. Class web page

3. Center of the Milky Way galaxy taken in at infrared (IR)wavelengths
taken by the NASA Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) Project

6. Earth in the shadow of Saturn (Image from Cassini)

9. Earth

10. It’s your atmosphere
Only planet with abundant oxygen, water, and temperatures conducive to life as we know it.
Oceans cover 2/3 of planet.
Surface temperatures 40 to -40 C allow 3 phases of water.
Hydrologic cycle (recycles fresh water for the biosphere).
Atmosphere protects earth from UV, meteorites, solar wind.
“Ocean of air” is very thin; can’t breathe above 10 km.

11. Atmosphere is absolutely necessary for life:
Eat 3 x per day, can survive without food for 40 days.
Drink 6 x per day, can survive without water for 7 days.
Breathe 22,000 x per day, can live without air only 3-5 min.
1022 molecules in every breath of air
1044 molecules in the entire atmosphere
1022 breaths of air in the atmosphere.

12. Social Dimensions
Humanity is not in harmony with the atmosphere and/or the larger geophysical environment.
Weather Hazards
Combustion of Fossil Fuels
Air Pollution
Greenhouse Gases
Global Warming
Weather and Climate Control
A critical study of weather, climate, and society calls into question the entire trajectory of civilization.

13. Weather Disasters http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s334.htm
Weather is the most violent variable in human affairs.
U.S.
Galveston Hurricane, ,000 deaths
Hurricane Katrina deaths
Tri- State Tornado, deaths
International
Yangtze River Flood, China, milion fatalities
North Vietnam Flood, ,000 deaths from flooding
Bangladesh Cyclone, up to 500,000 fatalities
Bangladesh Cyclone, ,000 fatalities
Hurricane Mitch, Honduras & Nicaragua, ,000 fatalities
Sahel Drought, , , up to 1 million fatalities
Great Smog of London, ,000 fatalities

14. Damage from the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was caused by the hurricane and resulting storm surge. This was the greatest natural disaster in terms of loss of life (12,000) in U.S. history.