In theory what is it?
Nope, not
the same as meteorology. Atmospheric science is the study
of the physics of the Earth's atmosphere, or loosely put,
atmospheric physics. However, the past few decades, atmospheric science
has become more plural to include the study of all
physical and now, chemical phenonoma occuring in the Earth's atmosphere
and oceans. What is it used for?
Atmospheric science is used to elucidate the study of
turbulence, climate, global warming, and ocean processes, to name a
few.
What does the major actually entail — work-wise The
standard curriculum is that of physics or engineering, The vast
majority of atmospheric scientists come from the two above fields,
though a sizeable minority are trained in chemistry, geophysics, and
environmental biology.
The discipline is built upon the accumulated knowledge
of thermodynamics and fluid dynamics, thus physics or engineering explains
the general trend.
Computer programming's importance in the field has
increased innumerably. Everything is simulation and numerically-based, a working
knoweldge of programming is indispensable What kind of jobs do
you get with it?
A Ph.D. is officially required
to do basic research at places like NASA, NCAR, and
NOAA studying climate and global warming, known also as the
“geosciences."
Those that opt out of the geosciences work primarily
in aviation or engineering.
A lesser degree may warrant a
position in a consulting firm, but a Ph.D. is highly
encouraged. Life with an M.S. can be rather precarious.
What are the fellow students like (personalitywise) in it? Physics/engineering
nerds infatuated with flying or intent on solving the “global
warming problem.”
Common Misconceptions
This is not
meteorology. Meteorologists study weather and weather prediction, whereas atmospheric
scientists study the atmosphere “for the sake of studying the
atmosphere,” and not because they want to know if it
will rain tomorrow.
Physics and engineering courses without computer programming
skills will get you nowhere. Places like NASA, NCAR,
and NOAA are increasingly hiring computer scientists over the physicists
simply because the discipline centers so much on theory and
simulation. The computer science people are better prepared and
can apply their knowledge immediately. A strong sense of
understanding of Fortran and/or C++ in a unix environment is
required.
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