ATM357 Atmospheric Radiation

2. Course code

ATM357

Aikaisemmat leikkaavat opintojaksot 53624 Fysikaalinen meteorologia, 5 op

3. Course status: compulsory

-Which degree programme is responsible for the course?
Master's Programme in Atmospheric Sciences

-Which module does the course belong to?
ATM300 Advanced Studies in Atmospheric Sciences
compulsory for

• Study Track in Remote Sensing
• Study Track in Meteorology

-Is the course available to students from other degree programmes?
Yes

4. Course level (first-, second-, third-cycle/EQF levels 6, 7 and 8)

Master’s level, degree programmes in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine = secondcycle
degree/EQF level 7
Doctoral level = third-cycle (doctoral) degree/EQF level 8

-Does the course belong to basic, intermediate or advanced studies (cf. Government Decree
on University Degrees)?
Advanced studies

5. Recommended time/stage of studies for completion

-The recommended time for completion may be, e.g., after certain relevant courses have
been completed.

• Can be taken in the early or later stages of studies. 

6. Term/teaching period when the course will be offered

The course will be lectured every year in the I period.

7. Scope of the course in credits

5 cr

8. Teacher coordinating the course

Dmitri Moiseev 

9. Course learning outcomes

-Description of the learning outcomes provided to students by the course
- See the competence map (https://flamma.helsinki.fi/content/res/pri/HY350274).

• You will understand "how radiation works" and will be provided a solid conceptual and mathematical foundation for further studies.

10. Course completion methods

-Will the course be offered in the form of contact teaching, or can it be taken as a distance
learning course?
-Description of attendance requirements (e.g., X% attendance during the entire course or
during parts of it)
-Methods of completion

• Exercises and final exam

11. Prerequisites

-Description of the courses or modules that must be completed before taking this course or
what other prior learning is required

• Introduction to meteorology and weather observations, Atmospheric thermodynamics
• Suitable courses at the University of Helsinki are Atmospheric Thermodynamics (53604)

12. Recommended optional studies

-What other courses are recommended to be taken in addition to this course?
-Which other courses support the further development of the competence provided by this
course?

Fundamental concepts discussed in this course are used in:

• ATM322 Meteorological observation systems
• ATM325 Satellite remote sensing methods in aerosol science  
• ATM323 Advanced Course in Radar Meteorology  

13. Course content

This course familiarizes the students with the transfer of radiation in the atmosphere and the basics of meteorological optics and remote sensing. In particular, this includes

• basic equations of radiative transfer
• main features of scattering and gas absorption in the atmosphere
• computational methods for treatment of gas absorption
• thermal radiation and its transfer in the atmosphere
• solar radiation and its transfer in the atmosphere
• radiative properties of the surface
• the effect of clouds on radiative transfer
• the effect of aerosols on radiative transfer
• factors affecting visibility.

14. Recommended and required literature

-What kind of literature and other materials are read during the course (reading list)?
-Which works are set reading and which are recommended as supplementary reading?

• Grant W. Petty, A First Course in Atmospheric Radiation, Sundog Publishing

15. Activities and teaching methods in support of learning

-See the competence map (https://flamma.helsinki.fi/content/res/pri/HY350274).
-Student activities
-Description of how the teacher’s activities are documented

• Weekly lectures and exercises (individual work). Total hours 135.

16. Assessment practices and criteria, grading scale

-See the competence map (https://flamma.helsinki.fi/content/res/pri/HY350274).
-The assessment practices used are directly linked to the learning outcomes and teaching
methods of the course.

• Final grade is based on exercises (30%) and final exam (70%).

17. Teaching language

• English