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Meteorology

HIG 350
2525 Correa Road
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-8775
Fax: (808) 956-2877
E-mail: met-info@soest.hawaii.edu
Web: lumahai.soest.hawaii.edu

Faculty

* Graduate Faculty

• *T. A. Schroeder, PhD(Chair)--mesometeorology - severe local storms, flash flood meteorology, interactions of island with synoptic environments
• *G. M. Barnes, PhD--mesometeorology, hurricanes, and boundary layer meteorology
• *S. Businger, PhD--mesoscale and synoptic meteorology, satellite meteorology, storm structure and dynamics
• *Y. L. Chen, PhD--mesoscale meteorology, heavy rainfall
• *P. S. Chu, PhD--climate variability and natural hazards, tropical cyclones, climate prediction
• *P. A. Daniels, PhD--physical meteorology, atmospheric pollution, wind-energy meteorology, instrumentation
• *K. P. Hamilton, PhD--dynamical meteorology and climate dynamics
• *F. F. Jin, PhD--atmospheric dynamics, numerical weather prediction
• *T. Li, PhD--climate dynamics and coupled atmosphere-ocean modeling
• *D. E. Stevens, PhD--atmospheric dynamics
• *B. Wang, PhD--climate dynamics, geophysical fluid dynamics, and tropical meteorology
• *S. P. Xie, PhD--large scale ocean-atmosphere interaction, climate dynamics
• *J. Zhao, PhD--atmospheric chemistry and aerosols

Cooperating Graduate Faculty

• A. D. Clarke, PhD--marine aerosols, biogeochemical cycles, optical properties
• B. J. Huebert, PhD--atmospheric chemistry
• J. Porter, PhD--satellite and ground-based optical sensing of atmospheric aerosols

Affiliate Graduate Faculty

• P. G. Black, PhD--aircraft analysis of hurricanes
• Y. H. (Bill) Kuo, PhD--mesometeorology
• W. C. Lee, PhD--radar and mesoscale meteorology
• F. D. Marks, ScD--tropical cyclones
• J. O. Roads, PhD--mesoscale model applications

Degrees Offered: BS in meteorology, MS in meteorology, PhD in meteorology

The Academic Program

Meteorology (MET) is the study of phenomena in the Earth's atmosphere. These phenomena include the daily weather and climate. Students pursuing the BS in meteorology receive preparation for professional employment in meteorology and are qualified for employment in the federal meteorological agencies. The meteorology major must be well-grounded in the fundamentals of mathematics and physics. Thus BS graduates are qualified to pursue graduate studies both in meteorology and other applied sciences, such as oceanography or computer sciences. Graduate degrees prepare students to pursue research careers both with government and in academia.

The meteorology program at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa is unique in its focus on tropical meteorology. The tropics comprise 50 percent of Earth's surface and exert critical controls on the global atmosphere. BS students receive comprehensive training in tropical weather analysis and forecasting. Graduate students often pursue thesis research in tropical meteorology, some study topics that take advantage of Hawai'i's unique natural laboratory. Some students pursue graduate thesis research with funding from the National Weather Service, whose Honolulu Weather Forecast Office is housed in the same building as the meteorology department. Meteorology faculty cooperate actively with physical oceanography faculty through the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research in the study of air-sea interaction and climate variability. Students also have access to both research databases and cooperative employment opportunities at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Pearl Harbor.

Affiliations

The University of Hawai'i is an active member of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Advising

The department has one undergraduate adviser, who may be contacted through the department office (808) 956-8775. Graduate students are assigned individual faculty advisers by the graduate chair after their preliminary conference.

Undergraduate Study

Bachelor's Degree

Requirements
Students must complete 124 credit hours, including:

• General Education Core (see the "Manoa General Education and Graduation Requirements" section of this Catalog).
• MET 101L and 200
• 21 credit hours in meteorology courses numbered 300 and above, including MET 302, 303, 305, and 402; and MET 412 or 416 (Students planning careers with federal meteorological agencies should take both 412 and 416.)
• 15 additional credit hours from physical and mathematical sciences (e.g., engineering, geography, geology and geophysics, information and computer sciences, mathematics, oceanography, physics, and soil science) including (but not limited to) MET 405, 406, and 600; MET 412 or 416; AGRN 661; CE 424 and 626; GEOG 300, 302, 402, and 412; GG 412 and 455; ICS 211, 311, and 442; MATH 311, 371, 373, 402, 403, and 405; OCN 620; OEST 310; PHYS 274/274L and 400; and HIST 394 or 395
• CHEM 171/171L
• ICS 111/111L
• MATH 243 and 244 (Students planning careers with federal meteorological agencies should take MATH 405.)
• PHYS 170/170L and 272/272L 

Minor

Requirements
Students must complete 15 credit hours of non-introductory courses, including:

• MET 200, 302, and 303
• 6 credits of electives from MET 305, 405, 406, 412, 416, and OEST 310

Graduate Study

The department offers MS and PhD degrees. Through courses in dynamic, synoptic, and physical meteorology, students develop a strong foundation in tropical meteorology, the department's special field, and are prepared to do research in the atmospheric sciences.

Candidates should have a thorough preparation in physics (with calculus), chemistry, and mathematics through differential equations. Undergraduate courses in dynamic and synoptic meteorology are expected, but they can be taken in the first year.

All students in the program must complete two seminar courses of MET 765 (Alpha) involving active participation as speaker and listener.

Master's Degree

Requirements
At the master's level, only Plan A (thesis) is available, requiring a minimum of 24 credit hours of course work and 6 credit hours of thesis. A minimum of 18 credit hours, exclusive of research methods must be earned for the MS degree. All students must complete MET 600, 610, 620, and a synoptic analysis course (MET 412 or MET 416) with a minimum GPA of 3.0 for those courses. A thesis examination is required.

Doctoral Degree

The PhD student exhibits a higher level of independence and originality of thought than that required of the MS student.

Requirements
In order to acquire and demonstrate a breadth of knowledge in atmospheric science, each student is required to pass at least eight graduate level courses with a grade of B or higher in the fields of dynamic, synoptic, physical, and tropical meteorology. At least four of these courses must be taken at the Manoa campus.

The comprehensive examination is taken after the completion of these eight courses, but no later than the student's 24th month in the PhD program. The purpose of this exam is to ascertain the student's comprehension of the broad field of study (meteorology) so that he/she is well prepared for PhD research. The first part is a set of written exercises composed by the student's committee members. The student writes the exam on a single day. Within three to seven days after the written exam, the student sits for the oral portion with his/her committee.

No later than 12 months after successful completion of the comprehensive examination, the student is required to submit a written research proposal to the dissertation committee. The committee must approve the proposal by a majority vote.

In addition to meteorology courses listed in this Catalog, students may take courses in related disciplines such as engineering, information and computer sciences, geography, mathematics, oceanography, and physics, with the concurrence of the academic adviser.

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