SCHOOL OF OCEAN AND EARTH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Navigation

Administration

General Information

Advising

Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Programs

Instructional and Research Facilities

Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology

Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology

Hawaii Natural Energy Institute

Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory

International Pacific Research Center

Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research

Pacific Mapping Program

Sea Grant College Program

Hawaii Space Grant Consortium

Geology and Geophysics

Global Environmental Science

Meteorology

Ocean and Resources Engineering

Oceanography

Meteorology

HIG 350
2525 Correa Road
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-8775
Fax: (808) 956-2877
E-mail: metdept@hawaii.edu
Web: weather.hawaii.edu/

Faculty

*Graduate Faculty

*K. P. Hamilton, PhD (Chair)—dynamical meteorology and climate dynamics
*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
*F. F. Jin, PhD—atmospheric dynamics, numerical weather prediction
*T. Li, PhD—climate dynamics and coupled atmosphere-ocean modeling
*T. A. Schroeder, PhD—mesometeorology - severe local storms, flash flood meteorology, interactions of island with synoptic environments
*D. E. Stevens, PhD—atmospheric dynamics
*B. Wang, PhD—climate dynamics, geophysical fluid dynamics, and tropical meteorology
*Y. Wang, PhD—atmospheric dynamics and physics, climate modeling, 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
C-P Chang, PhD—tropical meteorology
H. M. Juang, PhD—mesoscale modeling and numerical weather prediction
Y. H. Kuo, PhD—mesometeorology
W. C. Lee, PhD—radar and mesoscale meteorology
F. D. Marks, ScD—tropical cyclones
M. S. Peng, PhD—dynamic meteorology, numerical modeling, and 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 UH 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 (and the International Pacific Research Center) 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

UH 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 “UH Manoa General Education and Graduation Requirements” section of this Catalog).
• MET 101L and 200
• MATH 243 and 244 (Students planning careers with federal meteorological agencies should take MATH 405.)
• PHYS 170/170L and 272/272L
• 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 310, 405, 406, and 600; MET 412 or 416; CEE 424 and 626; GEOG 300, 303, 402, and 412; GG 412 and 455; ICS 211, 311, and 442; MATH 311, 371, 373, 402, 403, and 405; OCN 620; PHYS 274/274L and 400
• CHEM 161/161L and 162 (Honors students can take CHEM 181/181L instead of CHEM 161/162)
• ICS 111/111L

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, 310, 405, 406, 412 and 416

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 physical, 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 MET 699, MET 700, and MET 765 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. Additionally, at least one other elective MET graduate course (i.e., 600 or 700 level) must be passed with a grade of at least B. 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 the graduate core curriculum (MET 412 or 416 and 600, 610, 620) and at least eight graduate level courses numbered 600 and above with a grade of B- or higher in dynamic, synoptic, physical, tropical meteorology, oceanography and other closely related fields. The student needs to have a 3.0 GPA for the core courses and must also satisfy the graduate Division GPA requirements. At least five 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.

MET Courses