The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science offers graduate study leading to the Master of Professional Studies, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Coursework in atmospheric and oceanic sciences is also offered at the upper division and graduate level as a service to other campus graduate programs. The educational program is broadly based and involves many applications of the mathematical, physical and applied sciences that characterize modern atmospheric sciences and physical oceanography, including climate and earth system science, and multidisciplinary studies of the interrelationship among the atmosphere, the oceans, the land, and the biota. The Department's advanced degree programs are designed to prepare students for participation in contemporary research in the atmospheric and oceanic science. Research specializations include: atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, physical oceanography, air pollution, atmospheric radiative transfer, remote sensing of the atmosphere, ocean, and land, climate variability and change, data assimilation, numerical weather prediction, severe storms, surface-atmosphere, ocean-atmosphere and biosphere-atmosphere interactions, and earth system modeling. The curriculum includes a set of Core courses to provide a fundamental background in atmospheric and oceanic dynamics, physical meteorology and atmospheric chemistry, earth system science and climate, as well as advanced specialized courses. Supervised research using state-of-the-art facilities then prepares the students for future contributions in their chosen field.
The Cryosphere encompasses various systems in the terrestrial environment where ice is present. This includes, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, and seasonal snow cover. Department explores mass changes in the world's large ice sheets, Antarctic and Greenland. Additionally we monitor changes in polar sea ice, and study interactions between ice, oceans, and the atmosphere.Mass loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have tripled over the last two decades and constitutes about one-quarter of the observed global sea-level rise since during this time frame. Much of that contribution is largely due to substantial mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Mass contributions from the large ice sheets according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (4th Assessment Report) identifies the largest uncertainty to future sea-level projections in a warmer climate due to a lack of understanding in the dynamic response of ice sheets to a warmer climate.
