Transcript Meteorologist - Ontario Virtual School

By Ruchita Aggarwal
Meteorologist
 A meteorologist is a person who studies meteorology. Meteorology
is the study of the changes in temperature, air pressure, moisture,
and wind direction in the troposphere. It is basically the science of
the atmosphere. It gives us the basic idea of the forces that cause
weather and climate. As well as how human activities can affect
climate, for example pollutants in the atmosphere. He/she uses
scientific principles to explain, understand, observe or forecast the
earth's atmospheric phenomena.
Meteorology as a career
Meteorology and Physics
 Many meteorologists with training in physics work on atmosphere related
problems. These can include issues related to radar and radio wave
propagation, optical propagation, acoustics and spectroscopy. The field can
be very theoretical and mathematical. There are also many observational
programs in which new sensing systems are developed. These systems
include the Doppler lidar, radar and acoustic profiler and satellite sounding
systems.
 Meteorologist use kilopascal as their ideal unit for measuring pressure. 1
kilopascal is equal to 10 millibars. Another unit of force sometimes used by
meteorologist to measure atmospheric pressure is the newton. One millibar
equals 100 newtons per square meter (N/m2).
How is atmospheric pressure
related to physics?
 Physics plays an important role in relation to our atmosphere and weather.
For instance atmospheric pressure,
 All gases are undergo thousands of collisions and are in constant motion
with other gases or surrounding surfaces everday. The distance before a gas
molecule collides with another gas molecule is referred to as its mean free
path. This results in atmospheric pressure exerted on all surfaces
surrounding the gas molecules. The atmospheric pressure is precisely
100,000 newtons per square meter(1 pascal). An atmosphere(atm) is
described as the pressure exerted by a 760 mm colum of mercury having a
certain gravity 13.595g/cm3. The kinetic theory of gases is the model that
describes the behavior of gases. One of the most important theory is that
gases molecules are always in motion and so therefore have kinetic energy.
The velocity at which a gas molecule travels is dependent on the square
root of its temperature and inversely proportional to the square root of its
mass. consequently large molecules travel slower then small molecules and
molecules leaving a hot surface travel faster that those leaving cold
surfaces. Therefore, this is the physics used in the study of the atmosphere,
and interpreting the information to produce weather forecasts.
Meteorologists task
 Predict weather
 Some become television personalities,
sharing their predictions newscasts
 Research and development
 Environmental analysis
 Weather observation Supervision and
administrative tasks
Requirements
 A bachelor’s degree in meteorology or atmospheric science
 Areas of study that are a required are mathematics, physics,
and chemistry.
 Employers look for a good mix of courses in physical
science, statistics, chemistry, climatology, hydrology,
computer science, and thermodynamics.
 Employment opportunities increase with a PhD and a
masters degree
 $42,012-$54,334 is the salary of a meteorologist in Canada
Employment and other
facts
 Meteorologists held about 6,400 jobs in 1990. In addition, about
1,000 persons held meteorology faculty positions in colleges and
universities.
 The largest employer of civilian meteorologists is the National
Weather Service, where about 1,800 work at stations in all parts of
the United States and in a few foreign areas.
 Private weather consulting firms and engineering service firms
employ many meteorologists. Commercial airlines employ
meteorologists to forecast weather along flight routes and to let
pilots know on atmospheric conditions. Other meteorologists work
for radio and television stations.
 Many members of the Armed Forces do forecasting and other
meteorological work.
The End