Module Identifier | PH28720 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Module Title | PLANETARY AND ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS | ||||||||||||||||||||
Academic Year | 2005/2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Co-ordinator | Dr Andrew R Breen | ||||||||||||||||||||
Semester | Semester 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Other staff | H.A Barnes, Dr Martin C Wilding, Dr Sian A Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||
Pre-Requisite | Satisfactory completion of part 1 of the degree scheme | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mutually Exclusive | PH29610 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Course delivery | Seminars / Tutorials | 3 seminars and 1 poster presentation workshop. | |||||||||||||||||||
Lecture | |||||||||||||||||||||
Practical | 6 practicals | ||||||||||||||||||||
Assessment |
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Planetary science is one of the fastest-developing fields of solar system science. In particular, recent years have seen rapid advances in studies of planetary atmospheres. The changes to the module add a section discussing planetary exploration and introduce a series of workshops in interpreting the results of modelling planetary atmospheres - an important introduction to the use of computational modelling and data visualisation.
Orbits, resonances. Non-Keplerian orbits.
Tides, moons and rings.
Condensation and accretion of planetismals.
Planetary interiors - self compression and density structure in terrestrial planets and gas giants. Gravity fields and planetary shape.
Planetary thermodynamics, heat sources and variation of temperature with depth.
Planetary magnetic fields - movement of material inside planets and the dynamo mechanism.
Planetary exploration: control and communication, timelag and bandwidth.
Introduction to atmospheres. Structure of the Earth's atmosphere. Heating and layer formation.
Atmospheric energy balance. "Greenhouse effect". Convection and atmospheric dynamics.
Vertical structure. Hydrostatic equilibrium and scale heights. Atmospheric layers.
Planetary atmospheres - differences from Eath
Atmospheric flow - fluid mechanics as applied to atmospheres
Modelling planetary atmpospheres - approaches and constraints
Interpreting model results for flow over a planetary surface.
Problem_solving | Students are required to apply theoretical concepts covered in lectures to specific science problems. | ||
Research skills | Students are required to plan the best path for an aerobot on a research mission over terrain on another planet. | ||
Communication | Students are required to present the results of the modelling section of the module via a poster. | ||
Improving own Learning and Performance | Reflection on poster results | ||
Team work | Students will work in pairs or small groups during the computational modelling section of the course. | ||
Information Technology | Use of a computational fluid flow suite to simulate the interaction of a planet's atmosphere with its surface. Use of visualisation facilities to view the results. Use of presentation software to generate posters. | ||
Application of Number | Solve quantitative problems will naturally involve application of number. Use of a computational modelling. |
This module is at CQFW Level 5