The main purpose of the course is the analysis and understanding of the climate processes in the earth-atmosphere system. Students completing this course will be able to describe the various components and processes of the Earth's climate system, the interrelations between the different climate parameters and their variability in space and time, and to explain the distribution of different climate regions of the world. As part of the course, students learn to analyse weather records and read and interpret weather maps. This approach allows students to realize the physical aspects of the atmosphere and the regional characteristics of climate from an applied viewpoint. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to analyse climate data and display their temporal (diagrams) and spatial (maps) behaviour using different methods of analysis.

The course focuses on the analysis of the processes of the climate system and how these processes shape the geographical distribution change of climate. It examines the main components of the climate system, including the energy balance at the surface, the water cycle, the general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans and their geographic variation. The individual modules of the course include: The earth and its atmosphere (atmospheric composition and vertical structure of the atmosphere). Radiation in the atmosphere (solar and terrestrial radiation, energy balance at the surface of the earth). The greenhouse effect and the ozone layer's depletion, the temperature of the atmosphere (periodic variations in air temperature, temperature inversions, temperature distribution on the earth surface). Atmospheric moisture (hygrometric parameters, evaporation, condensation, clouds, precipitation). Atmospheric pressure (pressure gradient, variations in atmospheric pressure, distribution of atmospheric pressure on the earth’s surface). Wind. Atmospheric disturbances (air masses, fronts, anticyclones, depressions, storms, hurricanes). Climatic classification (the Koppen system, the global climatic patterns).

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