Geography 120 - Weather in a Balloon

Graduate Teaching Assistants Kyung In Huh and Rachel Mauk introduce students in Geography 120 to the study of the atmosphere by launching a series of balloons – weather balloons. The balloons carry instruments to collect data on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind.

Weather balloons are launched around the world for observations used to diagnose current conditions as well as by human forecasters and computer models for weather forecasting. Military and civilian government meteorological agencies such as the National Weather Service in the U.S. typically launch balloons, and by international agreements almost all the data is shared with all nations.

The primary objective of the entry level Geography course is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the atmosphere and the processes that govern its behavior. Students will learn various aspects of meteorology, including the structure and behavior of the atmosphere, global energy balance and transfer, atmospheric circulation, precipitation processes, weather systems and severe weather.