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/m 2 ).

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 g/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 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.

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