Course Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Pierre Kirstetter
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Dr. Pierre KirstetterAssociate Professor, School of Meteorology, School of Civil Engineering and Environmental ScienceExecutive Associate Director, Hydrology and Water Security ProgramAreas of Interests and Expertise:
Awards and Achievements:
Office Phone: (405) 325-6092 Email: pierre-emmanuel.kirstetter@ou.edu Live Session: Wednesdays, 8-9 pm CDT Zoom link: https://oklahoma.zoom.us/j/6017199705 |
For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course description
Hydrometeorology is a rapidly changing discipline with new techniques for monitoring hydrologic stores and fluxes across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, enabling multi-resolution modeling and updating decision making practice. New remote sensing observations brought the water cycle to the forefront of earth sciences, yet higher education in applied or engineering hydrology has been slow to embrace remote sensing. Practitioners face complex scientific, managerial, and policy problems in the water arena, all of which require high quality training.
The objective of this course is to fill voids in education between atmospheric science and hydrology and between water science and engineering by training students with unique, cross-disciplinary expertise in weather and water related hazard. Within the Hydrology & Water Security program, the overarching goal is to foster the education of the next generation of water practitioners, by promoting the use of latest observations for research, decision making and infrastructure design for future scientists and engineers.
Understanding of the precipitation processes, spatial and temporal resolutions in which various techniques can capture precipitation patterns, retrieval approaches and associated uncertainties, is needed for hydrometeorology research and application, e.g. in disaster risk prevention, decision making under uncertainty, and civil and environmental systems design. The course focuses on precipitation information that can be obtained from various sensors such as gauges, weather radars and satellite-based sensors, as well as on the impact of precipitation variability on hydrological response at various scales. Data analysis and computational methods for hydrometeorology will be explored.
The course will start with a short introduction to clouds and precipitation physics. Following the introduction, the material will transition into precipitation sensing including gauges, radar and satellites. Quantitative precipitation estimation, adjustment and uncertainty characterization will be covered, as well as geostatistical mapping and merging. The remainder of the course will be dedicated toward applications of quantitative precipitation estimation for hydrology, water related hazards and water infrastructure.
Course Objectives
The goal is to develop your understanding of precipitation characteristics extracted from different sensors, how it relates to hydrological predictions and decision making, and to provide valuable experience with data analysis and computational methods for hydrometeorology. The traditional lecture format will provide you with the material necessary to attain a communicable understanding of the science and techniques and the assignments will allow you to gain useful experience and skills. Therefore, this course aims to provide you with a fundamental yet practical tool to understand basics of precipitation remote sensing, to make use of existing data for hydrological application and to be familiar with current and future water-relevant instruments.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the course, I expect you to be able to:
- Communicate theoretical and applied topics of precipitation physics, remote sensing and related applications with others
- Compare and contrast quantitative precipitation estimates from different instruments and their combinations
- Analyze datasets and identify distinct/implicative characteristics that confirm theoretical understanding of precipitation physics and their hydrological applications, or identify areas for improvement
Course Meeting Time and Location
This course is entirely online. Weekly lectures and supplemental material are online and at the student’s pace.
Live Sessions: Wednesdays, 8:00-9:00pm CDT
Course Prerequisites
Prior knowledge of hydrology and hydrometeorology fundamentals or equivalent undergraduate 3000–4000 level courses.
Course Materials
You will need the following hardware, software, or web accounts:
- Access to a computer
- Zoom Account
- Webcam
- Scanner or Scanning applications to upload documents to Canvas
- R
No textbook is required for this course. A number of textbooks and journal articles are used to develop lecture materials, each of them having strengths and weaknesses. Here is a list of some of the references I may use in the class:
- Radar Hydrology- Principles, Models and Applications (2015), first edition. (ISBN: 9781466514621)*
- Precipitation advances in measurement, estimation, and prediction (2008). ISBN: 9783540776550)*
- Pruppacher & Klett: Microphysics of Clouds and Precipitation, 2nd ed., Springer*
* Digital access available through OU libraries
Additional readings may be assigned throughout the semester.
Grades
Breakdown
| Participation/Discussion/Communication | 10% |
| Homework & Quizzes | 20% |
| Exam 1 | 25% |
| Exam 2 | 25% |
| Final Project | 20% |
Grades may be viewed on Canvas. Please note that scores for online quizzes may appear immediately after the lecture. Other than that, grades will not appear immediately as they will be intermittently updated during the term, but students will be notified via email when grades are posted to Canvas.
Scale
| 90-100% | A |
| 80-89% | B |
| 70-79% | C |
| 60-69% | D |
| Below 60% | F |
Course Policies
Communication
In addition to office hours, I am generally available for discussion of lecture material and assignments in the hour following each day’s lecture. Email is the primary communication method. I am available by email at any time (excluding vacation) and will make every attempt to respond to emails within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends. To ensure a prompt response, please indicate “METR/CEES Quantitative Hydrometeorology” in the email subject line as a prefix. The course website is on Canvas. Materials and assignments will be posted on Canvas. If you cannot access canvas.ou.edu or do not see the enrolled course, please contact 405-325-HELP. For course assignments and exams, grades can be expected within 1 week of submission.
Late Policy
Late submission of course assignments will not be accepted.
Attendance and online Live-Discussion Policies
Since this is a fully online class, students are expected to view all materials and complete all readings throughout the course. Students must strive to maintain regular attendance in the online, live discussions and are expected to participate in the discussions each week. If you cannot attend the live session, don't worry, a make-up assignment will be provided to earn the participation points.
Examination Attendance
Students who will not be available on exam(s) date should contact Dr. Kirstetter and finalize arrangements. Students absent for the final exam due to illness must contact Dr. Kirstetter prior to the exam and have to submit the doctor’s note in order to qualify for a make-up exam before grading. For any other cases, no make-up exam will be granted, which lead to miss the exam points.
Semester Project
You will be required to conduct an independent (1) literature review, (2) semester paper, and (3) semester presentation focused on a specific, student-chosen topic concerning Quantitative Hydrometeorology.
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
ACADEMIC POLICIES AND STUDENT SUPPORT
Course Catalog
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Student Handbook
Please familiarize yourself with the OU Student Handbook.
Online Library
Access digital materials and other resources at OU Libraries.
Academic Misconduct
In addition to the course conduct policies outlined by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook.
It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the definitions, policies, and procedures concerning academic misconduct. The Student Code is available from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and is contained in the Student's Guide to Academic Integrity.
This site also defines misconduct, provides examples of prohibited conduct, and explains the sanctions available for those found guilty of misconduct.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism.
For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.
Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities
The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course should contact their professor as early in the semester as possible.
Students with disabilities must be registered with the Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations in this course.
If you have a disability and you would like to make a request for reasonable accommodation, please see the Graduate Student Handbook or get in touch with the Disability Resource Center.
Adjustments for Pregnancy/Childbirth Related Issues
Should you need modifications or adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss your options. Generally, modifications will be made where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary disability. Learn more about the rights of pregnant and parenting students by consulting the FAQ sheets provided by the Institutional Equity Office.
Title IX Resources
For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24/7, counseling services, mutual no contact orders, scheduling adjustments, and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. Please contact the Sexual Misconduct Office 405-325-2215 (8-5, M-F) or OU Advocates 405-615-0013 (24/7) to learn more or to report an incident.
Religious Holidays
It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays without penalty. It is the responsibility of the student to make alternate arrangements with the instructor at least one week prior to the actual date of the religious holiday.
Copyright Policy
It is illegal to download, upload, reproduce, or distribute any copyrighted material, in any form and in any fashion, without permission from the copyright holder or his/her authorized agent. The University of Oklahoma expects all members of its community to comply fully with federal copyright laws. If such laws appear to have been violated by any user, the university reserves the right (1) to terminate that user’s access to some or all of the university’s computer systems and information resources and (2) to take additional disciplinary actions as deemed necessary or appropriate. Repeat offenders will be sanctioned and their privileges terminated.
Registration and Withdrawal
If you choose to withdraw from this course, you must complete the appropriate University form and turn the form in before the deadline. If you stop attending the course and doing the coursework without doing the required paperwork, your grade will be calculated with missed homework and examination grades entered as zero. This could result in receiving a grade of F in the course. Deadlines are shown in the Academic Calendar, which is available from the Office of the Registrar.
Student Grievances
In addition to any policies outlined related to submitting an informal or formal grievance by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook for more information about the process of submitting a formal grievance.
Course Summary:
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