About the Textbook
- Page ID
- 50856
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This textbook is part of the De Anza College Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Pathways initiative, supporting both students and instructors with free, adaptable Open Educational Resources (OER).
Few, if any open educational resources (OER) exist for entry-level meteorology students, including both majors and non-majors. This book attempts to close that gap with a resource specifically designed for introductory-level qualitative survey courses. The bulk of the book (Chapters 1-11) has been adapted from the University of Hawai‘i's ER textbook, “Atmospheric Processes and Phenomena,” by Alison Nugent, David DeCou, Shintaro Russell, and Christina Karamperidou, while Chapter 12 was adapted from Andreas Schmittner, from Oregon State University’s OER textbook, "Introduction to Climate Science." Except for Chapter 3, the primary modifications to Nugent’s book were simplifying technical and quantitative descriptions into more qualitative descriptions appropriate for non-majors and beginning students with little background in mathematics. Chapter 3 was a near-complete rewrite, changing the focus of Nugent’s book from Thermodynamics to Air Temperature, applications of air temperature, and seasonal factors that affect air temperature. Chapter 12 was primarily modified to meet accessibility guidelines, with the bulk of Schmittner’s work left unchanged. The final result is a comprehensive introduction to the fields of Meteorology and Climate Science for non-majors, entry-level students, and interested people in the general public.
Without these foundational texts, a lot more work would have been required to complete this project.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank their respective spouses for their infinite patience and support during the writing of this textbook. A special thanks also to the ZTC coordinators and the OER team at De Anza College for their guidance during the publication process.