Career In Meteorology

What is the difference between Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences?

Public Comments

1. Meterology is the studying of weather patterns while Atmospheric Sciences is the study of how and why of weather patters, ie: Tornado (twister, cyclone) chasers and hurrican hunters are in the second category.
2. atmospheric science is not the exact same thing as meteorology, which is just one of the areas you’ll learn about if you choose to major in Atmospheric Science. Atmospheric Science, according to the University of Washington, includes “weather forecasting, air pollution and air chemistry, climate change, radiative transfer, and boundary layer processes.” Not as simple as flinging magnetic disks shaped like suns onto a metal weatherboard. The Atmospheric Science department is commonly called ATM by people in the major. It is technically a part of the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources (LAWR), but in many ways it is the most autonomous unit of that department. They study just about anything about the atmosphere — weather forecasting (meteorology), climate prediction, air quality and chemistry, and atmospheric dynamics. In addition, there are a lot of grad students studying biometeorology here in Davis — things like measuring carbon (CO2) and moisture flux above a forest canopy. while meteorology is discipline involving the study of the atmosphere and its phenomena. this site may give you more explanation: http://www.answers.com/topic/meteorology?cat=technology
3. Honestly, you won't find much difference between curriculums in a meteorology program versus an atmospheric science program. Technically, Oscar is right. Atmospheric science refers to much more broad subject matter, which could include air quality and interactions between land and atmosphere. Meteorology would be more restricted to weather forecasting and weather patterns. But programs like Penn State, which offer a degree in meteorology, have evolved to the point where the curriculum offers the same type of courses you would expect in an atmospheric science program...they just haven't bothered to change the name of the major. So in summary, technically there is a difference, but if you're dealing with universities and coursework, you probably won't see much of a difference.