Although CU’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ATOC) was founded only in 2005, we have jumped to Top-Ten rankings nationally in both atmospheric and oceanic sciences.  We educate tomorrow’s workforce and leaders in climate science, renewable energy, and weather prediction.

ATOC’s 15 faculty member study Earth’s weather and climate from the ocean bottom up to space, from the tropics to the polar ice sheets, to understand and respond to climate change and improve climate change projections in atmosphere, cryosphere and oceans.

ATOC has been fortunate to attract arguably the most outstanding graduate students in the field. Our students receive a significant number of fellowships and nationally recognized awards each year. They provide excellent instruction to CU’s undergraduates as teaching assistants. They make scientific advances while conducting innovative research. Our graduate students go on to successful careers in academia, national research institutes, and private industry.

Graduate students, research staff, and faculty work together on a wide range of research topics: large-scale dynamics of the ocean and the atmosphere; air-sea interaction; radiative transfer and remote sensing of the ocean and the atmosphere; sea ice and its role in climate; cloud-climate interactions; atmospheric chemistry and aerosols; atmospheric technology; extended weather and climate prediction; hydrological processes; boundary layer measurement and modeling; and planetary atmospheres.

ATOC is coordinated with the Environmental Program at the University of Colorado. Interdisciplinary education and research opportunities exist with the Hydrology Program and the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research Program. Interdisciplinary research opportunities also exist with the Cooperative Institute for Environmental Studies (CIRES), the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), the Center for Complexity, and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

ATOC has extensive computer facilities and laboratories in remote sensing, chemistry, and hydrodynamics. The presence of leading laboratories in the  environmental sciences in Boulder, including the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the NOAA Environmental Research Laboratories, provides additional opportunities for a rich educational experience. Opportunities also exist for involvement in field programs.