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Earth’s atmosphere and oceans are marvellous, dynamical, multifaceted systems. They constitute two of the key components of the global climate system and are integral in the physical understanding of climate change. We interact with the atmosphere, the oceans and the climate system every day. Some of the interactions are direct – think of the air we breathe, the frequent changes in weather, the tides – other interactions are less obvious yet influential, such as the heat transport by large-scale ocean currents, the polar jet stream circumnavigating the globe in the upper troposphere, and the way sunlight passes through the atmosphere and the surface layer of the oceans.

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The atmosphere, oceans and the climate system as a whole influence our short-term activities and long-term planning, challenge the sustainability of our built infrastructure, and impact our economic and environmental interests. Understanding the features and intricacies of these systems in a thorough, quantitative manner is part of the core mission of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS). Our Bachelor of Science undergraduate programs and our graduate programs at the Master’s and PhD levels provide our students with an excellent education in this domain – and they act as drivers for the broad range of research projects carried out by our professors and their groups.

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´ó·¢²ÊƱƽ̨’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences is one of the few departments in Canada dedicated exclusively and comprehensively to the study of the atmosphere, oceans and the physical climate system. Our students benefit form a high-quality education experience – one in which the fundamental concepts of physics, mathematics, fluid dynamics, chemistry and numerical modeling, intersect with their application to key components of the Earth system. Our graduates find employment in various sectors, including in education/academia, governmental institutions (e.g. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Hydro-Quebec), nonprofit (Ouranos), and the private industry; see examples on our AOS Alumni profiles page.

The size and productivity of AOS, combined with its exceptional student training environment, make it one of the top programs in the atmosphere–ocean–climate study domain in North America.

We are living in a time period frequently impacted by extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, heat waves, tornadoes, freezing rain and widespread flooding. Extreme weather events cause health and safety concerns and manifest as costly disasters. In Quebec and across Canada, we have experienced periods of severe air pollution in recent years due to an increasing number of major wildfires and associated smoke plumes, which transport and chemically transform emitted gases and particles that impact the air quality hundreds of kilometers downwind of boreal forest fires. The smoke-filled air in Montreal during June 2023 serves as an impactful example.

Climate change is affecting the Arctic in drastic and amplified ways, as manifested by the increasing loss in seasonal sea ice extent and thickness, the melting of ice sheets, glaciers and permafrost, and unprecedented surface temperatures in Canada’s North.

The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences is addressing our society’s most crucial climate change issues through a powerful combination of observations, modeling, and theory of the atmosphere and oceans using advanced observation platforms and state-of-the-art modeling frameworks. Whether your particular passion is understanding the weather, physical climate science, the dynamics of the oceans, sea ice and the atmosphere, the chemistry and physics of the atmosphere, or the sustainability and resilience of our built infrastructure, we invite you to consider joining us in our quest for a much deeper, quantitative understanding of the Earth system.

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Prof. Andreas Zuend

Chair, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

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