Why Writing in Meteorology & Atmospheric Science Matters
The ability to clearly and concisely communicate is an essential skill to master in meteorology and atmospheric science because so many groups, such as airlines, farmers, businesses, and the general public rely on this information to make decisions.
Types of atmospheric scientists
Atmospheric scientists, such as meteorologists, study and predict weather and climate and how human activity and the environment are influenced. The Occupational Outlook Handbook provides a list of types of atmospheric scientists and a brief description of their focus.
Meteorology & Atmospheric Science Writing
This section has help for the types of writing assignments that you're likely to have as a student in Atmospheric Sciences. It also includes style guides from key associations in your field. These style guides may help you become familiar with particular conventions of your discipline.
Assignment types:
- Laboratory reportsMichael Alley, The Craft of Scientific Writing
- Journalism and Journalistic WritingPurdue OWL journalistic writing
- Written forecast discussionsNational Weather Service
- Case Studies in Meteorology
- Broadcasting scriptWordpress, The process of writing news
You may also be asked to write similar to Popular Science Writing. For examples of this type of writing, review these:
- Capital Weather GangWashington Post
Style guides:
(for papers submitted to AMS journals)
Resources for Further Study
Library guide to meteorology and atmospheric science - this guide provides suggestions for the best resources to use to locate trustworthy information on your topic. The guide lists the top places to search such as:
- Inspec (Ei Village 2) This link opens in a new windowIndex to research related to physics and fluid flow.
- SPIE Digital Library This link opens in a new windowFull text of photogrammetric and optics research from the SPIE.
Eloquent Science by This volume presents informative and often humorous tips for writing scientific journal articles, while also providing a peek behind the curtain into the operations of editorial boards and publishers of major journals.
- Writing for BAMS
Each publication will have its own style and voice, and the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society shares its style with potential authors. - The Short Scientist: A patchwork guide to common tasks
A working scientist undertakes a number of tasks on the path from inspiration to publication. This guide contains insights into how best to go about some of those tasks. It is a work in progress, both designed and destined to remain so.
Scientific Integrity and Ethics by Written by geoscientists for geoscientists, Scientific Integrity and Ethics in the Geosciences acquaints readers with the fundamental principles of scientific ethics and shows how they apply to everyday work in the classroom, laboratory, and field.
