The Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences is located on three floors in Burnside Hall on the downtown campus of McGill University. Burnside Hall also contains the Departments of Geography and Mathematics and Statistics, the Network and Communications Services (NCS), as well as the Walter Hitschfeld Geographic Information Centre (GIC) and the Edward Rosenthall Mathematics and Statistics Libraries. Conveniently situated next door is the Schulich Library of Science and Engineering with its wide collection of periodicals and books. Within the department are located a wide variety of computing and graphic facilities and laboratories to collect and analyze atmospheric and oceanic data. For large scale computing, students have access to the University mainframe computer and the supercomputers of the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) in Dorval, Quebec, and elsewhere.
A radar wind profiler and a laser ceilometer are located in the Department and are employed in studies of wind, clouds, and precipitation over downtown Montreal. These instruments are operated in collaboration with the Aeronomy Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States of America. They complement the observations of the Radar Weather Observatory. Together they provide students with many opportunities for experience in modern methods of atmospheric remote sensing.
The Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences is part of a large and vigorous atmospheric science community in the greater Montreal area. Active research is conducted at the Division de recherche en prévision numérique (RPN) of MSC, Dorval, and in groups in the Physics and Geography Departments at downtown McGill as well as at Macdonald College. In addition, there is a group of atmospheric scientists at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Joint seminars and collaborative research projects among the different groups are common, making Montreal an especially stimulating place in which to study atmospheric science.