{"id":3477,"date":"2005-12-19T10:30:30","date_gmt":"2005-12-19T16:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/?p=3477"},"modified":"2013-06-25T14:10:03","modified_gmt":"2013-06-25T19:10:03","slug":"monthly-news-summary-december-2005","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/articles\/3477","title":{"rendered":"Monthly News Summary – December 2005"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0The Give and Take of Overseas Collaboration<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Jennifer O’Leary<\/em><\/p>\n

For anywhere from a few days to a few years, some SSEC employees spend time abroad to connect with their international counterparts and, in\u00a0Howard Berger\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0words, to \u201cput faces behind the e-mails.\u201d By maintaining a presence abroad as well as hosting visitors from overseas, the center facilitates a continuous exchange of information and strengthens international scientific ties.<\/p>\n

While providing their expertise, those sent overseas by SSEC discover that the benefits go both ways. Sent to Italy\u2019s Mediterranean Agency for Remote Sensing and Environmental Control this past summer to set up a computer cluster and teach technicians there how to use it,\u00a0Steve Dutcher\u00a0<\/strong>also learned how to process data from instruments with which he has little experience \u2013 an opportunity that he believes helps him as he writes new software and participates in field experiments. \u201c[Initially,] I thought they were getting the better end of the deal … But looking back at it now, I definitely see how SSEC and I benefited.\u201d Dutcher said. \u201cFor that matter, we probably even got the better end of the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before an SSEC employee departs on a trip like Dutcher\u2019s, that person will sit down with supervisors at SSEC and draw up a prioritized list of the benefits for both SSEC and the host organization. In Berger\u2019s case, the organization he visited sent a scientist to spend a year here. Among other science-related benefits, this exchange of people allowed both organizations to solidify their relationship. \u201cWe\u2019re all very accommodating of each other\u2019s needs,\u201d said\u00a0Kathy Strabala\u00a0<\/strong>who went to Germany as a visiting scientist.<\/p>\n

Back in 2003, Strabala spent four weeks at the European organization for the exploitation of METeorological SATellites (EUMetSat) to pass on information about the way instruments on GOES depict the stability of the atmosphere. She also helped to validate the accuracy of the data from EUMetSat\u2019s latest satellite and assisted in the transition from the previous satellite. \u201cI can\u2019t say enough good things about it,\u201d Strabala said of her experience.<\/p>\n

Strabala found that she not only provided her expertise, but she learned a lot as well. For example, she gained more confidence in the algorithm, or computer procedure, that she helped develop to analyze cloud information from satellite data. Strabala also \u201clearned a lot of science\u201d while working with data from different satellites.<\/p>\n

Unlike Strabala and Dutcher who spent mere weeks abroad, Berger spent two years in southwest England at the UK Meteorology Office where he worked with the satellite applications group. Berger learned a lot about numerical weather prediction, but he feels he gained more from the \u201csocial connections that come of living overseas for two years.\u201d Both Berger and Dutcher plan to return to England and Italy respectively to visit the friends they made while working overseas. \u201cThe most beneficial thing that came out of this was the relationships I built with the people there,\u201d Dutcher said.<\/p>\n

Besides strengthening personal connections, working abroad provides a cultural perspective. Strabala also remarked about the \u201ccompletely international\u201d atmosphere. She said that she found it \u201cfascinating\u201dand enjoyed hearing different languages all around.<\/p>\n

Like Strabala, Berger noticed some differences between the UKMet Office and CIMSS. \u201cScientifically, goals are different,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re more research oriented.\u201d Berger mentioned that the UKMet Office reports directly to the government and, consequently, feels more pressure from the government to produce operational products than CIMSS does. Although he saw many subtle cultural differences, he pointed out that, \u201cin terms of working environment, it\u2019s not really different.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Antarctica<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_B15ASPLIT_NOV2-05\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Iceberg B-15A, itself a chunk of the original Vermont-sized B-15, has finally broken into several pieces off Cape Adair.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

It finally breaks!\u2014<\/strong>Iceberg B-15A, itself a chunk of the original Vermont-sized B-15, has finally broken into several pieces off Cape Adair. According to the\u00a0European Space Agency<\/a>, \u201cit broke up into 9 pieces along fault lines on October 27.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March of 2000, Antarctica\u2019s Ross Ice Shelf began to calve large tabular icebergs, the first time since satellite imagery became available. SSEC\u2019s Antarctic Meteorological Research Center has monitored their movement ever since. The very first and largest was named B-15 for its original position and chronology. Glaciologists, especially Douglas MacAyeal of the University of Chicago\u2019s Department of Geophysics, had never been able to follow the movement of such large pieces of ice, and were excited to use the images that AMRC provided. MacAyeal also collaborated with UW\u2019s Automatic Weather Station project that places stations throughout the continent and provides the data freely to researchers, thanks to National Science Foundation support.<\/p>\n

When B-15 broke into 2 pieces, the AWS and AMRC groups and MacAyeal placed stations on the largest piece. Three separate stations were put on B-15A to triangulate for wind speed and direction. Since 2001, Jonathan Thom of the AWS group has placed weather stations with GPS on 3 more icebergs. This way, the researchers have been able to pinpoint the movements of the bergs. Meteorologist Shelley Knuth (AMRC) reports that 2 stations remain on B-15A, the largest of the remaining 9 pieces.<\/p>\n

The iceberg breakup comes close to the anniversary of the signing of the Antarctica treaty.\u00a0The\u00a0New York Times<\/a><\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that \u201con Dec. 1, 1959, representatives of 12 countries, including the United States, signed a treaty in Washington setting aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, free from military activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Iceberg FAQ<\/a>\u00a0was written when public interest in the large icebergs was at its height. The\u00a0Digital Library for Earth System Education<\/a>\u00a0recently incorporated it into its database of educational Web sites.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Data and Imagery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_paw_local_clouds\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Russ Dengel (SSEC) maintains a Web site for PDA Animated Weather (PAW). The PAW is continuously underdevelopment as Dengel accomodates request from a diverse community of PDA users.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Praise for PAW<\/strong>\u2014Russ Dengel<\/strong>\u2019s (SSEC)PDA Animated Weather (PAW), a PDA-friendly weather Web service<\/a>, continues to receive glowing reviews as he updates and expands its capabilities to meet the needs of his users. The site currently provides users with composite radar and satellite weather images and forecasts. Users can chose from a multitude of geographic regions and data options including animation, zoom and roam functions.<\/p>\n

Dengel accommodates requests from a diverse community. Recently, he tailored his services for the fire department in Puerto Rico by setting up a radar loop centered on San Juan and adding a large sector for satellite data about clouds over the area. Dengel will continue to work with fire fighters in Puerto Rico to add helpful products to the PAW service. He also helped the fire department in Boise, ID by adding sophisticated 3-D data fields and volumetric radar products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_paw_color\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Dengel offers users a wide variety of weather products covering regions across the USA. Users can choose an area and set what type of data they would like to receive. PAW also lets users animate the imagery as well as zoom and roam.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Praise for PAW also flooded a\u00a0message board on myTreo.net,<\/a>a site for Treo Smart Phone users. After a user posted the link to the PAW site, others responded with compliments for the service. Many sent suggestions to Dengel, which he handled efficiently. Joe Johnson, a Treo user in California, recently sent Dengel a thank you: \u201cI just want to say THANK YOU! You are providing a great service to the Treo community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Milwaukee Area Skywarn Association<\/a>\u00a0also appreciates PAW products and recently added a link to the PAW site on the Skywarn Web site\u2019s front page. The association\u2019s executive director, Skip Voros, told Dengel that he\u2019s \u201coff to a great start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert Rabin disseminated word of PAW throughout the\u00a0National Severe Storms Laboratory<\/a>\u00a0(NSSL) and passed along some of the positive feedback to Dengel. \u201cThe more I use this more it becomes evident that Russ really thought through the issues,\u201d NSSL\u2019s Ken Howard wrote. \u201cWhat a great effort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
Working with the Wisconsin DOT, PAW now provides information about winter road conditions.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Working with theWisconsin Department of Transportation<\/a>, Dengel now provides a PAW version of the DOT\u2019s winter road condition information. He plans to use the information to create an item that users can superimpose on top of current satellite and radar images.<\/p>\n

A testament to the value of the service, new users keep picking up PAW products and spreading word of the site\u2019s usefulness. In response to feedback and suggestions from these users, Dengel constantly adds new products and features.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Meetings and Field Experiments<\/strong><\/p>\n

AGU annual meeting<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014The\u00a0American Geophysical Union<\/a>\u00a0annual meeting is the largest gathering of geophysicists and physicists in the world. The group meets this year in San Francisco from December 5\u20139. Researchers in SSEC\u2019s\u00a0Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies<\/a>\u00a0(CIMSS) and their\u00a0NOAA<\/a>\u00a0counterparts stationed at SSEC have a strong presence.<\/p>\n

Most SSEC and CIMSS presentations are being given in the Atmospheric Sciences section.\u00a0Andy Heidinger<\/strong>\u00a0(in the NOAA\/NESDIS Advanced Satellite Products Branch at SSEC) was invited to give \u201cCloud Products: From POES to NPOESS,\u201d written with\u00a0Bryan Baum<\/strong>\u00a0(NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center (LARC) stationed at SSEC) and Fuzhong Weng (NOAA Science Center). This talk is an overview of the new NPOESS capabilities for cloud remote sensing and reviews planned cloud products. Heidinger will explain expected deficiencies in cloud products derived from each sensor alone and will discuss benefits of combining data from multiple NPOESS sensors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_agu_PATMOS-x\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Above is a map projection created with PATMOS-x data. PATMOS-x includes data from all 5 channel AVHRR’s and includes a full suite of cloud products.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Heidenger<\/strong>\u00a0is also presenting the poster, “Towards a new high cloud climatology from PATMOS-x,” produced withMichael<\/strong>\u00a0Pavolonis<\/strong>(NOAA\/NESDIS\/ ASPB at SSEC), and Aleksandar Jelenak (NOAA\/NESDIS Office of Research and Applications). ThePathfinder Atmospheres Extended (PATMOS-x) project<\/a>is a new cloud climatology using data from 1982 to 2005. PATMOS-x includes data from all 5 channel AVHRR’s and includes a full suite of cloud products.<\/p>\n

Steve Ackerman<\/strong>\u00a0(CIMSS director),\u00a0Richard Frey<\/strong>, (CIMSS),\u00a0Edwin<\/strong>Eloranta<\/strong>\u00a0(UW\u2013Madison\u2019s Department of Atmospheric Sciences), andRobert Holz<\/strong>\u00a0(recent Ph.D in AOS) are presenting the paper, \u201c Cloud Detection: The Impact of Optical Depth, Spectral Thresholds, FOV, and Averaging,\u201d that explores how new capabilities of the latest satellite instruments can make it easier to detect thin cirrus clouds, often missed in passive remote sensing. In her\u00a0release about the paper<\/a>, University Communications\u2019 Paroma Basu notes that \u201cscientists often struggle to define the point at which they cease to be clouds,\u201d and that it is hard to make readings of areas filled with different clouds and cloud conditions. Her release appeared in “Wisconsin Week Wire” (December 7).\u00a0United Press International<\/a>\u00a0and Scripps Howard News Service picked up the article. Ackerman was interviewed for\u00a0LiveScience<\/a>\u00a0as well.\u00a0Reporter Ker Than<\/a>noted that satellite data may have made traditional definitions of clouds inadequate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_nasti\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Dan Deslover presents a poster detailing results from satellite calibration and validation experiments that used NAST-I.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Dan Deslover<\/strong>\u00a0(CIMSS)will present the poster, \u201cHigh Spectral Resolution Infrared Cloud Measurements from the\u00a0NPOESS Airborne Sounder Testbed-Interferometer<\/a>(NAST-I) During Several Satellite Calibration\/Validation Experiments,\u201d produced with Holz. It focuses on flights taken on 6 September 2004 and 17 October 2004. Both campaigns were conducted over ground-based validation sites which included a suite of atmospheric sensors for comparison and calibration purposes.<\/p>\n

In the Atmospheric Sciences poster session,\u00a0Holz<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Ackerman<\/strong>\u00a0are presenting \u201cArctic Winter High Spectral Resolution Cloud Height Retrievals.\u201d They present a new technique that accounts for the Arctic\u2019s challenging winter environment that makes it difficult to accurately measure cloud-top heights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_agu_AVE\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Kenneth Vinson presents a poster featuring results from AVE-Houston 2004 and 2005. The Scanning HIS took part in these field programs aboard a WB-57 (pictured above).<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Kenneth Vinson<\/strong>(CIMSS) will\u00a0presents the poster, \u201cAircraft Level Air Temperature Derived From the High Accuracy Radiometric Observations of the Scanning HIS Interferometer During the\u00a0AURA Validation Experiment (AVE-Houston 2004 and 2005)<\/a>,\u201d produced with\u00a0Hank\u00a0<\/strong>Revercomb<\/strong>,Stev<\/strong>en<\/strong>\u00a0Dutcher<\/strong>,Robert<\/strong>\u00a0Knuteson<\/strong>,David<\/strong>\u00a0Turner<\/strong>, and\u00a0David<\/strong>\u00a0Tobin<\/strong>\u00a0(all SSEC). The S-HIS upwelling and down-welling radiance observations are being used in the creation of an aircraft level air temperature product. Results are presented that represent the current state of these measurements and comparisons with other in-situ temperature measurements on board the AVE flights.<\/p>\n

In the Biogeosciences section,\u00a0Robert Knuteson<\/strong>\u00a0is presenting \u201cComparison of Land Surface Temperature from AIRS and MODIS,\u201d written with\u00a0Jacob Cychosz<\/strong>,\u00a0Szu-Chia Lee<\/strong>,\u00a0Hank Revercomb<\/strong>,\u00a0David Tobin<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Kenneth Vinson<\/strong>\u00a0(all SSEC). Monthly mean land surface estimates of temperature from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder on NASA\u2019s Aqua satellite are compared with corresponding estimates from Aqua\u2019s MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_agu_sose\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Tommy Jasmin, Tom Whittacker and Steve Ackerman (all of CIMSS) are working on “Satellite Observations in Science Education,” a project funded by NASA with a goal of developing an Internet-based education environment.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In Education and Human Resources,Tommy Jasmin<\/strong>\u00a0is presenting \u201cSatellite Observations in Science Education<\/a>,\u201d produced with\u00a0Tom<\/strong>Whittaker<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Steve Ackerman<\/strong>\u00a0(all of CIMSS) and L. L. Howles (UW\u2013Madison Department of Information Technology). The five-year project, funded by NASA, has as its goal to develop an Internet-based education environment that provides interactive learning activities that teach remote sensing principles and exploratory data analysis.<\/p>\n

In Earth and Space Science Informatics,\u00a0Tom Rink<\/strong>\u00a0presents \u201cHYDRA\u2014Hyperspectral Data Research Application,\u201d written with\u00a0Tom Whittaker<\/strong>. HYDRA is a freely available, easy-to-install Java-based tool to visualize and analyze large local or remote datasets.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Engineering Feats<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
The GIFTS program will improve severe weather forecast as well as global weather prediction models.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Better weather forecasts with GIFTS<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014During the November 29 broadcast, NPR\u2019sNews and Notes with Ed Gordon<\/em>featured a piece on theGeosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) program<\/a>. Ed Gordon discussed the instrument and its potential with\u00a0Bill Smith<\/strong>, an SSEC scientist and professor at Hampton University. GIFTS is a satellite instrument being developed to observe processes in the atmosphere that lead to storm development. In light of this year\u2019s long and devastating hurricane season, Smith commented that GIFTS would provide \u201cmore precise landfall predictions that could save us a lot of money.\u201d Smith also told of the instrument\u2019s ability to improve thunderstorm and tornado forecasting. According to Smith, GIFTS could \u201cobserve the convergence of moisture in the low levels of the atmosphere, which gives rise to a severe thunderstorm or tornado, about an hour before such a s storm can be seen … on radar.\u201d The instrument will also improve global weather prediction models. If all goes as planned, GIFTS could launch aboard a Russian satellite in 2009.<\/p>\n

PSL connections<\/strong>\u2014The Fall 2005\u00a0Observer<\/em>, newsletter of UW-Madison\u2019sPhysical Sciences Laboratory<\/a>\u00a0(PSL), reminded us of SSEC\u2019s links to PSL. An article about PSL\u2019s new firn drill notes that it is based on a design by SSEC engineer\u00a0Jim Green<\/strong>. PSL has improved speed and smoothness of their new drill. Firn is dense, deep snow that can be difficult to drill through.<\/p>\n

An article on\u00a0IceCube<\/a>, the neutrino telescope being constructed at the South Pole, notes that Claire Pettersen, IceCube Test Engineer, worked with SSEC\u2019s\u00a0Don Thielman<\/strong>\u00a0when he was employed at PSL. Thielman is an SSEC systems engineer. Pettersen worked with him as a student helper.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Tropical Cyclones<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_epsilon\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
CNN used one of the Tropical Cyclones group’s images of Hurricane Epsilon.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

One more time<\/strong>\u2014As this year\u2019s non-stop hurricane season began to wind down, Hurricane Epsilon rolled through the North Atlantic. On November 29,\u00a0CNN<\/a>featured an image from the\u00a0CIMSS Tropical Cyclones group<\/a>\u00a0on their front page to accompany an article about\u00a0Hurricane Epsilon<\/a>\u00a0and the \u201cWorst Hurricane Season on Record.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking back<\/strong>\u2014On November 22,\u00a0PBS<\/a>\u00a0aired\u00a0Nova<\/a><\/em>\u00a0\u2019s special presentation looking at Hurricane Katrina from a scientific perspective.\u00a0The companion Web site<\/a>\u00a0features hurricane imagery from SSEC and acknowledges CIMSS Tropical Cyclones group members\u00a0Chris Velden<\/strong>\u00a0(CIMSS) and\u00a0Tim Olander\u00a0<\/strong>(CIMSS).<\/p>\n

Hurricane Images\u2014<\/strong>On Wisconsin<\/a><\/em>\u00a0magazine features a stunning satellite image of Hurricane Katrina almost in the middle of its Winter 2005 edition. The UW alumni publication noted the research of the Tropical Cyclones group led by\u00a0Chris Velden<\/strong>\u00a0(MS \u201982). The group develops techniques that help the National Hurricane Center make \u201cspot-on\u201d forecasts.<\/p>\n

The Boscobel Dial,<\/em>\u00a0newspaper for Boscobel, Wisconsin, uses the same image on the first page of its second section on December 8, 2005 as its weather photo. The caption notes that the image was produced on SSEC\u2019s Man computer Interactive Data Access System.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Weather Research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_clearsky\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Starting in December, the GOES Clear Sky Brightness product went into operational use. CIMSS researchers developed this product.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Product approved for operational use<\/strong>\u2014TheSatellite Products and Services Review Board<\/a>\u00a0recently approved a\u00a0Clear Sky Brightness Temperature product<\/a>for operational use starting this December. CIMSS researchers developed this product at the request of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction\u2019s Environmental Modeling Center and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The product uses satellite data from GOES-East and \u2013West imagers and provides information over five spectral bands. NCEP and ECMWF plan to assimilate the product into global weather prediction models to better analyze the initial state of the atmosphere when forecasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_edfitz\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Robert Aune (NOAA at SSEC) used modern forecasting technology to recreate the storm that sank the\u00a0Edmund Fitzgerald. His simulation helps researchers see the “meterology behind the storm.”<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Edmund Fitzgerald\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>simulation makes the news<\/strong>\u2014Thirty years after theEdmund Fitzgerald\u00a0<\/em>disappeared into Lake Superior along with her 29 crewmembers and several tons of ore,\u00a0Robert Aune\u00a0<\/strong>(NOAA at SSEC )recreated the storm<\/a>\u00a0that swamped the great ship that November evening in 1975. UW\u2013Madison\u2019s University Communications posted\u00a0the press release<\/a>\u00a0on its Web site on November 10 and distributed it via their\u00a0Wisconsin Week<\/em>\u00a0news wire on November 16.\u00a0Science Daily<\/em>, an online science news service, posted this release on November 16. WIBA and WISC-TV both interviewed Aune about his CRAS simulation of the storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald. WISC-TV aired the piece during its evening newscasts on November 10. The\u00a0Wisconsin State Journal<\/a><\/em>\u2019s Ron Seely wrote an article about the simulation that ran on November 13. Aune also spoke about the simulation at UW-Madison\u2019s first\u00a0Wednesday Night at the Lab<\/a>\u00a0on November 16 where other members of the SSEC community also gave presentations.<\/p>\n

New products for forecasters<\/strong>\u2014On November 1,\u00a0CIMSS began providing National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices routinely with full resolution Derived Product Image products<\/a>\u00a0such as total precipitable water, lifted index (stability), and surface skin temperature. Called the\u00a0Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite<\/a>\u00a0(GOES) Merged Sounding Product System (MSPS), this is the first time that 10-km full resolution hourly products are being provided routinely for the standard operational display system for all NWS offices. The previous operational (DPI) products were generated at approximately 50 km resolution for the NWS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS).<\/p>\n

To educate the forecasters who will use these products, CIMSS researchers are preparing training material for the\u00a0Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training<\/a>\u00a0(VISIT) program, which regularly provides distance learning to NWS offices.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Presentations and Publications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"dec2005_uranus\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Icarus, an astronomy journal, featured images of Uranus observed by Lawerence Sromovsky and Patrick Fry with the Keck II telescope.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Cover of\u00a0Icarus<\/em><\/strong>\u2014The cover of the astronomy journal\u00a0Icarus<\/em>\u00a0(15 December 2005) features images of Uranus observed with the Keck II telescope in Hawaii, by\u00a0Lawrence Sromovsky<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Patrick Fry<\/strong>. That issue carries their article, “Dynamics of cloud features on Uranus.” Sromovsky and Fry used the Keck II to discover numerous cloud features, the better to track winds and study the planet’s dynamics.<\/p>\n

Presentation in Salt Lake City<\/strong>\u2014At the annual combined meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, in Salt Lake City (6-10 November)\u00a0Christine Molling<\/strong>\u00a0presented \u201cThe Impact of Log-Normally-Distributed Hydraulic Conductivity on Modeled Runoff.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Education and Outreach<\/strong><\/p>\n

Undergraduate research<\/strong>\u2014UW-Madison produced a video of the 6th annual Undergraduate Symposium last year. As part of the undergraduate research process,\u00a0Steve Ackerman<\/strong>\u00a0(CIMSS) mentored\u00a0Jessica Staude<\/strong>(SSEC). With Ackerman\u2019s assistance, Staude completed an atmospheric science project that she then presented at the symposium. Both Ackerman and Staude appeared in the video. Ackerman explained that undergraduate research allows students to experience what it\u2019s like to be \u201ca full-fledged member of a research team.\u201d<\/p>\n

High schoolers conduct research at CIMSS<\/strong>\u2014written with help from Robert Aune\u00a0<\/em>As a part of a UW-Madison program, two Madison area high school students, Bryce Lampe and Adeyinka Lesi, recently completed an eight-week summer internship at CIMSS. \u00a0Under the direction of\u00a0Robert Aune\u00a0<\/strong>(NOAA at SSEC), the students conducted a research project called \u201cModeling Satellite Tracers with a Simple Barotropic Model.\u201d Lampe and Lesi used a simple 2-dimensional barotropic model to track 6.7 micron and 13.3 micron brightness temperatures from the GOES-12 imager at different pressure levels in the atmosphere.\u00a0 They were able to accurately track brightness temperatures for three-hour periods, as long as clouds were not present. Lampe and Lesi concluded their experience by presenting their results at a Madison Area School District event. The students were part of a program that placed eighteen high schoolers from the Madison area with advisors from various departments at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to experience first hand the process of conducting basic applied research.<\/p>\n

Rosalyn Pertzborn,<\/strong>\u00a0director of SSEC\u2019s Office of Space Science Education, spoke to a delegation of educators, diplomats and other officials in New Delhi for launch of a new initiative between India and U.S. universities. Talks at the\u00a0Indo-US Inter-University Collaborative Initiative<\/a>\u00a0in Higher Education and Research are taking place at the Presidential Palace, New Delhi, December 7 and 8. Pertzborn and\u00a0Sanjay Limaye<\/strong>, SSEC planetary scientist, are representing the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Pertzborn\u2019s presentation was one of many given by educators including deans of engineering at Harvard and University of California-San Diego, vice provosts at University of Washington, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Georgia Institute of Technology, and many other higher education officials in the U.S. and India. Their talks followed a keynote address by Bill Gates that inaugurated the start of an \u201cunprecedented research and education collaboration between the Indian government, several Indian universities, three international corporations and 15 U.S. universities, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison,\u201d according to University Communications.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Accolades<\/strong><\/p>\n

Inundated with praise<\/strong>\u2014The stream of praise for CIMSS\u2019s Tropical Cyclones group continues as this year’s remarkable hurricane season settles down. John Bryant from San Francisco sent the following message complimenting the group\u2019s work on the Morphed Integrated Microwave Imagery at CIMSS (MIMIC) project, which uses satellite data to produce animations. \u201cGreat job on the MIMIC project, gentlemen,\u201d Bryant wrote in an e-mail.\u00a0\u201cWhat a great resource for\u00a0weather researchers. Thanks!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Also of Note<\/strong><\/p>\n

Suomi student<\/strong>\u2014Tom Vonder Haar, who received Master\u2019s and Ph.D. degrees in meteorology under SSEC founding director, Professor\u00a0Verner Suomi<\/strong>, was noted in\u00a0On Wisconsin,<\/em>\u00a0Winter 2005. Vonder Haar was recently inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. He directs the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere in Fort Collins, CO, a sister organization to SSEC\u2019s Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the News – December 2005<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-monthly-summary"],"acf":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3477"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3713,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3477\/revisions\/3713"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ssec.wisc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}