Geoscience Education and Outreach of Weather in New York using the DOW at Hobart & William Smith Colleges (GEO WIND HWS) Project

Transcription

1 FacilityRequestforEducationalActivities[GEOWINDHWSProject] 1. Introduction GeoscienceEducationandOutreachofWeatherinNewYorkusingtheDOW athobart&williamsmithcolleges(geowindhws)project NeilF.LairdandNicholasD.Metz DepartmentofGeoscience Hobart&WilliamSmithColleges Geneva,NY HobartandWilliamSmithColleges(HWS)isrequestinga17day(February13March1,2013) oncampus deployment of one of the dualpolarimetric Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radars, managedbythecenterforsevereweatherresearch(cswr),forthepurposesof a. Education: Nearly 70 students from four atmospheric science courses offered by Drs. Laird and Metz during the spring 2013 semester will have opportunities to gain first handknowledgeofthedowradarsystemthoughfieldworkandexercisesintegrated intocourses.approximately30ofthesestudentswillbegeosciencemajors/minors.this subset of students will gain valuable experience with the planning, deployment, collection, and analysis of DOW measurements along with accompanying meteorologicalmeasurementsfromhwsmobilesoundingandmesonetfacilitiesduring GEOWINDHWS project. The remaining 40 students, enrolled in an Introduction to Meteorologycourse(GEO182),willcompleteinclassexercisesusingDOWradardata andhaveanopportunitytotourthedowfacility. and b. Outreach: Several outreach events are planned both on the HWS campus and at regional universities and K12 schools. These events will provide students, staff, and faculty,aswellasthegeneralpublicanopportunitytotourthedowfacilityandlearn aboutweatherresearch.additionally,thehwsadmissionsandcommunicationsoffices plan to publicize the oncampus events and invite television and other media outlets withinthewesternandcentralnewyorkregion(syracuse,ithaca,androchester).we also plan to coordinate outreach events and data collection operations with the NationalWeatherServiceForecastOffices(NWSFOs)inBinghamton,NYandBuffalo,NY. We have included a preliminary calendar of the 17day deployment for the GEOWINDHWS projecttodemonstratethebalancedschedulebetweeneducationandoutreach.thecalendar isincludedinsection4oftherequest. 2. EducationalActivitiesandBenefits The Department of Geoscience at HWS has a rich history of incorporating field labs and researchintoitsstudenteducationalexperience.forexample,thelocationofhwsonseneca Lake provides unique opportunities for fieldbased pedagogy; we routinely incorporate the William Scandling, thecolleges' 65ft steelhulled research vessel, into course and research relatedhandsondatacollectionexperiences.withtherecentgrowthofatmosphericscienceat 1 Page

2 FacilityRequestforEducationalActivities[GEOWINDHWSProject] HWS, we have acquired mobile sounding and mesonet facilities that are being utilized in conjunctionwithseveraldifferentcourseofferings.theuseofthedowintandemwiththese otherobservationalplatformswillallowstudentstobetterunderstandandappreciatethework involvedinameteorologicalfieldproject.dr.lairdhaspreviouslybeeninvolvedwithseveral meteorologicalfieldprojectsandhasexperiencewithperformingradaranalysesusingavariety ofsoftwaretools,includingsolo. The deployment period in midtolate February of the spring 2013 semester will be ideal because students will have had a few weeks prior to the arrival of the DOW to learn backgroundskillsinradarandmesoscalemeteorology.giventhelocationofhwswithinthe FingerLakesregionofNewYorkStateandcloseproximitytotheeasternGreatLakes(Ontario and Erie), we anticipate being able to collect DOW radar measurements during a variety of weathersituations,suchaslakeeffectsnowbandsoveranindividualfingerlakeorgreatlake, ice storms, frontal passages, and mesoscale snow bands embedded within snowfall from a synopticscale cyclone. Additionally, we anticipate being able to collect DOW radar measurements to examine nonmeteorological targets, such as wind turbines, terrain and vegetation,andbirdmigration.inadditiontodowdeploymentsitesinbuffalo,binghamton, and Ithaca, New York that will be coordinated with combined data collection from dual polarimetricwsr88dradarsand/oroutreachevents,weanticipateidentifyingatleastthree sitesinthefingerlakesandeasterngreatlakesregionsfordowdeploymentsduringthegeo WINDHWSproject(seesection5). Activities and measurements related to the DOW deployments will be used in the following fouratmosphericsciencecoursesathwsinthespring2013semesterandinsubsequentyears. GEO265:WeatherMeasurement(10students;Dr.Laird):Oneofthemaintopicsinthis courseisradarmeteorology.geo265studentswillbelargelyresponsibleforoperating thedowandmanagingdowdeployment.thiswillbringtolifemaintopicsdiscussedin class,suchasscanningstrategies,dualpolarimetricradarparameters,andissuesrelated to radar measurements and data quality. Additionally, GEO265 students will gain experience working with collection and analysis of radar data through GEOWINDHWS operationsandcompletingacasestudyusingdowradarmeasurements. GEO260:WeatherAnalysis(10students;Dr.Metz):Acornerstoneofthiscourseinvolves teaching students meteorological analysis techniques by focusing on the forecasting process. Students regularly make realtime forecasts and lead current weather discussions. While the DOW is deployed at HWS, students will work with Dr. Metz to providethenecessaryforecaststodeterminethepotentialfordowoperationseachday. Following DOW operations, the observed conditions along with details of the DOW deployment will be reviewed and assessed to discuss the forecast quality. GEO260 studentsinterestedinbeingpartofthedowmeasurementdeploymentswillalsohavean opportunitytoworkasstudentdowoperators. GEO355:Mesoscale&SevereWeather(12students;Dr.Metz):Thiscoursefocuseson an advanced understanding of mesoscale phenomena. Data collected during DOW deployments will be integrated into classroom discussions and mesoscale weather briefings,aswellasstudentprojects.withthepotentialofcollectingdowmeasurements 2 Page

3 FacilityRequestforEducationalActivities[GEOWINDHWSProject] for a variety of mesoscale weather situations, students will gain experience with the collection and interpretation of an important source of data that can contribute to a betterunderstandingofmesoscalephenomena.additionally,geo355studentswillassist withforecastingandnowcastingactivitiestoimprovetheirknowledgeofthechallenges and complexities associated with realtime mesoscale operational forecasting. GEO355 studentsinterestedinbeingpartofthedowmeasurementdeploymentswillalsohavean opportunitytoworkasstudentdowoperators. GEO182: Introduction to Meteorology (36 students; Dr. Laird): This course not only servesasasurveycourseinmeteorology,buthasalsohistoricallybeenusedtorecruit studentsintotheatmosphericscienceconcentrationinthedepartmentofgeoscience.a largenumberofinclassexercisesareutilizedinthiscoursetoprovideanactivelearning environment primarily within the classroom because of the larger enrollment in this course. Consistent with this previously successful approach, Dr. Laird plans to develop multiplenewinclassexercisesforstudentsthatwouldbecoupledwithanoverviewand tour of the DOW facility. GEO182 students interested in being part of the DOW measurementdeploymentswillalsohaveanopportunitytoworkalongsideotherstudent DOWoperators. 3. OutreachActivities Thereareanumberofregionalcollegesanduniversities(SUNYOswego,SUNYBrockport, Cornell University, Buffalo State College) within a 2 3 hour drive of HWS that have atmospheric science departments or teach a number of meteorology classes. Students from these departments will be invited to visit HWS to tour the DOW. Additionally, students from local community colleges (Finger Lakes Community Colleges, Onondaga CommunityCollege,andMonroeCommunityCollege)willalsobeinvitedtotourtheDOW facilities. These visits will not only introduce many additional students to the DOW facilitiesbutalsofosterteachingandresearchrelationshipsamongthelocalinstitutions. HWShasarichhistoryofworkingcloselywithlocalhighschools.Thus,HWSstudentsand faculty will make arrangements to take the DOW to several schools in local districts (Geneva,DeSales,PhelpsCliftonSprings,Waterloo)fordemonstrationsandtours.Since thedowexperienceisfocusedoneducation,thesetourswillalsogivehwsstudentsa chancetoteachk12studentsaboutthedowandatmosphericscience. HWS offers multiple oncampus events during the spring semester for prospective studentsandtheirparents.thehwsadmissionsofficewillpublicizethepresenceofthe DOW facilities for all campus open houses during the oncampus DOW deployment. AtmosphericsciencestudentswillstafftheDOWfacilities,offeringtoursanddiscussions aboutthedowandatmosphericscienceathws. Geneva,NewYorkislocatednearlyequidistantbetweenthecitiesofRochester,Syracuse, and Ithaca, New York. Thus, television stations in each market would provide a far reachingopportunityforoutreachinwesternandcentralnewyork.thecommunications officeplanstocontactlocalmediaineachmarketandinvitethemtothehwscampusto tourthedow. 3 Page

4 FacilityRequestforEducationalActivities[GEOWINDHWSProject] HWShasalongstandingtraditionwhereprofessorsfromawidevarietyofdepartments and programs offer Friday Faculty Lunch Talks that pertain to research or teaching practices.thedowdeploymentwillofferanopportunityfordrs.lairdandmetztogive oneofthesetalksandprovidebothanoverviewofthedowfacilitiesandallowscience, humanities, and social science faculty at the Colleges to tour the DOW radar. This presentationwillbeplannedforfriday,february15(seecalendarinsection4). 4. PreliminaryGEOWINDHWSProjectCalendar Date Day MorningEvent(s) AfternoonEvent(s) EveningEvent(s) Feb.13 Wednesday DOWarrival&training DOWarrival&training DOWarrival&training Feb.14 Thursday DOWDeployment (GEO265&GEO355) Feb.15 Friday PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment HWSFacultyLunch PresentationandDOWtours PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.16 Saturday PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.17 Sunday PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.18 Monday PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.19 Tuesday DOWschooloutreach events(geneva&desales) withgeo265students DOWdeployment (Binghamton)combined withnwsfobgmoutreach DOWGEO182course exerciseandtour DOWdeployment(Ithaca) combinedwithcornelluniv. outreachevent DOWdeployment (Binghamton)combinedwith NWSFOBGMoutreach PossibleDOWdeployment DOWdeployment(Ithaca) combinedwithcornelluniv. outreachevent Feb.20 Wednesday PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.21 Thursday DOWschooloutreachevent (PhelpsCliftonSprings)with GEO265students PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.22 Friday PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.23 Saturday PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.24 Sunday PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.25 Monday PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.26 Tuesday DOWschooloutreachevent (Waterloo)withGEO265 students HWSoncampusoutreach eventanddowtours DOWdeployment(Buffalo) combinedwithnwsfobuf outreach DOWGEO182course exercise PossibleDOWdeployment DOWdeployment(Buffalo) combinedwithnwsfobuf outreach PossibleDOWdeployment HWSoncampusoutreach eventanddowtours Feb.27 Wednesday PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment Feb.28 Thursday DOWDeployment (GEO265&GEO355) PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment Mar.1 Friday PossibleDOWdeployment PossibleDOWdeployment DOWdeparture 4 Page

5 FacilityRequestforEducationalActivities[GEOWINDHWSProject] 5. PotentialDeploymentLocationsandGeographyofCentralandWesternNewYork PossibleDOWdeploymentlocationsforGEOWINDHWS Hobart&WilliamSmithColleges TheBuffalo,NYandBinghamton,NYdeploymentsiteswillbecollocated,orinnearproximity, withtherecentlyupgradeddualpolarimetricwsr88dradarsallowingstudentsanopportunity to compare near simultaneous measurements collected from both platforms. Deployment at the other four locations will permit the DOW to collect measurements on a variety of mesoscalephenomena.theactualdeploymentlocationwilldependupondailymeteorological conditions. 5 Page

6 Version 4 February 2012 Facility Request Form for Educational Activities Part I: General Information Requestor(s) Name Institution and Address Phone and Faculty Advisor Name (if student requestor) Part II: Project Description Project Title Project Location Start and End Dates of Field Deployment NSF Facilities requested (type and # of systems) Number of Expendables requested (if applicable) Part III: Educational Activities Description Number of students actively involved Desired training activities conducted by Facility Staff including time in the field Desired teaching activities conducted by Facility Staff including time in the field Additional special requirements that pertain to Facility support NeilLaird&NicholasMetz Hobart&WilliamSmithColleges DepartmentofGeoscience 300PulteneyStreet Geneva,NY14456 (315) laird@hws.edu GeoscienceEducationandOutreachof WeatherinNewYorkusingtheDOW athobart&williamsmithcolleges (GEOWINDHWS)Project WesternandCentralNewYorkRegion centeredongeneva,ny February13March1,2013 DoppleronWheels(DOW)1 Graduate: none Undergraduate: 30 Show faculty and students how to operate the DOW and collect/save/backup data during operations period none none

7 Version 4 February 2012 Ancillary/Opportunistic Outreach Activities Several outreach events are planned both on the HWS campus and at regional universities and K-12 schools. These events will provide students, staff, and faculty, as well as the general public an opportunity to tour the DOW facility and learn about weather research. Additionally, the HWS admissions and communications offices plan to publicize the on-campus events and invite television and other media outlets within the western and central New York region (Syracuse, Ithaca, and Rochester). We also plan to coordinate outreach events and data collection operations with the National Weather Service Forecast Offices (NWSFOs) in Binghamton, NY and Buffalo, NY. Part IV: Operational Requirements Please specify data access needs (e.g., real time) Please specify data analysis needs Please specify communications needs Realtimedataaccessfordeployments none none