"Transforming the Sensing and Numerical Prediction of High Impact Local Weather Through Dynamic Adaptation: People and Technologies Interacting with the Atmosphere" by Kelvin K. Droegemeier
- March 28, 2008 at 3:30 PM
- Mechanical Engineering (MEC) Room 205, Reception to Follow
On Friday, March 28, the UVa Computational Science Speaker Series continues with a lecture by Kelvin K. Droegemeier, Professor of Meteorology (University of Oklahoma), Director Emeritus (Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS)), and Associate VP for Research (University of Oklahoma).
Kelvin Droegemeier received his Bachelor's degree with Special Distinction in Meteorology in 1980 from the University of Oklahoma, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in atmospheric science in 1982 and 1985, respectively, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the direction of R. Wilhelmson. He joined the University of Oklahoma in September, 1985 as an Assistant Professor of Meteorology, and was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in July, 1991, and promoted to Professor in July, 1998. Dr. Droegemeier was co-founder in 1989 of the NSF Science and Technology Center (STC) for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS), and served for five years as its deputy director. He then directed CAPS from 1994 until 2006, and today is Director Emeritus of CAPS.
On March 28, Dr. Droegemeier will talk about "Transforming the Sensing and Numerical Prediction of High Impact Local Weather Through Dynamic Adaptation: People and Technologies Interacting with the Atmosphere". Those who have experienced the devastation of a tornado, the raging waters of a flash flood, the strong winds and high waves of a hurricane, or the paralyzing impacts of lake-effect snows understand that mesoscale weather forms and evolves rapidly, often with considerable uncertainty with regard to location and timing. Such weather is also locally intense and frequently influenced by processes on both larger and smaller scales. Ironically, few of the technologies used to observe the atmosphere, predict its evolution, and compute, transmit, or store information about it operate in a manner that accommodates the dynamic behavior of mesoscale weather. Radars do not adaptively scan specific regions of thunderstorms; numerical models are run largely on fixed time schedules in fixed configurations; and cyberinfrastructure does not allow meteorological tools to run on-demand, change configurations in response to the weather, or provide the fault tolerance needed for rapid reconfiguration. As a result, today's weather technology is highly constrained and far from optimal when applied to any particular situation, especially unpredictable mesoscale weather.
This presentation describes a major paradigm shift now underway in the field of meteorology—away from today's environment in which remote sensing systems, atmospheric prediction models, and hazardous weather detection systems operate in fixed configurations, and on fixed schedules largely independent of weather—to one in which they can change their configuration dynamically in response to the evolving weather. This transformation involves the creation of adaptive radars, Grid-enabled analysis and forecast systems, and associated cyberinfrastructure that operate automatically on demand. In addition to describing the research and technology development being performed to establish this capability within a service oriented architecture, the associated economic and societal implications of dynamically adaptive weather sensing, analysis and prediction systems will be discussed.
The Computational Science Speaker Series is co-sponsored by James Hilton, UVa Vice President and Chief Information Officer; the College of Arts & Sciences; and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
For more information, contact Alice Howard at agh@virginia.edu.