Fast Breaking Comment by Tammy Weckwerth

Tammy Weckwerth answers a few questions about this month's fast breaking paper in the field of Geosciences.

From •>>June 2006

Field: Geosciences
Article Title: An overview of the International H2O Project (IHOP_2002) and some preliminary highlights
Authors: Weckwerth, TM;Parsons, DB;Koch, SE;Moore, JA;LeMone, MA;Demoz, BB;Flamant, C;Geerts, B;Wang, JH;Feltz, WF
Journal: BULL AMER METEOROL SOC
Volume: 85
Issue: 2
Page: 253-+
Year: FEB 2004
* Natl Ctr Atmospher Res, ATD, POB 3000, Boulder, CO 80307 USA.
* Natl Ctr Atmospher Res, ATD, Boulder, CO 80307 USA.
* NOAA Res, Forecast Syst Lab, Boulder, CO USA.
* Univ Corp Atmospher Res, Joint Off Sci Support, Boulder, CO USA.
* Natl Ctr Atmospher Res, Mesoscale & Microscale Meteorol Div, Boulder, CO 80307 USA.
* NASA, Mesoscale Atmospher Proc Branch, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA.
* Univ Paris 06, Inst Pierre Simon Laplace, CNRS, Serv Aeron, Paris, France.
* Univ Wyoming, Dept Atmospher Sci, Laramie, WY 82071 USA.
* Univ Wisconsin, Ctr Space Sci & Engn, Cooperat Inst Meteorol Satellite Studies, Madison, WI 53706 USA.

Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

“This paper presents the culmination of four years of planning to bring the field campaign to fruition.”

This paper described a large meteorogical field campaign which took place in 2002. After a couple years of research, scientists are now publishing results from the project and citing this paper which describes the complete campaign.

Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or synthesis of knowledge?

It describes a field campaign in which we brought together many of the new methods of measuring atmospheric water vapor. This water vapor is very difficult to measure and it is important to understand its distribution and magnitude in order to better forecast thunderstorms and rainfall.

Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman’s terms?

This paper presents the culmination of four years of planning to bring the field campaign to fruition. Many different government agencies and universities and international collaborators came together to address the common goal of obtaining better atmospheric moisture measurements.

How did you become involved in this research, and were any problems encountered along the way?

By doing data analysis using previous datasets, we've found that atmospheric moisture varies substantially. Our typical means of sampling this moisture is the radiosonde.

A radiosonde—sonde is the German word for probe—is a unit for use in weather balloons that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them to a fixed receiver.

These radiosondes are only launched twice a day from sites up to 100 miles apart, but yet they are used for forecasting purposes. The infrequent and widely spaced radiosondes are likely not measuring enough of the atmospheric moisture variations which are essential for improved weather forecasts.

Absolutely, there were numerous problems along the way. We brought together many unique instruments and combinations of instruments. We had to install U.S. and French instruments on a Navy aircraft that met all of the Navy’s stringent flight requirements.

We had to design small radars to detect nearby aircraft and automatically shut down non-eye-safe lidars when detected. We had to squeeze multiple radars and lidars onto a German Falcon (DE / F20) aircraft. We had to fight for funding sources.

Are there any social or political implications for your research?

The potential societal implications are great. With an improved understanding of how, why, and where thunderstorms form and evolve, we may be able to improve our rainfall-forecasting skills.

Dr. Tammy M. Weckwerth
Scientist III
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, CO, USA

ESI Special Topics, June 2006
Citing URL - http://www.esi-topics.com/fbp/2006/june06-TammyWeckwerth.html