Zhanqing Li was an invited speaker at the 12th East Asian Climate (EAC) Workshop – East Asian Climate: New Perspectives and Challenges, July 1-3, Busan, Korea. In May, Li gave invited talks at the Meeting of Americas, Cancun, Mexico, on “Variable influences of aerosols on cloud, precipitation and radiation budgets” and “The impact of aerosols on the climate and its changes in China.”…
Jingfeng Huang’s seminar presentation at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, “S-NPP VIIRS Aerosol Products: Algorithm, Validation, Data Use and Future Work,” was awarded ‘The Best Presentation of the AEROCENTER 2012-2013 Seminar Season’. For more information….
An unassuming-looking rod on a rooftop in Beltsville, Md., connected with wires to specialized computer equipment in the building below, is helping scientists pinpoint the location of lightning as it flashes during a thunderstorm. Working in tandem with nine other identical devices installed throughout the Washington, D.C., area, these sensors promise to help usher in a new era of severe weather prediction. Called the Washington D.C. Lightning Mapping Array (DC LMA), the devices detect, in …
There’s a big difference — $700 million — between how much money the Senate Appropriations Committee wants to allocate for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and how much the House Appropriations Committee is willing to spend. But there’s one big bipartisan element that both House and Senate appropriators agree on, and that’s the need for NOAA to spend a big chunk of its budget on improving weather forecasting. The Senate version of the bill, which passed through full …
ESSIC Director, Professor Antonio Busalacchi, welcomed "weather campers" from Howard University's NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences' (NCAS) to the center this week. The NCAS camp offers rising high school juniors and seniors first hand exposure to educational and career opportunities in atmospheric sciences. NOAA's Dr. Scott Rudlosky, an ESSIC visiting assistant scientist, collaborated with NOAA's outreach office to bring the campers to ESSIC for the …
ESSIC Research Associate, Joseph Munchak, was recognized at an annual NASA / GSFC Earth Sciences Division – Atmospheres (Code 610) awards ceremony, which highlights the contribution of contractors. Munchak was selected as “Best Senior Author Publication” for his paper, “A Modular Optimal Estimation Method for Combined Radar-Radiometer Precipitation Profiling.” The paper provides an overview of different methods of sensor precipitation retrievals over various surfaces. The “Best Senior Author …
New fees went into effect July 1 in order to support Chesapeake Bay restoration projects and discourage practices that lead to heavy storm water runoff, but some university researchers are skeptical of whether this “rain tax” will adequately accomplish these goals. Storm water runoff creates big problems for the bay, the streams and creeks that make up the bay’s watershed, and the biodiversity of the life in this watery network – that much is certain to Joe Maher and Sujay Kaushal. When …
While the rest of the world nervously watches temperatures grow more extreme, wine producers in Washington state and Oregon may benefit from global climate change, a university researcher found. In his research on climate change and global viticulture, the cultivation of grapevines, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center Director Antonio Busalacchi found wine producers in the cooler regions of Washington and Oregon, as well as Chile, Argentina, Germany and New Zealand, will see more …
An unusual heat wave struck Alaska this past June (2013), with temperatures reaching well into the 80’s and 90’s throughout the state. Instead of temperatures in the mid-60s, the average in places near Anchorage, people were basking in the sun and visiting local beaches in response to the unusually high temperatures. Unofficial readings of 98°F were recorded in northern parts of Alaska near Talkeetna, which would tie the highest recorded temperature in the area. Anchorage felt the heat …
ESSIC Director and Council on the Environment Chair, Antonio Busalacchi, recently participated in a two-day workshop in Cork, Ireland, where he spoke on the role of the oceans in climate. The workshop was attended by a group of approximately 30 scientists, who met to discuss how Ireland – a country of comparatively small size – can utilize its own unique resources to participate in “big science.” The workshop was co-chaired by UM Vice President of Research Pat O’Shea. “This was an initial …
