Thursday, 15 January 2004
Wet Microburst—Student Training and Role in On-line Bibliography and Event Selection
Room 4AB
As part of a wet microburst study funded by the COMET program, a bibliographic
base and reference data set for the Southern Region is being developed. Two
undergraduate meteorology majors have begun the initial task of collection,
review, organizing, and summation of the bibliographic materials. In the
process, a variety of professional and skills development from keyword
selection to identification of reference and resource types available. For
example, website information has required pursuit of missing or “down” links,
access of both unrelated and non-English sites, determination of appropriate
categories, and the means of summarizing the content both adequately and
appropriately. In particular, the websites provide a plethora of events,
descriptions, pictures, and educational or training materials. These range from
scientific to pseudo-scientific, informational, visualizations and simulations
of use to meteorologists, other professionals (e.g., aviators), and to the
public. Information from scientific and other journals provides a basis for wet
microburst occurrence and a means for the undergraduate students to connect
their classroom learning to the professional realm. It will also provide them
an opportunity to examine more closely the differences obtained when applying
observations, forecast models, and theory-based principles of behavior. In the
process they will see the broader population of parameters used for microburst
analysis and prediction and how the wet microburst population fits within it.
When integrating these with the wet microburst event data from participating
NWS Forecast Offices, the students will gain an operational research
perspective and face the reality of operational needs, constraints, and
forecast issues. The bibliographic and events bases will be prepared for
dissemination to NWS and other users.
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