Semi-Annual Performance Report for
Cooperative Agreement #:NA11SEC4810003
Reporting Period: March 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012
The NOAA Educational Partnership Program
Cooperative Science Center
THE NOAA CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES
Dr. Vernon R. Morris
Director and Principal Investigator
Participating Institutions
Howard University (Lead Institution)
Jackson State University
University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez
University of Texas at El Paso
State University of New York at Albany
University of Maryland College Park
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012– August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
1
Table of Contents
A. Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………............2-4
I. Overview………….…………………………………………………………………………..2
II. Highlights and Major Accomplishments……………………………………………………3
III. Student Success Stories……………………………………………………………………...4
B. Performance Report.....................................................................................................................5-25
I. Cooperative Research Activities…………………………………...…………………..... 5-18
1. Climate and Weather Analyses and Prediction .............................................................. 5
2. Air Quality Analyses and Forecasting ............................................................................ 7
3. Observational Program in Support of NCAS Research in Training ............................. 13
4. Social, Behavioral and Economics (SBE) Sciences Component .................................. 16
II. Education & Outreach Efforts……………………………………………….....……….…18
1. Degree Programs and Training ..................................................................................... 18
2. Informal and Community Outreach .............................................................................. 19
3. K-12 Outreach………………………………………………………………………...19
III. Photo Gallery……………………………………………………………………………. 21
C. Appendix………………..…………………………………………………………………………..24-35
1. Detailed Breakdown of NCAS Leveraged Funding..................................................... 24
2. NCAS Calendar of Activities....................................................................................... 25
3. Publication/Presentation List ........................................................................................ 26
4. Acronyms ...................................................................................................................... 29
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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A. Executive Summary
Howard University’s NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences (NCAS) has been awarded $2.625M for
year one in 2011 and up to $15 million over the next five years by the Department of Commerce and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Educational Partnership Program (EPP) to
conduct research and educational efforts in weather, climate, air quality, and environmental literacy.
NCAS, a consortium of six educational institutions led by Howard University, has been supported by the
core funding from the Department of Commerce since 2001. The partner schools are Jackson State
University, the University of Maryland College Park, the University of Texas El Paso, State University
of New York Albany and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.
NCAS expands the Centers research into the Social & Behavioral and Economics Sciences. Joining in
this new area of research are four new faculty members from Howard University with extensive social
science research expertise that will enable the Center to extend its research to include the societal
dimension of environmental change, its measurement and its prediction. NCAS welcomes: Dr. Carolyn
Stroman (Associate Professor of Communication and Culture), Dr. Tia Tyree (Assistant Professor of
Journalism), Dr. Cynthia Winston (Associate Professor of Psychology) and Dr. Terri Adam-Fuller
(Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology).
The following semi-annual report details the activities conducted during March 1, 2012 – August 31,
2012 As NCAS enters its second year of its third five-year cycle, we are pleased to report achievements
in both education and research. The Center maintains robust collaborations and educational partnerships
with the NOAA National Weather Service (National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP),
Office of Operational Service (OOS), and various Weather Forecast Office (WFOs)), OAR (Atlantic
Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL)
scientists), and National Environmental Satellite, Data & Information Service (NESDIS) (research and
joint publications). Several of the highlights from this reporting period are listed below.
NCAS performance is primarily evaluated on the basis of the following measures:
A. Number of students from underrepresented communities who are trained and graduate in
NOAA‐mission sciences annually [33, 3 graduated]
B. Number of students who are trained and graduate in NOAA‐mission sciences annually; [41
trained, 3 graduated]
C. Number of students completing experiential opportunities at NOAA facilities; [9]
D. Number of EPP funded students who are hired by NOAA, NOAA contractors and other
environmental, natural resource, and science agencies at the Federal, State, local and tribal levels,
in academia and the private sector; [2]
E. Number of collaborative research projects undertaken between NOAA and MSI partners in
support of NOAA operations; [23]
F. Number of students and faculty who participate in and complete postdoctoral level research
programs in support of the NOAA mission; [7]
G. Number of peer reviewed papers published in NOAA‐mission sciences by scientists (faculty,
postdoctoral fellows, and students) sponsored by NOAA EPP; [9]
H. Funds leveraged with NOAA EPP funds (including student support); and,
I. Number of outreach participants engaged in NOAA mission relevant learning opportunities.
[5000]
The performance in each category for this reporting period is listed above in the emboldened brackets.
NCAS continues to be a leader on the national stage in the production and training of African Americans
and Hispanics in the atmospheric sciences at all levels of education. NCAS is developing a model for
public school interaction through the Adopt-a-school program and has established a national model for
NCAS Semi Annual Report
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Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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summer camp exposure and training in atmospheric sciences through the CAREERS middle school and
high school camps. The undergraduate programs supported at JSU (Meteorology), the University of
Puerto Rico Mayaguez (Atmospheric Sciences), and UTEP (Atmospheric Physics) lead the nation in the
number of African American and Hispanic students exposed to NOAA mission relevant learning within
academic degree programs. The HUPAS graduate program at HU is the national leader at the PhD level.
During this reporting period, NCAS conducted a comprehensive suite of training and outreach events.
NCAS sponsoring 5 summer camps, 4 Science Fests, participated in 4 science fairs, hosted 6 tours to
NOAA facilities, conducted 9 interactions with public schools, conducted 2 training seminars, and
presented 1 seminar at a NOAA facility. These events reached over 5000 students across thirteen states,
the District of Columbia, and two US territories (Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands). Co-sponsored
events (the CAREERS affiliate camps in New York, North Carolina, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Houston,
Texas) reached an additional 70 students in an additional four states.
HIGHLIGHTS AND MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
EDUCATIONAL MILESTONES
Three NCAS supported students completed their degrees during this period, while another three students
were recruited to the HUPAS programs to begin their graduate education in NOAA mission relevant
disciplines. The graduates are listed below.
NCAS Doctoral Recipient:
Dr. Rufus White (Advisor: Dr. Vernon R. Morris). HU NCAS student Rufus White
successfully defended his doctoral dissertation titled: A Statistical and Theoretical
Investigation of the Chemistry of the Formation of Atmospheric Particles in Beltsville,
Maryland via Observations of Physical Properties on October 27, 2011. Dr. White was
awarded the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Chemistry in May 2012. NOAA employee,
Ariel Stein served on the dissertation committee. Dr. White started June 18, 2012 as a
Physical Scientist with the Department of Defense.
NCAS Master Recipients
Mariana Guereque (Advisor: Drs. Rosa Fitzgerald and Thomas Gill).
UTEP NCAS student Mariana Guereque successfully defended her
master thesis titled: Aerosol Particle Size Distributions Observed during
AEROSE V Campaign on May 4, 2012. Ms. Guereque was awarded the
Master of Science in Geological Sciences in May of 2012.
NCAS Bachelor Recipient:
Keyaara Robinson (Advisor: Dr. Vernon R. Morris). HU NCAS student Keyaara Robinson
an active member of Dr. Morris research group received her Bachelor of Science degree in
NCAS Semi Annual Report
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Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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Chemistry in May of 2012. Keyaara performed her undergraduate research on the flux of
particulate matter at street level inside the Washington, DC urban canopy.
Success Stories:
The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez student Ana Patricia Torres participated in a nine-
week summer internship at NOAA Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. This year she was
awarded a NOAA EPP Undergraduate Scholarship. This award is in recognition of her
accomplishments as an undergraduate student in areas pertinent to NOAA’s mission. Ms. Torres
participated in the Puerto Rico Weather Camp in 2009 and is currently pursuing a bachelor
degree in Theoretical Physics at UPRM. She is also completing the course work for the
certification in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology at UPRM. Ana is an active member of
the American Meteorological Society (AMS) student Chapter and received a NOAA Center for
Atmospheric Sciences Travel Award to participate in the AMS 2012 annual meeting in New
Orleans
Angel Esparza, who graduated on December 2011 under the supervision of Dr. Fitzgerald, was
hired to head a division at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX.
NCAS hosted 23 students and faculty to attend the 2011 EPP Forum and returned with three first place
and two second place awards in the PhD oral presentation and poster presentations.
NCAS Semi Annual Report
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Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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1. Cooperative Research Activities
1.1 Climate and Weather Analysis and Prediction
The NCAS research activities in the area of climate and weather analysis and prediction include: (A)
Surface-atmosphere interaction and PBL processes, the emphasis of this research being on understanding
roles of aerosols and clouds in land-atmosphere exchange; (B) Convection, microphysics, and cloud-
aerosols radiative effects, with the research being focused on investigating direct effects of aerosols in
NCEP GFS-GOCART Model, and process studies of aerosol-cloud indirect effects; (C) Model
development for climate, with an emphasis on improving the physics representation and prediction at
regional scale; and (D) Enabling greater decision support applications of satellite data and improved
radiative transfer treatment in NOAA’s Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM). The research
activities in (D) entails forward modeling and closure studies to improve CRTM, and remote sensing
studies of vegetation states.
1.1.1 Surface-Atmosphere Interactions and PBL Processes
Research activities in this subsection were descoped due to budget constraints.
1.1.2 Convection, Microphysics, and Cloud-aerosols Radiative Effects – Investigate Direct Effect of
Aerosols in New NCEP GFS-GOCART Model
Lead PI: Dr. Everette Joseph (HU)
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
3 Jeffery McQueen (NWS/EMC/MMB), Cheng Lu (OAR/ESRL/PSD),
Nick Nalli(NESDIS/STAR/SMCD/SCDAB)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
2 Qilong Min (SUNYA),Vernon Morris (HU)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
0 N/A
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 0 0 0
Graduate 2 Mayra Oyola Adrian Flores
Post-Doctoral 0 0 0
NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
Student Thesis 0 N/A
Publications 1 See Appendix
Presentations 0 N/A
Other Milestones
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 20%
Acquisition and analysis continued with respect to the collection of aerosol data for this study from
HUBC and AEROSE. In the case of AEROSE data analysis continued and a collaboration is being
forged among NCAS, NESDIS/STAR and NCEP/EMC. A journal article involving NOAA and NCAS
authors was recently published. The title of the article is: On the Effect of Dust Aerosols on AIRS and
IASI Operational Level 2 Products E. S. Maddy, S. G. DeSouza-Machado N. R. Nalli3, C. D. Barnet4,
L. L Strow,W. W. Wolf, H. Xie,4, A. Gambacorta T. S. King E. Joseph, V. Morris, S. E. Hannon, P.
Schou. NCEP/EMC has recently implemented the GFS-GOCART (NGAC). NCAS/EMC/NESDIS had
a recent meeting to develop further details on the project. NCAS graduate student Mayra Oyola
continues to conduct background research on this project. Also NCEP is working on logistics that will
allow Ms. Oyola to work at NCEP and access computing resources for the project.
1.1.3 Model Development for Climate - Improving the Physics Representation and Prediction at
NCAS Semi Annual Report
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Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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Regional Scales
Lead PI: Dr. Xin-Zhong Liang (UMD)
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
1 Julian Wang (OAR/ARL)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
2 Vernon Morris, Everette Joseph, and Tsann-Wang Yu (HU)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
0 N/A
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 0 0 0
Graduate 1 Adam Greeley 0
Post-Doctoral 0 0 0
NOAA Mission
Relevance
Weather and Water
Student Thesis 0 N/A
Publications 1 See Appendix
Presentations 4 See Appendix
Other Milestones The CWRF, incorporating the most comprehensive ensemble of alternative physics
representations, facilitates seamless applications for regional weather forecast and
climate prediction.
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 40%
We have focused on preparing articles to document several major achievements in the development of
CWRF. First we have published the fundamental paper to provide a general description and model
performance for the CWRF, which has been developed for the last 9 years under the support of NCAS
along with numerous other federal grants. This paper is highly appreciated by both the editor and
reviewers, and has appeared with a cover page illustration in the September issue of the Bulletin of the
American Meteorological Society (Liang et al. 2012). We have also completed the first draft for two
manuscripts intended for publication in Journal of Climate. They are part of my Ph.D. graduate student
thesis research under the NCAS support, and address the effects of cumulus parameterization closures on
CWRF precipitation prediction over the continental U.S. and coastal oceans All these works demonstrate
the necessity of incorporating advanced physics representation for realistic precipitation and climate
prediction at regional-local scales.
1.1.4 Forward Modeling and Closure Studies to Improve CRTM and Process Studies of Aerosol
Cloud Indirect Effect
Lead PI: Dr. Qilong Min
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
1 Felix Kogan (NESDIS/STAR/SMCD/EMB)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
2 Everette Joseph (HU), and Tsann-Wang Yu (HU)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
1 Jiwen Fan (DOE/PNNL)
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 0 0 0
Graduate 2 Matthew Gibbons, Hanisha Hirani (SUNYA) 0
Post-Doctoral 0 0 0
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
Student Thesis 0 N/A
Publications 0 N/A
Presentations 0 N/A
Other Milestones
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 35% (Activity 1); 65% (Activity 2)
Activity 1. Forward modeling and Closure Studies to Improve CRTM
We are conducting closure studies by comparing CRTM calculations using in-situ observed aerosol and
cloud properties to satellite and surface radiometers at the ARM SGP site. These include three sub-tasks:
1) We are testing the implementation of CRTM within WRFDA package, in which CRTM has been
coupled with the atmosphere properties simulated by WRF. With proper 3Dvar data assimilations
(through WRFDA), we are able to simulate radiation at both TOA and surface with a “real” atmosphere;
2) We are also testing the optical-microphysical conversion schemes cross wavelength spectrum (visible,
infrared, and microwave) in the CRTM; and 3) We will compare with both measured radiation and in-
situ cloud and aerosol properties at the ARM site to assess the performance of CRTM.
Activity 2. Process Studies of Aerosol-Cloud Indirect Effect
We are testing the newly coupled WRF-SBM (Spectral-Bin-Microphysics) model. Our WRF-SBM can
deal with both CCN and IN nucleation processes (most WRF-SBMs don’t have homogeneous and
heterogeneous ice nucleation and droplet freezing processes). Graduate student Matthew Gibbons uses
the WRF-SBM simulating dust effects on deep convection systems and the effect of partition of CCN
and IN on clouds. The preliminary results are very good. We expect to complete writing two papers in
the near future. We just finished the revision of the VOCALS field campaign paper on aerosol-cloud
interaction.
1.2 Air Quality Analyses and Forecasting
During this reporting period, NCAS research activities include : (A) Formation and fate of air pollutants
for air quality forecasting, (B) Mineral dust observations and characterization, (C) Satellite algorithm
development for aerosols, and (D) Estimating societal economical and health impacts of air quality and
air quality forecasting. In topic (A) research activities include: understanding of Ozone and aerosols
formation, evaluation and development of atmospheric chemistry mechanisms, atmospheric chemistry
sensitivity and process analyses, and air pollution effects on visibility. In topic (B) research activities
include: AEROSE data analyses, chemical characterization of crustal aerosols, optical characterization of
dust, and climate change and historical records of Saharan dust trends. In topic (C) research activities
include: algorithm development for improved satellite retrieval, and development of Saharan dust index
and new satellite products. In topic (D) research activities include: economic value of air quality forecast
information, development of modeling tools for the direct assessment of toxic air pollutant effects, and
exploring airborne biodiversity.
1.2.1 Understanding of Ozone and Aerosol Formation
Lead PI: Dr. William Stockwell
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
2 Jeffery McQueen (NWS/EMC/MMB), Jianping Huang (NWS/EMC)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
4 Rosa Fitzgerald (UTEP), Duanjun Lu, Loren White, Remata S. Reddy
(JSU), Vernon Morris (HU), Roy Armstrong (UPRM)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
2 Wendy Goliff (University of California, Riverside), James. V. Cizdziel
(University of Mississippi, MS)
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 2 Willaim Parks and Jessica
Foxworth (JSU)
N/A
Graduate 2 N/A Charlene Lawson , Tamil Maldonado-
Vega (HU),
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
This activity addresses NOAA’s strategic objectives: “Healthy people and
communities through improved air and water quality. Key to the development of
models for air quality is knowledge of the chemical mechanisms of ozone and particle
formation. New and updated chemical mechanisms are being developed through this
activity.
Student Thesis 0 N/A
Publications 0 N/A.
Presentations 4 See Appendix
Other Milestones
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 30%
Activity 1. Understanding of Ozone and Aerosol Formation
The Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism, Version 2 (RACM2) has been completed and a
publication has been submitted to the journal Atmospheric Environment and is now under review.
Graduate student Charlene Lawson continues her research to examine the processes that affect gas-phase
nighttime chemistry and how they affect ozone formation over multi-day periods. Graduate student
Tamil Maldonado-Vega is completing research on the aqueous-phase that affects cloud chemistry and
cloud formation.
1.2.2. Evaluation and Development of Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanisms, and Atmospheric
chemistry sensitivity and Process Analysis
Lead PI: Dr. William Stockwell
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
2 Jeffery McQueen (NWS/EMC/MMB), John Lewis (OAR/NSSL)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
2 Rosa Fitzgerald (UTEP), Duanjun Lu (JSU)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
1 Wendy Goliff (University of California, Riverside)
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 0 N/A N/A
Graduate 1 N/A Charlene Lawson (HU)
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
This activity addresses NOAA’s strategic objectives: “Healthy people and
communities through improved air and water quality. Assimilation methods are
critical for meteorological forecasting. Assimilation methods for chemical species are
not yet well developed. Key to the development of data assimilation methods for air
quality is knowledge of the response of forecasts to small perturbations to model
constants, parameters or to the initial state (such as the three dimensional
concentration fields). This activity examines the use of sensitivity and process for the
development of chemical data assimilation methods.
Student Thesis 0 N/A
Publications 0 N/A.
Presentations 2 See Appendix
Other Milestones
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: Activity 2: 20%; Activity 3: 5%
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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Activity 2. Evaluation and Development of Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanisms
The Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism, Version 2 has been completed and a publication has
been submitted to the journal Atmospheric Environment and is now under review. Graduate student
Charlene Lawson is evaluating the performance of the Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism,
Version 2 (RACM2) for modeling the nighttime chemistry of nitrogen oxides
Activity 3. Atmospheric Chemistry Sensitivity and Process Analyses Chemical box model simulations are now being made to generate a large number of cases for analysis.
1.2.3. AEROSE Data Analyses
Lead PI: Dr. Vernon Morris
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
5 Nicholas Nalli (NESDIS-STAR), Dan Wolfe (OAR-ESRL), Chris Barnet
(NESDIS-STAR), Claudia Schmid (OAR-AOML), Claude Lumpkin
(OAR-AOML)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
1 Everette Joseph (HU)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
2 Tegoh Augustiadi (Indonesian National/ AOML Visitor)
Sasha Smirnov (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 0 N/A N/A
Graduate 4 Elsa Castillo(UTEP), Mayra
Oyola(HU)
Christopher Spells (NOAA CREST),
Adrian Flores (HU)
Post-Doctoral 1 Ebony Roper (NCAS) N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
Satellite Validation, Model Verification for Climate and Weather
Student Thesis 4 All are to be determined. Students are in the process of advancing to
candidacy.
Publications 0 N/A
Presentations 0 N/A
Other Milestones The cruise that was scheduled to take place in summer 2012 was postponed.
Instruments were calibrated and prepared for the 2013 mission and data analysis
continues.
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 50% (Activity 1)
Activity 1. AEROSE Data Analyses
The PNE/AEROSE research cruise originally scheduled for August 31 – Sep 30, 2012 was postponed
due to mechanical challenges with the NOAA RHB propulsion systems.
1.2.4. Chemical Characterizations of Crustal Aerosols and Exploring Airborne Biodiversity
Lead PI: Dr. Vernon R. Morris
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
1 Ariel Stein (OAR/ARL)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
0 N/A
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
3 Courtney Thomas and Broderick Eribo (HU), Priscilla Chaverri (UMD),
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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Students Trained 4 NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 1 N/A Meghna Ramaswamy (UMD)
Graduate 3 Maria Velez, Jose Tirado
(HU)
Esther Effiong (HU)
Serenella Linares (UMD)
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
Student Thesis 1 Physico-chemical characterization of Airborne Saharan Dust during
AEROSE
Publications 1 N/A
Presentations 0 N/A
Other Milestones Phylogenetic and genomic analysis nearly completed. MALDI-TOFS analysis
preliminary studies completed. Three manuscripts are in preparation.
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 25% (Activities 2 and 3)
Activity 2. Chemical Characterization of Crustal Aerosols
This study examines the physicochemical characterization and trend in major dust outbreaks of the
AEROSE samples obtained during the month of July during the 2006 and 2009 campaigns,. This data set
is being examined for the purpose of gaining insights on the microphysical evolution of mineral dust
during transport across the tropical North Atlantic.
Activity 3. Exploring Airborne Biodiversity Aerobiological samples have been collected during the AEROSE cruises between 2006-2010 and in
Washington, D.C. since 2007. Preliminary analysis of these samples has indicated the presence of
enhanced fungal counts coincident with high mass regions of the advected air masses (e.g. dust storms,
pollution events). Additionally, these studies have revealed a significant flux of plant pathogens that
may be harmful for major crop types and indigenous species in the Caribbean and the eastern US.
1.2.5. Algorithm Development for Improved Satellite Retrieval, and Air Pollution Effect on Visibility
Lead PI: Dr. Rosa Fitzgerald
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
4 Joe Michalsky (OAR/ESRL/GMD), Dave Novlan
(NWS/SR/WFO/SANTA TERESA NM), Joe Rogash
(NWS/SR/WFO/SANTA TERESA N), Paul Ginoux (OAR/GFDL)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
1 Thomas Gill (UTEP)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
7 Dave Dubois (NMSU), Alexei Maradudin (UC Irvine), Joseph Prospero,
(University of Miami), N.C. Hsu (NASA- Goddard), Sergio Cabrera
(UTEP), Matthew Baddock (Griffith University), Miguel Dominguez
(Univ. Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez)
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 1 N/A Celia Garcia (UTEP)
Graduate 7 Mariana Guereque, Elsa
Castillo, Richard Medina,
Mohammad Alkhatib (UTEP)
Javier Polanco, Fernando Becerra-
Davila, Juan Gustavo Arias (UTEP)
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
Student Thesis 1 “Aerosol Particle Size Distributions Observed During AEROSE V
Campaign:-(Mariana Guereque M.S Thesis).
Publications 5 See Appendix
Presentations 3 See Appendix
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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Other Milestones
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 30%
Activity 1. Algorithm development for improved satellite retrieval
The aim of this project is first to implement an empirical model that has the purpose of predicting PM2.5
ground concentrations from satellite values of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and subsequently to
develop new algorithms for improved satellite retrievals of air pollution. A complete correlation between
satellite and ground-level measurements will provide a solid basis to sense remotely events of high
particulate matter concentrations. It has been successfully shown that an empirical model can create a
regression between daily PM2.5 concentrations and AOT values from a satellite. This study relies on
satellite and ground instruments information. Thus, the data collection and its proper processing is an
indispensable joint operation that determines the accuracy of the results. Satellite data is provided by the
MISR level 2 aerosol data collection, which is processed at the Atmospheric Sciences Data Center at
NASA Langley Research Center. We propose to implement this methodology for the El Paso-Juarez
Airshed and to subsequently apply to AEROSE.
Activity 4. Air Pollution Effect on Visibility
Poor visibility is a subject of growing public concern throughout the U.S, and an active area of research
within NOAA. Its societal impacts in air quality, aviation transport and traffic are enormous. It is well
known that air pollutant concentrations influence visibility. The underlying phenomenon is the light
scattering by the aerosol particles, which is responsible for the major visibility degradation.
We are using the El Paso-Juarez Airshed as a test-bed to study the effect of size, chemical composition
and concentration of aerosols on the impairment of visibility. In addition, we are studying the effects of
aerosol coating in the light extinction results. The models have been developed and subsequently they
will be validated against experimental data.
1.2.6. Development of Saharan Dust Index and New Satellite Products, and Optical Characterization of
Dust
Lead PI: Dr. Roy Armstrong
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
4 Jim Hendee (OAR/AOML), Robert Warner (NOS/NCCOS/COASTB),
Ernesto Morales (NWS/SR/WFO/CAROLINA PR), Odalys Martinez
(NWS/SR/WFO/CAROLINA PR)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
2 Tom Gil (UTEP)
Qilong Min (SUNYA)
Other
Collaborator(s)
1 Hector Jimenez (UPRM – Physics Dept.)
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 3 Gyan Villamil, Joanna Coronado, Lizandra
Flores(UPRM)
N/A
Graduate 6 William Hernandez, Cynthia Ramos, Myrna Santiago, Maria Cardona, Melissa
Melendez (UPRM)
Ali Amirrezvani
(UPRM)
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
Climate Mission Goal: Understand climate variability and changes to enhance
society’s ability to plan and respond. NOAA’s Technology and the Mission’s
Support Goal: Provide critical support for NOAA’s mission.
Student Thesis 2 Remote sensing of benthic habitats in SW Puerto Rico (William
Hernandez)
Hurricane forcing of phytoplankton biomass in the Sargasso Sea
(Myrna Santiago)
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Publications 0 N/A
Presentations 6 See Appendix
Other Milestones AERADNET upgrades – See Technical Report
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 10%
Activity 2. Development of Saharan Dust Index and New Satellite Products
The main objectives of this activity are: (1) to quantify the effects of dust aerosols on incident levels of
solar UV and PAR radiation reaching Puerto Rico; (2) to analyze CREWS radiation data to generate a
Saharan Dust Index (SDI) as a NOAA/CREWS operational product, (3) once this relationship is
established using field radiation measurements, a similar approach will be tested using satellite-based
data (e.g. OMI), and 4) generate PAR and UV attenuation coefficients (Kd) as an index of water quality.
Activity 3. Optical Characterization of Dust
African dust and volcanic ash particles are transported by the trade winds and affect the air quality,
visibility, weather and climate, and carry contaminants that affect human and ecosystem health.
Visibility is also negatively affected when south-east winds bring volcanic ash from the Soufriere Hills
(Montserrat) to the island. We are using an MFRSR, EKO Sun-Tracker, and Inductively coupled plasma
mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for optical and chemical characterization of these dust sources. We are also
developing spectroscopic techniques for quantitative relationships between the concentration of iron in
filtered samples (as determined by the ICP-MS) and the spectral response using visible reflectance
spectroscopy.
1.2.7. Economic Value of Air Quality Forecast Information, and Development of Modeling Tools for
Assessment of Toxic Air Pollutant Effects
Lead PI: Dr. William Stockwell
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
1 Jeffery McQueen (NWS/EMC/MMB)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
2 Rosa Fitzgerald (UTEP)
Duanjun Lu (JSU)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
0 None
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 0 N/A N/A
Graduate 1 Tasha Anderson N/A
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
Potential societal economic benefits of numerical AQF in public and private sectors
are driving NOAA’s expansion of its portfolio of services. This research area
focuses on the estimation of the societal - economic baseline impacts of using
observational and numerical air quality and meteorological information.
Student Thesis 0 N/A
Publications 0 N/A
Presentations 0 N/A
Other Milestones
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: Activity 1: 15%; Activity 2: 5%
Activity 1. Economic Value of Air Quality Forecast Information
HU graduate student, Tasha Anderson, has collected model forecasts and observational data of ozone
and particulate matter. The data are being used to evaluate the air quality forecasts. These metrics
include: (1) The number of times that an unhealthy event is correctly forecasted, (2) the number of times
that an unhealthy event is forecasted when it does not occur and (3) the number of times when the air
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quality forecast predicts healthy air when the air was observed to be unhealthy. These comparisons will
be the basis for Tasha Anderson’s Master’s degree thesis.
Activity 2. Development of Modeling Tools for Direct Assessment of Toxic Air Pollutant Effects
The publically available modeling software, “Neuron” was acquired, installed and tested at HU. HU
students are now being recruited for this project. Duanjun Lu (JSU) collaboratively worked with faculty
of University of Mississippi to study mercury dispersion. In this work, HYSPLIT model was used to
track the dispersive route of mercury. The results indicated that air masses during plume events generally
originated either from northern continental (dominated by terrestrial sources) or, less frequently, from
the south (e.g., the Gulf of Mexico). Mercury originating from northern continental region accounted for
the majority of the highest plume events. It was suggested that unpolluted air from the Gulf of Mexico
was not a primary source of mercury in Oxford, MS.
1.3. Observational Program in Support of NCAS Research in Training
Since 2001, with the support of NCAS funding, the Howard University Beltsville Campus (HUBC) has
grown into a world-class mesoscale observation site. Building upon this success and capacity and in
support of research and education, NCAS will continue to conduct six research activities for the
emerging NWS operational observing technology testbed at HUBC: (A) All-weather ground-based
LIDAR for NWS, (B) Extending decision support based application of NWS Ceilometer network, (C)
Global Climate Observation System (GCOS) Upper Air Network (GUAN), (D) Microwave radiometer
profiling and nowcasting, (E) Washington D.C. lightning mapping array demonstration project, and (F)
Demonstration of Real-Time Mesoscale Analyses (RTMA) of PBL information
1.3.1. All Weather Ground Based Lidar for NWS, and Extending Decision Support Based Application
of NWS Ceilometer Network
Lead PI: Dr. Belay Demoz
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
4 Micheal Hicks, Joseph Facundo (NWS/OOS/FSOC/OSB), Dennis
Atkinson (NWS/OST/PPD/PMB), David Turner (OAR/NSSL)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
2 Demetrius Venable and Everette Joseph (HU)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
6 Activity-1: Kevin Vermeesch (SSAI), Tim Berkoff (UMBC-SSAI),
Ruben Delgado (CREST),
Activity-2: Scott Spuler and Tammy Weckwerth (NCAR), Mike
Repasky (Montana University)
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 1 N/A Khalil Dixon (HU)
Graduate 3 Shadya Sanders (HU) Lorenza Cooper, Monique Walker (HU)
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
High – See TPT workshop
Student Thesis 0 N/A
Publications 0 N/A
Presentations 0 Workshop report forthcoming.
Other Milestones Supplemental Funding acquired; A major workshop in collaboration with NWS
completed
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: Initiation stage.
Activity 2. Extending Decision Support Based Application of NWS Ceilometer Network
Given the many important applications that the ceilometer can be put to use, saving and
archiving of the data is a game-changing idea. At the TPT workshop in Boulder, CO and later at
the follow-up ASOS Ceilometer Workshop meeting on March 28, 2012 at Sterling, VA, a
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consensus was reached to plan a method that would demonstrate the archival and analysis of the
full profiler backscatter data from the ASOS CL31 for real-time data exploitation. At both
places a limited area ceilometer network was discussed. Howard University (lead by PI Belay
Demoz) was charged with the demonstration work in collaboration with the NOAA/NWS
personnel at Sterling and other partners.
1.3.2. Global Climate Observational System (GCOS) Upper Air Network (GRUAN)
Lead PI: Dr. Belay Demoz
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
4 Joseph Facundo, Micheal Hicks (NWS/OOS/FSOC/OSB),
Antony Reale (NESDIS/STAR/SMCD/OPDB), Howard Diamond
(NESDIS/NCDC)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
2 Everette Joseph and Demetrius Venable (HU)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
1 David Whiteman (NASA/GSFC)
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 0 N/A N/A
Graduate 2 N/A Sium Tesfay, Lorenza Cooper
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
Student Thesis 0 N/A
Publications 1 See Appendix
Presentations 0 N/A
Other Milestones NOAA Supplemental funding started.
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 20%
Activity 3: Global Climate Observational System (GCOS) Upper Air Network (GUAN) The reliable detection of the vertical structure of changes in climate variables in the atmosphere requires
very high quality atmospheric observations with well-characterized measurement uncertainties. While
the GRUAN provides upper air measurements over large regions of the globe, these are primarily for
operational weather forecasting and as a result seldomly include quality control systems to guarantee
data quality so that the data are suitable for long-term trend detection. This was formalized between
2005 and 2007 when a reference upper-air network consisting of eventually 30-40 sites worldwide was
planned. HUBC was selected as part of the initial set of seven sites and is involved in the formulation of
the implementation and data flow documentation. The network, known as GCOS Reference Upper-Air
Network (GRUAN; GCOS-112, GCOS-134) is being led by the NOAA Climate office. Profile
measurements from HU Beltsville campus are contributing to the long-term data quality and formulation
of the network.
1.3.3. Microwave Radiometer Profiling and Nowcasting
Lead PI: Dr. Belay Demoz
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
4 Micheal Hicks, Joseph Facundo (NWS/OOS/FSOC/OSB), Antony Reale
(NESDIS/STAR/SMCD/OPDB), David Turner (OAR/NSSL)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
2 Demetrius Venable, Everett Joseph (HU)
Other 5 Torreon Creekmore (NGIA), Scott Spuler and Tammy Weckwerth
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Collaborator(s)
Involved
(NCAR), Randolph Ware (Radiometrics Inc)
Mike Repasky (Montana University)
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 0 N/A N/A
Graduate 3 Shadya Sanders (HU) Monique Walker , Lorenza Cooper (HU)
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
High - See TPT workshop
Student Thesis 0 N/A
Publications 0 N/A
Presentations 1 See Appendix
Other Milestones A publication led by Cooper is in progress. Comparison with Lidar/DIAL made; A 1-
month experiment planned and executed.
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 20 % (Activity 4)
Activity 4. Microwave Radiometer Profiling and Nowcasting NCAS has started evaluation of the MWR operation with respect to the recommendations of the
Thermodynamic Profiling Techniques (TPT) workshop recommendations; compared the MWR
temperature data with radiosonde values for GRUAN; and has evaluated the feasibility of the instrument
vis-a-vis the derivation of storm potential indicators. The results were presented at AMS and at the EPP
forum by a graduate student Lorenza Cooper. As a follow up to this meeting, we have organized and
prepared, in collaboration with NCAR and Montana University, to evaluate the active DIAL lidar that
has the best potential for a network instrument.
1.3.4. Demonstration of Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA) of PBL Information
Lead PI: Dr. Everette Joseph
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
3 Micheal Hicks and Joseph Facundo (NWS/OOS/FSOC/OSB), Jeffery
McQueen (NWS/EMC/MMB)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
2 Demetrius Venable, and Belay Demoz (HU)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
0 N/A
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 0 N/A N/A Graduate 0 N/A N/A
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
Student Thesis 1 The Characterization of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Depth and
Turbulence in an Semi-Urban Convective Environment (Micheal Hicks)
Publications 0 Under development
Presentations 0 N/A
Other Milestones
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 70 %
Activity 6. Demonstration of Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA) of PBL Information.
The PBL work conducted during the reporting period focused on completion of algorithms to improve
the retrieval of PBL heights from HURL. The initial phase of testing and development of the
experimental algorithm was completed as part of completion of Micheal Hick's dissertation. During the
summer research efforts were focused on refinement of the algorithm and development of a publication
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to report this research. The algorithm is in transition to NWS/OOS. Discussions are underway to apply
this algorithm in Dr. Demoz's proof of concept study on ceilometers with NWS. Planning with
NCEP/EMC is pending on further application of this research in RTMA.
1.4. Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) Sciences Component
Effective translation of NOAA sciences to the public and private sectors is essential for achieving the
vision articulated in the NOAA Strategic plan. In order to realize an informed society that understands
the ecosystem approach to management and the integration of science into social and economic decision-
making it is crucial for research to be performed that evaluates the economic impacts as well as societal
benefits, responses, and attitudes towards NOAA products and services. NCAS SBE research is
investigating human impacts of climate and weather events which is integrated within the air quality
working group activity with a focus on forecast value and social and behavioral research that spans
across working groups, and is focused on communication, public perceptions, and social attitudes toward
NOAA sciences. The proposed research projects will lead to the development of a new generation of
services, advances in sensors / sensor networks, and establishment of an improved understanding of
complex systems and their global interactions
1.4.1. Natural Disaster Risk Communication Basic Social and Behavior Research
Lead PI: Dr. Terri Adams
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
3 Vankita Brown and Cindy Woods (NWS/OCWWS/ORD), Douglas
Young (NWS/OCWWS/RAD/PB)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
1 Carolyn Stroman, Tia Tyree, and Everette Joseph (HU)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
0 N/A
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 2 Luann Edwards, Keith Sabala (HU) N/A
Graduate 4 Michelle Dovil, Crystal Adkisson
Shadya Sanders, Rita Jacobs (HU)
N/A
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A
NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
Student Thesis 2 Michelle Dovil- Identifying the Social Determinants used for Risk
Assessment in the Evacuation Responses during Hurricane Katrina:
Race, Class, and Gendered Analysis (In progress)
Shadya Sanders- Relationships Between Demographics and Protective
Actions During Severe Weather (In progress)
Publications 0 N/A
Presentations 1 See Appendix
Other Milestones Developed relationships with community representatives at 3 of the study sites for
focus group research. Provided technical assistance for the NOAA’s Office of
Climate, Water, and Weather Services.
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 20%
Activity 1. Natural Disaster Risk Communication Basic Social and Behavioral Research The SBE component of NCAS has accomplished a number of goals towards meeting its research
objective of examining risk perceptions and motivations that impact response to emergency warnings
issued by NOAA. The major accomplishments during the reporting period include: (1) networking to
secure research opportunities at the various study sites; (2) working with NOAA partners to attain
contacts for the NWS offices at the study sites; (3) providing technical assistance to NOAA’s Office of
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Climate, Water, and Weather Services; (4) preparing students for professional conferences; and (5)
developing papers for publication.
1.4.2. Public Communication and Outreach
Lead PI: Dr. Terri Adams
Total
Number
Name/Affiliations (Locations)
NOAA Partner(s)
Involved
2 Vankita Brown and Cindy Woods (NWS/OCWWS/ORD)
NCAS Partner(s)
Involved
0 Carolyn Stroman and Tia Tyree (HU BSE faculty)
Other
Collaborator(s)
Involved
0 N/A
Students Trained NCAS-Supported by Activity Leveraged by Activity
Undergraduate 0 N/A N/A
Graduate 2 Michelle Dovil, Crystal Adkisson (HU) N/A
Post-Doctoral 0 N/A N/A NOAA Mission
Relevance
From Proposal and NGSP
Student Thesis 1 Examination of the impact of social media networks during weather
related disasters.
Publications 0 N/A
Presentations 0 N/A
Other Milestones
Percent Completion Relative to Implementation Plan: 5% (Activity 2)
Activity 2. Public Communication and Outreach The SBE NCAS team is in the beginning phases of this aspect of the project, as the goals of this phase
are dependent on the findings of the first phase of the project. When the data becomes available the team
will provide outreach and information services to the public for selected NCAS research findings. This
public outreach campaign uses multiple methods and media to expand the public’s knowledge about the
work of NCAS and NOAA. These methods and media include creating video, print and audio news
releases, and developing online content including web sites, blogs, Flickr photostreams, Twitter and
Facebook postings.
NCAS SBE faculty will involve the CapComm Lab, a student-run advertising and public relations
agency at Howard University, and graduate students to develop a comprehensive outreach plan to
disseminate and market the research findings and activities of NCAS.
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II. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ACTITIVIES
NCAS has adopted a four-tiered approach to developing a talent pipeline in atmospheric sciences from
underrepresented minorities and underserved communities. It is comprised of programs that address the
five key factors that have been attributed to attrition at the transition points along the education pathway;
Access, Mentoring and Motivation, Professional Development, Education, and Distinction (as indicated
by Degree or Career). NCAS has been leveraging the unique legacies of its MSI partners, the technical
capacities of its participating scientists in academia, government, and private sector, in consultation with
NOAA to build and strengthen successful outreach programs for a comprehensive pipeline development
and education strategy. NCAS is using the knowledge and experience gained over the past ten years to
buttress these efforts.
NCAS participates in numerous educational and outreach efforts that are aimed at enhancing student
enrollment in NCAS partner institutions at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, other minority-
serving institutions (MSIs), and in STEM fields, in general. This section presents examples of specific
accomplishments conducted during the March 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012 reporting period. NCAS
continues to strive to make its greatest investment in graduate education through direct financial support
(tuition, stipends, conferences/workshops, books, and travel) as well as indirect support through
entraining graduate students into seminars, courses, field experiences, and research via leveraged
funding.
2.10 Degree Programs and Training
Focus - Program - Institution March 1 – August 31, 2012 Activities
Undergraduate - 3+2 Undergraduate Scholarship - HU None during this performance period
Graduate - Multiple Disciplines – HU Stipend (13): Benjamin Albright, Shadya Sanders, Michelle Dovil,
Craig Battle, Henry Lovelace, III, Tasha Anderson, Yaitza Luna-
Cruz, Mayra Oyola, Crystal Adkisson, Jose Tirado, Maria Velez-
Quinones, Karretta Venable, Gino Davis
Atmospheric Sciences/Marine Sciences/Physics - UPRM Stipend (6): William Hernandez, Myrna Santiago, Cynthia Ramos,
Maria Cardona, Melissa Melendez, Gyan Villamil
Tuition (2): Myrna Santiago, Maria Cardona
Physics/Environmental Sciences - UTEP 1 PhD student supported in Environmental Sciences, 1 PhD student
supported in Computational Sc, 1 M.S student in Geology
Meteorology - JSU Conference travel & Books (5): Chelsae Fullilove, Caleb Johnson,
John Moore, Hope-Anne Weldon, Christopher Wilson
Books Only (4): Jessica Foxworth, Brittany Hailey, Marcus
Hereford, DeVondria Reynolds
Conference Travel only: Dereka Carroll
Stipend & Books: William Parks
Atmospheric Sciences – SUNYA Stipend &Tuition Waiver (2): Matthew Gibbons, Hanisha Hirani
Atmospheric Sciences – UMD Stipend & Tuition (1): Adam Greeley
NCAS Undergraduate Research Summer Internship:
Howard University hosted six (6) interns: John Bartlett (NCSU), Luanne Edwards (HU), Chelsae Fullilove (JSU), Caleb Johnson
(JSU), Jeremy Mayo-Johnson (UMD), Zachery Zobel (PU) from June 4 – July 27. Internships location included NCEP and HU.
Technical Workshops:
UTEP conducted two (2) Teacher Workshops to increase public awareness towards Atmospheric Sciences in the community and
with High School students. Roy Armstrong (UPRM-NCAS) presented a NOAA Brown-bag seminar at the NOAA Central
Library on August 9, 2012 entitled: The use of autonomous underwater vehicles in studies of mesophotic and deep water
corals.
HU sponsored NCAS STEM Career day the HU Upward Bound/TRIO HS program. Concurrent science demonstrations
conducted by STEM professionals for approximately 90 metropolitan-area high school students. The areas of focus were:
Weather satellites, hands-on Marine Ecology, Robotics and Engineering, and Pentagon’s IT Infrastructure.
Conference Travel: NCAS annual meeting was held on June18-19, 2012 by means of video and teleconferencing. The
Videoconference portion of the meeting was hosted by EPP NOAA in downtown Silver Spring, MD.
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Graduate Focus: NCAS graduated three (3) students during this reporting period. Mariana Guereque received a M.S from
UTEP. Rufus White received a Ph.D. and Keyaara Robinson received a B.S. from HU.
NCAS Graduate Student Support:
UPRM: 6; UTEP: 3; SUNYA: 2; JSU: N/A; UMD: 1; HU: 13
2.11 Informal and Community Outreach Conference Mentorship
UPRM: Provided travel support for two (2) faculty members to attend/participate in the Sixth Biennial NOAA Education and
Science Forum held on the campus of Florida A&M University from March 26-28, 2012
SUNYA: Provided travel support for one (1) faculty member to attend AOGS-AGU (WPGM) Joint Assembly
JSU: Provided travel support for Dereka Carroll (student) to attend NCUR at Weber State University from March 29-31,
2012. Provided travel support for three (3) faculty members to attend/participate in the Sixth Biennial NOAA Education and
Science Forum held on the campus of Florida A&M University from March 26-28, 2012
HU: Provided travel support for 32 students (17 from HU; 5 from JSU; 3 from UTEP; 4 from UPRM, 1 from UMD, and 1
from UVI) and five (5) HU faculty to attend/participate in the Sixth Biennial NOAA Education and Science Forum held on
the campus of Florida A&M University from March 26-28, 2012
UTEP: Provided travel support for two (2) faculty members to attend/participate in the Sixth Biennial NOAA Education and
Science Forum held on the campus of Florida A&M University from March 26-28, 2012. Two (2) UTEP students (Juan
Gustavo Arias, Angel Esparza) participated at SACNAS using leverage funding. Travel support for two (2) UTEP students
(Elsa Castillo and Javier Polanco) and one (1) faculty member (Rosa Fitzgerald) to attend/participate in PECS-X: 10th
International Symposium on Photonic and Electromagnetic Crystal Structures in Santa Fe, New Mexico on June 3, 2012 –
June 8, 2012.
No applications were made center wide for other fellowships during this performance period.
Colour of Weather Networking Mixers: None during this performance period
2.12 K-12 Outreach High School Camps:
UPRM: 15 participants Gabriela Alicea (PR), Keishaly Cabrera (PR), Angélica Colon (PR), Anthony Crespo (PR), Darimar Davila (PR), Jordan P.
Ferguson (St. Thomas, USVI), Zoe A. Garcia (PR), Jonathan M. Mendez (PR), Alex Montenegro (PR), Victor A Negron (PR ),
Paola del Mar Nieves (PR), Shane K Ramsey (Milwaukee, WI), Ada M Rios (PR), Nayrobie L Rivera (PR), Wilnelly Ventura
(PR)
Immersive summer experience (June 24-29, 2012) in which high school students from Puerto Rico, USVI and continental USA
learn about basic concepts of atmospheric sciences and meteorology, complex tropical weather, climate change, atmosphere and
ocean connections, coastal weather, and ocean observing systems, among many other relevant topics. Participants meet experts in
these fields and learn about the diverse academic and professional opportunities.
JSU: 8 participants
Aaron Ayers (Huntsville, AL), Patrick Cajandig (Davis, CA), Victor Flores, Jr. (Fort Worth, TX), Maggie Klug (Tuscaloosa,
AL), Abbey McGilvrey (Noblesville, IN), MaaLiik McMorris (Houston, TX), Christian Williams (Southlake, TX), Reagan
Williams (Tyrone, GA)
The JSU Weather Camp was held on June 25-29, 2012. Participants took part in lectures, hands-on demonstrations, field trips,
and interactive activities relating to weather processes, atmospheric science careers, and personal skills development. The camp
was based on the campus of JSU, using a residential paradigm, over a period of one week. The activities were facilitated by JSU
faculty, alumni chaperones, and guest professionals from within the community.
UTEP: 12 participants
Carla Cos, Michelle Carrasco, Isidro Melchor, Abril Raygosa, Aby Gonzalez, Karol Balderrama, Crystal Fino, Rosie Moreno,
Bitania Hernandez, Pamela Fierro, Jessica Reyes, Karian Estrieve
The UTEP Weather Camp was held on July 9-13, 2012 and it was very successful. 12 high school students from the city of El
Paso participated.
HU: 12 participants
Julien Benjamin (Acworth, GA), Shellianne Booth (Laurel, MD), Matthew Cappucci ( Plymouth, MA), Joseph Ghianni
(Nashville, TN), Gabriella Ibanez-Alers (Aldie,VA), Kyle Jordan-DeDaux (Florissant, MO), Amber Ligett (Beaver, PA), Malik
Means (Philadelphia, PA), Rachel Pyfron (Davidsonville, MD), Laurel Robert-Rivera (Aguadilla, PR), Marin Satrio (Plano, TX),
Laura Searles (Gaithersburg,MD).
The HU Weather camp was held on July 8-12, 2012. 12 high school students from across the country participated.
Adopt A School Program:
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HU: Cleveland Elementary (K-5)
Provided - judges for school science fair on March 6, 2012, and tour of Beltsville Research Facility on May 23, 2012.
Howard University Middle School for Mathematics and Science (6-8) – provided a weather camp for 19 HU middle school
students on July 23-27 culminating with a hot air balloon launch by the students.
Initiated talks Columbia Heights Educational Campus and Hardy Middle School.
UPRM: School name: Alejandro Tapia y Rivera (K-6).
Facilitated the participation of two (2) Science teachers from school in the NASA sponsored workshop: “The Biosphere
Interactions: An Ineludible Connection of Events”.
JSU: Planning meetings with Piney Woods Country Life School in Braxton, MS.
Facility tours:
HU provided a tour of the NCAS Beltsville Research Facility for 35 fifth graders from adopt-a-school Cleveland Elementary on
May 23, 2012 and 55 Howard University Upward Bound Math and Science students on June 22, 2012.
HU provided a tour of the NWS Sterling Facility for approximately 70 Howard University High School Upward Bound students.
Science Fests:
UPRM: AMS (UPRM Student chapter) Weather Fest – UPR Mayaguez (Aprox. 500 students)
Hurricane hunter visit – Isla Grande Airport – Sponsored by UNIVISION PR (Over 1,000 students)
HU: USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington Convention Center, DC. Total participation at the festival was
approximately 3,000+ families on April 28-29, 2012. DCPS STEM Fair & Expo (grades 6-12) at Wilson High School on Macrh
26-28, 2012.
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UTEP Weather Camp2012
HU Weather Camp 2012 JSU Weather Camp 2012
III. PHOTO GALLERY
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UPRM Weather Camp 2012
HU Adopt School Cleveland Elementary Visit with Nano Express 2012
AMS (UPRM Student Chapter) Weather Fest 2012
HU Upward Bound visit NWS Sterling, VA
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NCAS USA Science and Engineering Festival 2012
HU Undergraduate Summer Internship 2012
NCAS STEM Careers Day with HU Upward Bound-Trio Programs
HU Adopt a School Cleveland
Elementary visit to Beltsville Facility
2012
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Appendix 1 – Detailed Breakdown of NCAS Leveraged Funding
March 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012
Institution Funding Agency / Sponsor Awarded Amount Status / Comments
HU OAR/OARO/OWAQ $114,000.00 2 year full support student award
HU Cooperative Institute for Climate
and Satellites (CICs)
$33,000 Established July 2009
HU NASA $1M/yr 2008-2013
HU Maryland Department of the
Environment (MDE), ARL, &
UMCP
$60,000/yr Regional Air Quality Network Site
at Beltsville (renewed annually)
HU Various External Sources 3 students x
$38,000/student
International Students working on
NCAS projects
In-kind sources of leveraging
HU NOAA $40,000/day x 55 days Ronald H. Brown Ship Allocation
AEROSE06
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Appendix 2 - NCAS Calendar of Activities
March 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012 March
o NCAS co-sponsor with Howard University Graduate School – Morehouse Hopps Scholars
Visitation (Presentation and Tour ) – March 6
o Cleveland Elementary School Science Fair
o NCAS co-sponser with HU Department of Biology – GENEWIZ for a DNA Sequencing Lunch
Seminar – March 7
o Visit to discuss partnerships with Columbia Heights Educational Campus (CHEC), Washington,
DC – March 8
o NCAS Outreach presentation to Science Department of CHEC (Washington, DC)
o NCAS participated in the DC Public schools STEM Fair at Wilson High School – March 24
o NCAS Participated in Capitol College Juniors STEM Expo, Laural, MD – March 16
o AEROSE Day Beltsville, MD – March 16
o NCAS Participated in NOAA Cooperative Institutes Meeting, Silver spring, MD – March 20-21
o NCAS participated in the Sixth NOAA Education and Science Forum, Tallahassee, FL – March
26-28
April
o ScienceFest, Washington, DC
o NOAA Day with Howard University Upward Bound Trio Program – April 21
o NCAS participated in the USA Science and Engineering Festival, National Mall – April 28-29
May
o EPP CSC Directors Spring Meeting, Silver Spring, MD – May 3
June
o NCAS Summer Internship Program – June 4-July 23
o NCAS Participated in the World Science Festival, Governor’s Island, New York, NY – June 4
o UPRM High School Weather Camp, Lajas, PR - June 24-30
o JSU High School Weather Camp, Jackson, MS - June 25-29
July
o HU High School Weather Camp, Washington, DC – July 9-23
o UTEP High School Weather Camp, El Paso, TX = July 9-13
August
o Roy Armstrong (UPRM-NCAS) presented a NOAA Brown-bag seminar at the NOAA
Central Library entitled: The use of autonomous underwater vehicles in studies of
mesophotic and deep water corals – August 9
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
26
Appendix 3 – Publication, Presentation, Press Release and Web Links
March 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012
Publications:
Liang, X.-Z., M. Xu, X. Yuan, T. Ling, H.I. Choi, F. Zhang, L. Chen, S. Liu, S. Su, F. Qiao, Y. He,
J.X.L. Wang, K.E. Kunkel, W. Gao, E. Joseph, V. Morris, T.-W. Yu, J. Dudhia, and J.
Michalakes, 2012: Regional Climate-Weather Research and Forecasting Model (CWRF). Bull.
Amer. Meteor. Soc., doi: 10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00180.1.
Maddy, E.S., S. G. DeSouza-Machado, N. R. Nalli, C. D. Barnet, L. L Strow, W. W.Wolf, H. Xie, A.
Gambacorta, T. S. King, E. Joseph, V. Morris, S. E. Hannon, and P. Schou, 2012: On the Effect
of Dust Aerosols on AIRS and IASI 1 Operational Level 2 Products, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39,
L10809, doi:10.1029/2012GL052070
Polanco, J., R. M. Fitzgerald, and A.A. Maradudin, 2012: Propagation of S-Polarized Surface
Polaritons Circumferentially Around a Locally Cylindrical Surface, Physics Letters A, Volume
376, Issue 18, 2 April 2012, Pages 1573-1575, ISSN 0375-9601, 10.1016/j.physleta.2012.02.061.
Collins, T.W., S. E. Grineski, P. Ford, R. Aldouri, M.L R. Aguilar, G. Vela´zquez-Angulo, R.
Fitzgerald, and D. Lu, 2012: Mapping vulnerability to climate change-related hazards: children
at risk in a US–Mexico border metropolis, Popul. and Environ., DOI 10.1007/s11111-012-0170-
8.
Lu, D., R. Fitzgerald, W. R. Stockwell, R.S. Reddy, and L. White, 2012: Numerical Simulation for a
Wind Dust Even in the US/Mexico Border, Air Qual. Atmos. and Health, DOI
10.1007/s11869-012-0174-7, 2012.
Alkhatib, M.Q., D. C. Sergio, and T. E. Gill, 2012: Automated Detection of Dust Clouds And Sources
in NOAA-AVHRR Satellite Imagery. Proceedings of the 10th Southwest Symposium on Image
Analysis and Interpretation, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), April 2012,
Santa Fe, NM, pp. 97- 100, doi:10.1109/SSIAI.2012.6202462
Ginoux, P., J.M. Prospero, T.E. Gill, N. C. Hsu and M. Zhao, 2012: Global scale attribution of
anthropogenic and natural dust sources and their emission rates based on MODIS Deep Blue
aerosol products, Rev. Geophys 50:RG3005, 36 pp., doi:10.1029/2012RG000388
Thorne, P.W., H. Vömel, G. Bodecker, F. Immler, M. Sommer, 2012: GCOS Reference Upper Air
Network (GRUAN): Steps Towards Assuring Future Climate Records. Proceedings of the
9th International Temperature Symposium, American Institute of Physics: Temperature: Its
Measurement and Control in Science and Industry, Volume 8, Los Angeles, CA on March 19 -
23, 2012.
Kim, Y-J., Kim, B-G., Miller, M., Min, Q., and Song, C-K, 2012: Enhanced Aerosol-Cloud
Relationships in More Stable and Adiabatic Clouds , Asia-Pacific J. Atmos. Sci., 48(3), 283-
293, 2012, DOI:10.1007/s13143-012-0028-0.
V. Morris, V., T.-W. Yu, H. M. Mogil, 2012: A Growing Network of Weather Camps with a CAREER
Focus, Eos, Vol. 93, No. 15, 10 April 2012.
Morris, V., E. Joseph, S. Smith, and T-W. Yu, 2012; The Howard University Program in Atmospheric
Sciences (HUPAS): A Program Exemplifying Diversity and Opportunity, Journal of Geoscience
Education 60, 45-53, 2012.
Presentations:
Liang, X.-Z.: CWRF Advances for Water Management (Chesapeake Bay). Invited talk at the
Chesapeake Bay Program Modeling Quarterly Review Meeting, Annapolis, Maryland, July 11.
Liang, X.-Z., F. Qiao, and L. Chen: CWRF Improved Rainfall Prediction by Ensemble Cumulus
Parameterization. Oral presentation at the 13th Annual WRF User’s Workshop, Boulder, CO, June
25-29.
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
27
Liang, X.-Z.: CWRF Advances for NCEP Operational Use. Oral talk (1 hour) to brief the NOAA
National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) management team, Maryland, June 22.
Liang, X.-Z.: Regional Climate-Weather Research and Forecasting Model Development and Application.
Seminar at the China Meteorological Administration, Beijing, March 21.
Anderson, T., W.R. Stockwell, C.V. Lawson. The Economic Value of Air Quality Forecasting, NOAA-
EPP Sixth Education and Science Forum, “Developing STEM Talent: Increasing Innovation and
National Competitiveness”. Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL. March 26-28, 2012.
Lawson, C.V., W.R. Stockwell, W.S. Goliff. The Effect of Nighttime Chemistry on Air Quality
Forecasts, NOAA-EPP Sixth Education and Science Forum, “Developing STEM Talent:
Increasing Innovation and National Competitiveness”. Florida A&M University, Tallahassee,
FL. March 26-28, 2012.
Lu, D., R. Fitzgerald, W.R. Stockwell, R.S. Reddy, L. White. Numerical Simulation for a Wind Dust
even in the US/Mexico Border, NOAA-EPP Sixth Education and Science Forum, “Developing
STEM Talent: Increasing Innovation and National Competitiveness”. Florida A&M University,
Tallahassee, FL. March 26-28, 2012.
Reddy, R. S., D. Lu, L. White, R. Armstrong, and V. Morris. Impacts of Saharan Dust on Atlantic
Hurricanes and Climate Change, NOAA-EPP Sixth Education and Science Forum “Developing
STEM Talent: Increasing Innovation and National Competitiveness”. Florida A&M University,
Tallahassee, FL. March 26-28, 2012.
Stockwell, W. R., C.V. Lawson, W.S. Goliff. Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanisms for Air Quality
Forecasting, NOAA-EPP Sixth Education and Science Forum, “Developing STEM Talent:
Increasing Innovation and National Competitiveness”. Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL.
March 26-28, 2012.
Stockwell, W. R., W. S. Goliff, C. V. Lawson. The Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism, 22nd
International Symposium on Gas Kinetics, Boulder, CO, June 18 – 22, 2012.
Polanco, J. The Scattering of Surface Plasmon Polaritons by One-dimesional Surface Defects, PECS-X:
10th International Congress on Photonic and Electromagnetic Crystal Structures, June 3-8, 2012,
Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Acosta, M.D., T.E. Gill, and M. Baddock. The White Sands as a Dust Emission Hotspot, White Sands
Science Symposium, sponsored by the National Park Service, Las Cruces, NM, June 2012.
Gill, T.E. Health Impacts: Can Desert Dust Really Make You Sick? NOAA- National Weather Service
/Arizona Department of Transportation Dust Storm Workshop, Casa Grande, AZ, March 6, 2012
Santiago, M.J., and R.A. Armstrong. Hurricane forcing of phytoplankton biomass in the Sargasso Sea.
NOAA-EPP Sixth Education and Science Forum “Developing STEM Talent: Increasing
Innovation and National Competitiveness”. Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL. March
26-28, 2012.
Detrés, Y. and R.A. Armstrong. Contribution of the Puerto Rico Weather Camp to the Recruitment of
Underrepresented Students in STEM Careers. NOAA-EPP Sixth Education and Science Forum
“Developing STEM Talent: Increasing Innovation and National Competitiveness”. Florida A&M
University, Tallahassee, FL. March 26-28, 2012.
Flores, L., Y. Detrés, and R.A. Armstrong. Monitoring of African Dust Intrusions to the Eastern
Caribbean During the Summer of 2011. NOAA-EPP Sixth Education and Science Forum
“Developing STEM Talent: Increasing Innovation and National Competitiveness”. Florida
A&M University, Tallahassee, FL. March 26-28, 2012.
Coronado, J. Detrés, Y. and Armstrong, R. A. Source Frequency of African Dust Storms Reaching the
Island of Puerto Rico. NOAA-EPP Sixth Education and Science Forum “Developing STEM
Talent: Increasing Innovation and National Competitiveness”. Florida A&M University,
Tallahassee, FL. March 26-28, 2012.
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
28
Hernández, W. J. and Armstrong, R. A. Benthic Habitat Mapping for La Parguera Marine Reserve,
Southwest Puerto Rico, using Passive and Active Remote Sensing Data. NOAA-EPP Sixth
Education and Science Forum “Developing STEM Talent: Increasing Innovation and National
Competitiveness”. Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL. March 26-28, 2012.
Cooper, L., and B. Demoz. Microwave Radiometer and its use in the Atmospheric Thermodynamic
Analysis of the 27 April 2011 Tornado Event in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area.
NOAA-EPP Sixth Education and Science Forum “Developing STEM Talent: Increasing
Innovation and National Competitiveness”. Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL. March
26-28, 2012.
Sanders, S.J., T. Adams, and E. Joseph. Relationships Between Demographics and Protective
Actions During Severe Weather Outbreaks: 2011 Super Outbreak, Tuscaloosa, AL. NOAA-EPP
Sixth Education and Science Forum “Developing STEM Talent: Increasing Innovation and
National Competitiveness”. Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL. March 26-28, 2012.
Press Releases: None to report during this performance period
Web Links:
a. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz2D4uT1XFA (video)
b. http://www.facebook.com/pages/NOAA-Puerto-Rico-Weather-Camp/126994785756
(video)
c. http://www.rtbot.net/Puerto_Rico_Weather_Camp (video)
d. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIjmzwLP8VU (video)
e. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfhAjzjnBtY (video)
f. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w0yoztB-Hs (video)
g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BsE9vdgQJY (video)
h. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUX0TLbhu58 (video)
i. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQMgPvWziw4 (video)
j. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsBjoDWzf8o (video)
k. http://www.lib.noaa.gov/about/news/archivebrownbags.html#2012
NCAS Semi Annual Report
(March 1, 2012 – August 31, 2012)
Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
29
Appendix 4 – NCAS Acronyms
March 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012
3DVAR Three-Dimensional Variation
AAAR American Association for Aerosol Research
ACARS Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System
ACS American Chemical Society
ADP Automated Data Processing
AERADNET AErosols and RADiation Observing NETwork
AEROSE AERosols and Oceanographic Science Expedition
AFWA Air Force Weather Agency
AG Access Grid
AGL Above Ground Level
AGU American Geophysical Union
AHPCRC Army High Performance Computing Research Center
AIRS Atmospheric Infrared Sounder
AL Alabama
AMMA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis
AMS American Meteorological Society
AMSU Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit
AOML Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
AOT Aerosol Optical Thickness
ARL Air Resources Laboratory
ARM Atmospheric Radiation Measurement
ARW Advanced Research WRF
ASL Atmospheric Surface Layer
ASLO American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
ASOS Automated Surface Observing System
AUV Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
AWIPS Advanced Weather Interactive Prediction System
AWOS Automated Weather Observing System
BAMP Howard University Beltsville Atmospheric Measurement Program
BBSS Balloon Borne Sounding System
BLH Boundary Layer Heights
BSRN Baseline Surface Radiation Network
CAFAS Careers in Fisheries, Aquatics, and Atmospheric Sciences
CAMx Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions
CAREERS Channeling Atmospheric Research into Educational Experiences Reaching
Students
CAPE Convective Available Potential Energy
CASTNET Clean Air Status and Trends Network
CB4 Carbon Bond IV model
CBL Convective Boundary Layer
CCBay Corpus Christi Bay
CCN Cloud Condensation Nuclei
CE-CERT Center for Environmental Research and Technology (University of
California Riverside)
CGD Climate and Global Dynamics
CGU Canadian Geophysical Union
CICS Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites
CISM Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling
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CLM Common Land Model
CM3
Coordinated Mesoscale Measurements in Mississippi
CMAQ Community Multi-scale Air Quality model
CMM5 Climate MM5 Model
CMP Conference Mentorship Program
COAMPS Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System
CONFRRM Cooperative Network for Renewable Resource Measurements
CoZOBs Coastal Marine Zone Observations
CPAS Cooperative Program in Atmospheric Sciences (UPRM)
CPC Climate Prediction Center
CPS Cumulous Parameterization Schemes
CPU Central Processing Unit
CREST Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Centers
CREWS Coral Reef Early Warning System
CRTM Community Radiative Transfer Model
CSC Cooperative Science Center
CSWR Center for Severe Weather Research
CTD Conductivity/Temperature/Depth Instrument
CUNY City University of New York
CVS Concurrent Version Systems
CWRF Climate WRF
D Democrat
DC District of Columbia
DDR Direct to Diffuse Irradiance Ratio
DEQ Department of Environmental Quality
DISORT Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer
DCRM Detailed Cloud Resolving Model
DIAR-BAR Differential O2 Absorption Barometric Pressure Radar
DMR Division of Marine Resources
DOD SMART Department of Defense Science Mathematics & Research for
Transformation Scholarship
DOE Department of Energy
DOW Doppler-on-Wheels
DRI Desert Research Institute
ECSU Elizabeth City State University
EF Enhanced Fujita scale
EMC Environmental Modeling Group
ENSO El Nino/Southern Oscillation
EOC Expanding Opportunities Conference
EOS Earth Observing System
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
EPIC Equatorial Processes including the Coupling
EPP Educational Partnership Program (NOAA)
EPPMSI Educational Partnership Program (NOAA) with Minority Serving
Institutions
EPIRM Environmental Physics Inverse Reconstruction Model
EQB Environmental Quality Board
ERDC Engineering Research and Development Center
ESA European Space Agency
ESE Environmental Sciences and Engineering
ESRL Earth System Research Laboratory
FAMU Florida A & M University
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FGSEE Future Geoscientists for a Sustainable Earth Environment
FL Florida
FRRF Fast Repetition Rate Fluorometry
FSIRP Faculty and Student Internship Program
FTE Full time employee
GCOS Global Climate Observing System
GDAS Global Data Assimilation
GFDL Geographical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
GIS Geographic Information Systems
GLAS Global Laser Altimeter S
GOCART Georgia Tech/Goddard Global Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation Transport
Model
GOES Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites
GoHFAS Goddard Howard University Fellowship in Atmospheric Sciences
GFS Global Forecasting System
GLOW Goddard Lidar Observatory for Winds
GPCP Global Precipitation Climatology Project
GPI Global Precipitation Index
GPS Global Positioning System
GRUAN GCOS Reference Upper-Air Network
GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA)
GSM Global Spectrum Model
GUFMEX GUlF of Mexico EXperiment
HBCU Historically Black Colleges and Universities
HF High Frequency
HU Howard University
HUBRF Howard University Beltsville Research Facility
HURL Howard University Roman Lidar
HUPAS Howard University Program in Atmospheric Sciences
HYSPLIT Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated
IAMA International Aerosol Modeling Algorithms Conference
IAMAS International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric
Sciences
ICCM Canary Institute of Marine Sciences
ICE Informal Science Education
ICodEM Icod Environmental Model
ICON Integrated Coral Observing Network
IDAS-RAP Diversity in Atmospheric Science through Research Application
and Partnership
IDV Integrated Data Viewer
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc
IEO Spanish Institute of Oceanography
IGARSS International Geosciences & Remote Sensing Symposium
IGRA Infrared Gas Analyzer
IHOP International H2O Project
INTEX Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment
IOAS-AOLS Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere.
Oceans, and Land Surface
IOPs Intensive Observational Periods
IR Infrared
ISCS International Solar Cycle Studies
ISO International Standards Organization
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Vernon R. Morris, Principal Investigator & Director
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ISWS Illinois State Water Survey
IUGG International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
JCSDA Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation
JISAO Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean
JPL NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
JSU Jackson State University
JSUMP JSU Meteorology Program
LA Louisiana
LA-MS Louisiana/Mississippi
LAPS Local Analysis and Prediction System
LEAD Linked Environment for Atmospheric Discovery
Lidar Light detection and ranging
LSM Land Surface Model
LST Local Solar Time
LPASF Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics Siméon Fongang
LW Longwave
LWS Living With a Star
MADIS NOAA’s Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System
MAST Mississippi Academy for Science Teaching
MCC Mesoscale Convective Complex
Met Meteorological
MD Maryland
MDE Maryland Department of the Environment
MEA Malt Extract Agar
MFRSR Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer
MHD Magneto Hydro Dynamics
MISR Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer
MS Mississippi
MMCR Millimeter Cloud Radar
MM5 Mesoscale Model 5
MODIS Moderate Imaging Spectrometer
MODTRAN MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission
MP Micro Physics
MSI Minority Serving Institution
MWR Microwave Radiometer
NAAPS Navy Automated Aerosol Prediction System
NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards
NAM North American Model
NAME North America Monsoon Experiment
NAQFS National Air Quality Forecast System
NARR North American Regional Reanalysis
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NAVO Naval Oceanographic Office
NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research
NCAS NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences
NCDC National Climatic Data Center
NCDDC National Coastal Data Development Center
NCEP National Center for Environmental Prediction
NCO NOAA Computing Office
NCUR National Center on Undergraduate Research
NDBC National Data Buoy Center
NESDIS National Environmental Satellite, Data & Information Service
NCAS Semi Annual Report
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NHC National Hurricane Center
NIS Network Infrastructure & Administrations
NMM Non-hydrostatic Mesoscale Model
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOBCChE National Organization of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers
NoN Nationwide Network of Networks
NOS National Ocean Service
NRCS National Resources Conservation Service
NREL National Renewable Energy Lab
NRL Naval Research Laboratory
NSF National Science Foundation
NSTA National Science Teachers Association
NWA National Weather Association
NWS National Weather Service
OAR Office of Atmospheric Research
OD Optical Depth
OES Oceanic Engineering Society
OGP Office of Global Programs
OLR Outgoing Longwave Radiation
OOS Office of Operational Service
ORA Howard University Office of Research Administration
ORA Office of Research & Applications (NESDIS)
ORAD Office of Research Applications and Development
ORISE Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Optical Depth
PAR Photosynthetically Active Radiation
PASCoR Partnership for Spatial and Computational Research
PBL Planetary Boundary Layer
PCR Polymerase Chain Reaction
PDAS-RAP Promoting Diversity in Atmospheric Sciences through Research Applications
Partnership
PI Principal Investigator
PIERS Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium
PM Particulate Matter
PNE PIRATA Northeast Extension
PPM Piecewise Parabolic Method
PSM Ponce School of Medicine (Puerto Rico)
PSU Pennsylvania State University
QBO Quasi-Biennial Oscillation
QEM Quality Education for Minorities
QPF Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts
RAC Research Advisory Council
RACM2 Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism, Version 2
RASS Radio Acoustic Sounding System
RASS Reference Ambient Air Sampler
RAMS Regional Atmospheric Modeling System
REBS Radiation and Energy Balance Systems
Rep. Representative
RFC River Forecast Center
RHB Ronald H. Brown
Rn Net radiation
RMS Root Mean Square
RS Remote Sensing
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RSM Regional Spectrum Model
RSMS University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric
Science
RSS Rotating Shadowband Spectrometer
RTMA Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis
SAR Semi-Annual Report
SACS Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
SACNAS Society of Associated Chicanos, Native Americans in Science
SAHRA Center for Sustainability of Semiarid Hydrology and Riparian
Areas (University of Arizona)
SAL Saharan Aerosol Layer
SAQM SARMAP Air Quality Model
SARMAP SJVAQS/AUSPEX Regional Modeling Adaptation Project
SCEP Student Career Experience Program
SeaWiFS Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor
SEC Space Environment Center
SGP Southern Great Plains
SLP Sea Level Pressure
SMOKE Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions model
SOARS Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research & Science
SOSVRT Successive Order of Scattering Vector Radiative Transfer model
SOW Statement of Work
SRL Scanning Raman Lidar
SSM/I Special Sensor Microwave Imager
SSRB Solar Surface Radiation Branch
STC Science and Technology Center
STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
STP-M Solar-Terrestrial Physics and Meteorology
SUW Subtropical Underwater
SURFRAD Surface Radiation Budget Network
SUNYA State University of New York at Albany
SW Shortwave
TCEQ Texas Commission for Environmental Quality
TDL Techniques Development Laboratory
TNRCC Texas National Resource Conservation Commission
TOA Top of the Atmosphere
TRMM Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
TRMM PR Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Precipitation Radar
TUV Tropospheric Ultraviolet and Visible model
TX Texas
UCAR University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
UIUC University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
UMBC University of Maryland Baltimore County
UMCP University of Maryland College Park
UMES University of Maryland Eastern Shore
UMET Universidad Metropolitana de San Juan
UND University of North Dakota
UPRH University of Puerto Rico Humacao
UPRM University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
URC University Research Center
US United States
USA United States of America
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USDA United States Department of Agriculture
USDA SCAN United States Department of Agriculture Soil Climate Analysis Network
UTC Coordinated Universal Time
UTEP University of Texas at El Paso
UV Ultraviolet
UW/APL University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory
VALIDAR Validation LIDAR
Vis5d Visualization of Large 5-d Grided Data Sheets
VOC Volatile Organic Compounds
VRS Visible Reflectance Spectroscopy
WBTP Weather Broadcast Training Program
WFO Weather Forecast Office
WMO World Meteorological Organization
WRF Weather Research and Forecast
WTA Western Tropical Atlantic
XBT Expendable Bathythermographs