UCAR Update

June 2009

Previous issues • Subscriptions

In brief
• Catch the Tom Wigley Symposium online
• Start thinking about your ASP Faculty Fellowship Program application
• Guy Brasseur departing as ESSL director
• Current job openings at UCAR
• New from COMET: Precipitation measurement, ocean models, radiation fog, climate change, more
• Reminders from previous issues

Catch the Tom Wigley Symposium online
Through an illustrious scientific career spanning more than 45 years, NCAR senior scientist Tom Wigley has made major contributions to our understanding of past, present, and future environmental change. NCAR will celebrate Tom’s many achievements in a daylong symposium on 19 June, beginning at 8:15 a.m. MDT. The proceedings will be webcast live and will be archived by around 6 July for later viewing; both URLs are below.

Contact: Lisa Butler, NCAR/ESSL/CGD, 303-497-1366
Live webcast of Wigley Symposium on 19 June
Archived NCAR & UCAR Webcasts

Start thinking about your ASP Faculty Fellowship Program application
The NCAR Advanced Study Program's Faculty Fellowship Program provides opportunities and resources for faculty employed at universities, with an emphasis on UCAR member universities and academic affiliates and early career faculty, to work in residence at NCAR. The program also provides opportunities for NCAR staff to spend time in residence at U.S. universities.

Have you been thinking about a long-term visit to NCAR? If so, this may be the program for you. The FFP will begin accepting applications in September; watch for an official announcement soon.

Application deadline: 31 October
Contact: Paula Fisher, NCAR/ASP, 303-497-1328
ASP Faculty Fellowship Program

Guy Brasseur departing as ESSL director
Guy Brasseur is stepping down after more than three years as director of the NCAR Earth and Sun Systems Laboratory, effective 30 June. He will remain a NCAR senior scientist in the Atmospheric Chemistry Division while taking a leave of absence to direct a newly created Climate Service Center in Germany. Greg Holland, head of NCAR’s Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division, will serve as acting director of ESSL beginning on 1 July.

Contact: Helen Moshak, NCAR Directorate, 303-497-1112
Earth and Sun Systems Laboratory

Current job openings at UCAR
Below are the titles of scientific positions now open at UCAR/NCAR/UOP, along with the relevant tracking code. All jobs are based in Boulder unless otherwise indicated.

• Associate Scientist II (9136) , UCP/VSP at AFWA, Omaha, NE
• Project Scientist II (9141), NCAR/ESSL/CGD
• Radio Occultation Atmospheric-Sensing Project Scientist I (9142), UCP/COSMIC

Applicants can view the full descriptions for these and other positions at the UCAR Human Resources site.

Contact: UCAR Human Resources
Careers at UCAR

New from COMET: Precipitation measurement, ocean models, radiation fog, climate change, more
Below are details on seven new online publications available from UCP/COMET. Please see the accompanying Web links for more details.

Precipitation Estimates: Part 1, Measurement
This is part one of a two-module series on estimation of observed precipitation. Through use of rich illustrations, animations, and interactions, this module provides an overview of the science of precipitation estimation using various measuring platforms.

Feature Identification: Ring of Fire
This COMET module introduces forecasters to the potentially damaging convection that can develop in conjunction with blocking high pressure centers and examines how to identify it from the perspective of water vapor imagery. This module is part of the series "Dynamic Feature Identification: The Satellite Palette.”

Mesoscale Ocean Circulation Models
This module examines mesoscale ocean circulation models and the features and processes that they predict, including temperature, salinity, currents, and elevation. It examines current operational models and their limitations, examples of predicted ocean features, and potential applications.

Radiation Fog (format update)
Originally published in 1999, this is one of COMET's first Web-based modules. It has been rebuilt in a new format to remove some legacy technology and now includes a print version.

Nearshore Wave Modeling
Ocean waves close to shore affect public safety, commerce, navigation, and, of course, recreation. This module introduces forecasters to different near-shore wave models, including phase-resolving and one- and two-dimensional spectral models.

Climate Change: Fitting the Pieces Together
This module discusses climate change and the role of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases. It also covers signs of climate change, how scientists study climate, the current thinking on future changes, and what can be done to minimize the effects.

S-290 Unit 9: Observing the Weather
This webcast covers procedures for taking accurate weather observations using belt weather kits and descriptions of other common observing equipment used in fire weather. In addition, it demonstrates maintenance of the primary components of the belt weather kit.

Contact: Hildy Kane, UCP/COMET, 303-497-8470
COMET MetEd site

Reminders from previous issues

Save the dates: summer WRF workshop and tutorial

Visiting scientist openings

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Questions or news tips: Bob Henson, 303-497-8605
Published by UCAR Communications