Dr. Jim Brey
Director, AMS Education Program
2011 GSA Annual Meeting
Founded in 1919
Over 14,000 members
Organizes over a dozen conferences annually
Publishes 11 leading journals
Certifies consultants and broadcasters
Significant educational activity since 1990
Non Profit 501 c3
Promote the development
and dissemination of information and
education on the atmospheric and related
oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the
advancement of their professional
applications in service to society.
To better equip students in science and math through:
Professional development opportunities for teachers nationwide
• Free graduate credits through SUNY Brockport
Facilitating the development of partnerships among institutions
and individuals
Innovative undergraduate course packages licensed to universities,
colleges, and community colleges
• Including significant numbers of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)
This is what we are most
concerned with and this is what
we do best!
Prepare the next generation of
earth scientists by promoting
workforce development
Encourage members of
underrepresented groups to
aspire to an Earth science career
Provide insight into the
excitement of Earth system
science
Introduce role models to
emulate
Careers in Earth Sciences are
exciting and offer many
opportunities!
Global Change Issues
Environmental Hazards
Biodiversity and Environmental Health
Globalization
Human Interactions with the Earth System
Technology and Access to Information
Water Issues
Air and Water Quality
Sustainability
AMS
Weather
Studies
AMS
Ocean
Studies
AMS
Climate
Studies
Introductory courses where students use real-world and real-time data
Emphasis on hands-on investigations and critical thinking skills
Designed by and licensed through the AMS
Can be offered in a variety of learning environments
NASA, NOAA, and NSF-supported Diversity Projects facilitate
implementation at minority serving institutions (MSIs) nationwide
Developed in cooperation with NOAA
Course emphasizes:
Flow and transformations of water and
energy into and out of the ocean
Physical and chemical properties of seawater
Ocean circulation
Marine life and adaptations
Human societal impacts on and responses
to Earth system interactions
Licensed by more than 160 institutions since
implementation in Fall 2005
NSF-supported Diversity Project facilitated course
implementation at MSIs
Fully-integrated packages; contain both printed and online
learning materials
Comprehensive 15-chapter, full color, hard cover textbook
Investigations Manual with 30 laboratory-style activities
Course website
Faculty website
Faculty resource CD
Course Management System-compatible files
Instructor
Setting
• Course offering by experienced science faculty
or those new to teaching the subject
• Range from traditional lecture-based to totally
online
• Receive local institutional credit
• Purchase course materials through their local
Students
bookstore
AMS Ocean Studies
students at Washington
Adventist University on
a research boat
Includes 30 lab-type investigations (2 per chapter)
AMS Weather Studies
Recent meteorological case studies and an overview of the day’s weather
AMS Ocean Studies
Inflatable globe guides visualization of complex ocean phenomena (such as
tides, El Niño/La Niña, and tsunami trajectories)
AMS Climate Studies
Newly revised AMS Conceptual Energy Model
Visualizing the effects of changing atmospheric composition
Weekly Ocean/Weather/Climate News
Current Ocean/Weather/Climate Studies
(Online lab component)
Example on next slide
Links to current environmental data
Preview Course Website!
Japan’s 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake/Tsunami Event
Excerpt from
Current Ocean Studies 8:
Global Warming: Rising Sea
Levels and Coastal Impacts
The earthquake resulted
from sudden thrust faulting
on or near the subduction
zone interface plate
boundary where the Pacific
plate is plowing under the
North American plate.
= Epicenter
Figure 1. Bathymetric/topographic map
showing location of Tohoku Earthquake
epicenter. [Adapted from NOAA NGDC]
Figure 2. Model
generated pattern of
the leading wave of the
Tohoku Tsunami.
[NOAA Center for
Tsunami Research,
PMEL]
The color coding in Figure 2 shows that the darker the color, the higher the tsunami
wave height. Near the earthquake epicenter, maximum wave heights were near
[(2)(4)(6)(8)] feet. At these locations, the wave energy was also the greatest, with
the potential for causing the greatest damage.
Shallow water wave speeds decrease as the water depth decreases, and their wave
heights increase. Note the kink in the “6 Hours” line to the northwest of Hawaii. It
shows that compared to the “6 hours” line to either side, the wave speed at the kink
must be slower, the wave heights must be higher, and the water depth must be
[(deeper)(shallower)].
Figure 3 shows changes in the actual observed water levels (in red) versus predicted tide levels
(in blue) at Crescent City, CA. The green curve depicts departure from the predicted water
level.
A short time after 1600 GMT on 11 March 2011, the water level dropped to
[(2.0)(2.5)(6.0)] feet below the predicted water level. A couple of hours later, the
water level reached a height more than 7 feet above predicted water level. The
graph shows that after the tsunami initially arrived, there were numerous
alternating high and low water level departures compared to the predicted tide
levels.
The alternating pattern of water level fluctuations beyond predicted levels indicate
the tsunami is a [(single)(multiple)] wave event.
Faculty CD
Faculty manual
Textbook images suitable for PowerPoint
presentations
Test bank questions
Answers to review & critical thinking questions
Course Management System-compatible files
Faculty Website
Weekly discussions
Answer keys
Faculty Mentoring
Available by other AMS-trained faculty members
Respondus software converts formatted files to Blackboard, WebCT,
ANGEL, Desire2Learn, Moodle, and other CMS files
CMS files facilitate student response online and automatic grading of
responses for instructor
Respondus-formatted files:
Investigations Manual
(faculty CD and website)
Current Ocean Studies, Current Weather Studies, and
Current Climate Studies
(faculty website)
Test bank questions
(faculty CD)
AMS Ocean, Weather, and Climate Studies have introduced
geoscience education to more than 650 institutions.
Turnkey course design make possible course introduction at MSIs and
other institutions globally.
Courses encourage additional student explorations of the
geosciences, possibly leading to science careers.
AMS Water Studies currently in planning phase, developmental
funding will be sought.
AMS Climate Studies Diversity Project currently
in planning phase. Workshops will begin in
early summer 2012.
AMS Weather Studies and AMS Weather Studies Diversity Project were
funded by NSF grants GEO-0119740 (OEDG) and DUE-0126032
(CCLI_ND)
AMS Ocean Studies Diversity Project is supported by NSF grant DUE0442497 (CCLI-ND)
AMS Climate Studies is supported by NASA grants NNX-09AP58G and
NNX-08AN53G
AMS Climate Studies Diversity Project is supported by NSF grant “AMS
Climate Studies: Fostering Climate Science Literacy and Promoting
Minority Participation in the Geosciences.”
See us at Booth #736
Jim Brey
Director
AMS Education
Program
American Meteorological
Society
1120 G Street NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
brey@ametsoc.org
www.ametsoc.org/amsedu
202-737-1043
Email:
amsedu@ametsoc.org