DOW’s for Education
C enter for
S evere
Weather
R esearch
DOW Educational Deployments
University of
North Dakota
University of
Nebraska
Lincoln
DOW tracking cswr911:main storm
St. Cloud State
University
University of
Lyndon State
College
Wisconsin
Wilbur Wright,
Elmhurst,
Coll of Dupage
Penn State
University
North Carolina
State University
University of
Colorado
1995-2007 Pre-Facility
2008-2010 Acad Years
2010-2011 Acad Year
Careers in Science
University of
Oklahoma
TBD
Univ
Jackson State
University
Purdue
University
University of
Illinois
Requesting DOWs for Education
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Fill in 2 page form at EOL or CSWR
Expedited review procedure
Short lead time possible
Deployments last about 3 weeks
This is limited by ~$20k budget limitation
More ambitious educational deployments possible,
i.e. PAMREX
• DOWs have been engineered to be student-useable
After training, students+faculty can operate w/o
expensive techs from CSWR
• Simple, safe, radar start up procedures
generator startup
leveling
transmitter warm up, pressurization
signal processor startup, recording,
easy antenna control interface
• DOW Trucks rated at 25,999 lbs = no CDL required
• DOW Trucks are quasi-easy to drive, like a U-Haul.
Biggest risks are branches, low bridges
• DOW drivers and operators are insured under CSWR’s policies
DOW Educ Deployment Model (so far)
• Limited to ~$20k
• DOWs are delivered to the school by CSWR
• DOW technician visits for one week:
trains operators and drivers
• DOW scientist visits 1-2 days during 1st week:
teaches a class(es) or classes
provide orientation, assists training, etc.
public lecture
• Weeks 2-3 are “on their own”,
or with a junior CSWR driver/operator
• DOW technician on standby to return for radar failure
• DOW is picked up by CSWR
What do they do?
• Exact design of lab, length of leash given
students, etc., is decided by faculty host
• Typically students design experiments,
scanning and data collection strategies, when
to go out, etc.
• Scanning rates, numbers of tilts, gate lengths,
PRT, etc. can be chosen by students
• Data recorded in DORADE format on internal disks
• Up to 1TB per data collection
• Transferred to student labs using esata or usb
external disks
• Students use Soloii, IDV, or other to read DORADE
• Nearly all schools have some level of computer
support sufficient to at least install Soloii. CSWR
provides Soloii training
• CSWR is working on a program bring ~10 Linux
computers with Soloii pre-installed to assist schools
who have very little infrastructure
Case Study: UNDEO
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University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Small meteorology department
Faculty host Adam Houston familiar with radar
Radar meteorology course, 14 students 8 grad, 6 ugrad
15 day deployment
CSWR technician on site full duration
Students crafted research proposals for using the DOW
Collected data during 3 IOPs
Outreach at elementary school, and public talk
Nebraska DOW
utreach (UNDEO) project
November of 2008.
NSF-funded collaboration
artment of Geosciences at
Nebraska – Lincoln and
vere Weather Research
UNDEO
• Proposed student projects
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Kinematic structure of a cold front
Comparing environmental variables using Doppler radar and idelaized modeling
Frontal passage and depth: A comparison of DOW and 88D Doppler radars
Manifestation of turbulence withina cold front
Kinematics of frontal motion and structure
Vertical structure of a cold front
• Actual Deployments
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1: clear air: daytime PBL
2: clear air: back door cold front
3: clear air: cold front
• Not much precip
• Initial projects canceled.
Final assignment: compare fronts 2 and 3
PI evaluation of UNDEO
• Course preparation was too rushed. Proposals
should be submitted >= 6 months before project
• Clear air was limited due to late fall season
• 21 days would have been better
• More scientist presentations over 3-4 day visit
would have been better
• CSWR tech on site was very desirable
• Prompt uploading of data to local servers needed
• Wurman talked to fast (too much info in lectures)
UNDEO-2
Proposed for March/April 2011
Recommended by reviewers
Approval pending at NSF
Changes from UNDEO-1:
• 21 days to increase wx chances
• 800 km range to increase wx chances
• 3 day CSWR scientist visit
Other educational designs
TOM
• CU and NCSU have requested the Rapid-Scan DOW
for March 2011
• Deployments in snow events in Boulder area
• Data training and Rapid-DOW orientation by CSWR
scientists at NCSU
• Data sent by Fed-Ex to NCSU for T+48 hour access
PAMREX
Very ambitious
(also pre-facility, so ~$0 budget)
2 DOWs for dual-Doppler
No CSWR support
Faculty (Richardson, Markowski,
Verlinde) experienced with DOWs
Term 1: data collection
Term 2: dual-Doppler analysis
From BAMS article: “…used the DOW radars in the fall months of 2003 and 2004 to study a wide variety of phenomena, such
as the interaction of fronts and thunderstorms with ridges and valleys, terrain-induced atmospheric circulations, and phenomena
owing to atmospheric interactions with Lake Erie. The complex terrain of Pennsylvania can produce atmospheric circulations
capable of triggering thunderstorms, in addition to influencing already mature thunderstorms and their attendant severe weather.
Surface temperature roughness differences between Lake Erie and the land surface of Pennsylvania routinely affect small-scale
weather as well with “lake effect” snow bands being perhaps the most widely known of these lake-induced phenomena.”
Careers In Science:
EOL and CSWR
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Targeting minority colleges
DOW visits colleges for 1 day each
EOL and CSWR staff participate
Talks on meteorology careers: technicians,
planning, communications, engineers, scientists
• DOW demonstrations and talk by Wurman as a
draw due to “chasing” appeal
• October 2010: Chicago area (also DC Sci/Eng Expo)
• March 2011: Mississippi, Alabama, area
DOW demos
Classroom Talks/Discussions
Outreach at K-12 schools
(and DC Science/Engineering Expo
IMAX Outreach
March-April 2011
Proposed to have DOW do a tour of IMAX museums
timed with opening of “Tornado Alley”, a film
supported by NSF (ISE: Innovative Science Education)
VORTEX2 PI’s will attend many
of these openings, giving talks
and demonstrations
Summary
• Well used program getting NSF facility to
smaller meteorology departments
• Opportunity to feature NSF facility and related
careers at minority and small colleges
• Recommend: Mechanism for proposing more
ambitious or “out of the box”
educational/outreach uses of facilities such as
PAMREX and IMAX