Researchers and Students to Set up Monitoring System at AMS Annual Meeting


January 11, 2011

Meteorologists Dan Wolfe of the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratories and Collin Daly of Campbell Scientific were requested by the president of the American Meteorological Society to design a monitoring system for the upcoming 91st AMS annual meeting in Seattle, WA. The system will be used to investigate how humans modify the environment no matter what they do. For example, when attending a conference, temperature and CO2 concentrations change in rooms filled with people. Students attending the first day of the student convention will have the opportunity to help assemble the system and monitor the data; working/interacting with professionals in the field. Temperature, water vapor, and CO2 data will be collected during WeatherFest and the Presidential Forum (January 23 & 24 respectively). The data will be transmitted by cell phone to Campbell where it will be made available on their website and via smart phone. On January 25, in his talk about human impact on the environment, Professor David Sailor of Portland State University will analyze and discuss the data. As an extension of this activity, Wolfe and Daly will give a joint presentation at the student convention about their careers. Wolfe will discuss his career as meteorologist with the federal government, and Daly as a meteorologist in the private sector.

Wolfe began his career at NOAA as a student 35 years ago. At ESRL, and its predecessor organizations, Wolfe has designed, assembled, and maintained numerous monitoring systems. These systems have been used on land, ships, and aircraft to study boundary layer and climate processes. Components for the AMS system were provided by Vaisala and LICOR, integrated by Campbell Scientific, and tested by Wolfe and Daly.

This activity is an opportunity for NOAA scientists to connect to the next generation of researchers through an informal experiment exploring the impact of humans on their environment.


Contact: Dan Wolfe