Knowing an individual's geographic affiliation may be useful in evaluating a student's previous knowledge. To test this hypothesis, students in an online master's program were given presurveys to evaluate their previous knowledge in meteorology and geology, as well as geological and meteorological sense-of-place surveys.

Being able to characterize the size of raindrops is useful in a number of fields including meteorology, hydrology, agriculture and telecommunications. Associated with this article are data sets containing surface (i.e. ground-level) measurements of raindrop size from two different instruments and two different geographical locations. Students may…

The purpose of climate classification is to help make order of the seemingly endless spatial distribution of climates. The Koppen classification system in a modified format is the most widely applied system in use today. This system may not be the best nor most complete climate classification that can be conceived, but it has gained widespread…

This guiding document outlines five goals and supporting objectives that help advance National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) mission through education: (1) Science-Informed Society; (2) Conservation and Stewardship; (3) Safety and Preparedness; (4) Future Workforce; (5) Organizational Excellence. In this report, NOAA introduces…

For this study, we collected classroom behavioral data for three children with autism relative to daily meteorological conditions. Meteorological data, including barometric pressure, humidity, outdoor temperature, and moon illumination, were obtained from the National Weather Service. Relationships between children's individual target behaviors…

The U.S. weather radar network is currently being upgraded with dual-polarization capability. Weather radar polarimetry is an interdisciplinary area of engineering and meteorology. This paper presents efficient ways to learn weather radar polarimetry through several basic and practical topics. These topics include: 1) hydrometeor scattering model…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a shared mental model (SMM) based intervention on student team mental model similarity and ultimately team performance in an undergraduate meteorology course. The team knowledge sharing (TKS) intervention was designed to promote team reflection, communication, and improvement planning.…

E-science has reshaped meteorology due to the rate data is generated, collected, analyzed, and stored and brought data skills to a new prominence. Data information literacy--the skills needed to understand, use, manage, share, work with, and produce data--reflects the confluence of data skills with information literacy competencies. This research…

This paper explores the rhetorical basis of a major paradigm change in meteorology, from a focus on inductive observation to deductive, mathematical reasoning. Analysis of Cleveland Abbe's "The Physical Basis of Long-Range Weather Forecasts" demonstrates how in his advocacy for a new paradigm, Abbe navigates the tension between piety to tradition…

While the Clausius-Clapeyron equation is very important as it determines the saturation vapour pressure, in practice it is replaced by empirical, typically Magnus-type, equations which are more accurate. It is shown that the reduced accuracy reflects an inconsistent assumption that the latent heat of vaporization is constant. Not only is this…

This article describes the implementation of high-altitude balloon (HAB) research into a variety of undergraduate atmospheric science classes as a means of increasing active student engagement in real-world, problem-solving events. Because high-altitude balloons are capable of reaching heights of 80,000-100,000 ft (24-30 km), they provide a…

Background: Given the continued need to educate the public on both the meteorological and engineering hazards posed by the severe winds of a tornado, an interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) module designed by the faculty from the Oceanography and Mechanical Engineering Departments at the United States Naval…

Weather forecasting consists of two processes, model integration and analysis (data assimilation). During the model integration, the state estimate produced by the analysis evolves to the next cycle time according to the atmospheric model to become the background estimate. The analysis then produces a new state estimate by combining the background…

The simple hand-held infrared thermometer can be used to measure the temperature of surfaces of different reflectivity exposed to sunlight and wind. From four temperature measurements of black and white panels in windy and wind-sheltered conditions, together with the two wind speed measurements, both the flux of incident solar radiation and the…

A simple wind speed measurement device, a paper anemometer, is fabricated based on the theory of standing waves. In providing the working profile of the paper anemometer, an experimental device is established, which consists of an anemometer sensor, a sound sensor, a microphone, paper strips, a paper cup, and sonic acquisition software. It shows…