Monday, November 14, 2011 Climate Change Expert Mathias Vuille to Visit Colombia on Behalf of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas Washington, D.C., November 14, 2011 ? Mathias Vuille, a Senior Fellow in the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), will be traveling to Colombia November 15, 2011 through November 18, 2011 to participate in meetings and events regarding how climate change will affect glacier conditions and water availability in the high Andes. Vuille is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY) who specializes in climate change and glacier mass and energy balance. The Senior ECPA Fellows program is a network of high-level technical experts in the fields of climate change and energy who travel to countries in the Western Hemisphere to consult with governments and share best practices and is administered by Partners of the Americas. Dr. Vuille has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles on topics of climate change and glacier mass and energy balance and serves as a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). During his stay in Colombia, Vuille will be participating in discussions with the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies, the Ministry of the Environment, and the National University. Vuille will also be a keynote speaker at the 7th Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management. Partners of the Americas is an international network that promotes social and economic development in the Americas through leadership, voluntary service, and development programs. Its mission is to connect individuals, volunteers, institutions, businesses, and communities to serve and to change lives through lasting partnerships. Partners envisions an interconnected hemisphere that maximizes the social and economic potential, and leverages the full diversity, of the Americas. For more information, visit www.partners.net. Thursday, November 17, 2011 Assistant Professor Paul Roundy was awarded a $504,951 grant from the National Science Foundation for support of the project ?Analysis of the Influence of Convectively Coupled Atmospheric Waves and Extratropical Rossby Waves on the Structure and Evolution of the Observed Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO).?? November 15, 2011 - October 31, 2014. Friday, November 11, 2011 JOINT COLLOQUIUM SERIES DEPARTMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES RESEARCH CENTER Tropical Cyclogenesis in Wind Shear: Climatological Relationships and Physical Processes David S. Nolan Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science University of Miami Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, 11:00 am Earth Science, Room 232 The formation of tropical cyclones remains a topic of great interest in the field of tropical meteorology. A number of influential studies have considered the process of tropical cyclone formation (also known as TC genesis) from a pre-existing, weak tropical disturbance in a quiescent atmosphere from theoretical perspectives and using numerical simulations. However, it is shown that the large majority of TC genesis events occur under the influence of significant vertical wind shear. The effects of wind shear on TC genesis is explored from both a climatological perspective and from the statistics of wind shear in environments around individual TC genesis events. While earlier studies suggested that moderate wind shear values, in the range of 5 to 10 ms-1, were the most favorable states for genesis, it is shown that small values of wind shear in the range of 1.25 to 5 ms-1 are the most favorable, and very little shear (less than 1.25 ms-1) is not unfavorable. Statistically, easterly shear appears to be more favorable than westerly shear. The physical process of TC genesis in wind shear is explored with high-resolution numerical simulations using a mesoscale model in an idealized framework. The transformation of a weak, mid-level vortex into a warm-cored tropical cyclone is simulated in environments with no flow, with mean flow and no wind shear, and with mean flow and wind shear. The simulations show that in terms of the formation of a closed, low-level circulation, moderate wind shear is indeed more conducive to genesis, but is also prohibitive to further development. However, in contrast to the statistical findings and some previous results, westerly shear is found to be significantly more favorable for TC genesis than easterly shear. The reasons for the greater favorableness of wind shear versus no wind shear, and of westerly shear versus easterly shear, are discussed within the context of the numerical simulations. Further statistical analysis suggests that the greater favorableness for easterly shear in the real atmosphere may be due to a correlation between easterly shear and more favorable thermodynamic conditions. Monday, October 24, 2011 JOINT COLLOQUIUM SERIES DEPARTMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES RESEARCH CENTER Chris Walcek, Atmospheric Science Research Center Monday, October 24, 2011, 4:15 pm Earth Science, Room 232 "Cloud-Top Entrainment Instability and its Possible Role in the Famous Langmuir/Schaefer Albany-Area Cloud Seeding Experiments" Friday, September 23, 2011 Tuesday, September 6, 2011 Tornado near Amsterdam, filmed by UAlbany ATM grad Lindsay Phillips: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Was-that-a-tornado-Indeed-it-was-2156034.php Wednesday, July 27, 2011 Three graduate students from the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences successfully defended their Ph.D. dissertations this month: Heather M. Archambault - Monday, July 25th, 2011 "The Downstream Extratropical Flow Response to Recurving Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclones" Nicholas Metz - Monday, July 25th, 2011 "Persistence and Dissipation of Lake Michigan-Crossing Mesoscale Convective Systems" Kay Shelton - Wednesday, July 20th, 2011 "EASTERLY WAVES AND TROPICAL CYCLOGENESIS IN THE CARIBBEAN" Tuesday, July 20, 2011 UAlbany's Atmospheric Sciences Program finds Success on Many Fronts http://www.albany.edu/news/15103.php?WT.eml=nc For UAlbany graduates with a degree in Atmospheric Science, not even the sky is the limit. A wealth of weather-related career opportunities are within reach ? including federal posts, top flight graduate programs, and positions within major corporations. Josh Darr, '02, is a meteorologist for Chesapeake Energy. "We figure out, 'Are there weather-based opportunities from a pricing standpoint of how we sell our gas into the national pipeline network,' " said Darr. He adds that the world-class education he received at UAlbany was invaluable to his success working in the commodities sector. Kimberly McMahon, '05, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS), highlighted the benefit of having the agency's Albany office strategically located within walking distance of UAlbany's uptown campus. "Because of my ability to do an internship with the National Weather Service -- when I graduated ? I was their No. 1 pick," said McMahon. She now provides real-time weather data to everyone from emergency managers to the media and public. For more information, visit the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences. http://www.atmos.albany.edu/ Thursday, June 23, 2011 Albany, NY (WAMC) ? In today?s Academic Minute, Dr. James Schwab of the University at Albany discusses the complexity and mysteries of cloud formation. http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1815995 Tuesday, May 24, 2011 Kalin Kochnev is so fascinated with weather and meteorology, (?he reads all the books he can get his hands on about weather!? said his Mom Annie) that in celebration of this 8th birthday on May 24th, Kalin?s parents surprised him with a visit to the University at Albany Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences Map Room, for a tour and a chat with in-house Meteorologist Ross Lazear.