Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Science

Area 1--I have done extensive research into the long range transport of air pollutants, e.g., from Asia to the U.S., and from the U.S. to Europe. This has involved a great deal of high resolution modeling to determine how pollutants are transported from the surface into the higher atmosphere, and where the pollutants are transported once they arrive in the upper levels. The primary mechanisms for upward transport are thunderstorms, low pressure areas, and topographic features. The details of the mechanisms and how they can best be simulated in numerical models are a major focus. These activities have been sponsored by NASA who is interested in developing satellite sensors that can detect the pollution plumes and how to interpret the imagery that is oberved by the sensors.Area 2--I also am very interested in how to better forecast lightning, especially when a first flash will occur, and when the last flash of a storm has occurred. I utilize data from national and international lightning sensing network, as well as extremely high resolution data from very localized detection networks. This research mostly has been sponsored by NASA Kennedy Space Center and the Air Force.Area 3--The above have been applied to studies of tropical cyclones. Do lightning data give clues about whether a hurricane will rapidly intensify or decay? Also, how well do the global weather models forecast tropical storm genesis. Finally, can we better forecast where hurricane related strong rainbands will occur and cause major flooding. These topics mostly have been sponsored by NOAA.

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