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Meteorology Research

The meteorology program at SUNY Oswego is involved in several research projects, with many of our faculty and undergraduate students involved.

Current

National Science Foundation Grant

Collaborative Research: The Kinematics, Microphysics, and Dynamics of Long-fetch Lake-effect Systems in the Ontario Winter Lake-effect Systems (OWLeS) Project 
A major project ($4 million in total; Oswego portion $320,000) involving 11 institutions from across the country along with the University of Wyoming King Air aircraft, 3 Center for Severe Weather Research Doppler on Wheels radars, five rawinsonde (weather balloon) systems, and many more facilities. Twenty SUNY Oswego students were hired for the field project and four will be hired for data analysis projects over 3 summers.

Past

National Science Foundation Grant

Collaborative Research: Dual-polarimetric Doppler-on-Wheels Observations of Long Lake-Axis-Parallel Lake-effect Storms over Lakes Erie and Ontario
Ten undergraduate meteorology majors observed intense lake-effect snow storms during the 2010-11 winter season with a Doppler-on-Wheels (DOW), a heavily instrumented truck, tornado pods, rawinsonde system, and other equipment. We observed never-before seen detail of these storms, including many circulations. The findings from this grant will fuel our next proposal to involve two DOWs and aircraft to study these storms in the next several years.

Presentation Overview

Upper-Air and Surface Observing Systems for Weather Research and Instruction at SUNY Oswego

The meteorology faculty was awarded a grant to modernize our surface meteorological stations and to obtain new mobile rawinsonde and tethersonde tracking systems.

Research Experiences in Meteorology - Science, Mathematics, and Technology (REM-SMT)

This grant involved training teachers to do meteorological research in their high schools.

Study of the Structure and Dynamics of Great Lakes Winter Storms

This grant involved modeling lake-effect snow storm events using the PSU/NCAR Mesoscale Model MM5. We adjusted the physics to get the best simulations.

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) 
Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education, and Training Grant

Improving the Understanding and Prediction of Lake-Effect Snowstorms in the Eastern Great Lakes Region

Students analyzed radar and model data to improve lake-effect snow forecasting using the WRF modeling system. We also studied the inland extent of snowfall and the diurnal variability of these storms.

Improving Operational Forecasting of Lake Effect Snowstorms in the Eastern Great Lakes

This grant was run in cooperation with the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices in Buffalo and Binghamton. We ran MM5 twice a day over the eastern Great Lakes and sent the output to NWS to help them in forecasting lake-effect snow.

The Federal Aviation Administration through Rutgers University

Determine the effect of Anti-Icing Fluids under Different Weather Conditions

Different aircraft anti-icing fluids were tested on the roof of Piez hall under different snow, temperature and wind conditions to simulate their effect on aircraft.