• to support education and research in mountain meteorology and climate
• to promote international research and educational exchanges focused on mountain meteorology and climate.

2006

• Photos of 2006 activities


• February 1, 2006 Seminar by Dr. Olivier Liechti, President, Analysen & Konzepte, Winterthur, Switzerland:
  "Meteorological flight plans for soaring and their verification"
  Web-based videos from Dr. Liechti's seminar:
  Swiss Soaring Nationals 2004 - Dent de Broc (©Orion, Ramseier Daniel, author),
  WMV format (27 Mb)
  Swiss TV News Report (in Swiss German) ©SMBirrfeld 2004 "Sportpanorama", Regula Spänni SF DRS),
  WMV format (87 Mb)


• February-May 2006, Travel funds for student participation in the Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX) in Owens Valley, California
  20-12 February 2006: Greg West
  11-18 Mar 2006: Jenny Esker and Erik Crossman
  29 Apr- 3 May 2006: Greg West and Lisa Verzella
  


• Student practicum, Spring 2006
  This practicum focused on professional development topics and provided an informal forum for the discussion of the students' research progress, with advice from faculty and other students.
  
  12 Jan, Kickoff meeting
  26 Jan, Maura Hahnenberger (student), "The Upcoming Meteor Crater Experiment"
  01 Feb, Olivier Liechti (visiting scientist), "Practical Aspects of Weather Forecasting for Soaring"
  09 Feb, Erik Crosman (student), "Great Salt Lake Research"
  16 Feb, Jim Steenburgh (faculty), "Proposal Writing"
  08 Mar, Greg West (student), "Research Progress"
  30 Mar, Colby Neumann (student), "Masters Thesis Research"
  06 Apr, Dave Myrick (student), "Ph.D. Research Progress"
  20 Apr, Dave Whiteman (faculty), "The Peer Review Process for Journal Articles"
  


• August 27 - September 1, 2006, travel funds for attendance of the American Meteorological Society's 12th Conference on Mountain Meteorology in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
  Chad Kahler, UU undergraduate student, co-author of poster presentation entitled "Modeling Solar Radiationn in Arizona's Meteor Crater"
  Sebastian Hoch, UU post-doc, co-author of oral presentation entitled "The Meteor Crater experiment - METCRAX 2006"
  


• September 2006 seminars, travel funds
  September 5, 2006: Ivana Stiperski, Ph.D. student, University of Croatia, Zagreb, "Mountain Meteorology Research in Croatia"
  September 5, 2006: Benedikt Bica, Ph.D. student, University of Vienna, Austria, "Investigation of Extreme Temperature inversions in the Gruenloch Sinkhole - A Review of Current Research Activities at the IMG-Vienna"
  


• October 2006 Travel funds for student participation in the Meteor Crater Experiment (METCRAX) at Meteor Crater, Arizona
  10-15 October 2006: graduate students Christy Wall and Leigh Jones
  


• December 7-8, 2006 travel funds for visit from Prof. Tina Katopodes Chow, University of California, Berkeley to plan, with Dr. Jim Steenburgh, a Short Course on Mountain Meteorlogy to be held in August 2008 at Whistler, BC in conjunction with the American Meteorological Society's 13th Conference on Mountain Meteorology.
  


• December 7, 2006 Seminar by Prof. Tina Katopodes Chow, University of California, Berkeley:
  "Beyond meso-scale: large-eddy simulation of atmospheric flow over steep terrain"
  

2007

• Photos of 2007 activities


• 5 Feb, Dr. Greg Poulos (faculty, NCAR), "The Challenge of Mountain Meteorological Field Experiments and the Creative Use of NSF Facilities", Powerpoint Presentation (19 MB)
  


• Spring 2007 practicum activities
  This practicum focused on professional development topics and provides an informal forum for the discussion of the students' research progress, with advice from faculty and other students.
  
  Feb 26, Maura Hahnenberger (student) and Sebastian Hoch (post-doc), "Experience the Full Impact: The Small Fragments of METCRAX You Will Never Hear of Again"
  Mar 12, Greg West (student), "Orograhic Effects on Fronts"
  Mar 26, Dave Whiteman (faculty), "Mountain Meteorology Phenomena, Illustrated"
  Apr 9, Erik Crosman (student), "Great Salt Lake Studies"
  Apr 23, Colby Neuman (student), "My Research"
  


• Summer 2007, Dr. Matthias Hornsteiner, from the University of Munich, and his student, Meike Zwanzger, visited the group from mid-July through mid-September. Dr. Hornsteiner applied a drainage flow model developed at the Deutsche Wetterdienst to the Salt Lake Valley and the Meteor Crater. Meike worked on her master's thesis studying thunderstorm tracks in southern Germany.
  


• Aug 7, Dr. Matthias Hornsteiner, U. Munich, "Formation of Extreme Cold-Air Pools in Basins and Sinkholes".
  


• Fall 2007 practicum activities
  This practicum focused on professional development topics and provides an informal forum for the discussion of the students' research progress, with advice from faculty and other students.
  
  
• Aug 29, summary of conferences and workshops attended recently:
  
  Weather Analysis and Forecasting Conference - Greg West
  Conference on Alpine Meteorology, France - Maura Hahnenberger
  IUGG meeting, Italy - Sebastian Hoch
  Short Course on Mesoscale Meteorology and Predictability, Finland - Dave Whiteman
  WRF Workshop and Great Lakes Conference - Erik Crosman
  
  Sep 17, Trevor Alcott (student), "Snow Densities at Alta"
  Oct 1, Colby Neuman (student), "Intermountain Cyclogenesis Research"
  Oct 24, Dr. Thomas Haiden, Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Vienna, "Do We Understand Atmospheric Cooling in Basins?""
  Oct 29, Wendy Wagner (student), "Observations of a Snow Surface: For Nordic and Alpine Ski Race Courses"
  Nov 12, Dan Tyndall (student), "The Real-Time Nov 29, Jim Steenburgh (faculty), "Forecasting Orographic Precipitation"
  




2008



• Photos of 2008 activities


• 4 January, Announcement of travel funds available to UU graduate students for Mountain Meteorology Workshop and Conference of August 2008


• Spring 2008 practicum activities
  This practicum focused on professional development topics and provides an informal forum for the discussion of the students' research progress, with advice from faculty and other students.
  
• Feb 4 Maura Hahnenberger (student), "Cold Air Pools in Basins and Valleys - A Review"
  Feb 11 Greg West (student), "Tax Day Storm - Trajectories and Analyses"
  Feb 25 Dr. Meinolf Kossmann (German Weather Service), "Nocturnal drainage wind modeling using KLAM_21" Powerpoint Presentation (26 MB)
  Mar 3 Erik Crosman (student), "Observational and Numerical Study of the Great Salt Lake Breeze"
  Mar 17 Dr. Bernhard Mayer (German Aerospace Establishment), "1- and 3-D radiative transfer modeling, with applications to three-dimensional topography"
  Mar 24 Leigh Jones (student), "Wasatch Snowfall"
  Mar 31 Dr. Heather Reeves (Post-doc Fellow, NSSL/FRDD), "Dynamic forcing and mesoscale variability of heavy precipitation events over the Sierra Nevada mountains"


• 3-15 August, 11 UU graduate students and 4 faculty attended the Mountain Meteorology Workshop and the 13th Conference on Mountain Meteorology at Whistler, BC, Canada with expenses paid partially by the Department's Mountain Meteorology Fund. Students included Trevor Alcott, Maura Hahnenberger, Matt Jeglum, Leigh Jones, Andrew Snyder, Adam Varble, Wendy Wagner, Christina Wall, Greg West and Jon Zawislak. Post-doc Sebastian Hoch also attended, as well as Profs. John Horel, Jim Steenburgh and Dave Whiteman. Profs. Steenburgh and Whiteman were invited speakers.
  
  The Mountain Weather Workshop: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Forecasting was conducted at Whistler Mountain, BC, Canada during the period from 5 through 8 August with co-chairs Tina Chow, Stephan DeWekker and Brad Snyder. This workshop attracted 99 participants from 12 countries, and featured presentations by 13 subject matter experts and several group discussions and activities. Workshop presentations are being converted to web-based learning modules by UCAR's COMET program. The workshop was sponsored by AMS, COMET, the National Science Foundation, and the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC). UU students received student travel awards from several sources (College of Mines and Earth Science, American Meteorological Society, conference organizers, ongoing department research projects, and the Mountain Meteorology Fund). Cost savings were made by renting two condominiums. The Workshop/Conference provided a unique and valuable educational opportunity for the students. The students took advantage of the opportunity to make professional contacts with other students and scientists.
  
  The 13th Conference on Mountain Meteorology was held during the period 11-15 August in conjunction with the 17th Conference on Applied Climatology at Whistler. Lisa Darby and Mike Meyers were the co-organizers. The successful 13th conference was attended by 182 registrants and involved attendees from many countries. Many of the UU students made poster and oral presentations. Student Leigh Jones received an AMS award for the best student poster presentation at the co-located 7th Conference on Applied Climatology. Oral and poster presentations included:
  Mechanisms of Great Basin frontogenesis
  Gregory L. West, NOAA/CIRP, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and W. J. Steenburgh and W. Y. Y. Cheng
  
  Discrete frontal propagation over the Sierra-Cascade Ranges and western Great Basin
  W. James Steenburgh, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and C. R. Neuman
  
  Climatology and prediction of snow-to-liquid ratio in the central Wasatch Mountains
  Trevor I. Alcott, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and J. Steenburgh
  
  A climatology of snow density at upper-elevation locations in the western United States
  Jonathan Zawislak, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and T. I. Alcott, J. Steenburgh, S. Armitage, M. Booth, K. Carter, J. Connelly, H. Garner, M. Jeglum, J. Lisonbee, A. Lenkowski, R. Martin, S. McFee, J. Mulqueen, K. Ogrin, A. Snyder, B. Sorenson, L. Thatcher, and W. Weston
  
  Observing and Forecasting Snow Surface Temperatures for Nordic Ski Race Courses at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, BC
  Wendy Wagner, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and J. D. Horel
  
  The T-REX valley wind model intercomparison project
  Juerg Schmidli, NCAR, Boulder, CO; and B. J. Billings, R. Burton, F. K. Chow, S. F. J. De Wekker, J. D. Doyle, V. Grubisic, T. R. Holt, Q. Jiang, K. A. Lundquist, A. N. Ross, L. C. Savage, P. Sheridan, S. Vosper, C. D. Whiteman, A. A. Wyszogrodzki, G. Zaengl, and S. Zhong
  
  Secrets of the "Greatest Snow on Earth"
  W. James Steenburgh, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and T. I. Alcott
  
  Characteristics of Precipitation in Mountainous Terrain in Northern Mexico and the Southwest United States Using the TRMM Precipitation Feature Database
  Christina Wall, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and C. Liu and E. Zipser
  
  Boundary layer structure and evolution in a deep valley as viewed by rawinsonde observations during the T-REX field campaign
  Sharon Zhong, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; and W. Q. Yao, X. Bian, C. D. Whiteman, J. Wang, S. A. Cohn, and S. Mobbs
  
  An Investigation of the Effect of Valley Boundary Layer Structure on Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations at a Mountain Top Location
  Stephan F.J. De Wekker, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA; and A. Ameen, G. Song, W. J. Steenburgh, and B. Stephens
  
  Meteorological experiments in a small closed basin: New results from the Meteor Crater Experiment (METCRAX) (Invited)
  C. David Whiteman, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and S. W. Hoch, M. Hahnenberger, and S. Zhong
  
  Topographic effects on nighttime cooling in a basin and plain atmosphere
  Maura Hahnenberger, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and C. D. Whiteman
  
  High-resolution numerical simulations of boundary layer flows in support of the METCRAX field program
  David C. Fritts, NorthWest Research Associates, Inc., Colorado Research Associates Division, Boulder, CO; and D. Goldstein and T. Lund
  
  3D Radiative Transfer in the complex Topography of the Meteor Crater
  Sebastian W. Hoch, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and B. Mayer and C. D. Whiteman
  
  Assessing the sensitivity of Wasatch Mountain winter precipitation to present climate temperature variations   Leigh Jones, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and J. Horel (7th Conf. on Applied Climatology)
  
  Climatology of wind storms in the Owens Valley, CA   Sharon Zhong, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; and J. Li, X. Bian, W. Q. Yao, and C. D. Whiteman (7th Conf. on Applied Climatology)
  
  Assessing the sensitivity of Wasatch Mountain winter precipitation to future climate temperature   John Horel, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and L. Jones (7th Conf. on Applied Climatology)
  
  
  
• Fall 2008 practicum activities
  This practicum focused on presentations from scientists outside our department who are working on mountain meteorology-related topics.
  
  
• 11/03 Prof. Tom Painter, UU Geography Department: Remote sensing of mountain snow cover
  11/10 Prof. Julie Vanderhoff, BYU Mechanical Engineering Department: Internal waves in the atmosphere and ocean
  11/17 Trevor Alcott, UU Meteorology student: Climatology and prediction of snow-to-liquid ratio in the central Wasatch Mountains
  11/24 Prof. Dave Bowling, UU Biology Department: Atmospheric sources and sinks of CH4 in a subalpine forest
  
  
  
• Spring 2009 practicum activities
  This practicum involved a mixture of student and professor presentations, including visiting scientists.
  
  
• 01/26 Prof. Eric Pardyjak, UU, Mechanical Engineering: Optimization of urban design for air quality and energy efficiency using video games
  02/26 Prof. Craig Clements, San Jose State Univ, Meteorology: Fire whirl formation during a mountain wind reversal
  04/13 Matt Jeglum, UU Atmos Sci student: Remote sensing of mountain snow cover
  04/20 Honza Rejmanek, UC Davis student: 1. Flow in the lee of mildly venting Volcano Villarrica, Chile, and 2. Constructing economical self-logging anemometers
  04/27 Prof. Dave Whiteman, UU Atmos Sci: The scientific method–An example from Arizona's Meteor Crater
  04/27 Dr. Sebastian Hoch, UU Atmos Sci: Radiative flux divergence in Arizona's Meteor Crater