Since the 1960s scientists have used the so-called "butterfly effect" to explain why we struggle to predict such extreme events with more than two weeks of advanced notice. But Elizabeth Barnes, Assistant Professor at Colorado State University, is pushing the envelope. Barnes likes making complex things simple, and with her team is turning the theory about Earth’s chaotic weather patterns on its head.
From the front lawn of his childhood home in the Chicago suburbs, Eric Maloney, Professor at Colorado State University and NOAA-funded scientist, experienced extreme weather ranging from blizzards to severe thunderstorms. As a kid, he even videotaped a tornado. Maloney has been fascinated with the weather ever since.
Dr. Meiyun Lin is a Research Scholar at NOAA and Princeton University’s Cooperative Institute for Climate Science. Dr. Lin’s research seeks to advance knowledge on the interactions of air quality with weather and climate to inform public policy.
Texas State Climatologist and NOAA-funded scientist, John Nielsen-Gammon, has helped the state of Texas make the best possible use of weather and climate information for 17 years. “I became a climatologist before I actually did any climatology work,” he said. Texas State Climatologist and NOAA-funded scientist, John Nielsen-Gammon, has helped the state of Texas make the best possible use of weather and climate information for 17 years. “I became a climatologist before I actually did any climatology work,” he said.
Growing up on a farm in Minnesota, Jason Otkin felt that the weather controlled everything in his life. In the middle of “farm country,” Otkin’s parents made a living herding cattle and growing corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and wheat. The farm was home to sandy ground that tended to dry up quickly in the summer after some hot and dry weather, causing crop conditions to rapidly deteriorate.
Ed Dumas flies research drones and aircraft to collect data on climate change and extreme weather. He designs data sensors and data acquisition software for these manned and unmanned aircraft for NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
NOAA/CIRES scientist Gijs de Boer wins Presidential award for using science drones to understand climate change in the Arctic. “I love being part of the UAV revolution,” says de Boer.
Walt Schalk has spent his career as a meteorologist protecting national security. He has modeled the atmospheric spread of clouds of radioactive material from nuclear accidents, planned for the long-term storage of nuclear waste, and participated in atmospheric field experiments that increase the ability of the United States to monitor the testing of weapons around the world.
NOAA meteorologists like Matt Brewer with the Air Resources Laboratory are improving short-term wind forecasts, developing the science necessary for the country to increase reliance on renewable energy.