If You Build It, They Will Come!

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530230 Mesoscale Atmospheric Network The
Helsinki Testbed David Schultz Division of
Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Physical
Sciences, University of Helsinki, and Finnish
Meteorological Institute Dynamicum 4A01d Mobile
050 919 5453 David.Schultz_at_fmi.fi http//www.cimms
.ou.edu/schultz
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Who am I, and what am I doing here?
The Science of Phrenology Having the bumps on
my head interpreted The Museum of Questionable
Medical Devices, St. Paul, Minnesota
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Education and Experience

• (1) Born (1965) and raised in Pennsylvania
• (2) B.S. 1987, Massachusetts Institute of
  Technology
• (3) M.S. 1990, University of Washington
• (4) Ph.D. 1996, University of Albany

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Education and Experience

• (1) Born (1965) and raised in Pennsylvania
• (2) B.S. 1987, Massachusetts Institute of
  Technology
• (3) M.S. 1990, University of Washington
• (4) Ph.D. 1996, University of Albany
• (5) 1996present Cooperative Institute for
  Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS),
  University of Oklahoma, and NOAA National Severe
  Storms Laboratory (NSSL), Norman, Oklahoma

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• Adjunct Faculty Member, Univ. of Oklahoma, School
  of Meteorology
• Lecturer at summer schools in France and Romania
• Editor, Monthly Weather Review (co-Chief Editor
  2008!!)
• Co-led the Intermountain Precipitation Experiment
• Forecaster for National Weather Service, 2002
  Winter Olympic Games, Salt Lake City
• NSSL is co-located with the NOAA/Storm Prediction
  Center, the best severe-weather forecasters in
  the U.S.
• Developed web-training materials on winter
  weather for U.S. National Weather Service

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Research Interests

• Observationalist and diagnostician, model user,
  some theory
• Over 60 publications
• Cyclone/frontal structure and evolution
• Winter-weather processes
• Precipitation banding
• Snow density
• Radar observations
• Thundersnow
• Severe convective storms
• Elevated convection
• Convective morphology
• Other
• Mammatus
• Drizzle
• History of meteorology
• Does it rain more on the weekends?

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Why am I here?

• Develop strong interaction between research
  (University and FMI), forecast operations (FMI),
  and the private sector (Vaisala).
• Summer Course on Mesoscale Meteorology and
  Predictability
• Mentor students/forecasters on their MS/PhD
  research and publications
• Helsinki Testbed
• Use Testbed data in research and operations
• Research on mesoscale weather (fronts, sea
  breeze, convection)
• Use dual-polarimetric radar for winter-weather
  processes
• Data assimilation and high-resolution modeling
• Value of Testbed data to forecasting
• Teach class on Testbed

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Course Overview Lectures

• Helsinki Testbed Overview and its importance
• Other mesoscale observing networks
• Instrumentation
• Quality control
• Data assimilation and numerical weather
  prediction
• Research methodologies for mesoscale data
• How to obtain Testbed data
• Applications of Testbed data Road weather, air
  quality, climate, hazardous weather
• Good scientific communication skills

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Course Overview Lectures

• Helsinki Testbed Overview and its importance
• Other mesoscale observing networks
• Instrumentation
• Quality control
• Data assimilation and numerical weather
  prediction
• Research methodologies for mesoscale data
• How to obtain Testbed data
• Applications of Testbed data road weather, air
  quality, climate, hazardous weather
• Good scientific communication skills

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A big KIITOKSIA to all the lecturers!
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Project Requirements

• Purpose
• Expose you to obtaining and using the Testbed
  data
• Get you to use the Testbed data in ways you
  wouldnt otherwise be doing for research
• About 40 hours of work outside of class time
• Must use Helsinki Testbed data
• Project can be part of your thesis research
• Use Testbed data other than dataset of your
  primary interest, or
• Some aspect tangential to primary thesis research
• Can work alone or in small groups (13 people)
• 510-page written report due at your seminar

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Course Overview Projects

• Tuesday afternoon initial discussion of ideas
  and organize into groups by theme
• Wednesday afternoon, Thursday afternoon, and
  Friday morning work within groups to discuss the
  plan for the project, begin initial phase of
  research
• Friday afternoon group presentations and
  comments on class projects
• 10-minute presentations with 58 powerpoint
  slides
• Peer-review of project design and initial
  findings
• Comments and advice from others
• Feb. 17? work on research
• Sometime in late March or early April seminars
  to present results, submit written reports (no
  later than 13 April)

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Beware of the room schedule!
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Questions to Consider During Each Presentation

• What limitations do these systems have?
• Is designing/siting/instrumentation optimal?
• Optimal for what?
• What remaining research questions need to be
  addressed?
• What commercial and forecasting applications
  could be developed?
• How would you direct new resources to the Testbed
  or research program in the future?

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Expectations of Students

• This is not a passive course.
• Learn the joys of participating!!!!!!
• Others may have the same questions as you.
• You will learn more and be more engaged.
• Class participation will be a factor in your
  grade
• Ask questions of presenters (even during their
  talks!)
• Interact with them during breaks
• Consider the presenters as experts on
• the types of data and applications of Testbed
  data
• project ideas you need for your class project or
  thesis research

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The Helsinki Testbed If You Build It, They Will
Come
An Outsiders Perspective
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Definition of a testbed
A testbed is a working relationship in a
quasi-operational framework among measurement
specialists, forecasters, researchers, the
private sector, and government agencies aimed at
solving operational and practical regional _____
problems with a strong connection to the end
users. Outcomes from a testbed are more
effective observing systems, better use of data
in forecasts, improved services, products, and
economic/public safety benefits. Testbeds
accelerate the translation of RD findings into
better operations, services, and decision making.
A successful testbed requires physical assets as
well as substantial commitments and partnership.
Dabberdt et al. (2005) Multifunctional
mesoscale observing networks.
19
Definition of a testbed
A testbed is a working relationship in a
quasi-operational framework among measurement
specialists, forecasters, researchers, the
private sector, and government agencies aimed at
solving operational and practical regional _____
problems with a strong connection to the end
users. Outcomes from a testbed are more
effective observing systems, better use of data
in forecasts, improved services, products, and
economic/public safety benefits. Testbeds
accelerate the translation of RD findings into
better operations, services, and decision making.
A successful testbed requires physical assets as
well as substantial commitments and partnership.
Dabberdt et al. (2005) Multifunctional
mesoscale observing networks.
20
Definition of a testbed
A testbed is a working relationship in a
quasi-operational framework among measurement
specialists, forecasters, researchers, the
private sector, and government agencies aimed at
solving operational and practical regional _____
problems with a strong connection to the end
users. Outcomes from a testbed are more
effective observing systems, better use of data
in forecasts, improved services, products, and
economic/public safety benefits. Testbeds
accelerate the translation of RD findings into
better operations, services, and decision making.
A successful testbed requires physical assets as
well as substantial commitments and partnership.
Dabberdt et al. (2005) Multifunctional
mesoscale observing networks.
21
Testbed Concept as a Process
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Testbeds (regional or topical)
Final Network
Candidate Sensors

• surface met
• GPS receivers
• profilers
• gap-filling radars
• buoys
• etc.

Outcome Improved services through NWP nowcasting
Temporary Oversampling Objective testing and
demonstration
Fill gaps through targeted sensor
development, e.g., buoy profilers, precipitation
radars, etc.
Testbed results objectively inform decisions on
changing the design of long-term regional
observing networks
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The Helsinki Testbed Benefits Research,
Operations, Business, Public Sector, and End Users

• Research
• Improved ability to observe the atmosphere
• Improved parameterizations
• Better data to improve numerical weather
  prediction models
• Operations
• More data where it is needed -gt better forecasts
• Development of short-term forecasting system
  (LAPS)
• Business
• Allows developing an end-to-end observation -gt
  forecasting package for customers
• Public Sector
• Improved road maintenance
• More observations of air quality
• End Users
• Sailors and other outdoor enthusiasts love the
  availability of the data

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The Testbed is a unique collaboration between the
public and private sector.

• WeatherBug
• 8,000 weather stations across USA. Most of these
  stations are operated by schools and governed by
  a local television station.

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WeatherBug

AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc., the National
Weather Service and the Department of Homeland
Security Weatherbug stations could be used by
Homeland Security to assess weather conditions in
the event of a disaster (2004)
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The Testbed is a unique collaboration between the
public and private sector.

• Other examples of mesoscale observing networks.
• Oklahoma (and Texas) mesonets (mesonet.org)
• Iowa and Minnesota mesonets
• Mesowest
• Weatherbug
• Hydrometeorology Testbed, research-operational
  collaboration
• But these are mostly surface observing networks.
• The Helsinki Testbed has the added benefit of
  more 3D observing systems (e.g., profilers,
  masts).

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Definition of a testbed
A testbed is a working relationship in a
quasi-operational framework among measurement
specialists, forecasters, researchers, the
private sector, and government agencies aimed at
solving operational and practical regional _____
problems with a strong connection to the end
users. Outcomes from a testbed are more
effective observing systems, better use of data
in forecasts, improved services, products, and
economic/public safety benefits. Testbeds
accelerate the translation of RD findings into
better operations, services, and decision making.
A successful testbed requires physical assets as
well as substantial commitments and partnership.
Dabberdt et al. (2005) Multifunctional
mesoscale observing networks.
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The Helsinki Testbed Solving Societys Relevant
Problems

• Saving lives and property is more than just
  providing the perfect forecast
• Hurricane Katrina
• Public access to information
• Communication of weather warnings
• A few researchers have worked on the margins over
  the years, always being considered an add-on to
  hard-core meteorological and hydrological
  research
• There is a growing awareness that improving the
  quality of life requires a collaboration between
  atmospheric scientists and other disciplines,
  particularly those from the social sciences.

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New culture change initiative Prof. Eve
Gruntfest Univ. of Colorado at Colorado
Springs www.rap.ucar.edu/was_is

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Eves role applied geographer

• Social scientist in world of engineers physical
  scientists
• Career started in Boulder with Big Thompson Flood
  
• Focus Flash floods warning systems

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The Big Thompson Flood in Colorado July 31, 1976

• 140 lives lost - 35 miles northwest of Boulder
• Studied the behaviors that night
• Who lived?
• Who died?
• Led to detection response systems
• You cant outrun the flood in your CAR, climb to
  safety

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Nearly 30 years later

• Signs
• FLASH FLOODS are recognized as different from
  slow rise floods
• Real- time detection,
• some response

• More federal agencies do flood warning
• Vulnerability increases

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Eves dream Social Science is MORE
integrated in METEOROLOGY WASIS
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The Helsinki Testbed is not only a model for
business, but also a model for the economic value
of observing systems.

• What is the optimal observing network?
• Rebecca Morss (National Center for Atmospheric
  Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA) Economic value
  of observing systems
• This work has not been done on the mesoscale
  before.
• Is there a group of economists in Finland that
  could collaborate with us on this topic?

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Definition of a testbed
A testbed is a working relationship in a
quasi-operational framework among measurement
specialists, forecasters, researchers, the
private sector, and government agencies aimed at
solving operational and practical regional _____
problems with a strong connection to the end
users. Outcomes from a testbed are more
effective observing systems, better use of data
in forecasts, improved services, products, and
economic/public safety benefits. Testbeds
accelerate the translation of RD findings into
better operations, services, and decision making.
A successful testbed requires physical assets as
well as substantial commitments and partnership.
Dabberdt et al. (2005) Multifunctional
mesoscale observing networks.
35
Definition of a testbed
A testbed is a working relationship in a
quasi-operational framework among measurement
specialists, forecasters, researchers, the
private sector, and government agencies aimed at
solving operational and practical regional _____
problems with a strong connection to the end
users. Outcomes from a testbed are more
effective observing systems, better use of data
in forecasts, improved services, products, and
economic/public safety benefits. Testbeds
accelerate the translation of RD findings into
better operations, services, and decision making.
A successful testbed requires physical assets as
well as substantial commitments and partnership.
Dabberdt et al. (2005) Multifunctional
mesoscale observing networks.
36
A successful testbed should meet the following
criteria

• address the detection, monitoring, and
  prediction of regional phenomena
• engage experts in the phenomena of interest
• define expected products and outcomes, and
  establish criteria for measuring success
• provide special observing networks needed for
  pilot studies and research
• define the strategies for achieving the expected
  outcomes and
• involve stakeholders in the planning, operation,
  and evaluation of the testbeds.

Dabberdt et al. (2005) Multifunctional
mesoscale observing networks.
37
Themes-1

• Users demand higher temporal and spatial
  observations.
• Customers demand even more timely and accurate
  forecasts.
• Better forecasts result from better data and
  better forecast models.
• Costs of constructing and maintaining observing
  systems are increasing.
• No single observing platform can do it all.
• The present observational system was not designed
  from the beginning as an optimal network.
• Neither was the Helsinki Testbed. -(

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Themes-2

• The predictability of specific weather systems
  that have large effects on society or the economy
  is largely unknown. (Dabberdt and Schlatter
  1995)
• Applications of meteorological data depend are
  extremely sensitive to good data and good model
  forecasts.
• Weather forecasts and data intersect a wide
  variety of end products and services. (Dabberdt
  et al. 2000)
• The value of these data is diminished to the
  extent that they remain inaccessible. (Dabberdt
  and Schlatter 1995)