Research in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science

Our Department is part of the Earth Sciences Program, at the University of Maryland, which includes the Departments of Meteorology, Geology and Geography and the Earth System Sciences Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC). We have 13 faculty members and 30 Research Scientists. We are rated in the top 5 out of 40 Atmospheric Sciences programs, and top 9 out of 25 Oceanography programs (Gourman Report, 1993, 1997), and in the top ten Research-Doctorate Programs in Oceanography (NRC, 1995). We are primarily a Graduate Department offering PhD/MS degrees in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, but we offer also undergraduate minors in Meteorology. We have strong collaborations with NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland Departments of the Environment and of Natural Resources, NOAA/NCEP, NESDIS and ARL, and the Department of Energy.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Pollution
Our atmospheric chemistry group conducts research on problems ranging from photochemical smog in the Baltimore/Washington region to the impact of Asian emissions of sulfur and soot on global climate. In collaboration with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), we have developed and fostered a method to produce timely and accurate air quality forecasts for the mid-Atlantic region. We also use state of the art chemical-transport models driven by mesoscale and global meteorological models to predict pollution levels and evaluate pollution abatement strategies. Surface sites and aircraft flights in an instrumented research aircraft provide data on the composition and chemistry of gaseous and particulate pollution as well as the role of long-range transport. We also participate in large multi-institutional field research projects. Other areas of research include the impacts of convective clouds and lightning on atmospheric chemistry, gas – aerosol interactions, and remote sensing of tropospheric and stratospheric ozone, including a study that suggests that, over the last two decades, the reduction of stratospheric ozone at midlatitudes may be explained by a poleward shift in the mean location of atmospheric fronts. http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~russ/chemistry.html
Contact: Prof. Russ Dickerson (russ@atmos.umd.edu, phone: 301-405-5391)

Climate, global climate change, seasonal to interannual prediction
Our climate research group includes world experts in El Niño, the monsoons, soil moisture, natural variability vs. man-made climate trends. We are developing new methods to improve the seasonal-to-interannual predictions using coupled ocean-atmosphere models. We study problems such as how do the sea surface changes in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans affect the climate over the US and the water and energy cycles over North America. Our global climate change research includes investigation of trends in sea ice, snow cover, and climate variability, analysis and modeling of climate sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations, modeling of atmospheric-land-vegetation interactions, and investigations of the impact of land use on climate change. http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~nigam/climdiag.html Contact: Prof. Sumant Nigam (nigam@atmos.umd.edu, phone: 301-405-5381)

Data Assimilation
Data assimilation is the new science to optimize the combination of observations and models to best estimate the state of a system. We have impressive expertise in data assimilation for the atmosphere and the ocean. We have strong collaborations with two major operational centers on data assimilation, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and NASA’s Data Assimilation Office. We are pioneering methods to apply chaos theory to improve data assimilation and weather prediction. A variable-resolution stretched-grid General Circulation Model and Data Assimilation System have been developed. http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~ekalnay/
Contact: Prof. Eugenia Kalnay (ekalnay@atmos.umd.edu, phone: 301-405-5370)

Numerical Weather Prediction, Predictability
Our numerical weather prediction group includes experts in mesoscale modeling, global modeling and data assimilation. We have pioneered new methods to understand regional weather, from how air pollution is transported to how hurricanes grow and decay, and advanced numerical schemes for atmospheric models. We run an operational mesoscale forecast model for the mid-Atlantic region on a daily basis. In the area of predictability, in collaboration with the chaos group in Physics, we have one of the strongest groups in the country. We published an advanced textbook (Atmospheric Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Predictability, Cambridge University Press, 2002). We are also pioneering new visualization methods to teach weather prediction.
http://www.atmos.umd.edu/research/nwp.html Contact: Prof. Dalin Zhang (dalin@atmos.umd.edu, phone: 301-405-2018)

Oceanography
We have a strong expertise in ocean dynamics and on data assimilation for the oceans. Our researchers developed, for the first time, a long-term (50 years) 4-dimensional global ocean analysis. It uses satellite and in situ observations and a model to estimate the 4-dimensional evolution of the oceans, and makes possible studies to understand El Niño and the interaction of the oceans with the atmosphere. We have also made theoretical advances with simple analytical models to understand large-scale ocean circulation. http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~carton/ocean/
Contact: Prof. Jim Carton (carton@atmos.umd.edu, phone: 301-405-5365)

Radiation Energy Exchange and Remote Sensing
Our remote sensing group has developed new methods that have been widely recognized. Our method to estimate radiative forcing from space was adopted by NASA Langley for the GEWEX Surface Radiation Budget Project and at NOAA/NESDIS for GCIP and Land Data Assimilation Systems, and also used in the NASA's Earth Observation System. We developed new algorithms to estimate high level (good) and low level (bad) ozone, UV and PAR radiation, cloud and aerosol parameters, and rainfall. Our faculty also developed fire detection and mapping algorithms for operational applications in Canada and US, methods to analyze cloud-radiation interactions and the impact of clouds on climate, and methods to measure absorption of solar and long-wave radiation by clouds using manned and unmanned aircraft, together with satellite measurements. Satellite inference of ocean surface chlorophyll, primary production, and carbon fluxes is being performed. http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~pinker/remote-sensing.html
Contacts: Prof. Rachel Pinker (pinker@atmos.umd.edu, phone: 301-405-5380), Prof. Zhanqing Li (zli@atmos.umd.edu; 301-405-6699)

Paleoclimate
Paleoclimate studies are a growing field in our department. Laboratory work focuses on glacial-interglacial variations of atmospheric CO2, climate, and isotope geochemistry. Modeling efforts using both GCMs and simplified climate models have examined the role of stratosphere-troposphere interactions in supporting the extreme polar warmth of Eocene and Cretaceous times. These studies allow us to challenge GCMs to simulate climate regimes far from present conditions, allowing insight into their possible flaws and omissions. http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~dankd/ Contacts: Prof. Daniel Kirk-Davidoff (dankd@atmos.umd.edu, phone: 301-405-5386), Prof. Ning Zeng (zeng@atmos.umd.edu, phone: 301-405-5377)

Earth System Science
Our department complements and strengthens the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) as part of the Earth Science Program at UMCP. ESSIC is a joint center between the University of Maryland Departments of Meteorology, Geology, and Geography together with the Earth Sciences Directorate at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. The goal of ESSIC is to enhance our understanding of how the atmosphere-ocean-land-biosphere components of the Earth interact as a coupled system. This is accomplished via studies of the interaction between the physical climate system (e.g., El Niño) and biogeochemical cycles (e.g., greenhouse gases, changes in land use and cover). The major research thrusts of the center are studies of Climate Variability and Change, Atmospheric Composition and Processes, and the Global Carbon Cycle (including Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystems/Land Use/Cover Change). The manner in which this research is accomplished is via analyses of in situ and remotely sensed observations together with component and coupled ocean-atmosphere-land models. Together this provides a foundation for understanding and forecasting changes in the global environment and regional implications. Data assimilation and regional downscaling provide the means by which the observations and models are linked to study the interactions between the physical climate system and biogeochemical cycles from global to regional scales.
http://www.essic.umd.edu/
Contact: Prof. A. Busalacchi, ESSIC Director, (tonyb@essic.umd.edu, phone:301-405-5599)

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