Black Hills Chapter of the AMS

November 17, 2005 Meeting Summary

Dr. Andrew Detwiler gave a presentation summarizing the programs and current activities of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s (SDSMT) Institute of Atmospheric Sciences (IAS). 

The Institute’s mission is summarized as follows:

n To study the physical, chemical, & biological processes that affect the composition and dynamics of the atmosphere.

n Focus on regionally relevant issues of global importance.

n Research linked to undergraduate and graduate curricula to provide a fundamental understanding of the atmosphere, & opportunities for applied & theoretical research & technical training.

SDSM&T’s IAS has an impressive list of past accomplishments in cloud physics and weather radar research.  Through continuous development, early IAS numerical models of cloud physics and convective storms have become sophisticated tools for studying microphysical cloud processes, storm electrification, lightning, and atmospheric chemistry.  A coupled model of the entire hydrologic cycle with time scales from storm event to annual is currently underway.

The IAS T-28 storm penetrating aircraft has served time in many productive field projects, carrying instruments to probe storms to determine updrafts/downdrafts, types of rain, hail and ice, and chemistry.  The old T-28 has been grounded, but funding for a newer aircraft for future storm penetration data collection is being pursued.

The faculty is also involved in the study of lake effect snowstorms, severe convective wind storms, a NATO project using MM5 to provide high resolution local scale winds based on assimilation of very limited local observations, fire weather processes and behavior, and the hydrology of the post fire environment.  The use of remote sensing for monitoring the state of fuels and soil moisture is also a topic of investigation.

The Biogeochemistry Core Facility was established on the SDSMT campus.  This facility is designed to enhance the technical facilities to allow SDSMT faculty in the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geology and Geological Engineering, and Chemistry, to perform cutting-edge ecological and environmental research, investigate connections across ecosystems, and provide opportunities to train and educate undergraduates and graduate students in terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemistry, ecology, and environmental sciences

Considering the size of the school, the IAS has an impressive array of computation capabilities including a 17 node (34 processor) dual-Athlon computational cluster.  Various forms of interactive, immersive visualization are being used to teach and understand numerical model results.

In the proposal stage is a project which, if funded, will investigate the use of fluorescing nanoparticles to aid in the direct observation of microscale processes that are involved in the formation of cloud particles.  Also proposed is the development of a vertical shaft cloud laboratory in the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory which is being considered by the National Science Foundation for construction either in the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, or the Henderson Mine in Colorado.

The IAS also works with tribal schools and colleges to encourage their students to pursue scientific curricula, and has recently become involved in the Atmospheric Health Center with consortium of several Black Hills institutes and groups, spanning health, policy, and environmental interests.

David Carpenter