Nonuniversity Research

Nonuniversity research falls into two general categories: applied research and basic research. The term "nonuniversity" is a bit general, since it includes research organizations affiliated with but not directly part of a university. Research positions at such facilities are nonfaculty.

Applied research deals primarily with weather and climate observation, analysis, and forecasting. In other words, it is research you can apply to everyday activities and operations. Included in such research are the development of forecast techniques and forecast verification methods, and the performance of diagnostic and case studies. Technique development, among other things, addresses the creation of algorithms for remote-sensing applications used with weather satellites and radars, lightning detectors, and atmospheric profilers and sounders. It also includes the development of techniques that can be applied directly to weather and climate forecasting. The techniques may be based on dynamics or statistics, or a combination of both. The end result is often a computer program. The program, in turn, may be run at a centralized forecasting facility or a local forecast office.

A sampling of recent applied research endeavors indicates that they deal with challenges that extend geographically from the polar regions to the Tropics. For example, one study was examining the dynamics of katabatic winds in and near West Antarctica as well as their impact on sea-ice cover over the western Ross Sea. Another study was looking at the processes associated with the development and structure of monsoon depressions and tropical cyclones in the South China Sea. In the United States, there was an effort to develop, implement, and maintain a local analysis and prediction system for the Chesapeake Bay region. And there was yet another venture to generate satellite-based algorithms to estimate precipitation rates for input to numerical weather prediction models and quantitative precipitation forecasting. When it comes to applied research, the choice of projects is virtually unlimited.

Basic research addresses more fundamental atmospheric processes such as the formation of clouds and precipitation, air-sea interactions, radiation budgets, aerosol transport, thermodynamics, and global general circulation. A variety of size and time scales are involved, ranging from a few centimeters to hundreds of kilometers and from minutes to centuries. The end results of basic research often support advances in numerical weather prediction models. Currently, one of the hot issues in basic research is global warming. Models that can deal with global warming, popularly known as the "greenhouse effect," are becoming more and more sophisticated, but there is much left to learn. There are still a flood of unanswered questions. Foremost among them is "Just how much is mankind contributing to the warming?" And, discovering that, "Can a model be developed that will accurately predict the timing, intensity, and regional effects of the warming?" These are questions with which you and your generation will have to grapple.

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