New Students Join Atmospheric Sciences

Seven new students began the MS program in Atmospheric Sciences this fall semester. We wish to welcome Alana Ballweber, Aaron Carmichael, Rebecka Hastings, Ryan Lueck, Kenny Miller, Erin Walter, and Aaron Ward to campus! They will be joining returning students Kurt Chowanski, Chris Hammrich, Kathy Haselhorst, John Hamilton, Chip Redmond, and Christine Sandvik.

As of registration, we have 20 students in the BSIS-ATM track, and 5 in the AES PhD program.

SDSM&T Weather Association

Dan D'Amico (Atmospheric Sciences MS graduate in 2012) greets the crowd during the SDSM&T campus organization sign-up day on August 30, 2012. A host of campus organizations set up tables to recruit new members. The weather club, newly-formed in 2011, hopes to enlarges its membership in the coming semesters.

Posted 9/4/2012

(Posted 6/29/2012)

The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology held its 165th commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 5 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena. The Department of Atmospheric Sciences had eight students receive their Master's Degrees. Those graduating were, pictured below from left to right, Joshua Brewer (Stanwood, Washington), Emily French (Torrington, CT), Gretchen Berg (Mitchell, SD), Dan McKemy (Hickory, NC), Theresa Aguilar (Anton, Texas), Heather Caye (Allen Park, MI), Dan D'Amico (Twinsburg, OH), and Frances Sewell (Monticello, ME).

We wish these students the best of luck as they continue in the pursuit of their career goals!

(Posted 5/31/2012)

What is a RAWS station?
 

A Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) provides the necessary weather information for fire management decisions. Measurements taken at a RAWS site include temperature, relative humidity,  20 ft wind speed/direction, precipitation, solar radiation, and 10 hr fuel moisture. These measurements are taken as hourly observations and are transmitted via satellite to the National Interagency Fire Center to be disseminated worldwide. In addition, RAWS sites provide a consistent location for field technicians to take measurements of live foliar and duff fuel moisture.   For more photos, follow this link: MORE (Posted 3/20/2012)

Atmospheric Sciences Students Attend American Meteorological Society Career Fair in New Orleans

Several students attended the AMS Annual Meeting and Career Fair held in New Orleans January 22-27, 2012. This event is a great networking time for the students, as they will soon receive their M.S. degrees and be ready to join the workforce. In addition to attending different sessions during the week-long fair, our students also take the opportunity to visit with perspective new students during the Career Fair. Shown are Emily French, Dan D'Amico, and Gretchen Berg at our recruiting table at the Career Fair. The students also presented posters on the research projects that they are associated with.  Also attending this conference were Theresa Aguilar, M.S. student and Eric Hout, BSIS-ATM undergrad, and Professor Bill Capehart.

(Posted 1/25/2012)

First Snow of the Season Contest Winners announced

Dr. Andrew Detwiler, Atmospheric Sciences Department Chair, presented checks for $25 and certificates to the winners of this year's First Snow of the Season Contest. Mr. Todd Menkhaus, associate professor in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Dept., won in the adult division with a guess of 5:45 a.m. on Friday, November 18. He is holding the winner of the "under-18" category, Hayden Zuhlsdorf, of Box Elder, with a guess of 9:55 p.m. on November 13.

The first official inch of snow fell on Friday evening, November 18 at 5:30 p.m. We had 112 adult entries and 15 in the under-18 category.

(Posted12/2/2011)

Even scientist-types enjoy some good Halloween fun, and the atmospheric science students (and a staff member, too) proved it to be so as they dressed up in typical Waldo fashion for Halloween 2011. The students are a close-knit group who enjoy participating in many activities, and Halloween was no exception.

(Posted 11/14/2011)

Smoke and fire

Prescribed burns have been in the news recently. Just what is a prescribed (or controlled) burn?

A prescribed burn uses controlled conditions to accomplish several things in a heavily-forested area, or even in an area such as the Badlands, where ample moisture has created heavy grass growth. Deliberate burning of certain areas will help to remove accumulated fuels that can cause intense fires that start by human error or natural causes such as lightning. The habitat for wildlife is also improved with the new growth of tender plants. It is also a means of controlling pest problems and cleaning up debris from fallen dead trees, allowing for new growth and natural regeneration.

See the following link for more photos of the prescribed burn process.

Prescribed burns
Posted 10/5/2011

The graduate and undergraduate students in the Atmospheric Sciences Department participated in the M-Day parade, September 24, 2011. Dan McKemy portrayed Dan Dan the Weatherman, as several students marched alongside the pickup all decked out in weather forecasting equipment.

(Posted 9/30/2011)

On July 31, 2011, a honey locust tree was planted in front of the Mineral Industries building on the campus of SDSM&T in memory of Dr. Harry Orville. Dr. Orville, who passed away in June, was a distinguished professor emeritus of the atmospheric sciences department and was also a generous benefactor to the department and the School of Mines. In addition to being a favorite professor of the students, he also conducted research work, served as department chair, and served as an interim vice president of the university.

Coal Canyon Fire

Darren Clabo, state wildfire meteorologist, was on duty in mid-August at the Coal Canyon Fire. The fire resulted in the loss of one firefighter and injuries to four others. It consumed over 5000 acres of forest and grassland before being fully contained on August 17.

More photos

Posted 8/23/2011
 

What Are Those Strange Looking Clouds?

Darren Clabo, state wildfire meteorologist, recently snapped this shot of a Kelvin-Helmholtz Cloud. Sometimes called shear-gravity clouds, or Kelvin-Helmholtz billows, they can be indicators of atmospheric instability. An upper layer of air moving at higher speed will pick up the top of the cloud layer and form the wave-like rolling peaks you see. The formation is named after Lord Kelvin, a British physicist, and Hermann von Helmholtz, a German physicist.

Posted 8/6/2011

WhoopUp Fire Photos

Darren Clabo, state fire meteorologist for South Dakota, was on-scene last week at the WhoopUp (named for a nearby creek) and Barrel fires and took several photos of the fires and their aftermath. The conflagrations started from lightning strikes on July 17 and were fully contained by July 23, burning approximately 10,000 acres of forest and grass. For more photos, follow this link: More-WhoopUp photos (http://www.ias.sdsmt.edu/WhoopUp Fire/More_whoopup_fire_photos.htm).

Slurry plane dropping fire retardant	Darren Clabo uses a handheld Kestrel, an instrument that measures wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity.
Helicopter used to drop thousands of gallons of water on the fire.	Firefighter tent city

Posted 7/26/2011 

Pleasurable work

On a recent July afternoon, Darren Clabo, state fire meteorologist, and Fran Sewell, M.S. student in Atmospheric Sciences, drove through Custer State Park to identify areas for Fran’s research on the effects of fire on soil greenhouse gas flux. They flagged areas along a fireline where carbon dioxide and methane measurements will be taken. The brown areas are not caused by insect damage, but by surface fire that scorched the trees. And, while in the park, they just happened to catch site of a buffalo or two grazing in the grass.

Students who are enrolled in the Atmospheric Sciences program have opportunities to conduct research in various areas of  atmospheric and earth systems studies, under the guidance of the expert faculty of the department. For more information on our department, please visit the website at: http://www.ias.sdsmt.edu/academics.htm.  (All photos © Darren Clabo)

Posted 7/13/2011

From gustnado to tornado...

Shawn Honomichl, MS-ATM 2011 graduate, went storm chasing near O'Neill, Nebraska on Memorial Day. He snapped the following photos, which show how a "gustnado" can turn into a "tornado".

There is a distinct division between the wall cloud  and the turbulence on the ground in the photo at left. On the right we see the two areas joining to form a funnel.

All photos © Shawn Honomichl. Posted 6/3/2011

Darren Clabo, state wildfire meteorologist,  took some photos during a prescribed, or controlled burn, near Spearfish, SD in early May, 2011. Fire crews were conducting the burn to return fire (natural process) to the grassland ecosystem.

Different vegetation types can cause varying smoke colors due to their differing chemical compositions or moisture content. Phragmite and cattails tend to burn with a deep black smoke, while cheatgrass, brome, and grama varieties tend to burn with white smoke.

Photo ©Darren Clabo, IAS

For more photos, check this link: Prescribed burns

Lisa Phillips (M.S.-ATM 2010) received a first place award in the amateur division from the Black Hills Chapter of the American Meteorological Society for this snapshot she took of sundogs. A sundog, technically known as a parhelion, is a halo phenomenon consisting of either of two colored luminous spots that appear at points 22° on both sides of the sun and at the same elevation as the sun. It is caused by refraction of sunlight by ice crystals.

Posted 12/28/2010