Published: August 19, 2008 12:00 am            

Challenges ahead for meteorology

Meteorology is moving toward new applications and easier access by consumers, said John Snow, dean of the University of Oklahoma College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences.

Snow spoke Tuesday at the Norman Chamber of Commerce's Weather Committee meeting. His presentation, titled "The Future of Meteorology: Research, Design and Practice," predicted meteorology's challenges and victories in the next few decades.

Areas that meteorologists need to improve include predicting the evolution of the intensity of a hurricane and predicting wind changes on a smaller scale to help people fighting wild fires, Snow said.

Advances are coming in the near future. One example Snow gave was dual polarization radar. The radar that scans the atmosphere from two angles instead of one is already out there, and many academics and professionals in Norman area already working on it.

But the new technology has much more potential than just predicting weather better, Snow said. It could be used to track birds, bats and insects in the air as well. That would help track outbreaks of avian-borne illnesses.

Geographic Information Systems will be used more in the near future, Snow said.

"It's becoming ubiquitous," he said. Many in the general public already are using GIS by pulling weather information off their cell phones.

Snow said there will be a switch from a "push" of information from meteorologists to consumers, to a "pull" by the consumer, where users will be able to configure their own portfolio of information.

Those untapped resources are just one example of new avenues to which meteorology should be applied in the future, Snow said.

"We have to be not only able to change, but willing to change," he said of the meteorological field.

There is often a tension between pure science and practical engineering, he said. Meteorology is more than just interesting, Snow said.

Meteorology is important because of the good it will do for businesses, government and the general public.

"The value is the diagnostic and prognostic views of the atmosphere for decision making," Snow said. The consumer, or those who use the meteorological predictions, will be able to make decisions that save lives and property, promote healthy business, support environmental quality and foster a sustainable society.

It's the application of meteorological advances that makes the difference, and meteorologists need to focus on those applications in the coming decades.

Julianna Parker 366-3541 jparker@normantranscript.com

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.