SNR hosted an Environmental Characterization Workshop from Sept. 16-18 in Hardin Hall on UNL's East Campus and at UNL's Agricultural and Research Development Center in Mead.
"The workshop had three major objectives," said Eric Hunt, staff scientist at Atmospheric and Environmental Research.
The workshop aimed to bring together leading aerosol experts at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory and UNL for an aerosol plenary session to discuss next steps for the Air Force Weather Agency Point Analysis Intelligence System project.
"Aerosol experts at NCAR, NOAA-ESRL and UNL presented research on the strengths and weaknesses of models such as WRF-Chem and FIM-Chem during the morning session," Hunt said. "The afternoon discussion, led by Marc Hidalgo, was particularly productive as it laid the groundwork for a way ahead for PAIS, an important and significant project at AFWA."
Additionally, the workshop introduced stakeholders to UNL's Mead Agricultural Research and Development Center and the Mead Testbed concept.
"The group proceeded to go to Mead for a tour of instrumentation associated with data that could be used for validation," Hunt said.
Art Zygielbaum, research associate professor demonstrated the hyperspectral sensors on Hercules, a field sprayer converted into a mobile remote sensing research platform. Trenton Franz, assistant professor of hydrogeophysics, introduced the group to his stationary and mobile cosmic-ray soil moisture sensors. Todd Schimelfenig, research technologist, showed the instrumentation related to the ongoing Carbon Sequestration Program at UNL.
"Overall, the workshop was a success and the goals were accomplished," Hunt said. "A white paper was delivered to the government documenting the urgent need for a technical change in the PAIS project to ensure a successful initial operational capability in January 2016."
UNL faculty will submit paperwork to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to obtain the necessary tools and codes so they can work with representatives from the center and the Air Force Weather Agency.
In all, 58 people participated in the workshop, many of whom represented departments across the university including the School of Natural Resources, the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, among others.
Questions regarding the workshop can be directed to Hunt at 402-294-3616 or ehunt@aer.com.
— Mekita Rivas, Natural Resources