Bart Geerts

Professor, Department of Atmospheric Science College of Engineering and Applied Science University of Wyoming Laramie, WY, 82071, USA office: +1 (307) 766-2261  email: geerts at uwyo.edu Ph.D., Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, 1990 My work addresses the mesoscale dynamics of precipitating systems, boundary-layer circulations over flat and complex terrain, cloud dynamics, and cloud and precipitation radars. The main tools have been the Wyoming Cloud Radar (WCR) and the UW King Air aircraft.

 Recent research projects

Dynamics and microphysics of orographic precipitation (since 2006). We have been taking the UW King Air with radar and lidar over Wyoming mountain ranges since 2006, to study natural orographic precipitation processes and snowfall enhancement by means of glaciogenic seeding of orographic clouds. The most intensive effort to date was ASCII (AgI Seeding of Clouds Impact Investigation), an NSF-funded campaign in 2012-13 over the Sierra Madre and Medicine Bow Ranges that also deployed a dual-pol DOW radar at 10,000 ft above sea level. Two other campaigns are in their planning stages, one in the Pacific Northwest, and one in Chile.

Dynamics of radar fine-lines in the pre-convective continental boundary layer (since 2002). We used data collected in IHOP (International Water Vapor Experiment, May-June 2002, funded by NSF), in particular the UW King Air and WCR data, to examine a vertical velocity bias found in radar data of the optically-clear convective boundary-layer, the dynamics of coherent eddies in the convective boundary-layer, the fine-scale structure of boundaries such as cold fronts and drylines, and convective initiation mechanisms. In a future campaign, we hope to further study dryline formation (incl. land surface processes) and dryline fine-scale dynamics.

Boundary-layer circulations over relatively warm water (since 2004). Lake-effect cloud streets were examined during cold-air outbreaks over Lake Michigan, using the UW King Air and WCR in a NASA-funded project in early 2004. We characterized the vertical velocity and buoyancy characteristics of the convective cells that make up cloud streets. BL circulations over warm water and downstream land areas further as part of OWLES (Eastern Great Lakes Lake Effect Snow Project), an NSF-funded project scheduled for Dec 2013 - Jan 2014.

Dynamical processes in orographic cumuli (since 2006) Data collected in CuPIDO (also funded by NSF) were used to study the dynamics of towering cumuli over the Santa Catalina Mountains in Arizona during their summer monsoon, and the interaction of cumulus convection with the topographically-controlled mesoscale circulation.  Again we used the UW King Air with WCR, plus soundings, surface stations, digital photogrammetry, profiling remote sensors, and numerical modeling.

Current Teaching

• ATSC 2000 : Introduction to Meteorology

• ATSC 3032: Weather Analysis and Forecasting

• ATSC 5160 and 5007 : Synoptic Meteorology - Spring semester

• ATSC 5008 : Mesoscale Dynamics - Fall semester
  

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