Archive for Zhanming Wan

CEES/ARRC Student Receives SEJ Award

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Manabendra Saharia (CEES/ARRC PhD student) won first prize in the Graduate Student Poster Contest at the Society of Environmental Journalism (SEJ) 25th Annual Conference held in Norman, October 7-11, 2015. Saharia’s work on the flashiest basins of the United States is supervised by Drs. Pierre Kirstetter (CEES/ARRC), J.J. Gourley (NOAA/NSSL) and Yang Hong (CEES/ARRC).

International Symposium on Earth-Science Challenges

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The 2015 International Symposium on Earth-Science Challenges (ISEC) was held at OU on September 20-23, 2015. Highlighting the partnership between the University of Oklahoma and Kyoto University Japan, ISEC is dedicated to bringing together scientists and engineers from around the world to share recent advances in the study of the Earth.

AMS 37th Conference on Radar Meteorology Held In Norman

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) 37th Conference on Radar Meteorology was held at the Embassy Suites, September 14-18, 2015. Sponsored in part by OU, 466 people from around the world were in attendance at the conference that serves to promote the advancement of radar in all facets of weather meteorology. OU sponsored the banquet, held at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History. Tours of the OU Bizzell Library, National Weather Center, NOAA’s National Weather Radar Testbed, and the Radar Innovations Laboratory were provided, with assistance from NOAA, the A&GS Dean’s Office, the Bizzell Library staff, and the ARRC.

SoM Students Teach Geospatial Information Training Course in Mexico

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School of Meteorology PhD candidates Race Clark and Zac Flamig recently taught a two-day training course at the Second Workshop on Geospatial Information in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico at the invitation of the Center for Global Change and Sustainability in the Southeast (CCGSS), September 22-23 2015. This is the third such course they’ve taught this year: they were also invited to teach a four-day course at Windhoek, Namibia in April, and a three-day course at Puebla, Puebla, Mexico in May. Flamig serves at the lead developer of the training model and Clark serves as the lead author of the training course. Clark and Flamig have now taught variations of this course and others to over a hundred scientists, students, and officials representing nearly 50 countries. Both students are co-advised by Jonathan Gourley (SoM/NOAA/NSSL) and Yang Hong (CEES/ARRC). Funding for these international workshop training activities have been provided by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Partnerships for International Research (PIRE) program, and the OU HyDROS Lab (hydros.ou.edu). Learn more about the Ensemble Framework for Flash Flood Forecasting (EF5) by visiting ef5.ou.edu.

ARRC Radar Deployed to Colorado for Field Experiment

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The ARRC PX-1000 radar was deployed for a second field experiment to monitor weather and hydrology over areas affected by wildfire and debris flows in the Rio Grande area of Colorado from August to September 2015. The radar was operated from the Lobo Overlook to monitor precipitation and complement the NEXRAD coverage in complex terrain. The operations were coordinated with the local emergency managers, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the National Weather Service (NWS), NASA, and the Pagosa Springs Middle School. The Pueblo NWS personnel displayed real time weather activity in and around the West Fork Fire Complex at the front of the forecast operations area, which provided forecasters the ability to observe the weather with great predictability. This resulted in very few warnings being issued, equating to less worry for the public. Project presentations and radar demonstrations were also made at the Pagosa Springs Middle School (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1215628095129631&id=145579222134529).

OU and NSSL Research Scientists and Professor received NASA Group Achievement Awards

Research Scientist Dr. Pierre-Emmanuel Kirstetter (Advanced Radar Research Center & National Severe Storms Lab), along with Dr. Jonathan J. Gourley (National Severe Storms Lab) and Dr. Yang Hong (Civil Engineering & Environmental Sciences/Advanced Radar Research Center) are members on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Post-Launch Team recently selected for a NASA Agency Group Achievement Award with a citation “For exceeding all expectations for GPM operations, data processing, algorithm performance, science impact, and education and public outreach within one year after launch”. GPM is an international network of satellites that provides the next-generation observations of rain and snow across the entire globe. NASA’s most prestigious honor awards are approved by the Administrator and presented to a number of carefully selected individuals who have distinguished themselves by making outstanding contributions to the Agency’s mission. These NASA awards highlight the contribution of outstanding hydrometeorological research conducted on the Norman campus to advance our understanding of Earth’s water and energy cycle, improve forecasting of extreme events such as floods, and extend current capabilities in using accurate and timely observations of precipitation to directly benefit society.

Workshop on Higher Resolution SRTM Data and Flood Modeling

The U.S. government recently authorized the release of 1 arcsecond (approximately 30m) SRTM data for most of the globe. In support of the release of these data the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and the Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (CRECTEALC) hosted the Workshop on Higher Resolution SRTM Data & Flood Modeling to demonstrate the utility of the data in flood modeling applications. CRECTEALC and CEOS generously invited OU graduate students Zac Flamig and Race Clark to conduct an EF5 training course as a part of this effort.

The workshop (25-29 May 2015) was held at the cultural complex of the Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla (BUAP) in Puebla, Puebla, Mexico and at the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics, and Electronics (INAOE) in Tonantzintla, Puebla, Mexico. Included were participants representing Colombia, Honduras, Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic. EF5’s participation in this workshop is part of an ongoing pattern of international outreach and capacity building activities on the part of the model development team. EF5 and CREST have now been presented on five continents to people from dozens of countries. Travel support for the training workshop was provided by the Secure World Foundation and the University of Oklahoma.

Workshop on Higher Resolution SRTM Data and Flood Modeling, Puebla, Mexico, Group Photo

HyDROS team participates in the NOAA supported Urban Flooding Project

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A team of researchers at the University of Oklahoma designed and carried out a project that provides urban floodplain managers and other interested stakeholders with visual animations and images of how future flood events may impact urban watersheds. Research team members included Profs. Scott Greene, Yang Hong, Mark Meo (Principal Investigator), and Baxter Vieux with the research assistance of Jonathan Looper and Zhanming Wan, and Amy Goodin of OU POLL. Project website can be viewed here and the project was supported by NOAA SARP. Please see the Project Brochure here.

HyDROS Student Ben Toms Receives Goldwater Honors

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NORMAN – University of Oklahoma honors students Brandon Curd and Ben Toms have been named 2015 Goldwater Scholars, placing OU in the top ranks of universities nationally with 48 Goldwater Scholars since the competition began in 1991. The prestigious scholarships are awarded on the basis of potential and intent to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering.

“The University is extremely proud of Brandon Curd and Ben Toms,” said OU President David L. Boren. “They are continuing OU’s winning tradition nationally in the competition for Goldwater Scholars.”

More news from The University of Oklahoma and The Norman Transcript

WaTER Center Position Opening

THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA’s Water Technologies for Emerging Regions (WaTER) Center invites applications for a faculty position to be appointed at the Associate Professor or Professor level in International Water Resources Development at the Climate-Water Nexus. Click here for application instructions and details. (PDF)

Two FLASH Graduate Students Win Awards at 2015 AMS Annual Meeting

Zac Flamig and Race Clark received awards at the 95th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society in Phoenix, AZ in January 2015. The awards were selected by the 31st Environmental Information Processing Technologies (EIPT) & the 5th Transition of Research to Operations (R2O) Conference Committees.

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Mr. Flamig’s poster, entitled “HWT-Hydro: Evaluation of Experimental Forecast and Nowcast Tools” was selected as a 3rd Place Winner – Poster Presentation Category in the Joint EIPT-R2O Conferences Student Competition. Mr. Clark’s oral presentation, entitled “The Inaugural Hazardous Weather Testbed – Hydrology (HWT-Hydro) Experiment” was the 3rd Place Winner – Oral Presentation Category of the Joint EIPT-R2O Conferences Student Competition. Each will receive a $100 award and a Certificate of Appreciation. Both Mr. Flamig and Mr. Clark are currently PhD candidates at the University of Oklahoma’s School of Meteorology. Each works as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies at NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory. Their PhD advisors are Dr. JJ Gourley (NOAA/NSSL) and Dr. Yang Hong (OU).

The FLASH project was heavily represented at the various conferences of the 95th Annual AMS Meeting. In addition to Mr. Flamig and Mr. Clark, Dr. JJ Gourley presented an evaluation of flash flood products from the FLASH project, Ms. Elizabeth Argyle presented on forecaster “best practices” during the HWT-Hydro Experiment, and Mr. Brandon Smith presented on observations collected in support of the HWT-Hydro Experiment. Funding for the research presented at the AMS meeting was provided by NOAA/OAR/Office of Weather and Air Quality (OWAQ) under the NOAA cooperative agreement, NA11OAR4320072.

 

OU Research Scientist and Professors received two NASA Robert H. Goddard Awards

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Signature page launched into space and flying on the GPM platform

OU Research Scientist Dr. Pierre Kirstetter is cited as the recipient for the OU/NSSL team involving Drs. Jonathan Gourley and Yang Hong for two NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Robert H. Goddard Awards, both for the category of Exceptional Achievement in Science. One award is for contributing to the success of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Ground Validation Team and the other as part of the algorithm teams (Radar, Radiometer, Combined, and Merged). GPM is an international network of satellites that provide the next-generation global observations of rain and snow. OU/NSSL scientists have worked at the interface between the satellite algorithm development and the ground validation team to improve precipitation estimates across the entire globe. These distinguished awards are given annually at NASA GSFC after an extensive nomination and review process. The awards will be presented on March 17, 2015 at Goddard Space Flight Center.

Dr. Yang Hong is elected to Executive Committee of AGU Natural Hazard Focus Group (NHFG)

NHFG is the only group fosters a focus within AGU on studies of geophysical hazards, including droughts, earthquakes, fires, floods, heat waves, landslides, space weather, storms, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, impact by near-Earth objects, and related events. The Group promotes fundamental research into the links between extreme natural hazards and dynamic processes on Earth and in space; real-time and long-term monitoring of active Earth processes; quantitative natural-hazard modeling; studying predictability of natural extreme events, their operational forecasting, and reducing predictive uncertainties; and implementation of effective strategies and designs for hazard mitigation and disaster management worldwide. The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is an international non-profit scientific association of Earth and Space Scientists with more than 62,000 members worldwide.

New Book – Radar Hydrology: Principles, Models, and Applications

Radar Hydrology
Published: December 23, 2014 by CRC Press
Radar Hydrology: Principles, Models, and Applications provides graduate students, operational forecasters, and researchers with a theoretical framework and practical knowledge of radar precipitation estimation. The only text on the market solely devoted to radar hydrology, this comprehensive reference:

  • Begins with a brief introduction to radar
  • Focuses on the processing of radar data to arrive at accurate estimates of rainfall
  • Addresses advanced radar sensing principles and applications
  • Covers radar technologies for observing each component of the hydrologic cycle
  • Examines state-of-the-art hydrologic models and their inputs, parameters, state variables, calibration procedures, and outputs
  • Discusses contemporary approaches in data assimilation
  • Concludes with methods, case studies, and prediction system design
  • Includes downloadable MATLAB® content

Flooding is the #1 weather-related natural disaster worldwide. Radar Hydrology: Principles, Models, and Applications aids in understanding the physical systems and detection tools, as well as designing prediction systems.

The book flyer is here and the book can be purchased from CRC Press and Amazon websites.


Editorial Reviews
“This is the first book on radar hydrology written by hydrologists. Whereas the excellent knowledge of radar technology by the authors permits an adequate coverage of the principles of rainfall rate estimation by radar, their hydrological background allows them to provide a unique message on the benefits (and on the remaining challenges) in exploiting radar techniques in hydrology. … In a clear and concise manner, the book combines topics from different scientific disciplines into a unified approach aiming to guide the reader through the requirements, strengths, and pitfalls of the application of radar technology in hydrology—mostly for flood prediction. Chapters include excellent discussion of theory, data analysis, and applications, along with several cross references for further review and useful conclusions.”

HyDROS Student Berry Attended 2014 Asia-Pacific Remote Sensing Symposium in China

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Berry with the GPM/DPR algorithm developer,
Dr. Toshio Iguchi

Meteorology Ph.D. candidate, Yixin ‘Berry’ Wen attended the 2014 Asia-Pacific Remote Sensing Symposium in Beijing from October 13-16, 2014. In the conference, Berry gave an oral presentation titled ‘Systematical evaluation of VPR-Identification and Enhancement (VPR-IE) approach for different precipitation types’. Several attendees provided valuable suggestions for her VPR-IE study. After the conference, Berry was invited by Professor Yunfei Fu to visit the Laboratory of Atmosphere Observation and Water Cycle at the University of Science and Technology of China.

HyDROS Participated in the Annual GIS Day Expo at OU

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HyDROS (Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing Laboratory) participated in the annual GIS Day Expo at the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom, Oklahoma Memorial Union, University of Oklahoma. Emad Hasan (in the middle) won the first prize in the graduate student poster competition.

HyDROS Professor and Student visited University of El Bosque in Bogota, Colombia

Professor Yang Hong and PhD Candidate Humberto Vergara at the Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing (HyDROS) Laboratory visited University of El Bosque in Bogota, Colombia representing WaTER and ARRC Center. The visit had the purpose of establishing a research collaborative project between the school of Engineering of El Bosque and HyDROS lab. During the three days of the visit (October 6-8, 2014), Professor Hong and Vergara met with some key faculty of El Bosque and also the heads of regional hydrology and environmental services to share experiences and discussed opportunities of collaboration to work on projects revolving around Risk and Disaster Management for Colombia. The visit was a success with research collaboration MOU, including technology transfer and capacity building, and professional exchange.

Colombian faculty and governmental officials discussed with Professor Yang Hong after a successful a meeting on Monday October 6, 2014

Colombian faculty and governmental officials discussed with Professor Yang Hong after a successful a meeting on Monday October 6, 2014

Colombia faculty and governmental officials take photso with HyDROS’ representatives Professor Hong and Vergara after a seminar on Tuesday October 7, 2014

Colombia faculty and governmental officials take photso with HyDROS’ representatives Professor Hong and Vergara after a seminar on Tuesday October 7, 2014

HyDROS Publications Reach New Heights

After six year at OU, HyDROS Lab has 200 referred publications with more than 4000 citations. HyDROS publishes at the most authoritative journals of its kind, such as Bulletin of American Meteorological Society (IF>=11), Water Resources Research, Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of Geophysical Research, Remote Sensing of Environment, and IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing etc. Although general journals hardly publish researches on remote sensing and hydrometeorology, HyDROS lab has set it sight on high impact journals such as Science, Nature, PNAS, and Geophysical Reviews etc with IF>15.

HyDROS Students Win College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences Awards

Meteorology Ph.D. student, Jessica Erlingis Lamers, and Geoinformatics M.S. student, Brandon Smith, were honored at the annual College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences awards reception on April 23, 2014. Jessica received the award for Outstanding Service to the Department as a Graduate Student from the School of Meteorology. During the academic year 2013-2014, she was Student Affairs Committee Chairperson, served on various search committees, and assisted in the planning of Benefit Bash and Visiting Students Weekend. Brandon was part of a group of six students who received the McCasland Undergraduate Research Award for their research work on the peer reviewed article, “Drought and Associated Impacts in the Great Plains of the United States—A Review.” During the Spring 2013 semester, the group worked with School of Meteorology associate professor Dr. Jeffrey Basara to produce and publish the article in the August 2013 edition of the International Journal of Geosciences.
Congratulations, Brandon and Jess!
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Jessica Erlingis Lamers

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Brandon Smith

Congratulation, Class of 2014

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HyDROS Student Berry Won UWA Scholarship

L-R: Yixin Berry Wen, Jessica Tomaszewski

(Left: Berry)

On Saturday, April 5, meteorology doctoral degree candidate Berry Wen and meteorology major Jessica Tomaszewski, Class of 2015, were honored along with seven other OU female scholarship recipients at the University Women’s Association’s annual spring luncheon. Berry and Jessica each received a $750 scholarship from the UWA. Our thanks to UWA for providing these scholarships and Congratulations to Berry and Jessica!

CREST Model v2.0 Lecture Video

CREST_model_022014The Coupled Routing and Excess STorage model (CREST, jointly developed by the University of Oklahoma and NASA SERVIR) is a distributed hydrological model developed to simulate the spatial and temporal variation of land surface, and subsurface water fluxes and storages by cell-to-cell simulation. CREST’s distinguishing characteristics include: (1) distributed rainfall–runoff generation and cell-to-cell routing; (2) coupled runoff generation and routing via three feedback mechanisms; and (3) representation of sub-grid cell variability of soil moisture storage capacity and sub-grid cell routing (via linear reservoirs). The coupling between the runoff generation and routing mechanisms allows detailed and realistic treatment of hydrological variables such as soil moisture. Furthermore, the representation of soil moisture variability and routing processes at the sub-grid scale enables the CREST model to be readily scalable to multi-scale modelling research.
Please click the image to view the video.

HyDROS Students Conduct CREST Training Workshop with Namibia’s Department of Hydrology

crest_2014_race_1HyDROS students Jill Hardy and Race Clark recently taught a three-day CREST training workshop in Windhoek, Namibia. Participants were mainly drawn from members of Namibia’s Department of Hydrology, though others from the Polytechnic of Namibia, the Regional Center for Mapping and Resources for Development (Nairobi, Kenya), the South African National Space Agency (Pretoria, South Africa), NAMWater, and NASA also participated in the workshop. The workshop is part of a larger, ongoing effort to build capacity for flood and drought monitoring in the African nation. The NSF (via the Open Science Data Cloud PIRE program) funded Ms. Hardy and Mr. Clark’s travel, along with a grant to the University of Oklahoma from the NASA SERVIR program. Several workshop participants also got the chance to take part in field visits to three separate stream gauge stations on the Kuiseb River basin. CREST (Coupled Routing and Excess STorage) is a distributed hydrologic model used at varying scales across the globe and was jointly developed by OU and NASA. For more information, visit hydros.ou.edu/research/crest.
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HyDROS Student Zac Flamig in Meetings with Officials from the Nigerian National Emergency Management Agency

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HyDROS Student Zac Flamig, together with Dr. Aondover Tarhule (Geography Dept. Director)and Mr. Andrew Reader (CARD Director) conducted meetings with officials from the Nigerian National Emergency Management Agency hosted at their headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria. Also present at the meetings were representatives from the Nigerian Meteorology department, Ministry of Environment Water Resources, and the National Space Research and Development Agency. The topic of conversation was how to move forward with defining the needs for a proposal to research, develop and implement a Nigerian Integrated Hazard Early Warning System for floods, droughts, air pollution and other extreme weather phenomena.

CYWater Winter Meeting

CYWater 国际华人青年水科学协会 2014 冬季联会 在 AGU Fall Meeting 旧金山成功召开。 CYWater 2014 Summer Meeting will be hosted in Tsinghua University, Beijing. We will send you the meeting call later. Look forward to seeing you again in summer.

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CYWater Annual Best Paper Award – congratulations to Laifang Li again

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CYWater Dinner party.

HyDROS and CIMMS Participated in the Annual GIS Day Expo at OU

HyDROS (Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing Laboratory) and CIMMS (NOAA/OU Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies) participated in the annual GIS Day Expo at the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom, Oklahoma Memorial Union, University of Oklahoma. Race Clark wins first prize in the graduate student poster competition.
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Dr. Sadiq Khan and Zhen Hong at HyDROS’s booth.
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Zac Flamig, Race Clark, Dr. Sadiq Khan, and Zhen Hong at CIMMS’s booth.
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Race Clark wins first prize in the graduate student poster competition.

The Top Active Journal in Remote Sensing Research

International Journal of Remote Sensing was the top active journal in remote sensing research, according to the articles related to remote sensing of SCI and SSCI databases during 1991–2010. Remote sensing research went up significantly in the past two decades (link to the article).

The University of Oklahoma’s Research Campus Receives Top Award

The University of Oklahoma's Research Campus Receive's Top Award
The 2013 Association of University Research Parks (AURP) held their International conference this week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During this conference, the University of Oklahoma’s Research Campus was named the nation’s top research park for 2013. The “One of a kind” Radars Innovations Laboratory is recognized for it’s contribution to this award.

Post-doc Position Advertisement for Hydrologic Modeler

OU CEES Research Professor Hiring Advertisement

HyDROS 2012 Annual Profile Published

HyDROS Students Joined NASA Landslide Project Field Trip

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HyDROS students Zhanming Wan and Xiaodi Yu joined a team of 8 people from Colorado School of Mines (CSM), North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Univerisity of Oklahoma on a field trip to Asheville, NC area during May 29-June 1 for NASA landslide monitoring project. The team, led by Professor Ning Lu (CSM), visited three locations in western North Carolina to assess the suitability for field monitoring of hydrological conditions that lead to landslides: (1) Coweeta-Mooney Gap, (2) Poplar Cove, and (3) Bent Creek. At each site they hand dug ~1 meter deep pits to examine soil depth, stratigraphy, and composition. Specimens for material property testing were collected at each potential field monitoring site.

Sooner Without Border: Hydrology Capacity Building in Africa

Supported by NASA, USAID and NSF PIRE program, OU HyDROS Lab (https://hydros.ou.edu) member Zac Flamig (SoM/ARRC Ph.D student) was invited to build flood prediction capacity for Namibia and Rwanda Governmental Agencies for two weeks. Invited by the Namibia Department of Hydrology, Zac spent a week in that country discussing the requirements for establishing a hydrologic model for the prediction of flooding on the Okavango River. The desire is to set up the OU Coupled Routing and Excess Storage (CREST) hydrologic model to provide prediction of future flooding events. Zac then conducted a weeklong CREST training workshop in Kigali, Rwanda for the Integrated Water Resources Department. The workshop involved approximately 20 government hydrologists and meteorologists. Zac was supported by the joint efforts of NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the National Science Foundation’s Partner’s for International Research and Education (PIRE) program. More details here and it is also on the President’s Monthly Research and Development Highlights.

HyDROS Members selected to Science Team

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Drs. Yang Hong, Jonathan Gourley, Pierre Kirstetter, and Qing Cao have been selected by the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission as Science Team Members for the 2013-2016 period. GPM is an international network of satellites that provide the next-generation global observations of rain and snow. The GPM concept centers on the deployment of a “Core” satellite carrying an advanced radar/radiometer system to measure precipitation from space and serve as a reference standard to unify precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational satellites. Through improved measurements of precipitation globally, the GPM mission will help to advance our understanding of Earth’s water and energy cycle, improve forecasting of extreme events that cause natural hazards and disasters, and extend current capabilities in using accurate and timely information of precipitation to directly benefit society. The GPM Core Observatory is scheduled to launch in early 2014.

HyDROS Scientists Invited to Participate in Europe’s Largest Weather Field Project

Pierre_JJ_RadarHyDROS scientists Dr. Pierre Kirstetter and Dr. Jonathan Gourley (NOAA/NSSL) have been invited toparticipate in the Hydrological Cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment (HyMeX), the largest weather field research project in European history. HyMeX is a 10-year international effort to better understand, quantify and model the hydrologic cycle in support of improved forecasts and warnings of flash floods in the Mediterranean region. Improved understanding of the land,atmosphere and ocean interactions that contribute to flash flooding in this part of the world will advance the state of the science that will ultimately be represented in forecast models with application in the United States.

HyDROS gave 15 presentations at AGU Annual Fall Meeting 2012, including three invited talks and chairing 5 special sessions

The AGU annual meeting is among the largest Earth and Space conferences, with more than 20,000 attendees, every Fall at SF, CA.

Jessica Erlingis receives NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Congratulations to ARRC and SoM graduate student Jessica Erlingis on receiving a 2012 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Jessica’s research interests include simulation and prediction of hydrometeorological extremes, such as heavy precipitation events and flash flooding. The NSF Fellowship provides a $12,000 cost of education allowance in addition to a $30,000 annual stipend for 3 years, with a total up to $156,000. Jessica, a student of Dr. Yang Hong (CEES/ARRC) and Dr. Jonathan Gourley (NOAA/NSSL), brings the total number of NSF graduate fellowship recipients currently in the ARRC to three.

AGU Fall 2012 Session Call

HyDROS Lab will co-chair two sessions (File):

H035: Global Precipitation Measurements, Validation and Applications

NH002: Advances in Landslide Hazard Research: Assessment, Monitoring, and Forecasting

More about AGU Fall Meeting: Welcome to the American Geophysical Union’s 45th annual Fall Meeting! Join more than 20,000 Earth and space scientists, educators, students, and other leaders in San Francisco, California, 3–7 December as they gather to present groundbreaking research and connect with colleagues.

NASA-HyDROS hosted a week-long CREST Hydrological Modeling Workshop in Kenya

OU CEES/ARRC’s HyDROS Lab (https://hydros.ou.edu), jointly with NASA-SERVIR Mission, hosted a week-long CREST Hydrological Modeling Workshop in Kenya from 2nd April to 6th April 2012. Attendees are from 13 African and Asian countries’ Ministries of Hydrometeorology or Disaster Management Agency or University (Figure 1 & 2). This is the first workshop of many to transfer NASA and OU jointly developed technology to developing countries. The goal of the training is to provide technical expertise to participants on CREST- Grid based Distributed Hydrological Model for quantifying stream flow, soil moisture and evapotranspiration by use of NASA satellite rainfall datasets. [pdf News from NASA SERVIR Webstie]

Figure 1 Opening Ceremony of the Workshop
Opening Ceremony of the Workshop
Figure 2 Awarding Certificate for the Attendees in the commencement
Awarding Certificate for the Attendees in the commencement

Jill Hardy Selected AS NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Fellow

Congratulations to HyDRROS member, ARRC/SoM M.S. student Jill Hardy who was recently selected as a 2012 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Fellow. Jill will receive a three-year $126,000 award that will enable her to complete a research project titled “Probabilistic Flash Flood Forecasting using Ensemble Stormscale Precipitation Forecasts”. Her selection was based on her outstanding abilities and accomplishments, as well as her potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the US science and engineering enterprise.

Zac Flamig Receives Award for Best Paper in Meteorology

HyDROS and ARRC/SoM M.S. student Zac Flamig is the recipient of this year’s Tommy C. Craighead Award for Best Paper in Meteorology. In addition to a monetary award, Zac will be recognized at the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences Student Awards Ceremony, to be held on Thursday, April 19 in the NWC Atrium. Zac’s research interests include flash flood prediction and rainfall estimation using dual-polarization radar. Congratulations Zac!

HyDROS’ new Book, Multiscale Hydrologic Remote Sensing: Perspectives and Applications, released by CRC Press.

K13588_cover.fhmxClick the link for more detail.

HyDROS student Zac Flamig, together with NASA scientists: Flood Dashboard Workshop/Field trip to Namibia.

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Zac with Guido, Director of Namibia Department of Hydrometeorology in the field.

HyDROS student Zac Flamig, together with NASA scientists, went to Namibia to host the Flood Dashboard Workshop to build capacity for Namibia Flood Disaster Early Warning System by working with Namibia Department of Hydrometeorology. They also took a field trip along flood-prone Okvango River Basin (see the Photos KMZ file).

More Info: The Namibia Flood Dashboard is a collection of geospatial information, including GIS data, hydrological information and other spatial data derived through Sensor Web that is integrated to provide an overall summary of flood situation analysis within Namibian water basins. Current and past flood activity for Angola, Nambia and Zambia are included. This effort is supported by UN-SPIDER.

HyDROS member invited to join the NOAA-NASA Steering Group on space-based precipitation missions

As per the recommendation stated in the NRC Report “NOAA’s Role in Space-based Precipitation Estimation and Application”, NOAA has formed a Steering Group (SG) on space based precipitation missions. The main purpose of this SG is to guide/inform NOAA leadership on NOAA’s role in the NASA-led international Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission. “Given his expertise in precipitation research and his current tie with the TRMM/GPM community, Dr. Jonathan Gourley would be a valuable asset for the group and we think he could make an important contribution to shape NOAA’s R&D priorities for the NASA’s GPM mission”, said the SG co-chair Robert Cifelli, Ralph Ferraro, and Pingping Xie. (Jan 6, 2012)

HyDROS’ Water-Climate Nexus Study highlighted in CEES Annual Newsletter

HyDROS’ Water Resources and Climate Variability Study Highlighted in CEES Annual Newsletter (on 2nd page).

HyDROS Lab recently received funds to conduct research in climate, water, energy, remote sensing, and disaster.

As PI or Co-PI, HyDROSlab has kicked off a series of research projects in Climate, Water, Energy, Remote Sensing, and Disaster as briefly described below.

US Army Corps of Engineers/Institute for Water Resources/Responses to Climate Change Program: Utilization of Regional Climate Science Programs in Reservoir and Watershed Risk-Base Impact Assessments Pilot Study, with Renee McPherson, Mark Shaffer, and USACE Gene Lilly and Brad Hudgens.

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) for their project titled “Developing Standard Procedures for Filling Climatic Data Gaps for use in Building Energy Performance Monitoring and Analysis.”

NOAA funded project is titled “Climate Variability, Urban Floods and Stakeholder Capabilities: Linking Severe Weather Impacts to Community Users with Modeling and Visualization.”, a two-year project to assess the effects of climate change-induced flooding on urban watersheds in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. This project will incorporate data from atmospheric-oceanic general circulation models into watershed flood models and present visualizations of potential future flood events to focus groups comprised of public works professionals and urban planners in each of the five cities. Results from the project are expected to help cities plan for urban climate adaptation.

NASA has awarded OU HyDROS Lab a project titled “Automated Tracking of Earth Science Phenomena for Ingest into a Moving Object Database to Enable Systematic Studies.”

NASA: Integrating and Validating NASA’s Real-time Satellite precipitation Products with NOAA/NSSL NMQ System

Oklahoma Dept. of Transportation has awarded CEES Amy Cerato and Yang Hong for their 2-year project titled: Real-time Monitoring of Slope Stability in Eastern Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Transportation Center has awarded OSU Prof. Liu and OU HyDROS team to conduct a research titled: Decision Support System for Road Closures in Flash Flood Emergencies.

HyDROS Lab will give 14 presentations at AGU Annual Fall Meeting 2011, including three invited talks and chairing seven sessions

The HyDROS Lab will give 14 presentations at AGU Annual Fall Meeting 2012, including three invited talks. In addition, HyDROS members will chair four oral sessions and three poster sessions. The sessions HyDROS co-convened include: H41L. Global Precipitation Measurement, Validation, and Applications; H21F: Remote Sensing Applications in Hydrology; and H21G: Application of Physically Based Distributed Hydrological Models to Flood Forecasting: Progresses, Challenges, and Future Directions

Trevor Grout interviewed by Oklahoma Daily for his contribution to Oklahoma’s winter storms study

For more information, visit http://www.oudaily.com/news/2011/sep/27/winter-storms-becoming-more-plentiful-widespread-a/

HyDROS had 16 Presentations at the International Symposium on Earth-science Challenges

ISEC_logoHyDROS Lab presented 6 Oral Talks and 10 Posters, covering 4 general areas, at the International Symposium on Earth-science Challenges (ISEC), hosted the University of Oklahoma at Norman.

Hydrometeorology and the Water Cycle

1. Hong et al ID 21: Radar and Satellite for Global and Regional Flood Prediction and Water Cycle Study
2. Gourley et al. ID 93: NMQ-FLASH- A Prototype System for Flash Flood Prediction
3. Flamig et al. ID 49: Evaluation of A Demonstration System for Flash Flood Prediction over the Arkansas-Red River Basin
4. Xue et al. ID 81: Evaluation of Satellite-based Global Hydrological Simulation using Distributed CREST Model
5. Hodges et al. ID 60: An Evaluation of Storm Scale Model Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts in Cases of Extreme Flash Flooding

Radar and Satellite Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere and Hydrosphere

1. Wen et al. ID 97: Incorporating NASA Space-borne precipitation into NOAA Q2 operational system for improved integrated NMQ Products
2. Kirstetter ID 48: Systematic Cross-Evaluation of NASA Spaceborne Radar and NOSS Ground Radar-based National Mosaic QPE over Lower CONUS
3. Chen et al. ID 46: Inter-comparsion of NOAA/NSSL Next Generation National Mosaic QPE and NCEP Stage II and Stage IV over the Conterminous United States
4. Yeary et al. ID 53: Prototype Concept: Non-Contacting Soil Moisture Estimates via Innovative RF Solutions

Hydrological Modeling and Remote Sensing Data Assimilation

1. Zhang et al. ID 45: Assimilation of Satellite-based Precipitation and Soil Moisture Data to Hydrological Model for Improved Flood Prediction over Poorly Gauged Basin in Africa
2. Chen et al. ID 87: A New Metric-based Method for QPE Verification
3. Khan et al. ID 74: Multispectral and Microwave Satellite Remote Sensing for Flood Prediction in Data Scarce Environments

Weather, Water, and Climate Variability

1. Liu et al. ID 39: Climatological Drought Analysis and Projection wijustifyth Comprehensive Drought Indicators: A Case Study for Arkansas-Red River Basin
2. Grout et al ID 22: Winter Weather Events and Associated Socioeconomic Impacts Across Oklahoma: 2000-2010
3. Adhikari and Hong ID 8: Climate change Impacts on water resources: Assessments from two contrasting River Basins
4. Zhang et al. ID 58: Understanding the changing characteristics of droughts in Sudan and the corresponding components of the hydrologic cycle

Gina received the 2011 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to study Flash Flood Prediction

NSF_logoGina Hodges, OU graduate and Atmospheric Radar Research Center student, will receive $30,000 a year for the next three years to investigate her proposed research topic, Prototyping a Flash Flood Prediction System Using Next Generation Radar Observations and Stormscale Rainfall Forecasts.“Itis my goal to improve the current methods used for flash flood prediction to protect lives and property of the public,” said Hodges. “In order to accomplish this goal, I will use an interdisciplinary approach combining my background in meteorology, hydrology and social sciences.” This interdisciplinary method will be applied to recent flash floods that occurred during the spring of 2010 – specifically, the Nashville, Tenn., flood that inundated the Grand Ole Opry House, the deadly Arkansas campground event and the urban Oklahoma City event.The three events chosen were recent with significant impacts and can be studied to prevent such costly and deadly results in thefuture, according to Hodges.

“Gina was awarded the Outstanding Senior in Meteorology award last year, and she is now pursuing a master’s degree in water resources engineering,” said Yang Hong, Hodges’ adviser and OU College of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science associate professor and School of Meteorology adjunct professor. “Her research is part of the end-to-end, high-impact event prediction system development that integrates meteorology, weather radar remote sensing and hydrological modeling approaches. I have been impressed by Gina’s ability to understand and solve problems in her innovative flash flood prediction study.” “The goal of her study is to develop and demonstrate a system that will increase the forecast lead time and identify specific locations about to be impacted by flash floods, and I am confident that her research will have broader impacts in the U.S. National Weather Service and beyond,” said Jonathan J. Gourley, research hydrometeorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Severe Storms Laboratory and Hodges’ co-adviser.

The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program helps to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology,engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. For more information, visit http://www.nsfgrfp.org/.

CREST transferred to NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for the SERVIR Project

NASACREST (Coupled Routing and Excess STorage), a high-resolution distributed Hydrological Model developed through a collaborative effort among OU, the ARRC and CEES, was adopted by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for their SERVIR-Africa and SERVIR-Mesoamerica system deployment. SERVIR, a joint NASA-USAID initiative, is a Regional Visualization and Monitoring System that currently provides critical and actionable information for Central America,the Dominican Republic and East Africa, and addresses the nine societal benefit areas of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO): disasters, ecosystems, biodiversity, weather, water, climate, health, agriculture, and energy.

OU PROFESSOR AWARDED GRANT FOR DISASTER RISK ASSESSMENT AND REDUCTION IN PAKISTAN

NEWS_clip_image002UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
120 David L. Boren Blvd.
Norman, OK  73072
www.ags.ou.edu

NORMAN, Okla. – University of Oklahoma professor Yang Hong, associate professor in OU’s School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, recently received a $500,000 grant from the Pakistan – U.S. Science and Technology Cooperation Program.
Hong’s project, titled “Capacity Building in Disaster Risk Assessment and Management through Training and Research in Geo-informatics and Hydrometeorological Hazard Risk Reduction Strategies,” focuses on increasing Pakistan’s capacity to reduce the risk of damage from potential natural disasters, including developing an early warning system for floods by integrating real-time remote sensing information and predictive hydrometeorological models. It was one of only 28 selected from 270 applications submitted to the program.

“Pakistan is a country prone to hydrometeorological disasters – flooding, landslides and droughts,” said Hong. “Monsoon flooding that began in late July has now affected 20 million people in Pakistan. This has left one-fifth of the country underwater and prompted intense and sustained relief assistance from the United States and other international donors. “These recent floods in Pakistan have underlined the need for countries to be better prepared for extreme weather events. Currently, the flood risk assessment and management system in Pakistan deals with rescue and relief. Adequate adaptation practices need to be strengthened and people’s local capacities to adapt need to be supported and enforced. The early warning system will help map flood zones, determine the potential economic impact of flooding and reduce the risk of damage and fatalities in vulnerable communities.”

The major outcome of this project is to develop local capacities through trainings, disaster risk-reduction research, student and faculty exchanges, workshops and seminars. Ultimately, the project should build the national capacity of Pakistan in natural disaster risk mitigation through training and research in geographical information science, according to Hong. “We are likely to see more extreme events in the future, particularly in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region, and the international climate, water and development communities need to ensure that adequate support is channeled to the region in a way that enforces ongoing ‘best practices in adaptation,’” said Shahid Habib, project collaborator and chief of the Office of Applied Sciences at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

In addition to serving as an OU professor, Hong is an affiliated faculty member in the Atmospheric Radar Research Center at the National Weather Center and the associate director of the Center for Natural Hazard and Disaster Research.

This project is a collaboration between OU and Pakistan’s National University of Science and Technology. The project will be completed in three years. Slightly more than half of the total budget will be spent training Pakistani university academics in disaster prediction and risk management techniques.
For more on Pakistan – U.S. Science and Technology Cooperation Program, visit

http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/dsc/pakistan/index.htm

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA STUDENT RECEIVES OKLAHOMA TRANSPORTATION CENTER’S STUDENT OF THE YEAR AWARD

NEWS_clip_image002UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
120 David L. Boren Blvd.
Norman, OK  73072
www.ags.ou.edu

NORMAN, Okla.—Trevor Grout, engineering graduate student at the University of Oklahoma’s Atmospheric Radar Research Center, was presented with the Oklahoma Transportation Center’s student of the year award at the 14th annual Council of University Transportation Centers’ award banquet, held recently in Washington, D.C.

Pictured (L-R): Musharraf Zaman, OU College of Engineering associate dean of research and graduate programs; Jewellyn Grout, spouse; Trevor Grout, OU engineering student; Michelle McFarland, Oklahoma Transporation Center assistant director; and Tony Dark, OTC executive director.

Grout was the only one from Oklahoma among the 60 recipients recognized nationally for outstanding achievement in and contribution to transportation research and education. Since July 2009, Grout has been working with collaborators on a project titled “Proactive Approach to Transportation Resource Allocation under Severe Weather Emergencies.” The goal of the project is to develop tools that aid maintenance managers in making resource allocation and deployment decisions to mitigate severe winter weather.

“Trevor is a unique fit for this project as it necessitates the need for a multidisciplinary approach from both a meteorological and engineering perspective,” said Yang Hong, associate professor in OU’s School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences. “Trevor’s background with a bachelor’s degree in meteorology, as well as working towards his master of science in civil engineering degree, undoubtedly gives him a great advantage. This award truly testifies the interdisciplinary weather enterprise at OU.”

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PROFESSOR APPOINTED AS AGU COMMITTEE CHAIR

NEWS_clip_image002UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
120 David L. Boren Blvd.
Norman, OK  73072
www.ags.ou.edu

Announcement—Aug. 12, 2010
Yang Hong, associate professor in the University of Oklahoma’s School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences and associate director of the Center for Natural Hazard and Disaster Research, has been appointed precipitation technique committee chair for the American Geophysical Union.

AGU is the largest earth scientists’ organization with about 60,000 members, and 7,000 of its members identify hydrology as their primary section of choice.

“Precipitation technical committees are a key element of the AGU hydrology section,” said AGU hydrology section president Dennis Lettenmaier in a letter to Hong. “They have a storied past; many well known names in the field have chaired these committees going back many decades.”

Selected by Lettenmaier, Hong began serving the two-year term July 1. He has been asked to assemble a 12-person committee responsible for promoting scientific interactions in precipitation and closelyrelated subdisciplines of hydrology.

“It is an honor to be appointed to such a position and I hope to work with the deputy chair, professor Wiltold Krajewski, and the other core members from all over the world to provide intelligent leadership for precipitation sciences and applications in hydrology,” said Hong. “Major focuses for the coming two years will be the synergistic integration of space and ground sensors, as well as flash flood prediction initiatives.” In addition to Hong’s titles, he serves as an affiliated faculty member in the Atmospheric Radar Research Center at the National Weather Center.

Zac Flamig in Kenya for CREST Workshop

Zac Flamig traveled overseas to Kenya to give a presentation about the Coupled Routing and Excess STorage (CREST) hydrologic model. (April 29, 2010)

Two more RSHG students were awarded this year

RSHG undergraduate student Jessica Erlingis received the School of Meteorology Faculty Recognition for Outstanding Performance as an Undergraduate, and fFuture RSHG graduate student Gina Pine Hodges received the School of Meteorology Undergraduate Academic Achievement Award. Congratulations to both of you girls!! (March 30, 2010)

Student Research and Performance Day 2010

RSHG graduate students participated on the Student Research and Performance Day 2010 at NWC last Friday March 26. Yixin Wen (Berry), Pradeep Adhikari, Zonghu Liao and Sadiq Khan presented their research work with posters (See Below). Good Job guys!!

Liu Lu has been named Outstanding Senior Award in Environmental Science this year

This award is given to senior students who perform outstandingly as a senior. There is only one person named Outstanding Senior for each major, and Liu Lu has been selected for the Environmental Science program. CONGRATULATIONS!! (March 23, 2010)

Pradeep Adhikari has been awarded a Cleo Cross International Student Scholarship for the Spring 2010 semester

This scholarship is awarded on the basis of his academic accomplishments. The Cleo Cross International Student Scholarship is awarded in honor of Mrs. Cleo Cross, wife of Dr. George L. Cross who was President of The University of Oklahoma for 25 years. The International Programs Center will be hosting an awards ceremony in his honor to present him with a certificate of his Cleo Cross International Student Scholarship. (March 5, 2010)

CONGRATULATIONS PRADEEP!!

Dr. Hong and Dr. Gourley at Symposium in Japan

Dr. Hong and Dr. Gourley presented at the International Symposium on Radar and Modeling Studies of the Atmosphere in Kyoto, Japan. (November 10, 2009)
Conf_Japan

ZAC FLAMIG RECEIVES $10,000 SCHOLARSHIP FROM THE ASTRONAUT SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION

Zac Flamig has been selected to receive a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. He was selected from a group of 17 students of the whole nation, who were nominated based on exceptional performance, initiative and creativity in their field to receive the Astronaut Scholarship, the largest monetary award given to science and engineering students based solely on merit. (September 25, 2009)

CONGRATULATIONS ZAC.

NASA-OU SERVIR and NOAA/NSSL-OU Multi-sensor QPE Temporal Site (For Demo Purpose)

http://eos.ou.edu/

Dr. Bin Yong went back to his home University in China

Dr. Bin Yong, Research Scientist completed his tenure at RSHG and returned to his home university as an Assistant Professor at Nanjing, China. Our best wishes to Dr. Yong in his future endeavor. (June 06, 2009)

Two REU students joined RSHG

Two OU undergraduate students Kim Douglas and Lacey Evans are working at Remote Sensing Hydro Group this summer for a NSF-funded “Research Experience for Undergraduate” Program. (June 01, 2009)

K-12 outreach program

As an outreach program of the RSHG, Dr. Yang Hong is mentoring K-12 outreach activities for two weeks starting June 01, 2009. Six science and mathematics teachers from the High Schools in the vicinity of Norman are participating in the program. Dr. Hong is assisted by Ph.D. student Mr. Sadiq Khan. (June 01, 2009)

Lu Liu Awarded UROP grant

Undergraduate Student Lu Liu has been selected as a recipient of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) grant by the University of Oklahoma Honors Council. (April 22, 2009)

Congratulations to Lu!

Data Assimilation Seminar, Dr. Xuguang Wang

A seminar was held at NHDR where Dr. Xuguang Wang, faculty member of the School of Meteorology, The University of Oklahoma made a presentation about Ensemble-based atmospheric data assimilation. During the presentation methods, issues and applications of ensemble-based atmospheric data assimilation was reviewed and discussed. (April 21, 2009)NEWS_clip_image002_0001

Dr. Xuguang Wang (center) giving her presentation and leading discussion on Ensemble-based atmospheric data assimilation

AWARD CEREMONY

Sadiq Khan was awarded the Olson Scholarship in a ceremony on April 17, 2009 to honor the recipient of various awards in the Geography Department.Sadiq's award ceremony

Scholarship Renewed

Good news keep coming for Sadiq Khan. Two days before he received the Olson Scholarship award, he was notified about the renewal of his NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship. CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN!!! (April 20, 2009)

Dr. Jiahu Wang submmited a Paper

A paper titled “Quantitative Assessment of Climate Change and Human Impact on Long-term Hydrologic Response using an Impact Factor Formula: a Case Study in a Sub-basin of the Yellow River, China” has been submitted to International Journal of Climatology Special Issue. Dr. Jiahu Wang of RSHG is the lead author. (April 15, 2009)

Cooperation Agreement

Cooperation Agreement between Global Runoff Data Centre and the University of Oklahoma- School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science has been established a Cooperation Agreement to share the river discharge data from more than 1600 stations in Africa and Central /South America. (April 14, 2009)

New Website for Remote Sensing Hydrology Group

Former DEERS-LAB website has been updated along with the name of this research group. RSHG (Remote Sensing Hydrology Group) is now the name of our group. New members have also joined us since the old website was developed. (April 13, 2009)

Wenjuan Liu submmited a Paper

A paper titled “Evaluation of Global Daily Reference ET’s Hydrological Utility using Oklahoma’s World-Class Environmental Monitoring Network-MESONET” has been submitted to Water Resource Research. Wenjuan Liu of RSHG is the lead author. (April 8, 2009)

Sadiq Khan received the Olson Scholarship in Geography award

PhD student Sadiq Khan has been awarded with a new scholarship from the Geography department of OU. This is the scond award Sadiq receives. The ceremony will take place at The National Weather Center this coming Friday April 17 of 2009, as of the 2009 College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences Awards Celebration. (April 07, 2009)

New RSHG Member: Julien Lagrange

Julien LAGRANGE, joined the group April 2009 as an exchange undergraduate student from France for three months. Julien’ s research is focused on water quality issue and is titled “Using ArcGIS to map water pollution spatial and temporal variability (algae etc) in Oklahoma lakes using satellite MODIS images and field measurements data”. (April, 2009)

Japanese landslide expert, Professor. Hiroshi Fukuoka, visiting our Lab and NWC

Dr. Hiroshi Fukuoka, Associate Professor from Research Center on Landslides Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University made a presentation about current landslide research and application at Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University. During the presentation Dr. Fukuoka gave introduction of landslides studies at DPRI, Sliding surface liquefaction process and International framework on landslide research and Global Landslide databases. During his visit, we established long-term collaboration plans for Landslide Monitoring and Prediction in Asia. For more info on the work of Dr. Fukuoka and DPRI please visit http://www.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/web_e/index_e.html. (March 26, 2009)NEWS_clip_image002_0002

Dr. Fukuoka (Center) at NWC

New RSHG Member: Liu Lu

Liu Lu joined the group in January 2009 as an undergraduate student. Liu would be working on a research titled “Estimating solar energy spatiotemporal distribution in central Oklahoma”. (January, 2009)

Chair for AGU Precipitation Technique Committee under Hydrology Section

Dr. Yang Hong becomes the Chair for AGU Hydrology Section Precipitation Technique Committee for term 2008-2010. (July, 2008)

NASA Headquarter Applied Science Group Achievement Award

Dr. Yang Hong received NASA Headquarter Applied Science Group Achievement Award together with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientists: “For significant achievements in systematically promoting and accelerating the use of NASA scientific research results for societal benefits”. (May, 2008)NEWS_clip_image002