The Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign to be conducted May-June 2012 is a multi-regional, multi-platform effort to determine the impact of deep midlatitude continental convective clouds and their intrinsic dynamical, microphysical, and electrification processes upon upper tropospheric composition and chemistry. This award will support direct participation of University of North Dakota (UND) undergraduate and graduate students in DC3 via three mechanisms: (1) Development and delivery of a special winter/spring on-campus course addressing the scientific objectives, instrumentation and forecasting needs for the multi-regional field campaign; (2) a follow-on internship-for-credit activity n which students will produce mock forecasts for the campaign and monitor daily forecast and scientific discussions; and (3) direct participation of a select number of students in the field campaign effort for the northern Alabama subregion, to be based at the University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH).
The intellectual merit of this effort derives from support of substantive exchanges between an early-career PI and her students with other NSF-supported investigators on multidisciplinary topics involving the interface of convective-scale meteorological processes and atmospheric chemistry, as well as through contributions to the collection of field datasets required to meet DC3 project goals.
Broader impacts will relate primarily to education of graduate and undergraduate students in the dynamic arena of field data collection-driven science, with an eye toward improved retention of underrepresented groups in the sciences such as women and Native Americans. Methodologies for development of both the class and internship model will be documented and assessed in order to facilitate similar experiences, both at UND and other institutions, as well as through dissemination of outcomes via a peer-reviewed publication and associated conference presentation to be made by students involved in this effort. Collaborations between UND faculty and other DC3-involved investigators and institutions will also be strengthened.
It is crucial for the next generation of scientists to gain as much cross-disciplinary research experience as possible. Large, agency-funded field campaigns represent this type of research, and as student involvement is normally a stated goal of these campaigns, providing additional avenues for formal undergraduate involvement is desirable. A successful methodology was tested and implemented at the University of North Dakota (UND) in partnership with the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) campaign. Undergraduate students from UND participated in a focused spring semester course, a summer forecasting internship, and traveled to University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH) to assist in radiosonde launches (Figure 1). This project represented a relatively inexpensive method to leverage the significant financial and personnel resources invested in field campaigns for greater educational gains. Participation in field campaign activities, whether at the field site or remotely, is an invaluable student experience, providing motivation and encouragement. The DC3 field campaign was conducted May 15-June 31, 2012. The primary goal of the campaign was to investigate the dynamical and chemical impacts of deep convection on the composition and chemistry of the upper troposphere. Several storm types were sampled, from air mass thunderstorms to mesoscale convective systems. The campaign involved in situ measurements from three research aircraft as well as many ground-based platforms, including radar networks, radiosondes, and lightning mapping arrays. Campaign observations were focused in three regions (northern Alabama, northeastern Colorado, and central Oklahoma), with flight operations based centrally to these areas in Salinas, Kansas. With such a broad sampling region, accurate forecasting of convective timing and convective type was crucial to campaign success. In addition, sampling teams were needed to staff the ground-based platforms full-time in all three regions. The integration of undergraduate students into large, multi-institution field campaigns can be challenging. One must create opportunities for undergraduate students to acquire the knowledge and skills that will allow them to be active and informed participants in campaign research, discussions, and other activities. While field experience for even introductory students has been shown to motivate and inspire, an understanding of the scientific objectives and measurement challenges of the campaign provides added value for upper-division students who are at critical decision points concerning their careers. This participation can inspire students to careers ranging from private industry to academia, and helps build potential collaborative relationships that can be the cornerstone of such careers. The goal of the UND project was to provide a greater degree of integrated undergraduate participation. This integration took place by using three components to better engage the undergraduate students, specifically (1) a university course, (2) a forecasting internship, and (3) field experience. Formal assessment showed that students found all three components valuable. Students gained experience in a variety of forecasting scenarios, forecast model evaluation, and field campaign decision-making. Recommendations were subsequently published such that more colleges and universities can take advantage of opportunities to become educational partners with field campaign investigators in the future. These recommendations are summarized below. 1. Identify Candidate Field Campaign and Partner with Participants 2. Plan Course (and/or Internship) and Field Experience 2.1 University Course: a. materials from both partner institution and campaign PIs b. focused lectures/discussion in subject areas specific to the campaign objectives, including special guest lecturers and field trips c. experiential learning activities (forecasting , collecting or processing of observations, etc.) 2.2 Forecasting Internship: a. forecasting exercises conducted in real-time, covering a variety of paradigms and forecasting goals, primarily those tied to the field campaign b. access to products used and produced by campaign forecasters; the latter provides a starting point for discussion of forecast techniques, the forecast process, and modifications to that process in pursuit of specific campaign goals. c. active participation by student forecasters in campaign (not done for DC3, but this would enhance training for students and broaden the pool of forecasters) 2.3 Field Experience: a. active participation in daily mission planning and forecast meetings on-site, with adequate space to include all participants in order to enhance integration b. multi-week experience for each team of undergraduates c. leader (e.g. graduate student, faculty member) to provide continuity between different undergraduate teams
