Justin came to CMMAP from Saint Augustine's University where he will be a
senior with a double major in engineering and mathematics. His research
interests are weather modeling, computer programming and mathematics which fit
perfectly with the research he was able to perform this summer working with
Professor David Randall and researcher Don Dazlich.
Thunderstorms are created by the flux of temperature and moisture that make a
cloud. Updrafts carry warm moist air up where as downdrafts carry cold air down.
Cloud resolving models produce high-resolution simulations with typical domain
size being 1/20th the size of Colorado, or the size of Rhode Island. The Giga
Model used was 2048x2048x256 in resolution.
The updrafts and downdrafts of thunderstorms transport energy and moisture
vertically through the atmosphere. These fluxes are computed using their exact
definition from grid-point data of a high resolution Cloud Resolving Model
(CRM), and using an approximate statistical theory where the updrafts and
downdrafts are represented by approximate trivariate Gaussian distributions
diagnosed from the CRM results. The exact and approximate fluxes are
compared.
Justin's objective was to use a cloud resolving model to evaluate a statistical
model of thunderstorm behavior.
Justin's research poster,
Simple Statistical Models of
Thunderstorms, may be found here.
Justin calls Atlanta, Georgia his home town. Outside of academics, he enjoys
playing sports, working out and reading.
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