Mobile Radar as an Undergraduate Education and Research Tool: The ERAU C-BREESE Field Experience with the Doppler-on-Wheels

Abstract

mbry-Riddle Aeronautical University Convective-Boundary Research Engaging Educational Student Experiences (ERAU C-BREESE) was an 18-day National Science Foundation (NSF) funded educational Doppler-on-Wheels (DOW) deployment through the Center for Severe Weather Research in May 2015. ERAU C-BREESE had three primary areas of focus: meteorological field observations and research, undergraduate experiential learning, and local community outreach. ERAU undergraduate meteorology students had the unique opportunity to forecast for, collect, and analyze field measurements of sea-breeze processes and convection. The scientific objectives of ERAU C-BREESE were to forecast, observe, and analyze Central Florida sea-breeze processes and thunderstorms by combining a DOW with more traditional tools. Specific scientific investigations were spurred by nine intensive observation periods (IOPs) throughout Central Florida. Specific details are provided for IOP9, the most successful IOP, from both forecast and observational perspectives. Summaries of local community outreach, student education and responsibilities, and a discussion of the benefits of experiential learning are also provided.