Archives: Faculty/Staff
Aaron Preston
Courses Taught
- Elementary Meteorology (ATM 1010)
- Introduction to Climate Change (ATM 1020)
- Elementary Oceanography (ATM 1030)
- Survey of Meteorology I & II (ATM 1211 & 1212)
- Remote Sensing (ATM 3110)
- Physical Meteorology (ATM 3140)
- Mesoscale Meteorology (ATM 4110)
- Capstone in Atmospheric Sciences I & II (ATM 4712 & 4713)
About
Dr. Preston joined the Atmospheric Sciences faculty in 2017 after earning his Ph.D. in Meteorology from Florida State University. He has enjoyed engaging students in the Lyndon community and getting them excited about the weather by implementing classroom activities that make them apply concepts from the classroom to the real world. For example, first-year students get to examine severe weather case studies using GRLevel2 Analyst in Survey of Meteorology. Dr. Preston also implements GRLevel2 Analyst and the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) into his labs for Remote Sensing.
Dr. Preston recently submitted a paper for publication to the Journal of Geophysical Research. The paper includes results from his work with the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem). Results from the simulated fields show that pollution from distance sources is wrapped into Typhoon Mireille (1991) and subsequently lofted by eyewall convection to the upper troposphere, enhancing concentrations in this region. Dr. Preston plans to continue studying tropical cyclones at NVU-Lyndon with a focus on intensity forecasting.
Dr. Preston also has considerable experience conducting lightning-related research. He closely collaborated with the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron in developing lightning cessation guidance to help improve lightning warnings for America’s space program at NASA Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Dr. Preston will be using the Warning Decision Support System – Integrated Information (WDSS-II) software to continue researching convective storms and lightning at NVU-Lyndon. He plans to test the lightning cessation algorithm that he developed for isolated thunderstorms in Florida on storms in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S.
Publications
Preston, A. D., H. E. Fuelberg, and M. C. Barth, 2018: Simulation of Chemical Transport by Typhoon Mireille (1991). J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., In Submission.
Preston, A. D., and H. E. Fuelberg, 2015: Improving Lightning Cessation Guidance Using Polarimetric Radar Data, Wea. Forecasting, 30, 308-328. doi:10.1175/WAF-D-14-00031.1.
Fuelberg, H. E., R. J. Walsh, and A. D. Preston, 2014: The extension of lightning flashes from thunderstorms near Cape Canaveral, Florida. J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 119, 9965-9979, doi:10.1002/2014JD022105.
George Loriot
Janel Hanrahan
Courses Taught
- Survey of Climate and Statistics I & II (ATM 2061 & 2062)
- Geophysical and Human Interactions (ATM 2210)
- Atmospheric Thermodynamics (ATM 3030)
- Atmospheric Dynamics I & II (ATM 3321 & 3322)
- Climate Change Dynamics (ATM 4140)
- Physical Climatology (ATM 4030)
- Capstone in Atmospheric Sciences I & II (ATM 4712 & 4713)
About
Before joining the Department of Atmospheric Sciences in 2012, Janel Hanrahan earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics with a strong focus in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her doctoral work included the investigation of Lake Michigan-Huron water levels and their connection to natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change. Following graduate school, Dr. Hanrahan worked as a researcher at the University of Alberta where she studied changes in rainfall in the Canadian Plains region and examined procedures for model optimization. Through dynamical and statistical downscaling, she is currently interested in identifying connections between large-scale climate variability and trends and local weather, particularly extreme precipitation.
At Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, Dr. Hanrahan has enjoyed interacting with students on a personal level both in and out of the classroom. She earned her own B.A. from a small student-centered institution and was excited to return to this type of learning environment. Because of her own interest in applied mathematics, she enjoys helping students understand how math and physics are used to study the atmosphere. In addition, Dr. Hanrahan is interested in improving climate change literacy among both atmospheric scientists and the general public. As the director of The Climate Consensus, she works with students, faculty, and staff to improve climate change communication among these groups through the creation of shareable digital content, participation in community outreach events, K-12 school visits, and conference presentations.
Originally from the Midwest, Dr. Hanrahan has been enjoying the Northeast Kingdom’s natural beauty. She and her husband keep busy with ongoing home renovations (with energy efficiency in mind!), gardening, cooking, food preservation, and exploring the surrounding area. Most importantly, she is busy being a mom, a role that has opened her eyes to the very real consequences of unmitigated climate change. Therefore, she spends much of her time educating family and friends about the science and encouraging other scientists to do the same.
Selected Publications
Hanrahan, J., and J. Shafer, 2019: Improving climate change literacy and promoting outreach in an undergraduate atmospheric sciences program. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. https://doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-17-0332.1, in press.
Hanrahan, J., A. Maynard, S.Y. Murphy, C. Zercher, and A. Fitzpatrick, 2017: Examining the Climatology of Shortwave Radiation in the Northeastern United States. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 56, 2869–2881, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-16-0420.1.
Hanrahan, J. , Kuo, C. and Gan, T. Y., 2015: Configuration and validation of a mesoscale atmospheric model for simulating summertime rainfall in Central Alberta. Int. J. Climatol, 35, 660–675, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4011.
Hanrahan, J., P. Roebber, and S. Kravtsov, 2014: Attribution of Decadal-Scale Lake-Level Trends in the Michigan-Huron System. Water, 6, 2278–2299, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w6082278
Kuo, C.C., Gan, T.Y., and Hanrahan, J.L., 2014, Precipitation frequency analysis based on regional climate simulations in Central Alberta. Journal of Hydrology, 510, 436–446, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.12.051
Hanrahan, J.L., S.V. Kravtsov, and P.J. Roebber, 2010, Connecting past and present climate variability to the water levels of Lakes Michigan and Huron. Geophysical Research Letters, 37, L01701, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL041707
Hanrahan, J.L., S.V. Kravtsov, and P.J. Roebber, 2009, Quasi-periodic decadal cycles in levels of Lakes Michigan and Huron. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 35, 30–35, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL041707
