Technology and Social Media Improve Weather Forecasting

For hundreds of years, observations of the atmosphere have been a starting point for efforts to understand and predict its behavior. Most recent improvements in technologies such as; instrumented aircrafts, radar, satellites, computers, and weather balloons has made meteorologist’s weather forecasts easier to predict, as well as more accurate.

Extreme-weather forecasts have improved even more over time. People who once received on average five minutes' warning before a tornado, and no warning at all 74 percent of the time, now get 13 minutes' warning on average, and receive some warning 69 percent of the time.


Ben Johnston, teaching assistant for AOSC 200- Weather and Climate, discussed the importance of technology to weather forecasting. 

listen to ‘Has technology in general improved forecasting? If so how? What technologies?’ on Audioboo

Flash flood forecasts now come, on average, more than an hour before the floods themselves. Much of the improvement comes from a new generation of radar that went into service in the early 1990s. Unlike older radar technology, which basically bounced off storms, today's Doppler radar units can peer through fronts and measure things such as wind speed. The improvement of radar and other weather-sensing technology complements the continual upgrades to computers. Organizations such as NOAA, and NASA are constantly conducting meteorological studies to help improve weather forecasting.

In addition to technologies, social media has become a tool that meteorologist rely on to interact with the public. Weather channels such as AccuWeather.com, and Weatherchannel.com have created Facebook and Twitter pages to keep the public informed with current weather, as well as encouraging sharing of weather information/ pictures. People report on the weather they are experiencing through social media tools such as Twitter, and Facebook.

 Citizen reporting of weather events can be highly accurate when carried out by trained observers, however, when carried out by untrained observers accuracy is less. Twitter weather reports are dominated by untrained experts, but the information presented is still helpful to observe.


Ben Johnston gave his opinion on social media and forecasting. In his opinion, social media hasn't changed weather forecasting.

listen to ‘Has social media influenced/ changed the role of meteorologists, or other atmospheric science jobs? If so how?’ on Audioboo

Online Presence: How UMD is Preparing it's students for their future

For employers and recruiters, a candidates online presence has become an important factor in whether or not a person is hired. UMD is preparing their students in various ways to have a good online presence. 

 According to Fired Up Careers , the following are benefits of a good online presence: 

• Differentiating yourself and your uniqueness – they’ll see you as a ‘must have’.
• Portraying your personality, energy and confidence.
• Showcasing job successes, they’ll know you are the one.
• Enhancing professional exposure

UMD wrestler Brian Marcoux describes how his coaches encourage a good online presence.

listen to ‘Online presence’ on Audioboo

New Major Added to the University of Maryland's List of Majors: Atmospheric and Oceanic Science

On October 18, 2011 the department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science announced on its website the addition of an undergraduate major to its educational programs.


Adding this major to the long list of majors available at the University of Maryland was much needed, and can only benefit those students who declare themselves Atmospheric and Oceanic Scieance (AOSC)  majors. Jeff Stehr, Assistant Research Scientist , and Associate Director, Professional Masters & Undergraduate Programs for the department discusses why the new major is better than any other universities atmospheric programs.

 The Atmospheric and Oceanic Science major has been designed to teach broad based knowledge in meteorology, oceanography, climate and air pollution. The degree satisfies the requirements for federal service positions as a meteorologist or oceanographer, and also follows the American Meteorological Society's statement on bachelor's degrees in Atmospheric Science.The process the department went through to get the major approved was long, and tedious. Dr. Jeff Stehr explains what had to be done in order for the department to be recognized as a major. 

Dr. Jeff Stehr went on to explain from a departmental prospective why the new major was much needed on the University of Maryland's campus. 

There are many concepts that are learned about, and applied in the Atmospheric and Oceanic science major. The departments website explains the major: 

"Fundamental concepts from mathematics, chemistry, physics, and computer science are applied to understand the basic principles that control our weather and climate, from extreme events like tornadoes to the millennial changes of ice ages and the results of human modification of our environment. Coursework in the first two years emphasizes mastery of these fundamentals. Coursework in the last two years provides a comprehensive survey of atmospheric and oceanic science, while specialty courses and guided research allow the student to develop expertise in an area of concentration. The Department has particular strengths in computer modeling and remote sensing of the atmosphere and ocean, atmospheric chemistry, and climate studies. In addition to the Department, nearby research laboratories such as the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center offer the student many research opportunities."

For more information on the newly added Atmospheric and Oceanic Science major visit their website. 

WAMU 88.5 - Washington D.C.'s National Public Radio

There are 2 National Public Radio stations located in our nations capitol, Washington D.C..WAMU 88.5 is Washington D.C.’s only full- time national public radio station.

listen to ‘What does "full time" public radio mean?’ on Audioboo

WAMU utilizes and broadcasts information from four news organizations; National Public Radio, American Public Media, Public Radio International, and British Broadcasting Corporation.

listen to ‘Why do you think NPR, APM, PRI, and BBC are utilized by WAMU? Do all public radio stations use these 4 organizations?’ on Audioboo

There are many benefits to using multiple sources within a broadcast

listen to ‘What do you feel is the benefit of public radio broadcasts coming from a variety of news sources?’ on Audioboo

National Public Radio, or NPR is a privately and publicly funded non-profit media organization. NPR serves as a syndicate to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States.

listen to ‘How do you feel D.C's public radio stations would differ from those in any other cities/states?’ on Audioboo

WAMU 88.5 focuses on its surrounding community, in regards to news, events, politics, the environment, and the arts. Due to WAMU’s location in the nations capitol, the information presented is both relevant on a national, and a local level.

Working Out:Staying in Shape While Having Fun

     Did you know that you should workout at least three times a week? According to a study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 13 percent of people in our area engaged with sports or activity on a daily basis.

   Working out is something that I used to dread, and avoid all together. However, this summer me and working out just seemed to click. Working out, and eating right is something that is important to me, and I plan on learning how to teach an aerobics class.

     My favorite classes are Zumba, cycling, and boxing. I think the key to wanting/ liking to work out is the activity you do. Making working out fun is what will keep you going. I asked someone who was working out at the gym about his fitness routine, and what he does to make his workout enjoyable.

listen to ‘What do you do to stay motivated?’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘How do you keep your workouts interesting?’ on Audioboo

      The University of Maryland offers so many great classes, and has amazing equipment in our gym(s). We even have personal training opportunities at our gym(s)!
   

AM vs FM radio

Have you ever thought about the history, or the differences in AM and FM radio? If your like me than you haven't. Doing research on this topic made me appreciate the differences! I think once you read this, you will have more insight about AM and FM radio stations.

AM stations were the earliest broadcasting stations to be developed. AM refers to amplitude modulation, a mode of broadcasting radio waves by varying the amplitude of the carrier signal in response to the amplitude of the signal to be transmitted. AM radio ranges from 535 to 1705 kHz. 

AM is the older an easier of the two technologies to implement. The receiver detects the changes in the carrier frequency’s amplitude and amplifies it to drive a speaker. The simplicity of the technology made it easy to build radio receivers in great quantities. The main problem associated with AM broadcasting is the fact that it is very susceptible to various weather conditions that deteriorate and distort the signal. The simplicity of the design also limits the broadcast to a single audio channel, making it inadequate for stereo sound.

FM refers to frequency modulation, and occurs on VHF airwaves in the frequency range of 88 to 108 MHz everywhere (except Japan and Russia).FM radio was invented by Edwin H. Armstrong in the 1930s for the specific purpose of overcoming the interference problem of AM radio, to which it is relatively immune.

FM is a development over AM broadcasting and it provides a lot of substantial benefits thus it is much more complex compared to AM. The first and most substantial benefit is its ability to send out two channels of information at the same time with the use of advanced algorithms. This allows the station to broadcast left and right audio channels for full stereo sound. Since most environmental factors that distort radio waves only affect its amplitude and not the frequency where FM stores the actual voice signal, the data in the FM signal doesn’t degrade as easily as AM. This also means that FM signal quality doesn’t degrade linearly as you get further from the transmitting station.

I think that these differences in AM and FM radio give FM radio a serious advantage in the radio industry. Not many people want to be subjected to the static that comes along with AM. The only time that I have listened to an AM station on the radio, was to listen to a Ravens football broadcast. Other than that I always listen to FM.

According to the  September 2011 RADAR 110 National Radio Listening Report, 1.7 million additional listeners 12 years and older tune into radio on average every week, from the 2010 report. The young demographics of radio make it very obvious to me that FM is the leading reason to this increase. How many 12 year olds that you know would tune into AM/ talk radio?

In the DC area, these are the AM and FM radio stations.

The Pulitzer Prize

If your like me, than you have heard of the Pulitzer Prize, but never really knew what it was all about. The Pulitzer Prize is a very important award for my interest in the field of journalism . It is an opportunity to be recognized, and rewarded for your work in a specific field.

What’s so special about a Pulitzer Prize?
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. The Pulitzer Prizes are administered by Columbia University, in New York City.

Describe the prize’s organization:
In the late 19th century, Joseph Pulitzer stood out as the very embodiment of American journalism.  Pulitzer was the first to call for the training of journalists at the university level in a school of journalism. When Pulitzer wrote his will, provisions were made for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prize, as an incentive to excellence. He specified 4 awards in journalism, 4 in letters and drama, 1 for education, and 4 for traveling scholarships.  Since his passing, changes in the awards have been made.

The award process: 
The Pulitzer Prize only evaluates those works in the media that have been entered with a $50 entry fee.

The award process(usually a year long) begins early in  the year with the judges being appointed. Usually there are 102 judges, who serve on 20 separate juries and are asked to make three nominations in each of the 21 categories. By February, the administrator’s office in the Columbia school of journalism has received about 1,100 journalism entries. In early March, 77 editors, publishers, writers, and educators gather to judge the entries in the 14 journalism categories.
More than 2,400 entries are submitted each year in the Pulitzer Prize competition, and only 21 awards are normally made (yearly).  In 20 of these, each winner receives a $10,000 cash award. The winner of the public service category in the journalism competition is awarded a gold medal. The gold medal always goes to a newspaper, although an individual may be named in citation.

  
(The gold medal awarded to the winner of the public service category in journalism.)


Two recent winners:

Public Service: For a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journalistic resources.
The 2011 winner for Public Service in Journalism was The Los Angeles Time for reporting by Jeffery Gottlieb, and Ruben Vives, who uncovered municipal corruption in the small California city of Bell.
http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2011-Public-Service

Fiction: For distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with the American life.
The 2011 winner for fiction in Letters, Drama, and Music was awarded to  “A Visit From the Goon Squad” by Jennifer Egan.  “A Visit From the Goon Squad” is an investigation of growing up, and growing old in the digital-age.
http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2011-Fiction

Some Famous Winners of the Pulitzer Prize Include:

• John F. Kennedy (Biography)
• Harper Lee and Earnest Hemmingway (Fiction) 
• Robert Frost (Poetry)

For more information on the Pulitzer Prize visit their website: http://www.pulitzer.org