Florida Tech Receives $40,000 to Create an Atmospheric Model

– A $40,000 grant for atmospheric research, will support the work of Florida Tech assistant professor of meteorology, Dr. Steven Lazarus. Lazarus and
graduate student Corey Calvert will produce near-realtime sea surface temperature analyses using data from the GOES-12 weather satellite, which covers the
Atlantic Ocean, and data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). They will also incorporate into their analysis sea surface
temperature data generated at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

The National Weather Service in Melbourne, Fla. will incorporate the sea surface temperature analyses into an operational atmospheric model designed to
improve the forecasting of mesoscale phenomena such as sea breezes.

Lazarus spent four weeks this summer as a visiting scientist at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction in Washington D.C.

He is a faculty member in the Department of Marine and Environmental Systems (DMES). The department offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in
oceanography, environmental science, ocean engineering and meteorology.

The University Center for Atmospheric Research COMET program and the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) program
jointly funded the grant. COMET stands for Cooperative program for Operational Meteorology Education and Training.