Warner, T. T., 2011: Quality assurance in atmospheric modeling. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 92, 1601–1610. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00054.1 [PDF]

1. Clearly define the scientific or practical objective.

2. Identify and develop a physical understanding of the atmospheric processes that must be accurately simulated.

3. Perform a thorough analysis of all available observations.

4. Prepare an experimental design.

5. Define the required horizontal and vertical resolutions of the model.

6. Avoid the tendency to prematurely run the model, before the above-listed steps have been completed.

7. Choose the model start time and the method of model initialization to allow for spin-up of the physical processes of interest.

8. Run test simulations of evaluate the sensitivity of model solution to the computation domain size.

9. Define the most appropriate physical process parameterizations.

10. Understand the limitations to the predictability of the phenomena being modeled.

11. Establish a verification plan before the model is run and perform a thorough verification, using appropriate metrics, of the model solution using all available observations.

12. Be well organized in maintaining a detailed experimental log and the files of model code and output.

13. Use good coding practices and well-documented and well-tested software.

14. Employ open-source software tools to improve the efficiency of the modeling process.

This paper follows from Warner’s 1997 tutorial on lateral boundary conditions.

Warner, T. T., R. A. Peterson, and R. E. Treadon, 1997: A Tutorial on Lateral Boundary Conditions as a Basic and Potentially Serious Limitation to Regional Numerical Weather Prediction. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 78, 2599–2617. [PDF]

Warner’s paper is also a natural companion to my paper on how to write effective case studies in meteorology.

Schultz, D. M., 2010: How to research and write effective case studies in meteorology. Electronic J. Severe Storms Meteor., 5 (2), 1-18. [PDF]

There is also complementary material in Chapter 18 in Eloquent Science.

Enjoy!

Alon, U., 2009: How to choose a good scientific problem. Molecular Cell, 35, 726-728. DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2009.09.013. [PDF]

I am honored to have seen page proofs of Gary Lackmann’s new book Midlatitude Synoptic Meteorology: Dynamics, Analysis, and Forecasting to be published later this year by the American Meteorological Society. For this book, Gary goes back to the original meaning of the word synoptic (“forming a summary or synopsis”). Twelve chapters summarize and synthesize all scales of motion, from the planetary down to the microphysical, not just those on the synoptic scale.

This is the first new book on synoptic meteorology in 20 years, and its appearance is long overdue. Lackmann’s book updates previous textbooks with new concepts and synthesizes material that has not appeared in textbooks before. His last three chapters on numerical weather prediction, weather forecasting, and manual analysis contain some material that hasn’t been updated since Petterssen’s (1956) textbook.

What is best about this book is that it rises to the challenge offered by Rossby: to bridge the gap between theory and observations. No other book on synoptic meteorology had done this as throughly or as effectively. Lackmann skillfully weaves back and forth from QG, PV, and EnKF to cold fronts aloft, cold-air damming, and cold-air outbreaks.

I could quibble about some points, but I won’t. You’ll want this book. In terms of style and content, it is the perfect companion to Markowski and Richardson’s Mesoscale Meteorology in Midlatitudes. These two books form an ideal and unique set from which to build a solid undergraduate or graduate curriculum blending synoptic-scale and mesoscale dynamical meteorology and forecasting.

Not since the 1990s has a useful, intelligent synoptic meteorology book been written by an expert in the field. Lackmann fulfills a desperate need among today’s teachers and students.

[Disclaimer: Gary and I went to my very first Eric Clapton concert together (Tacoma 1988). Later, we ended up at SUNY Albany together, part of the early to mid 1990s milieu there. I consider him a close friend and one of the best synoptic meteorologists and teachers out there now.]

An essential list of tips about writing by the many of the experts.

Abstract:

Creative writers are well served with ‘how to’ guides, but just how much do they help? And how might they be relevant to academic authors? A recent survey of writing tips by twenty-eight creative authors has been condensed to the ten most relevant to the academic, supported by some comments on methodology and applicability.

Donovan, S. K., 2011: Ten rules of academic writing. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 42 (2).

Thus, anything that an author can do to improve the quality of the language, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary in their manuscript is a step closer toward publication.

One way to get that help would be to find a native English speaker (who is also a good writer!) to either proofread your manuscript (for free or for a fee) or to join as a coauthor (be involved in the research and writing of the manuscript).

Not everyone may know someone willing to contribute in this way. Thus, scientific manuscript editing services are another way to get help. It is hard to recommend specific editing services because I haven’t used any, but I provide the following suggestions as places to start your search.

1. Simply type “scientific manuscript editing” into your search engine and start looking at the services provided by the different companies.

2. The American Meteorological Society has two recommendations on its Web page: (http://www.ametsoc.org/PUBS/preeditservices.html).

3. A former atmospheric science professor, Dr. Jon Nelson, runs a scientific manuscript editing service: Redmond Physical Sciences.

4. Mary Golden, my editorial assistant for Monthly Weather Review, also performs manuscript editing. Contact her at “mwrgolden at yahoo dot com.”

In Eloquent Science (pp. 200-201), there is a list of questions written by Mary Golden to ask these services before you engage them. One of the more important questions to ask is whether they will help you throughout the peer-review process or their service is a one-time-only fee for manuscript editing. In the world of manuscript editing, you usually get exactly what you pay for. So, going with the cheapest company may not always be the best.

(Image from www.authoright.com)

I have these nifty Eloquent Science 4-GB flashdrives for sale. They cost £10/€15/$15 if you see me in person, or add £3/€5/$6 for postage. The drive comes preloaded with lots of great resources:

• Excerpts and outtakes from Eloquent Science
• 21 direct links to online resources
• 61 articles specifically designed to help develop your scientific communication skills

Contact me eloquentscience at gmail for more information.

Upon packing up my house in Oklahoma, I discovered a small stash of Skew T–logp thermodynamic diagrams that I had saved when Charlie Crisp cleaned out his office at NSSL. (I also have a huge stash of blank U.S. surface maps, in case anyone is interested in them.)

Geraint Vaughan at Manchester had been lamenting that he had a hard time finding blank thermodynamic diagrams. Here are some good sources that I found online.

From Grant Petty (University of Wisconsin) [high-quality PDF]:
http://www.sundogpublishing.com/AtmosThermo/Resources/SkewT.html
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skew-T_log-P_diagram

If you prefer a tephigram, try Maarten Ambaum’s site (University of Reading) or the Wikipedia page.

Or, if you absolutely have to have a Stüve diagram, here’s one at Wikipedia.

3 month thesis by James Hayton has a free guide that you can sign up to receive called “The Short Guide to Writing Fast.” Inside I found this concise quote about when you should cite a paper (p. 20):

You should only cite a paper…
• To support one of your arguments
• To provide extra information
• As sources of reliable data
• To provide context or comparison for your work.

Great advice!

Communicating as a Scientist

Writing Scientific Papers

Writing Correspondence

Giving Oral Presentations

Interacting during Conference Sessions

Communicating in the Classroom

After each section, there is a quiz and a set of learning activities to get you thinking and applying the lessons in real practice. Clever!