UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — During a summer research experience, something stood out as Alisha Wellington began contrasting forecasts with field observations for Hurricane Fred, which hit the African island nation of Cape Verde in 2015.
The forecast downplayed the pressure, wind speed and shape when contrasted with the limited observational data points. Worse, the trajectory of the storm was off.
Improving hurricane forecasting for areas like Cape Verde — which lack the resources for extensive observational data — is a focus for Wellington, a senior majoring in meteorology and atmospheric science at Penn State. She was one of 14 undergraduate students from across the country taking part in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program in Climate Science, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.
It’s research that hits close to home for Wellington, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica.
“I have been able to experience firsthand how detrimental hurricanes can be,” Wellington said. “Often, many communities aren’t able to properly prepare for hurricanes because they have little information surrounding the intensity of the hurricanes and the possible impacts they may have. My cultural background has made me even more interested and invested in tropical meteorology because to me research isn’t just about learning. It’s about helping various communities around the world affected by hurricanes, especially my own people in the Caribbean.”
REU students conduct climate-science research under the mentorship of faculty, post-doctoral scholars and graduate students. This year, mentors from nine departments in four colleges participated, making this summer’s program the most interdisciplinary since its inception in 2013. Another unique aspect of this year’s program was that it was held completely virtually.
Raymond Najjar and Gregory Jenkins, professors in meteorology and atmospheric science, co-direct the program, which was initiated by colleagues Jose Fuentes and Jon Nese.
“Our goal is to give students an immersive research experience that allows them to learn about cutting-edge issues in climate science and a sense for what graduate school is like,” Najjar said.
This year, students explored topics such as urban flooding, improving estimates of water use and COVID-19’s effects on carbon dioxide emissions.
“We felt that COVID-19 and the racial justice protests across the country were teachable moments, so we highlighted the strong relationships between climate, human health and environmental justice in our programming,” Jenkins said.
For Paige Elliott, who is double majoring in meteorology and actuarial science at Central Michigan University, the REU was her first research experience. Because she’s interested in becoming an actuary, she approached climate change research from a risk-management perspective.
She assessed weather’s impact on apple bloom dates because she was interested in determining and perhaps preventing decreased apple yields.