Media Advisory/Photo Opportunity: Colorado State University to Lead Tropical Storm Isaac National Science Briefing on Wednesday

Note to Reporters: The briefing is not open to the public, but reporters interested in attending the briefing in Fort Collins or talking with one of the scientists should contact Emily Wilmsen at Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu or (970) 491-2336.

What/where:

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, a large group of scientists from Colorado State University’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere – a partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – will lead a discussion on Tropical Storm Isaac for scientists around the country, in a joint teleconference with the Hurricane Research Division in Miami.

The briefing coincides with Isaac’s expected landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Mark DeMaria, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research meteorologist who is based at CSU’s CIRA, will lead the discussion in a computer room filled with real-time images of the storm taken from satellites in orbit, hurricane aircraft and surface radars on ocean buoys and along the coastline.

“These briefings and discussions help build our confidence and scientific understanding of how weather works,” said Steve Miller, deputy director of CIRA.

Details:

On a daily basis, CIRA scientists translate the data collected by scientific satellites and computer models for scientists around the globe to help them understand atmospheric changes that affect weather and climate. Briefings like this one give scientists the opportunity to identify weather patterns and compare current weather events to historical data and observations.

CIRA, a center for international cooperation, was established in 1980 to increase the effectiveness of atmospheric research between Colorado State and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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