Dr. Cameron Homeyer-September 12 Colloquium

Water Vapor, Ozone, and Tornadoes: Studies of Convection and Related Hazards through Analyses of Storm Tops

Deep convection has been an increasing focus of the many sub-disciplines of atmospheric science. Linkages between convection and climate through chemistry, radiation, and hydrometeorological extremes have driven much of this expansion. My group’s work at OU for the past 3 years has been primarily focused on characteristics of and processes occurring near the storm top within deep convection. Phenomena of interest include overshooting tops and above-anvil cirrus plumes (and the gravity wave breaking process responsible for their occurrence), which we have been analyzing using a suite of high-resolution radar observations, satellite observations, and numerical models. In this talk, I will discuss recent work aimed to improve our understanding of stratospheric hydration from convection and the resulting potential for stratospheric ozone destruction. I will also summarize efforts that have been underway to determine the value of storm top observations for identifying severe storms prior to the occurrence of severe weather (specifically tornadoes).

Dr. Homeyer joined the faculty in the School of Meteorology in July 2014. He completed all three of his degrees (B.S. in Meteorology, M.S. and Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences) from 2004-2012 at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, prior to receiving a postdoctoral fellowship in the Advanced Study Program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) from 2012-2014.