Facilities
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The Meteorology Teaching Lab features 10 computers running both Windows XP and Linux (Fedora) operating systems. The room features full mediation, including a projector, visualizer, and geo-wall projection for three-dimensional visualization. The Meterology Research Lab features 4 computers running both Windows XP and Linux (Fedora) operating systems. These computers are for student use when class is in session in the teaching lab. |
Our computers feature state-of-the-art weather analysis and visualization software including:
- General Meteorology Package (GEMPAK) and related programs
- Integrated Data Viewer
- GRLevel2 Analyst
- Vis5D
- EdGCM
- McIDAS
- RAOB
We continually update these software packages to the latest versions. We also use the Local Data Manager to facilitate automatic downloading of real-time meteorological data, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
The program maintains significant computer power in support of faculty and student research. Two computer clusters are used for forecasts and simulations using meteorological computer models similar to those run by the National Weather Service. One system has 14 Xeon processors on 7 motherboards, with each motherboard containing 2 GB of memory. The other system has 20 Opteron processors on 10 motherboards, with each motherboard containing 4 GB of memory. The faculty has created help guides which facilitate student use of these clusters to run weather models for undergraduate research projects.
