Improving Arctic weather forecasts

Erin Thomas is from a small, northern town in the United States and now works as a research scientist and a computer programmer at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute as part of the Nansen Legacy research project. She has a Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. She spends her free time open water swimming and cycling in the summer and skiing in the winter. 

– What tempted you to come and work in Norway at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute?

– I really wanted to experience a new culture and live abroad. I applied to positions in several different countries, but after the interviews I realized the position at Norwegian Meteorological Institute would provide the most exciting career challenges. During the interview process, I also realized how great the working environment at MET Norway was and I very much wanted to be part of such a supportive team. Finally, I recognized that moving to Norway would allow me to live an active, outdoor lifestyle that I love.

– What scientific problems are you trying to solve in your research?

– My area of research focuses on improving arctic weather forecasts. Specifically, I aim to improve forecasts through better representation of interactions between the atmosphere, the ocean and the ice. The way I accomplish this is by using our atmosphere weather forecast model, the one that lies at the basis for forecasts on Yr. I make this model interact and share information with separate wave and sea ice models. This is a process we call ‘model coupling’. By coupling atmosphere, wave, and sea ice models, we can better represent the complex interactions that occur between these systems. Accurately simulating these interactions will allow for more accurate forecasts in the arctic, where atmosphere-wave-ice interactions are very important. 

– How do you use your experience from your Ph.D. work in your current job?

– In my Ph.D. research, I used coupled climate models to determine the influence of the atmosphere on so-called El Nino events in the tropical Pacific ocean. The method I used was to couple an atmosphere and simple ocean model together. I isolated specific interactions between the atmosphere and ocean, and then I ran simulations with the coupled model in order to test which interaction was most important. All the technical work I performed with the coupled climate models, such as learning how to manipulate the models, prepared me well for my current work in developing coupled weather forecast models. 

– How did you decide on your field of study, back when you were a student?

– When I was a student, I always enjoyed spending time outdoors and I cared about the environment so I decided to write my final paper about global climate change. I found out that I was very interested in the science of climate change. I always liked math and science as a student but once I was introduced to the problems of climate change I found a passion to understand the earth's climate and decided to pursue my studies in atmospheric science. This in turn led me to learn computer programming and run climate/weather models in order to study complex earth processes in further detail. 

– What is a typical working day like for you?

– The vast majority of a ‘typical day’ is spent writing computer code. I use several different computer languages and techniques. Most weather and climate model code is written in Fortran90, so any model development work I perform is primarily in Fortran. However, all of the model development tasks I do are driven by scientific research. For example I not only have to develop the model, but I must also determine if the new developments in the model produce accurate forecasts or not. I write Python code to perform these types of data analysis. 

–  Finally, all the model developments and analysis would be meaningless if they are not shared with other scientists. The second largest portion of my time is spent collaborating with colleagues and other scientists (via emails and meetings) and preparing to communicate the results. I give many scientific presentations every year and write scientific publications to share the results of our work.