In total, the mission deployed six aircraft, some high-flying remote sensing craft and others flying “in situ,” at low elevations to sample the atmospheric trace gases. Epps’ team worked with NASA scientists and former Penn State graduate student Nikolay Balashov to forecast mostly weather data, while another team from NOAA was tasked with forecasting air quality. Balashov is an assistant research scientist at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center of the University of Maryland and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Global Modeling Assimilation Office.
The research is part of NASA’s Mid-Atlantic Gas Emissions Quantification (MAGEQ), which broadly aims to improve our understanding of processes governing atmospheric composition including quantification of greenhouse gases. Missions fly out of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and smaller airports in the region. It involved scientists from both NASA and NOAA.
The team used a computer script written by Balashov to help synthesize vast amounts of weather data to get the key information the pilots needed. Each day, they presented a three-day forecast to the pilots and scientists working on the mission. Of particular concern was cloud cover, Epps said, because that affects the ability for the instruments to gather data. He said clouds change quickly, so plotting their location posed a fun challenge.
Epps said he found daily communications a critical part of the experience. He was comfortable with weather forecasting but had less experience communicating data with those outside his field.
“I learned a lot about forecasting from experts at NASA, but this experience was a chance to take what I learned in the classroom and produce a weather briefing in a professional environment,” Epps said. “And we learned how to do it under pressure, just like how you would in the real world.”
Pinchuk said she came to Penn State because she’s fascinated with space weather. Naturally, an internship at NASA suited her career goals. Her dream job is to forecast weather on Mars.
“I was interested because working with NASA has been a dream of mine for years, and I was curious about what it would be like to forecast for flight operations,” Pinchuk said. “I also wanted the chance to experience research for the first time.”
Her day began around 7 a.m., when she began gathering data in preparation for a 2 p.m. briefing. She worked with her peers and field experts and was able to see the direct impact their forecasting had on the mission. She also got that hands-on research experience she was hoping for.
“My favorite experience was presenting to everyone within the MAGEQ team,” Pinchuk said. “It was a little intimidating at first because I felt so inexperienced, but the more I did it, the more I became more confident and comfortable, which is something I can carry with me into my senior year at Penn State.”
Brown said he became interested in weather as a career path because it’s something that impacts everyone. He’s interested in research but never imagined he’d get an opportunity like this as an undergraduate student. He’s fascinated by all the facets of the field working together to solve pressing problems. From saving lives from severe weather events to painting a picture of climate threats, he said it takes a range of experts to accomplish these efforts.
That’s what he enjoyed about the NASA campaign, Brown said. He worked with those inside and outside of his realm to better understand the challenges we face. He wants to work in the public sector and counts this as a big step toward that goal.
“I’ve been able to work with many actual meteorologists and researchers in places I hope to end up, and this experience has shown that I know I can succeed in those places,” Brown said. “This role has also strengthened my passion for forecasting and has shown me that a career in that role is something I would enjoy. I know I can be successful wherever I end up.”