In the News – The Emerging Discipline of Hydrometeorology

The American Meteorological Society Glossary of Meteorology defines hydrometeorology as "1. Study of the atmospheric and terrestrial phases of thehydrological cycle with emphasis on the interrelationship between them. 2. Meteorology plus hydrology."

The following article appeared in the Boulder Daily Camera on July 30th, 2008. It highlights the fact that hydrometeorology is an emerging, interdisciplinary academic subject, combining what happens in the atmosphere with what transpires on the surface. It is an acknowledgement of the importance of this field to society: with the increasing demands on water resources, and uncertainties in future climate, it is expected the demand for this type of expertise will grow significantly. Certainly NOAA and the Hydrometeorological Testbed will pay close attention to the development of these programs, as the demands for water information from NOAA are sure to grow as well.

Boulder Daily Camera 07/30/2008, Page C08
Climate change spurs need for specialized scientists

By Amanda Lee Myers

Associated Press
PHOENIX — It may sound contradictory, but the U.S. is experiencing more droughts and more flooding due to global warming — helping drive an increase in demand for scientists who understand water in the atmosphere and what happens to it on the ground. Two professors at the University of Arizona in Tucson recently passed the first hurdle in producing more of those scientists, known as hydrometeorologists. The Arizona Board of Regents approved the professors' proposal to create what they say would be the nation's first master's and doctoral program in the burgeoning field. The program, which still needs approval from numerous university officials, could begin as early as the fall of 2009. "Water, of course, is a huge issue throughout the country," said Gregg Garfin, director of science translation and outreach at UA's Institute for the Study of Planet Earth. "The proposed program really fills an important niche that will help us work out problems that we're going to face due to climate change." The nation already is seeing some of those problems, said Richard Heim, a meteorologist at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. For instance, he said drought has increased in much of the country, including the Southwest, the Southeast and the Southern Plains. At the same time, floods are becoming more frequent, not because it's raining more but because there are more extreme precipitation events, Heim said. Heim pointed to Texas, which has experienced severe drought in the past few months but saw severe flooding in July because of localized thunder storms and the remnants of Hurricane Dolly. "So you're having major drought and then major flooding in the same month in the same place," Heim said. As global temperatures increase — also increasing the conditions for drought — those extremes only are expected to occur more often. With an understanding of water in the sky and what it will do on the ground, a hydrometeorologist can better predict both short- and long-term floods and droughts than a hydrologist — whose focus is on water — or a meteorologist — whose focus is on the atmosphere, said Hoshin Gupta, a UA professor of hydrology and water resources who co-authored the proposal for the hydrometeorological program. And better predicting floods and droughts is useful for forecasting agencies, governments, agricultural workers and insurance companies, he said.

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