Paid internship opportunity (for US citizens only) at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) with an additional housing stipend (at the USC Aiken campus). Should any students wish to apply for the below internships they can follow this link: Science Undergraduate Laboratory… | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC) (osti.gov) Select SRNL as first choice.
3 internship opportunities for the summer at the Atmospheric Technologies Group – note that not all are purely atmospheric.
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Validation of Weather Forecasting Products
Mentor: David Werth
The Atmospheric Technologies Group (ATG) at SRS is charged with daily weather forecasting to support site operations, including controlled burns, outdoor construction (including the use of wind-sensitive cranes), and helicopter flights. ATG relies on several ‘products’ to provide guidance to weather forecasters. These comprise several computer weather models, as well as a model output statistics (MOS) bias-corrected analysis. Each day, these tools provide predictions of temperatures, rainfall probabilities and other weather data for a subsequent period, giving forecasters an idea as to what they should issue as that day’s forecast.
These products cannot be followed blindly, however – a human forecaster must review the differing predictions and make subjective judgements. This often involves a qualitative assessment of model biases – for example, knowing that a certain model tends to predict rain more often than it occurs, a forecaster will consider that when that model predicts rainfall in the future.
The forecasting products have been applied at SRS for years, and a large database of past forecasts exists for the different models. ATG also maintains a large database of site weather data, which provides us an opportunity to validate the forecast products and quantify model biases. Predictions of maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation probability, wind speed, vertical mixing and heat stress can all be compared to their corresponding observed values and used to identify model biases and other problems. These may be subtle – for example, a model may be both too warm in summer and too cold in winter. If such errors can be discerned, they can guide the decision-making process for future forecasts.
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Graphical and Data Visualization Intern
Mentor: Joseph Wermter
A key mission of the Atmospheric Technologies Group (ATG) at the Savannah River National Laboratory is to serve as part of the Emergency Response Organization (ERO) for the broader Savannah River Site. As ATG transitions to a new modeling framework for its ERO activities, a new configuration of model software, Graphical User Interface (GUI), and visualization of data is needed. ATG is seeking a summer intern who could help develop the GUI and visualizations under the oversight of ATG staff. The GUI will be developed using the Python programming language will require being able to select options through both a drop-down menu and dynamic selection of locations from a map. Visualization of data will require being able to plot two-dimensional contour plots over a map (e.g., ArcGIS or Google Earth) and marking specific contours of interest based on ERO and regulatory needs.
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Flood Inundation Mapping Intern
Mentor: Vivian Turner
The Atmospheric Technologies Group (ATG) is the primary resource for flood risk assessment for the Savannah River Site. As part of a risk hazard assessment, the ATG has been tasked with updating the methods analyzing flood risk for the site. One of these updates include flood inundation mapping using Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS). ATG is seeking an intern with previous experience using HEC-RAS to assist with running simulations and producing flood inundation maps for the site.