michael s. town - research

michael s. town
mstown AT u.washington.edu

Department of Atmospheric Sciences
University of Washington
Box 351640
Seattle, WA 98195-1640

I am currently a joint post-doc at the University of Washington and the University of Idaho.
My research is centered around the climate of East Antarctica and the high Greenland Plateau.
My current interests include:
    Antarctic meteorology and climatology
    Greenlandic meteorology and climatology
    Polar clouds
    Stable boundary layer processes
    Stable isotopes in polar snow

Publications:

2008
Town, M. S., S. G. Warren, V. P. Walden, and E. D. Waddington, 2008: Effect of atmospheric water vapor on modification of stable isotopes in near-surface snow on ice sheets. J. Geophys. Res., (in review).

Town, M. S., E. D. Waddington, V. P. Walden, and S. G. Warren, 2008: Temperatures, heating rates, and vapor pressures in the near-surface snow of East Antarctica, J. Glaciol., (in press).

Hagler, G., M. Bergin, E. Smith, M. Town, and J. Dibb, 2008: Local anthropogenic impact on particulate elemental carbon concentrations at Summit, Greenland, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 2485-2491.

2007
Town, M. S., V. P. Walden, and S. G. Warren, 2007: Cloud Cover over the South Pole from Visual Observations, Satellite Retrievals and Surface-Based Infrared Radiation Measurements, J. Climate, 20, 544-559.

2005
Walden, V. P., M. S. Town, B. Halter, and J. W. V. Storey, 2005: First Measurements of Sky Brightness at Dome C, Antarctica, Pub. of the Astronomical Soc. of the Pacific, 117, 300-308.

Town, M. S., V. P. Walden, and S. G. Warren, 2005 : Spectral and Broadband Longwave Downwelling Radiation Fluxes, Cloud Radiative Forcing, and Fractional Cloud Cover over the South Pole, J. Climate, 18, 4235-4252.

2004
Hudson, S. R., M. S. Town, V. P. Walden, and S. G. Warren, 2004: Temperature, Humidity, and Pressure Response Times at Low Temperatures, J. Atmos. Ocea. Tech., 21, 825-836.

2001
Cooper, O. R., J. L. Moody, T. D. Thornberry, M. S. Town, and M. A. Carroll, 2001: PROPHET 1998 meteorological overview and air-mass classification, J. Geophys. Res., 106, D20, 24 298-24 299.

Pippin, M., S. Bertman, T. D. Thronberry, M. S. Town, M. A. Carroll, 2001: Seasonal variations of PAN, PPN, and O3 at the upper Midwest PROPHET site, J. Geophys. Res., 106, D20, 24 451-24 463.

Selected conference proceedings:

Town, M. S., and V. P. Walden, 2004: Uncertainty analysis of data from the Polar Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (PAERI) during the South Pole Atmospheric Radiation and Cloud Lidar Experiment (SPARCLE), Internationational Radiation Symposium, 23-28 August 2004, Busan, South Korea.

curriculum vitae
dissertation

Selected presentations:

Ph.D. Defense, August 2007. Investigations into the Climate of the South Pole: Modification of water stable isotopes after deposition.
IUGG/IAMAS 2007, Perugia, Italy. Energy transfer processes affecting isotopic fractionation in the near-surface snowpack on the Antarctic Plateau.
AMOMFW 2007, Rome, Italy. Using the surface energy balance at the South Pole to understand the antarctic stable boundary layer.
CMOS/CGU/AMS 2007, St. John's, Newfoundland. Clouds and energy transfer over the Antarctic Plateau.
Polar Science Weekend, March 2007. Halos poster.
Fall AGU 2006, San Francisco, USA. Energy transfer processes over the Antarctic Plateau.

Some other areas of interest of mine are:
climate change
abrupt climate change
alternative energy (biodiesel, wind power)

Links:

Warren Group
Von P. Walden
SPARCLE
Department of Atmospheric Sciences - University of Washington
Glaciology group - University of Washington