814307 Selected projects in meteorology

Type
Exercise course
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Organisation
Offered in
Wintersemester 2023/24
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

Within the scope of this lecture a small project is conducted.
Following work step have to be followed:
1) Choice of the overall topic
2) Literature study
3) Definition of the research question
4) Conducting the investigations
5) Analysis of the results and conclusions
The final deliverable is a 20 page (including figures and tables) report.
Example of possible topics

1) INVESTIGATION OF SOLAR RADIATION ENVIRONMENT IN A PLANT CANOPY
Investigation of solar radiation in a plant canopy using fish eye photographs and solar radiometer. Solar radiation intensity at the ground is investigated as a function of leaf area index, solar position and plant type. The student learns
handling meteorological equipment and learns to understand the physical phenomena occurring in a canopy

2) INVESTIGATION OF PLANT PHENOLOGY AND PLANT STATUS USING DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographs of digital cameras may be digitalized in order to obtain the raw values. These digitalized data may then be used to study among others
a) the phenological phases of the plant
b) determine the physiological status of the plant by analyzing the shape of the plants.
c) Determine the density of a canopy
Within this project, the student learns to digitalize photographs and perform some analysis using already existing software.

3) MICRO CLIMATIC INVESTIGATIONS IN A PLANT CANOPY
Climate, and meteorological parameters such as air temperature, precipitation and air humidity are well known factors which influence plant growth.
Within the present project the student learns to conduct continuous meteorological measurements. A micro meteorological station will be installed at a selected location.
With the help of the teacher the student will be in charge of the installation of the station of supervising the measurements, reading out the data and analysing the data.

4) ANALYSIS OF CLIMATE DATA, DETERMINATION OF CLIMATE ZONES
Each plant type needs specific climate conditions to survive, grow and spread. The following project work analyses climatic conditions of chosen regions and determines the plant types which may grow and be native in these climate zones. Results are compared to real vegetation conditions and other limiting factors are analysed. The student learns to deal with meteorological/climatological data and understands the connection and the meteorological parameters which have an impact on plant growth.

5) INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE ON PLANT GROWTH: SIMULATION WITH A PLANT GROWTH MODEL (collaboration with Prof. Eitzinger)
The student needs first to understand the influence of climate on plant growth and status. Second the student will learn to perform simulation with a plant growth model. Third simulations will be performed with real climatic or meteorological data.
Previous knowledge expected

None
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

Deepening technical knowledge in one or more specialized fields; Scientific work in association with one or more colleagues; Problem definition and solution.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.