The Training Bulletin

Joint newsletter related to new activities and resources
in international meteorological training

// Issue VI - Mar 2016

Activities & events
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Advanced SEEMET Training Course on flash-floods and floods

19 - 21 April 2016 / Ljubljana

The first advanced SEEMET (South-Eastern Europe Meteorological Training) workshop will take place in April 2016, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, hosted by the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO)., The course will focus on the use of satellite and other relevant data and products (ground and radar observations, NWP and hydrological model results, etc.) for flood forecasting.

The Western Balkan and Eastern European region is prone to severe floods, as well as heavy snowfall in winter or extreme drought in summer. The goal of the training course is to enable specialists from the various meteorological agencies to predict such severe events in time for preventive measures. Target participants are meteorological and hydrological forecasters.

The next advanced course will be organised in Croatia in Spring 2018,  the main topic is still to be decided.

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The Environment Event Week from EUMeTrain

11 - 15 April 2016 / Online

Environment’ is a very comprehensive term –so is the program of the Environment Week that will take place in April 2016. When thinking of satellites, environmental meteorology is probably not the first thought, but these days, as well as ash and dust, trace gases and aerosols can be detected with the help of satellite sensors. The scientific journey takes us from Icelandic volcanoes over pyroconvection to ash clouds, and from soil moisture in Africa to the Summer monsoon in Asia. This event week will give a good overview of the current developments and topics of research connected to the large field of environmental studies.

As always, all sessions will be virtual and participation is free. Agenda and registration to the sessions will be available via dedicated web page.

 

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Eumetcal Workshop 2016

10 - 14 Oct 2016 / Langen

The 11th Eumetcal Workshop will be held during 10-14 October 2016, hosted by Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) in Langen, Germany. This event has been largely recognised as the main forum for European trainers and, as such, an appointment not to be missed and one to contribute to.  This year’s theme will focus on Education and Training Response to the future role of Meteorologists, with three sessions including the future role of weather and climate service meteorologists, ongoing development in education and training, and a final activity that gathers all information from the workshop to guide future training activities.

Proposal submission and registration opens on 18 April, until the end of July.  More information about the theme, abstract submission and other practical information will be available when the abstract and workshop registration opens.

The format of the workshop will be very practical, with interactions and workshops on new tools and methods for training, combined with expert presentations in this area.

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EUMeTrain Satellite Skills Course

2 May - 17 June / online

This course on satellite skills will enable meteorologists and other geoscientists, to better perform their everyday duties, using the basic principles of remote-sensing of the Earth and the atmosphere.  This course is  competency-based and primarily tailored for  weather forecasters and meteorologists.

The course structure will be mostly asynchronous on a Moodle platform, meaning that the learners will be able to finish it in their own pace. The course starts on 2 May  and endson 17 June. Following successful completion each learner will be awarded a certificate.

Registration for the course will be available on the EUMeTrain front page. Everyone is invited to apply.

 

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CALMet Online 2016

May - October 2016 / Online

In the spirit of Global Campus, it’s again time for the worldwide hydro-meteorological trainers to get together and learn about recent experiences and new innovations during this online workshop. CALMet Online 2016 will be your chance to get connected with old and new colleagues, and to have access to selected on-site training workshops via specific online sessions.

This year the sessions will be short and distributed throughout a longer period of time. The event will open in May with shared live sessions organised by the WMO Train the Trainers course, and the event will close in October with another shared session with the Eumetcal workshop. In between these sessions you will have a possibility to attend sessions dedicated for CALMet Online participants only.

The sessions will cover topics like Virtual Instruments, Gamification, Moodle, Competency Assessment, and the New Simulator Plug-in. Each session will be hosted by a group of experts currently working on these subjects. When you sign up for any of these sessions, you will be able to discuss the topic with the other CALMet Online participants and have access to related tools and resources.

More information about the event is available at CALMet Commons.

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NOMEK course 2016

25 - 29 April 2016 / Riga

The NOMEK course (NOrdisk MEteorologisk Kompetensutveckling = Nordic Meteorological Competency Training) has been developed jointly by the Education and Training Managers of FMI, MET Norway, SMHI, DMI and IMO. The program started in 1995, and this year the 22nd course will be hosted by the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre and held in Riga, Latvia on 25-29 April.

This annual training event aims to increase the knowledge and capacity of operational forecasters working in the northern part of Europe, who, on many occasions, face similar weather and technology-related issues. 

The main topics for the five day course are the operational use of satellite, radar and NWP data, with a focus on the conceptual model approach, and forecast communication to the general public and mass media. Each year a different ‘red thread’ —  a topical extreme weather event or phenomenon — is kept and analysed throughout the course. Following the feedback of participants from past events, the format of the course remains practical, with interactions, simulations and workshops.

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International Summer School on Applications with Newest Multispectral Environmental Satellites

6 - 15 June 2016 / Bracciano

The Summer School will focus on the explanation of methods and techniques used to extract information from environmental satellite data, with emphasis on the latest measuring technologies. The course will consist of lectures, laboratory sessions, group lab projects, homework, and tests.

Target participants are people with academic degrees in Meteorology, Physics, Environmental Sciences or Environmental Engineering, with proven experiences in environmental remote sensing.

 

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Operational Marine Surface Analysis using EUMETSAT's Copernicus Marine Data Stream

20 June - 8 July / Online
10 - 14 October / Brac Island
12 - 15 December / Pretoria

This course is designed to train, specifically, operational marine forecasters from Africa and Mediterranean countries. It consists of an online session in the summer and two classroom courses, one with a Mediterranean focus, the other focusing on African Waters.

The main objective of this event is to develop participants' skills in using data from EUMETSAT's Copernicus Marine Data Stream for surface analysis. We focus on the application of scatterometer data and data from Jason-3 and Sentinel-3.

At the end of the course participants will be able to: - analyse the current surface conditions using scatterometer and altimeter data; - monitor the evolution of the surface conditions; - integrate these satellite data with data from numerical models, validating the model output; - access and visualise the data; - be aware of the wide range of products available from EUMETSAT, the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service and other Copernicus partners.

Costs: There's no course fee. EUMETSAT will pay travel costs, accommodation and meals.

Application deadline: 30 April 2016.

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XIII Ibero American course in cooperation with AEMET and AECID

26 September - 7 October / Antigua-guatemala

A new course on tropical meteorology based on satellite imagery will take place in Antigua, at the site of the AECID training centre. AECID is the Cooperation agency of the Spanish government. AEMET supplies most of the experts on tropical meteorology and oceanography. INPE in Brazil contributes to the event, with lectures on applications of the solar channels on satellites like GOES or Meteosat. In the past 12 editions, more than 300 meteorologists have participated and practiced the data processing from their satellite source.

 

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Expert Exchange on EUMETSAT's Copernicus Marine Data Stream

28 - 29 November / Oostende

The workshop will provide information on the products and data formats of the Copernicus Marine Data Stream (CMDS) for researchers and others able to quickly adopt these data. It will also discuss outreach priorities. The main focus of the workshop will be on Ocean Colour, Sea Surface Temperature, Sea Surface Height, Wind and Waves. Participants will be able to talk to product development experts and provide feedback on the products provided in the data stream.

Main objective:
• Promote the CMDS, focusing on Ocean Colour, SST and Altimetry Products.
• Encourage experts to use the products from the CMDS.
• Provide first-hand information on the CMDS.
• Identify / discuss potential applications.
• Identify potential users.
• Identify (different) training needs of the user groups.
• Meet and exchange with other experts in the field to strengthen and widen personal networks.

Costs: No workshop fees. EUMETSAT will pay for accommodation and onsitecatering . Limited travel funds are available upon request.

Attendance: by invitation.

Deadline for registration: 31 May 2016.

 

// Issue VI - Mar 2016
Resources & Tools
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CM4SH available in SatManu

Online Manual

We finally have first conceptual models from southern hemisphere available in SatManu!

SatManu is the Manual of Synoptic Satellite Meteorology, developed by EUMeTrain project.  Due to a kind offer from four southern Centres of Excellence, eight new conceptual models are now available in associated SatManu format.

Conceptual Models for Southern Hemisphere (CM4SH) is a joint project between four southern hemisphereCentres of Excellence: Argentina, Australia, Brazil and South Africa. The project is co-funded by WMO and EUMETSAT. The first CM4SH project was completed in March 2014.  The new CM4SH project was launched in January 2015, this time assisted by the expert group from The Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, Indonesia (BMKG).

The purpose of the project is to improve warnings and awareness of weather risks through the use of conceptual models.The philosophy of using satellite material together with other meteorological material was agreed during the development of Conceptual Models. Conceptual Model (CM) descriptions are materialswidely used in weather forecasting, as well as in training at universities and other meteorological training centres.

 

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A new training module on SEVIRI RGBs

Online training module

Some years ago satellite experts developed optimally tuned RGB types for highlighting specific atmospheric and surface features. These are the so-called standard RGBs recommended by EUMETSAT. In 2009 the ’Operational use of RGB images’ training module was published, which discussed several EUMETSAT recommended standard RGB types to be created from Meteosat SEVIRI images, but not all of them. A new training module to be published soon will discuss four additional EUMETSAT recommended standard RGB types: the HRV Fog RGB, the Snow RGB, the Night Microphysics RGB and the Ash RGB.

The main aim of the training module is to help the users (weather forecasters/other experts) to understand and use these RGB types, by giving them background information, examples and exercises.

Module structure:

• The aim of the RGB type
• Physical background
• How to create the given RGB type?
• Typical colours
• Examples of interpretations
• Benefits and limitations
• Comparisons with other RGB types and/or single channel images
• Exercise

 

// Issue VI - Mar 2016
Stories & Achievements
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MSC/COMET Winter Weather Course 2016

25 Jan - 5 Feb 2016 / BOULDER

In January the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) and the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET) hosted a Winter Weather Course at the COMET classroom facilities in Boulder, Colorado, USA. Thirteen operational Canadian meteorologists, three representatives from US National Weather Service and one meteorologist from the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) participated. The course focused onsignificant weather during the winter season, from synoptic scale to mesoscale events.

The ultimate goal of the course was to increase three-dimensional understanding of phenomena and atmospheric processes associated with winter weather. The exercises included interpretation of water vapour channel images and 3D understanding. Cyclogenesis, jet streak dynamics and weather interaction to topography also played an important role in the course.

 

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Online Educa Berlin

2-4 December 2015 / Berlin

EUMETSAT,WMO and EUMETCAL were present at Online Educa Berlin, one of the biggest European events addressing current ideas, discoveries and challenges in distance learning.  Workshops, discussions and presentations were targeted at corporate, government, and school sectors. Exhibitors provided a range of technological solutions for all audiences.

In the Knowledge Exchange workshop, participants from both university and corporate environments discussed their experiences and challenges with implementing effective blended learning. Later Stephen Downes lead a session on developing personal learning environments (PLEs). Read more in the Blended, Flexible, and Personalized article.

Other highlights of the event included an inspiring presentation by futurist Simon Nelson, a session on the state and future of MOOCs, and a panel session on diffusion of online learning for vocational training in developing countries. YouTube was claimed the most popular learning platform, and it was argued that "any lecturer that can be replaced by a YouTube video will be".  Read more about how the shift is accelerating.

One of the best sessions of the last day was on ‘Future Work and Future Workers’. Several futurists posed their visions of how the world of work is changing. Read more in The future of work and learning article.