Dr. C. David Whiteman Research Professor Emeritus (retired 2018) Department of Atmospheric Sciences University of Utah 135 S 1460 E RM 819 Salt Lake City, Ut 84112-0110 Tel: (801) 448-3783 E-mail: davidwhiteman@mac.com
Professional Interests: mountain meteorology, boundary layer meteorology, air pollution meteorology, measurements and instrumentation, frost damage in orchards and vineyards, micrometeorology, fire weather, undergraduate and graduate education.

Biosketch (pdf)

Publications (pdf)

Dave's book, Mountain Meteorology: Fundamentals and Applications, is available on-line and in bookstores.

Projects Conducted at University of Utah

• Observing and modeling downslope-windstorm-type flow in a small-scale crater induced by larger-scale katabatic winds

  This research program, funded by NSF's Mesoscale Dynamics Division with co-PIs Sebastian Hoch (UU), Ron Calhoun (ASU), and Rich Rotunno (NCAR) investigates katabatically driven downslope-windstorm-type events that are produced by hydraulic flows that enter Arizona's Meteor Crater over the crater's southwest rim. The crater appears to be in a 'sweet-spot" for producing intermittent flows of this type and may bring knowledge regarding the factors producing such windstorms and their associated hydraulic jumps, which have never before been closely observed in an environmental setting.

• PCAPS -- Persistent Cold-Air Pool Study

  This research program, funded by NSF's Mesoscale Dynamics Division with co-PIs John Horel (UU) and Sharon Zhong (Michigan State University) investigates the formation and dissipation of persistent wintertime cold-air pools. A field experiment is being conducted in Utah's Salt Lake Valley from 1 December 2010 through 7 February 2011. This local field study has a strong educational component and many of the planning and operational decisions are being made by a team of students, with many local volunteers.

• Bingham Mine Cold-Air Pool Structure and Evolution

  This research program, funded by Kennecott Utah Copper, and conducted with co-PI Sebastian Hoch, investigates the formation and dissipation of persistent wintertime cold-air pools inside the Bingham Copper Pit. The project involves a line of temperature dataloggers that run from the mine floor over the mine's east ridge and down to the Jordan River at Riverton. It will also involve tethered balloon flights from the floor of the mine and a pulsed scanning Doppler lidar placed near the floor of the mine to measure vertical wind profiles through the mine and into the atmosphere above. This project will run synchronously with PCAPS, taking advantage of the large number of atmospheric research instruments that will be in the Salt Lake Valley as part of PCAPS.

• The Diurnal Evolution of Stable Boundary Layers in an Enclosed Basin

  This research program, funded by NSF's Mesoscale Dynamics Division with co-PI Prof. Sharon Zhong at the Michigan State University, is a follow-on to the METCRAX project and is investigating the formation of cold-air intrusions and hydraulic jumps at Arizona's Meteor Crater using data from the 2006 experiment and a second follow-on experiment conducted over several weeks in September-October 2009.

• Role of Radiative Flux Divergence in Stable Boundary Layer Development

  This research program, funded by the Army Research Office with co-PI Sebastian Hoch, investigated the role of radiative transfer in basin cooling using data from METCRAX 2006. Monte Carlo radiative transfer model simulations were conducted in a parametric study to determine the role of radiative transfer in basins of different size and shape. Collaborator Bernhard Mayer at the University of MUnich assisted with further radiative model development and the simulations.

• Dugway Proving Ground Wind Climatology

  This research program, funded by Dugway Proving Ground's Meteorology Division, supported an undergraduate student who performed climatological analyses to determine the summertime thermally driven wind field and its evolution over the proving ground under undisturbed synoptic conditions. We also provided advice and support for the development of a Granite Mountain Meteorological Testbed on the proving ground - a location where university and other scientists could investigate complex terrain meteorological phenomena in a site already heavily instrumented with meteorological sensors and equipment.

• METCRAX -- Meteor Crater Experiment

  This research program, funded by NSF's Mesoscale Dynamics Division with co-PIs Andreas Muschinski (U. Mass at Amherst), Sharon Zhong (U. Houston) and David Fritts (Colorado Research Associates), investigated the formation and dissipation of nighttime cold air pools and seiches in Arizona's Meteor Crater. A one-month field experiment was conducted in the Meteor Crater from 1 October through 31 October 2006.

• T-REX -- Terrain-Forced Rotor Experiment

  This research program, funded by NSF's Mesoscale Dynamics Division with co-PI Sharon Zhong (U. Houston) studied the development of thermally driven circulations in California's Owens Valley during periods when lee waves and rotors were not present. We used climatological analyses to determine the frequency of windstorms that affect the Owens Valley -- the deep valley to the east of the high Sierra. We also determined the causes of sudden evening warmings on the valley floor and slopes. Collaborative research with Juerg Schmidli, who was supported by this project and is now at ETH in Zurich, compared the predictions of undisturbed valley flows from a large number of modern numerical models. We participated in the large international research experiments conducted in the Owens Valley in March and April 2006.