astronomy

Paul Julian (meteorologist)

Paul Julian (meteorologist) is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Paul Julian (meteorologist) rather than just read about it. In short: Paul Rowland Julian (born October 12, 1929), a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, is an American meteorologist who served as a longtime staff scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), was co-author with Roland Madden of the study establishing the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), and contributed to the international, multi-institutional Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP), T…

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Reference excerpt

Paul Rowland Julian (born October 12, 1929), a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, is an American meteorologist who served as a longtime staff scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), was co-author with Roland Madden of the study establishing the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), and contributed to the international, multi-institutional Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP), Tropical Wind, Energy Conversion, and Reference Level Experiment (TWERLE), and Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere (TOGA) meteorology research programs. The MJO meteorologic phenomenon he co-discovered is the largest element of the intraseasonal variability in the tropical atmosphere, a traveling pattern arising from large-scale coupling between atmospheric circulation and tropical deep convection. Description of the MJO remains an important contribution to climate research with relevance to modern short- and long-term weather and climate modeling.

Early life and education Julian was born on October 12, 1929, and graduated from La Porte High School in 1947. He received an undergraduate physics degree from DePauw University in 1951, and a PhD in meteorology from Pennsylvania State University.

Career

Employment by the NCAR Julian joined the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), an early program of the National Science Foundation, as a staff scientist in 1962, two years into NCAR's existence There, he was a member of the Climate Analysis Section (CAS) in the CGD (Climate and Global Dynamics) area. Julian left NCAR circa 1987.

Discovery of the Madden-Julian Oscillation Julian and Roland A. Madden co-authored a 1971 research publication entitled "Detection of a 40-50 day oscillation in the zonal wind in the tropical Pacific", which became the basis of the accepted Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), a theory that remains in teaching and practice in climate research. The MJO is the largest element of intraseasonal variability of the atmosphere in the tropics; it is a traveling pattern arising from large-scale coupling between atmospheric circulation and tropical deep convection. (The El Niño–Southern Oscillation is a related phenomenon, but a standing pattern.) The ability to identify and forecast the MJO "is of considerable importance" in the ability of meteorologists to predict short-term variability in climate, and to perform long-term predictions of tropical and subtropical weather based on modeling. Both of these two atmospheric scientists continued research on the MJO phenomenon throughout their careers, and it has continued to be broadly referenced and studied into the new millennium.

Other career highlights In addition to continuing work on the MJO, Julian performed oceanic meteorological work at Ascension Island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean and at Kanton Island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. Julian also contributed to two broad, international, multi-institutional meteorology research studies (still accessible at the NCAR research consortium):

Global Atmospheric Research Program records, (GARP, 1966–1979), and Tropical Wind, Energy Conversion, and Reference Level Experiment records (TWERLE, 1969–1978), in addition to NCAR's Atmospheric Technology Division records (ATD, 1964–2002), and his personal research papers (1962–1978). Julian worked concurrently and later from the Mathematics Department at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he continued effort associated with the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP), e.g., serving on the workshop organizing committee for the First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE) and in other atmospheric research related activities. In 1998, Julian and collaborators contributed to an important international review of the decade-long Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere (TOGA) observing system (>400 citations as of May 2014). As of 2014, Julian continues in the position of longstanding active Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS).

Personal life Julian is retired and has pursued various activities, including a genealogic study of families with his surname, which was published in 2004.

References

External links The National Center for Atmospheric Research

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul Julian (meteorologist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul Julian (meteorologist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Paul Julian (meteorologist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Paul Julian (meteorologist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Paul Julian (meteorologist)

In research: Paul Julian (meteorologist) appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Paul Julian (meteorologist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Paul Julian (meteorologist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1929 births, American meteorologists, DePauw University alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul Julian (meteorologist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Paul Julian (meteorologist) in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is Paul Julian (meteorologist) in simple terms?

Why does Paul Julian (meteorologist) matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Paul Julian (meteorologist)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Paul Julian (meteorologist).