CMAST
	JORDAN HALL

Overview

The Department of Marine Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (MEAS) includes approximately 40 faculty, 100 graduate students and 150 undergraduates involved in basic and applied studies of Earth Systems. The department offers BA, BS, MS, and PhD degrees. Our principal concentrations include weather prediction, air quality, air-sea interactions, storm and climate modeling, hydrology, geochemistry, oceanography, surface processes and regional geology.

The multi-disciplinary nature of our department lends itself to the study of such problems as prediction of severe weather (e.g. hurricanes), coastal erosion, pollution of surface and ground water, and global climate change. While basic research is always important, many of our research projects also have direct application to current issues such as water quality/water supply, seafood harvests, climate change, weather prediction and land use.

MEAS offers degree programs in marine sciences, geology and meteorology. Our programs include many tracks in each of our program areas ­ and thus provide the opportunity for an education broader than the conventional bachelors degrees in more traditional departments.

Although our faculty are heavily involved in research, all courses in our major are normally taught by regular faculty and all faculty are involved in teaching. Involvement of undergraduates and graduate students in research is a major emphasis. Typical class size for major courses is 20 students or less.

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Programs

The three main program areas of our department are Atmospheric Sciences (Weather Prediction, Air Quality and Climate Modeling, Physical Meteorology, Air-Sea-Land interactions, and Storm-Scale Modeling), Marine Science (oceanography: monitoring and modeling of the ocean circulation and its effect on marine life) and Geology (hydrology, surface processes, tectonics, petrology and paleontology) ­ click here to go to program descriptions. Collaborative research with faculty in the colleges of engineering, natural resources, veterinary medicine and agriculture as well as the departments of mathematics, physics and chemistry extends the possibilities of graduate research.

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Facilities:

RESEARCH III

The department is based in Jordan Hall (see photo) on the main campus of North Carolina State University. A 30,000- square foot addition to Jordan Hall was completed in 2007 (see photo). The department also occupies space in Research III (see photo) on Centennial Campus, where part of the atmospheric sciences group shares a building with the national weather service and the state climate office and on the Coast at our CMAST facility (see photo) at Morehead City, North Carolina.

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Setting:

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Outreach

• MarECo (Marine Ecology and Conservation)

  High School Students and the Blue Crab: Educational outreach program to enhance scientific literacy, and involve teachers and students to have traditionally been underrepresented in hands-on research opportunities, through integration into a field research project on ecology of the blue crab of North Carolina. This project began in 1996 provided employment and hands-on field research experiences for high school students and teachers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students, and provides to coastal county high schools. This research program is funded by the NSF and NC Sea Grant.
  
  Conservation of Nassau grouper: Multi-institutional research and educational outreach program on the ecology and fisheries sustainability of the Nassau grouper in the Bahamas. Nassau grouper is a key ecological and commerical species in tropical marine systems, yet is suffering from intense exploitation throughout its range. Collaborate on research and outreach goals with Bahamas Department of Fisheries, Caribbean Marine Research Center, John G. Shedd Aquarium (Chicago), National Marine Fisheries Service, Miami, NC State University, Department of Zoology, and ION Digital Video Services, NV.

• North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, located in downtown Raleigh and minutes away from campus, offers a chance to enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of the natural environment in ways that emphasize the biodiversity of North Carolina and the southeastern United States and relate the region to the natural world as a whole. Two faculty positions in the department are jointly supported by the museum, providing a close link between the academic world and the public.


• North Carolina Ocean Sciences Bowl is a quiz bowl open to NC high school students. Each year teams of five students coached by science teachers travel to NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill or UNC-Wilmington to answer questions about the oceans. The bowl raises awareness about marine resources and environmental issues.


• RiverNet is a project operated through NC State University in which water quality data is continuously collected by monitoring stations that are positioned throughout the Neuse River Basin. The information collected includes depth, water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrate levels, and turbidity. The data is downloaded each day to NC State University where it is checked for analytical quality. The river data and related plots are placed on the web site. The information can then be accessed by the policy makers, scientists, educators, students and the general public.


• The Science House is a learning outreach project of NC State University. Our mission is to work in partnership with K12 teachers to increase the use and impact of hands-on learning technologies in mathematics and science.



• State Climate Office of North Carolina (SCO) is a Public Service Center for Climate - Environment Interaction that works closely with this department. Its mission is to provide extension services to the citizens of North Carolina and state and federal agencies. Many of our undergaduate and graduate students work in the SCO on research related to weather and climate of North Carolina and the southeast.
  

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