TEACHING AND RESEARCH AREAS

My group's current research focuses on the dynamics of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) and other severe convective storms. MCSs are critical to the water budget in large parts of the Americas, and they account for a disproportionate number of the flash floods that affect our society. To advance our understanding of them, we combine numerical simulations, conventional observations, and high-resolution data from field campaigns such as the Bow Echo and MCV (Mesoscale Convective Vortex) Experiment, "BAMEX".

Meteorological topics of ongoing interest to me include non-traditional MCS modes, the low-level kinematics and dynamics of nocturnal convection, lightning, flash flooding, severe convective winds, the effects of gravity waves on the environments of convective storms, sensitivities in the high-shear range that spans the MCS-supercellular spectrum, and the impacts of interesting wind and thermodynamic profiles upon supercells and tornadogenesis. I have also investigated the statistical properties of convection and its inherent unsteadiness, as well as the possible effects of swaths of crop damage upon subsequent convective initiation and maintenance.

My teaching interests and experience include dynamic meteorology, the dynamics of clouds and storms, mesoscale meteorology, and numerical atmospheric modeling.

Parker, M.D., 2007: Simulated convective lines with parallel stratiform precipitation. I: An archetype for convection in along-line shear. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 267-288.

Parker, M.D., 2007: Simulated convective lines with parallel stratiform precipitation. II: Governing dynamics and associated sensitivities. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 289-313.

Parker, M.D., I.C. Ratcliffe, and G.M. Henebry, 2005: The July 2003 Dakota hailswaths: Creation, characteristics, and possible impacts. Mon. Wea. Rev., 133, 1241-1260.

Parker, M.D., and R.H. Johnson, 2004: Simulated convective lines with leading precipitation. Part I: Governing dynamics. J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 1637-1655.

Parker, M.D., and R.H. Johnson, 2004: Simulated convective lines with leading precipitation. Part II: Evolution and maintenance. J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 1656-1673.

Parker, M.D., and R.H. Johnson, 2004: Structures and dynamics of quasi-2D mesoscale convective systems. J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 545-567.

Parker, M.D., S.A. Rutledge and R.H. Johnson, 2001: Cloud-to-ground lightning in linear mesoscale convective systems. Mon. Wea. Rev., 129, 1232-1242.

Parker, M.D. and R.H. Johnson, 2000: Organizational modes of midlatitude mesoscale convective systems. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128, 3413-3436.