Graduate Program in
Agricultural Meteorology

Department of Agronomy
Iowa State University

Goals

The goal of the Agricultural Meteorology program is to provide M.S. and Ph.D. students with advanced techniques which will enable them to address environmental and agricultural problems facing our global community. The basic components of this program are derived from expertise in agronomy, botany, statistics and meteorology at Iowa State University.

The Agricultural Meteorology program benefits from outstanding research facilities. These include high-performance computational and graphical workstations, as well as a range of equipment for conducting field experiments. Students often work cooperatively with other ISU departments as well as affiliated instutions such as the National Soil Tilth Laboratory.

Thesis and Dissertation Research

Independent research is an essential component of graduate education. Reseach problems that students undertake depend on their personal interests and on the objectives of the research project with which they are working. Research is designed to provide new information that will merit publication in refereed journals. All students, regardless of their source of financial support, are expected to participate in research projects directed by their major professor.

Financial Support

Most graduate students in Agricultural Meteorology are supported by research or teaching assistantships. The Charles and Verna Brown Scholarship provides an annual award of approximately $1,000 to an outstanding graduate student in Agricultural Meteorology.

Preparation and Admissions Policies

The required preparation will vary depending on the student's goals. In general, prospective graduate students in Agricultural Meteorology should have a solid background in physical and/or biological sciences although a science degree is not required. Students should also have knowledge of calculus and statistics.

Admissions policies for Agricultural Meteorology follow Department of Agronomy policies for graduate study. GREs are not required, but a student may be more competitive for an opening if GRE scores are provided.

To be admitted, a major professor (or group of professors) must agree to work with the student. For this reason students who are otherwise qualified may be denied admission because their goals and preparation do not fit with faculty research projects. The Department has no entrance or acceptance committee.

Faculty in Agricultural Meteorology

Brief descriptions of the research programs are given below for Agricultural Meteorology staff in the Department of Agronomy. Graduate students whose major study is in this research area will select one of these persons to serve as their major advisor. Additionally, there are staff from other disciplines in Agronomy or from other departments who are doing research in fields closely related to Agricultural Meteorology. They may serve as graduate Program of Study committee members.

• S. Elwynn Taylor: Professor of Agronomy. His interests are in both extension and research aspects of this field. Specifically, data collection and dissemination, computer models, and leaf and canopy energy studies are conducted under his direction.
• Brian K. Hornbuckle, Assistant Professor of Agronomy. Research is focused on using microwave remote sensing to improve the modeling of the interaction between the land surface and the atmosphere. A goal is integrating land surface process and microwave emission models together into comprehensive point-scale Land Surface Process / Radiobrightness (LSP/R) models.
• Raymond W. Arritt: Professor of Agronomy. His research involves analysis and simulation of mesoscale meteorological processes, emphasizing the feedbacks between the atmosphere and surface processes. These include: evapotranspiration, surface energy balances, and severe weather development. Click here for information on graduate study in this research group.
• Eugene S. Takle: Professor of Agronomy, Professor of Meteorology. Problems of interest include the mean and turbulent structure of the boundary layer as driven by the diurnal surface heating and irregularity of the earth's orography. Computer simulation and eigentechniques are used to study mesoscale and boundary layer processes.

ACADEMIC COURSES:

Agricultural Meteorology integrates principles from the sciences of meteorology, plant physiology, and soils. The actual coursework taken by students will vary depending on individual interests. The Agricultural Meteorology courses available for graduate credit are described briefly.

• Agronomy 504. Global Change. Taught by E. Takle. Biogeochemical cycles, ozone chemistry, global energy balance, structure and circulation of the atmosphere and oceans, climate modeling, climate variability; and implications for agriculture, water resources, energy use, sustainable development, and public policy. Human dimensions and ethical issues of global environmental change.
• Agronomy 505. Biometeorology. Taught by R. Arritt. Energy exchanges near the ground. Radiation, turbulence, conductance and evaporation as components of the heat balance. Environmental conditions within plant canopies. Microclimate modification and biometeorological modeling.
• Agronomy 507. Mesoscale Meteorology. Taught by R. Arritt, W. Gallus. Analysis and prediction of mesoscale atmospheric processes and their practical consequences.
• Agronomy 508. Biophysical Crop Ecology. Taught by S. E. Taylor. Principles of physical energy exchange applied to crop growth and development. Ecological implications of radiation, temperature, moisture, and the biological properties of size, shape, resistance to water vapor loss, and radiation exchanges.
• Agronomy 609. Agricultural Meteorology Conference. Taught by staff. Literature reviews and conferences with staff on special problems beyond the scope of current courses offered.

In addition, the following meteorology courses are part of the minimum requirements for this program.

• Meteorology 301, 302. General Meteorology I, II. Taught by staff. A mathematical treatment of atmospheric processes including thermodynamics, radiation and fluid processes in the atmosphere.
• Meteorology 301L. Weather Observations Laboratory. Taught by staff. Measurements of various atmospheric parameters.
• Meteorology 302L. Synoptic Laboratory I. Taught by staff. An introduction to weather forecasting.
• Meteorology 341, 342. Atmospheric Physics I, II. Taught by D. N. Yarger. Atmospheric thermodynamics, cloud and precipitation physics, radar, atmospheric radiation.

Students with a major in Agricultural Meteorology select courses offered by other departments and other subdisciplines within Agronomy depending on the areas of expertise they wish to develop. The courses listed below are those from which students commonly choose.

Meteorology:

Meteorology 443, 454, 455 Dynamic Meteorology I, II, III

Meteorology 454L, 455L Synoptic Laboratory II, III

Meteorology 542 Physical Meteorology

Meteorology 543, 544 Advanced Dynamic Meteorology I, II

Meteorology 605 Micrometeorology

Statistics:

Statistics 401, Statistical Methods for Research Workers

Statistics 402, Statistical Design and the Analysis of Experiments

Statistics 446, 447, Statistical Theory for Research Workers

Botany and Plant Physiology:

Agronomy 318, Principles of Crop Physiology

Agronomy 415, World Crops

Agronomy 516, Crop Physiology and Management

Botany 511, Plant Nutrition

Botany 512, Plant Growth Regulation

Botany 513, Plant Metabolism

Soils:

Agronomy 354, Soil Fertility

Agronomy 483, World Soil Resources

Agronomy 554, Soil Environment-Root Relationships

Agronomy 561, Irrigation Agriculture

Agronomy 577, 578, Soil Physics

Entomology:

Entomology 376, Fundamentals of Entomology and Pest Management