The Training Bulletin

Joint newsletter related to new activities and resources
in European meteorological training

// issue XVI - June 2019

Activities & events
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CALMet XIII/EUMETCAL Conference - Inspire, Share and Collaborate

17 to 20 September 2019 / Darmstadt, Germany

The joint CALMet XIII/EUMETCAL Conference 2019 will be an event that brings together educators, trainers and managers from universities, research institutions, and National Meteorological and Hydrological Services. It will provide an opportunity for a community from around the world to collaborate and network on workforce development in support of the global weather, water and climate industries.

The registration to this conference is now open, with an early bird registration fee still available until 15 July. The tentative conference programme is available on the conference website.

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Training Workshop on Multispectral Data Applications using Meteosat Third Generation (MTG)

23 to 27 September, 2019 / Darmstadt, Germany

The regular Remote Sensing Summer School usually held in Bracciano, Italy will this year be replaced by the MTG Training Workshop. The workshop is a practical course focusing on how to extract information from environmental satellite data, with an emphasis on the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) FCI channels.

The participants must have an academic degree, in either Meteorology, Physics, Environmental Sciences, or Environmental Engineering. Candidates will be selected based on their proven experience in environmental remote sensing. The course is primarily intended for a European audience, with preference for the member states. To apply for the course see: https://training.eumetsat.int/course/view.php?id=158.

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EUMETSAT Training at the NOAA-NASA-EUMETSAT Conference

28 Sept to 4 Oct 2019 / Boston, MA, US

EUMETSAT will contribute to two training events at the NOAA/NASA/EUMETSAT conference in Boston this autumn.

Held jointly with NOAA, they will focus on using EUMETSAT datasets to observe the large fire events in California in 2019, and, also, for other severe pollution situations. More information about the conference is available here

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2019 MSC-COMET Winter Weather Course: Final call for participation

1 September to 26 October 2019 Online Course
28 October to 1 November 2019: Optional Residence Course
2 November 2019 to 31 January 2020: optional Post-Course Component / Online, The Residence Course will be in Boulder, CO, USA

You may have seen in the previous Training Bulletin, the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) and COMET are offering a Blended Winter Weather Course for operational meteorologists, with a focus on 'Adding Value to NWP Through Winter Applications'. They have now set a deadline for expressing your interest in this course in either the online-only format or in the combined (online and residence) portion. The deadline for expressing interest is 12 July 2019.

To be added to the list of interested parties, please email Bryan Guarente (guarente@ucar.edu) with your name, country, the organisation you work for, and which course you would like to attend (online-only or combined).

Selection will be done using an objective scoring system, based on your organisation and heavily weighted by latitude. If you are selected you are required to work with your management to confirm, in writing, that you can attend and that the funds are being set aside for your travel to the United States. The deadline for that confirmation letter will be 26 July 2019.

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Training course for forecasters from Germany, Austria and Switzerland (D-A-CH)

Online phase: 30 September to 10 November 2019
Classroom phase: 18 November – 22 November 2019 / Classroom phase in Vienna (Austria)

The national weather services of the German-speaking countries have decided to establish a yearly training course for forecasters in German language. The course comprises an online phase (six weeks) and a one-week classroom phase, held this year in Vienna.

Various topics will be covered (fronts and frontal systems, floods, convection, low clouds and weather phenomena relevant for aviation forecasters). One of these topics will be covered in depth during the classroom phase.

The course will be held each year under the varying responsibility of one of the involved weather services. In 2019, the focus will be on cyclogenesis, frontal systems, and heavy precipitation, under the lead of ZAMG. Next year the focus will be on low cloud phenomena like stratus and fog, under the responsibility of MeteoSwiss. In 2021, the main topic will be convection, under the lead of DWD. The course is supported by EUMETSAT.

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EUMETSAT chairs Climate Applications of Satellite data session at the European Meteorological Society

9 to 13 September 2019 / Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

EUMETSAT is chairing a new session on Climate Applications of Satellite data at the European Meteorological Society in Copenhagen in September.

Four solicited talks and 16 contributions will be presented, covering the diverse science-driven applications of satellite climate datasets with specific focus on the usability of services.

World-leading authors will introduce soil, land, climate time series, and water vapour datasets. Find more information about the session at https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EMS2019/orals/33675.

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Thessaloniki Autumn School

2 to 5 September 2019 / Thessaloniki, Greece

This popular school on nowcasting techniques and satellite products celebrates seven years in 2019. Presenters from Greece, Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain, USA, Bulgaria, France, Germany, and Italy will merge in a Mediterranean atmosphere to discuss whether using observations from space and conceptual models (which offer an intuition on the expected evolution of convective systems in the next hours) is better than numerical modelling. To apply, go here:
https://training.eumetsat.int/course/view.php?id=158.

// issue XVI - June 2019
Resources & Tools
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Course videos from the Monitoring Atmospheric Composition MOOC now available

Online

The Monitoring Atmospheric Composition MOOC was a five-week facilitated online course, introducing the latest in space technology and the networks of sensors and instruments that track conditions closer to Earth.

Although the facilitated course has now closed, you now have the opportunity to access all video materials, and learn how data from the space and ground-based monitoring networks are used by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) to model and forecast conditions in the atmosphere.

The course was developed for EUMETSAT and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service/ECMWF in support of the EU's Copernicus Programme.

Access the course videos here.

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Full CALMet Moodle Course now published

Online

Interested in how you can create an effective learning environment for your students in Moodle?

With thanks to EUMETSAT, WMO, EUMeTrain, EUMETCAL, VLab, IMGW-PIB and Météo-France, we are extremely happy to announce that the FULL CALMet Moodle Course is now published at https://etrp.wmo.int/course/view.php?id=88.

This CALMet Moodle Course is a self-directed course for Trainers and Educators in Earth Sciences and is available on the Moodle website in self-pace mode. This format allows you to decide how much time to dedicate to the course, and when to study. Once enrolled, you can engage at the level you like and make the course fit your schedules. You may follow the units in a sequence or choose what to learn.

This course is a great example on how you can train people independent of time and place, and will teach you how to build a great online learning environment for your own course participants.

Eumetcal staff who want to experiment or build a Moodle course, but don't have a Moodle website of their own please contact info@eumetcal.eu.

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Preparing new tools to access and learn how to use data

Online

EUMETSAT is investing in the development of Jupyter Notebooks modules to help users access and learn how to use a variety of datasets. These will be made available through the EUMETSAT Github and the WEkEO platform.

A first example of what this may look like is available at https://github.com/federicofierli1/Notebooks_training.

The first release of the Jupyter Notebooks will be announced via the EUMETSAT website and the social media feeds in August.

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Fog simulator

Online

A new meteorological simulator on monitoring and forecasting fog has been published by EUMeTrain. Meteorological simulators are perfect to use for teaching and/or for testing your existing knowledge in different fields.

Fog and low stratus phenomena can occur at many different places around the globe and at different times of year and day. It is difficult to both forecast and monitor, and can have a determining influence on our daily life, for example on aviation.

For this fog simulation, you will have to advise the pilot of a small airplane during his flight across the Alps. It isn't, however, specifically developed for aviation meteorologists. It is made for anyone who wants to practice a common fog situation with basic data (forecast and nowcast). A meteorological background is helpful, but not mandatory. The forecast area is Austria, but the simulator can be used by anyone in any country.

To access the simulator click here.

// issue XVI - June 2019
Stories & Achievements
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Competency Assessment Course

December, 2018 / Exeter, UK

The Met Office and Eumetcal delivered a residential course on Competency Assessment at the Met Office's headquarters in Exeter, UK, in December 2018. Competency-based assessment continues to have increasing relevance in the operational meteorological community, and this course followed on from work an expert team completed in identifying the underpinning requirements of competence-based assessment.

The course timetable went through the main stages of the assessment cycle, with background theory, followed by discussion of best practice and the opportunity to assess, as well as be assessed, in a couple of practical simulations. There was also the opportunity to discuss areas related to the human factor when assessing and QMS.

For the course to be a success it needed the full involvement of the delegates, whose contributions made sure there were excellent points raised and overall the opportunity to progress best practice ideas in the competence assessment environment. There were eight delegates on the course, from Denmark, Estonia, Kosovo, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro.
"On behalf of the Met Office and Eumetcal we thank them for their contribution to the course, as well as those of the original expert team."

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WMO/Eumetcal 2019 Advanced Course for Trainers on Blended Learning

29 April to 2 June with a pre-course from 1 April to 26 April / Online

This year's WMO Online Course for Trainers was organised for RA VI and other international participants. At request of the EUMETNET Working Group of Education and Training, it was focused on online learning. After hard work from the WMO ETR Office, with financial support from Eumetcal, this resulted in the first WMO/Eumetcal 2019 Advanced Course for Trainers on Blended Learning.

In a very tight, active and intensive five weeks, 30 participants from all WMO Regions were updated on many learning solutions, delivery methods, tips, and experiences on how to facilitate blended learning in the most effective way.

The participants had to complete a rigorous project as a key part of their completion requirements. In these projects, the students were guided and supported by their coaches to develop a blended learning strategy and solution for a training initiative they faced at their own institution.

The course was a great success, which the students thought was very useful. As well as learning how to make a course a good course, they gained many new insights into how you can create active and engaging courses in both online and classroom environments.

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Training for Advanced CM SAF Users

5 to 7 June 2019 / Mainz, Germany

For the first time, EUMETSAT and the CM SAF organised a training event for advanced CM SAF users. It was held back-to-back to the CM SAF users workshop, which gave participants a chance to get updates on recent developments of the CM SAF, and to provide feedback on data and services.

The advanced training focused on the development of climate applications using CM SAF data. Most participants worked on projects to combine CM SAF data with in-situ information to provide merged products for climate atlases and regularly issued climate bulletins. After the course, participants were encouraged to continue offering basic and advanced training on the use of satellite data for climate monitoring.

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More than 80 participants at VLab training event in Moscow

4 to 7 June 2019 / Planeta & Advanced Training Institute, Moscow/Balashiha, Russia

The international seminar 'Training event on satellite monitoring and nowcasting of high impact weather events for National Hydrometeorological Services of CIS countries' was held in Moscow in June. This training event is a part of bilateral agreement with EUMETSAT and ROSHYDROMET.

Eighty-four participants from national hydro-meteorological services of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Russia took part.

Thanks to the online phase, participants came to Moscow well prepared. Sessions were held at Planeta headquarters in Moscow and the Advanced Training Institute in Balashiha. The sessions at ATI consisted of hands-on practice on how to find satellite data online, how to interpret RGB imagery, how to work with NWC SAF products, etc. The Russian VLab trainers built three Simulator exercise, so the participants could work on forecasting challenges during high impact weather. Participants also presented their posters on the analysis of adverse and hazardous weather, using satellite data prepared during the remote phase of the seminar — they then voted for the best poster.

Instructors from AEMET, ZAMG/EUMeTrain, the National Environment Agency of Georgia, the University of Wisconsin Madison, and the Russian VLab worked together for many months to plan and deliver the training sessions. Planning for the next event in 2021 will start soon.

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25th NOMEK held in Copenhagen

6 to 10 May 2019 / Danish Meteorological Institute , Copenhagen

NOMEK (NOrdisk MEteorologisk Kompetensutveckling = Nordic Meteorological Competency Training) started in 1995 as an agreement between the Director Generals of the Nordic weather services. It is now a one-week course.

The annual training event aims to increase the knowledge and capacity of operational forecasters working in the northern part of Europe, who, on many occasions, face similar weather and technology-related issues.

EUMETSAT Training Manager Mark Higgins said: "The course looks at weather that has an impact on people. It is a great opportunity for forecasters to learn from each other, share their experiences, and learn about new data and techniques they can use. The 25 NOMEK courses show the value of the strong partnership between the Nordic countries and EUMETSAT."

This year the course, organised by the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) and held in Coperhagen, was on the monitoring and forecasting of low clouds and fog in Scandinavia. Participants learnt more about the fog, and about how to forecast it using the satellite data, observations and operational NWP models.

They also worked with radar and Lidar data, and looked into ensemble forecasting and the concept of probabilities for decision-making. An important aspect of this course is the efficient communication of forecasts and uncertainties to the users.

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Using the Copernicus Marine Data Stream for Ocean Applications - PORTWIMS

10 to 14 June 2019 / Lisbon, Portugal

For the third time, the training course 'Using the Copernicus Marine Data Stream for Ocean Applications in Europe' took place. This time the University of Lisbon, within the frame of H2020 PORTWIMS project, hosted the classroom phase.

Sixteen participants from six different European countries joined the workshop. As in previous courses, most of the time was spent on hands-on working, during which the participants worked on mini projects they chose themselves. Most of the projects dealt with how Sentinel-3 OLCI ocean colour data can be used to generate time series of everything from cyanobacteria trends in the Baltic and harmful algal blooms off the Portuguese coast to chlorophyll patterns off the western Antarctic Peninsula. Many students also used SLSTR Seas Surface Temperature (SST) data to track eddies, monitor upwelling, map temperatures in relation to a hurricane path or compare with buoy data. Some students also used products that included seas surface height and wind speed.

On the last day of the course, all participants gave a presentation reporting about their experiences using the Copernicus Marine Stream and the results they achieved during the course.

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Fourth EUMeTrain Marine Course, 2019 edition

26 March to 17 May 2019 / Online

Twenty-three participants took part in the recent online Marine Forecasting Course, run by EUMeTrain. The main audience for the course was marine forecasters from several weather services across Europe. Experts on wind products (Ad Stoffelen from KNMI), ocean wave models (Jean Bidlot, from ECMWF), and from NOAA (Joe Sienkiewicz, Zorana Jelenak and Paul Chang) supported the course. Participants chose a showcase on a marine topic, on which they worked throughout the course, with the help of the experts and contributions from their peers. All participants successfully completed their showcases, and the top ones will be published on the EUMETSAT website.

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Training Support Officers (TSO) Team Meeting VII

4 and 5 April 2019 / WMO, Geneva

In April, the Training Support Officers from WMO-ETR, WMO-VLab, EUMETSAT, EUMeTrain, Eumetcal, the Met Office, Météo-France, DWD, RSHU and CIMH met for the TSO Team Meeting VII at the WMO headquarters in Geneva.

The meeting, which is an annual event, provides an invaluable opportunity to learn by exchanging experiences and challenges from our working practices. This year, we heard about Eumetcal's new learning management platform, and their plans to support the European training community.

There was interesting update on the WMO Global Campus Library and the Learning Events Calendar, which gave us food for thought on how we can contribute.

The Met Office and Météo-France colleagues shared their creative ideas on the use of video for supporting demonstrations and illustrating examples of expert use - practical examples of bringing together learning theory with exciting technologies. There were also many discussions in which we brainstormed how we can better support the training community.

Thanks to the great sessions and a warm welcome from the ETR team at WMO everyone left with a bag full of new ideas and a renewed sense of belonging.

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EUMETSAT at the European Geophysical Union (EGU)

7 to 12 April 2019 / Vienna, Austria

EUMETSAT chaired and promoted several sessions and side meetings on training at the last EGU conference. Two short courses on EUMETSAT's Climate Data Records: 'Using satellite data for climate applications' and 'Using Copernicus satellite data for ocean applications' were highly attended, with up to 80 young researchers. There was also one splinter session on atmospheric composition with more than 40 experts from around the world. In addition, EUMETSAT co-chaired the WEkEO stand, together with Mercator.

For details see https://www.egu2019.eu.

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SEEMET (South-Eastern Europe Meteorological Training) Course 2019

14 to 17 May, 2019 / Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina

The 2nd SEEMET Basic Satellite Training Course on the 'Basics of satellite meteorology and satellite image interpretation and their application in operational weather forecasting' was held in May in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Twenty-five participants from 10 countries (Albania, B&H, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Turkey) took part. The course was conducted in English.

The main topics were:

  • Basic cloud identification in satellite images
  • Fog and convection forecasting
  • Analysis of fronts and rapid cyclogenesis over the Mediterranean/Balkan region
  • Surface features seen in satellite imagery and in Land SAF products

On the final day, a short introduction to MTG was given, with several examples of 'MTG in action' using Himawari-8/9 and GOES-16/17 cases.

About 50% of the course consisted of practical work on RGB image interpretation, image analysis in terms of conceptual models, severe weather simulator exercises and quizzes. For the practical work and case studies, the EUMeTrain online training platform (ePort) and the RGB quick guides proved to be very useful.

Overall, the participants improved their satellite image interpretation skills and applied their new skills during the practical sessions (case studies). This will help them to better analyse cloud properties (like thickness, phase, height, particle size, precipitating or not, etc.) and surface properties (in cloud-free areas), which in turn helps to identify high-impact weather situations.

The next SEEMET course will be an advanced course and will take place in May 2020; the place is still TBD.

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Event Week on Convection 2019

20 to May 24 / Online

The opening of the main convective season of 2019 started in May with an Event Week full of topics around 'Convection'.

This online event focused on subjects like thunderstorms, hail, impacts and storm damage, and the use of satellite products and other tools. During the sessions EUMeTrain provided 15 presentations by experts in various fields, from different institutions and professional backgrounds.

For example, a day was dedicated to NWC-SAF studies and one morning session concentrated on H-SAF products. High importance was also given to producing case studies and the latest research.

Eighty-five participants followed the sessions live. The recordings of the event week's sessions are available here.