ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE

College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

David Plummer, Assoc. Research Scientist

Email: dplumme1@uwyo.edu
Office Phone: (307) 766-3245

Education:

• B.Sc., Meteorology, Valparaiso University, 2005

• M.Sc., Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008

• Ph.D., Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014

Research Statement

I work for the department’s Research Flight Center as a project manager and systems scientist with the King Air research aircraft facility. My research background is centered in cloud physics, involving both airborne measurements in cloud, and ground- and aircraft-based radar measurements, with my own studies encompassing measurements within continental winter cyclones, warm-season convection, and clouds and precipitation influenced by mountain topography. Within the King Air group, I’m involved in project planning and execution at all stages – discussions with investigators, flight planning and coordination with other project participants, and instrumentation operations during research flights. The wide range of projects supported by the facility has allowed me to expand my experience beyond cloud physics, with recent and upcoming projects covering other research areas including air quality, wildfire plume chemistry, and boundary layer fluxes.

Current Projects

• Maintaining collaboration with recent project investigators and utilizing King Air measurements to expand my own research in cloud physics

• Supporting current and future investigators, particularly through the development of materials describing data analysis techniques and instrument capabilities for project planning

• Facilitating student involvement in airborne research and subsequent data analysis

Selected Publications:

• Plummer, D. M., J. R. French, D. C. Leon, A. M. Blyth, S. Lasher-Trapp, L. J. Bennett, D. R. Dufton, R. C. Jackson, and R. R. Neely, 2018: Radar-derived structural and precipitation characteristics of warm-based convection developing Z_DR columns. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 57, 2485-2505. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-17-0134.1

• Plummer, D. M., G. M. McFarquhar, R. M. Rauber, B. F. Jewett, and D. C. Leon, 2015: Microphysical properties of convectively-generated fall streaks within the stratiform comma-head region of continental winter cyclones. J. Atmos. Sci., 72, 2465-2483. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-14-0354.1

• Plummer, D. M., G. M. McFarquhar, R. M. Rauber, B. F. Jewett, and D. C. Leon, 2014: Structure and statistical analysis of the microphysical properties of generating cells in the comma-head region of continental winter cyclones. J. Atmos. Sci., 71, 4181-4203. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-14-0100.1

• Rosenow, A. A., D. M. Plummer, R. M. Rauber, G. M. McFarquhar, B. F. Jewett, and D. Leon, 2014: Vertical velocity and physical structure of generating cells and convection in the comma head region of continental winter cyclones. J. Atmos. Sci., 71, 1538-1558. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-13-0249.1

• Plummer, D. M., S. Göke, R. M. Rauber, and L. Di Girolamo, 2010: Discrimination of mixed versus ice-phase clouds using dual-polarization radar with application to detection of aircraft icing regions. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 49, 920-936. https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JAMC2267.1