Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Geosciences
Date of Award
8-2019
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Andrew Joyner
Committee Members
Ingrid Luffman, William Tollefson
Abstract
Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) is used to assess categorical heat stress risk factors for individuals working in outdoor environments and to provide guidelines for work/rest ratios and water intake. The variables required to compute WBGT are used by meteorologists for many purposes and are available through the Copernicus Program which was implemented by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) to provide users access to ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA) historical database. WBGT values for Tennessee during National Weather Service (NWS) issued excessive heat warnings were calculated to determine the need for additional advisories based on WBGT guidelines. Monthly average WBGT values suggest work/rest ratio thresholds were exceeded in areas with no active heat warnings during the same time. Site assessment for an improved weather station infrastructure was conducted to determine favorability for placement of additional instrumentation to benefit forecasters and general public with greater data availability on a temporal scale.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Reasons, John, "Modeling Extreme Heat Events Using Global Reanalysis Data: An Assessment of Current Climate Data and the Need for Improved Weather Station Data in Tennessee" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3640. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3640
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.