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Mark Smalley

Photo of Mark Smalley

Address:

4800 Oak Grove Drive
M/S 233-304

Pasadena, CA 91109

Phone:

818.354.1116

Fax:

818.354.3221

Curriculum Vitae:

Click here

Member of:

Aerosols And Clouds

Employed By

UCLA / JIFRESSE

Biography

I began my education with a deep interest in observational astronomy, but an undergraduate research position investigating the scattering of visible and infrared light off atmospheric particles led me to the field of atmospheric science. From there, I studied the effects of inter-instrument observational biases in cloud height retrievals on estimates of long-term cloud height climatologies. My interests then shifted to understanding the relationships between convective aggregation and its local environment. Now I am improving the performance of a cloud parameterization using satellite observations of real cloud and precipitation systems. While my interests change changed from astronomy to atmospheric science, I still use data from satellites. Now they just point down instead of up!

Education

  • Ph.D., Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2016)
  • M.S., Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2011)
  • B.S., Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa (2008)

Professional Experience

  • Field Work: OLYMPEX/RADEX GPM Validation Campaign (2015)
  • Journal Referee: Journal of Geophysical Research (2015)

Research Interests

  • Simulation of marine boundary layer clouds
  • Constraining parameterizations using a variety of space-borne meteorological observations
  • Analysis of precipitation spatial distributions (convective aggregation)
  • Assessment of precipitation retrievals from space-borne and surface radars

Selected Awards

  • Best student poster presentation, 17th Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, Annapolis, MD (2010)
  • Waldo Edward & Martha Althaus Smith Memorial Award, University of Iowa (2008)
  • I.C.R.U Student Research Grant, University of Iowa (2007)

Selected Publications

  1. Mark Smalley, K. Suselj, M. D. Lebsock, and J. Teixeira, 2019: A novel framework for evaluating and improving parameterized subtropical marine boundary layer cloudiness. Mon. Weather Rev., 147, 3241-3260. 10.1175/MWR-D-18-0394.1
  2. Graeme Stephens, Mark Smalley, and M. D. Lebsock, 2019: The cloudy nature of tropical rains. J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 124, 171-188. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029394
  3. Mark Smalley, P Kirstetter, and T. S. L’Ecuyer, 2016. An Assessment of Precipitation Occurrence from the Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor System and the CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar. J. Hydrometor. (submitted).
  4. Mark Smalley and Tristan L’Ecuyer, 2015: A Global Assessment of the spatial distribution of precipitation occurrence. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 54, 2179-2197.
  5. Lars Norin, A Devasthale, T. S. L’Ecuyer, N. B. Wood, and M. Smalley, 2015: Intercomparison of snowfall estimates derived from the CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar and the ground-based weather radar network over Sweden. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 8, 12.
  6. Mark Smalley, T.S. L’Ecuyer, M. Lebsock, and J. Haynes, 2014: A comparison of precipitation occurrence from the NCEP Stage IV QPE product and the CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar. J. Hydrometeor., 15, 444-458.