Stephen K. Boss, professor of environmental dynamics and sustainability in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas, launched the Coastlines & People (CoPe) Virtual Symposium Project on September 14, 2022. Boss presented “Far-Field Effects of Sea-Level Rise and Ocean-Climate Processes on the Heartland: An Overview.” This project was cosponsored by the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History in Fulbright College.
The fifth CoPe presentation entitled "Air Quality in the Mississippi River Valley – 2040 and Beyond" was delivered on November 9, 2022, by Patrick S. Market, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Missouri.
Concerns about soil and water quality in the future have been addressed frequently in recent years. Research around "soil health" abounds, and the presence of microplastics in both salt and fresh water has become an area of public concern. Concerns about the atmosphere have centered largely on greenhouse gas emissions and the secondary effects of warming and concomitant weather extremes—from short-term flash flooding to long-term drought. The tertiary effects of drought, dust bowl scenarios, and those subsequent air quality issues have received less attention, especially for the middle part of the United States. This presentation presented an overview of current thinking on future air quality issues in the Midwest.
Market is a professor of atmospheric science and the director of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. He earned his Ph.D. from Saint Louis University in 1999. Market’s teaching assignments have included advanced synoptic meteorology, convection and lightning, and numerical weather prediction.
In addition to his work in academia, he has taught dozens of working, operational meteorologists in broadcasting, the National Weather Service, the US Navy, the US Air Force, and private industry. His research explored issues in heavy rain and snow forecasting, including the occurrence of thundersnow, elevated thunderstorms, and flash flooding. This work has been conducted with funding from such sources as the National Geographic Society, National Science Foundation (NSF), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Energy (DOE), and National Aeronautics and Space (NASA).
Market has also served the National Weather Association (NWA), where he has been an editor of the National Weather Digest and a co-chair of the Weather Analysis and Forecasting Committee. He was elected as a Councilor, vice president, and also served the NWA as its president in 2011.
Market’s other professional affiliations include the American Geophysical Union, Sigma Xi, Missouri Academy of Science, and the American Meteorological Society.
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
