Baker Perry, Assistant Professor
296 Rankin Science West
828-262-7597
perrylb<at>appstate.edu

B.A., Comparative Area Studies, Duke University, 1996
M.A., Geography, Appalachian State University, 1998
Ph.D., Geography, UNC Chapel Hill, 2006

Curriculum Vitae

Research

My research interests include synoptic climatology, orographic precipitation (particularly snowfall), and tropical glacier-climate interactions. Mountain regions serve to further define these broader topics, with specific interest in the Southern Appalachians and Andes. My current research is organized around three major topics:

1. Multi-scale Investigations of Orographic Snowfall: My students and I continue to investigate snowfall patterns and processes in the southern Appalachian Mountains, and have recently begun to employ a multi-scale strategy, from the hemispheric (e.g., Arctic Oscillation and El Niño-Southern Oscillation) to the cloud microphysical (e.g., snow particle type and degree of riming, moist layer temperature and thickness). Dr. Sandra Yuter (NCSU), Dr. Douglas Miller (UNCA), Laurence Lee (NOAA-NWS), Stephen Keighton (NOAA-NWS), David Hotz (NOAA-NWS) and other members of the Northwest Flow Snowfall Discussion Group are also important partners in this ongoing project. Research priorities include investigating the relationships among the various teleconnection patterns and snowfall in the region, classifying the synoptic patterns associated with snowfall events, comparing numerical model output to surface and upper-air observations with the objective of improving model performance, developing guidelines for forecasting new snowfall density, and use of observational networks (e.g., CoCoRaHS) and remotely sensed imagery to assist with the characterization of the spatial patterns of snowfall across the region. We have also recently completed a synoptic classification of snowfall events based on the Perry et al. (2010) classification scheme. Event summaries are available on Dr. Yuter’s page at: http://precip.meas.ncsu.edu/pogamtn//allstorms.html . Recent publications include the following:

Sugg, J.W., L.B. Perry, D.K. Hall. 2012. Satellite and surface perspectives of snow extent in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Proceedings of the 69^th Eastern Snow Conference, In Press.

Perry, L.B., C.E. Konrad, D.G. Hotz, and L.G. Lee. 2010. Synoptic classification of snowfall events in the Great Smoky Mountains, USA. Physical Geography 31: 156-171.

Keighton, S., L. Lee, B. Holloway, D. Hotz, S. Zubrick, J. Hovis, G. Votaw, L.B. Perry, G. Lackmann, S. Yuter, C.E. Konrad, D. Miller, and B. Etherton. 2009. A collaborative approach to better understanding northwest flow snowfall in the southern Appalachians. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, doi:10.1175/2009BAMS2591.1

Yuter, S.E., D.A. Stark, M..T. Bryant, B.A. Colle, L.B. Perry, J. Blaes, J. Wolfe, and G. Peters. 2008. Forecasting and characterization of mixed precipitation events using the MicroRainRadar. Proceedings of the Fifth European Conference on Radar Meteorology and Hydrology.

Perry, L.B., D.K. Miller, S.E. Yuter, L.G. Lee, and S. Keighton. 2008. Atmospheric influences on new snowfall density in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. Proceedings of the 65^th Eastern Snow Conference.

Perry, L.B., C.E. Konrad, and T.W. Schmidlin. 2007. Antecedent upstream air trajectories associated with northwest flow snowfall in the southern Appalachians, USA. Weather and Forecasting 22: 334-352.

Perry, L.B., and C.E. Konrad. 2006. Relationships between NW flow snowfall and topography in the Southern Appalachians, USA. Climate Research 32: 35-47.

2. Appalachian Atmospheric Interdisciplinary Research (AppalAIR): Along with Dr. Ryan Emanuel (NCSU), Dr. Howie Neufeld (Biology), Dr. James Sherman (Physics and Astronomy), Dr. Rahman Tashakkori (Computer Science) and Dr. Brett Taubman (Chemistry), I am a founding member of AppalAIR. Our mission is to improve understanding of atmospheric properties and processes and the associated impacts on terrestrial ecosystems and climates in the southern Appalachian Mountains. We currently operate meteorological and aerosol monitoring instrumentation on the Appalachian campus and at Grandfather Mountain, Beech Mountain, Poga Mountain, and Bethel Elementary School. Along with B. Taubman (PI) and J. Sherman (co-PI), I am co-PI on a 3-yr, $499,470 NASA grant entitled Climate Action Network through Direct Observations and Outreach (CAN-DOO): Promoting Climate Science Awareness through Public Outreach, STEM Education, and Citizen Science. Our group has also recently been funded by NSF to develop a mobile research tower for intensive field campaigns in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The mobile precipitation sensors are deployed at 6,150 ft on Roan Mountain, NC. Ginger Kelly recently completed a master’s thesis entitled Aerosol-Precipitation Interactions in the Southern Appalachian Mountains and we now have two publications from this work:

Kelly, G.M., B.F. Taubman, L.B. Perry, P.T. Soulé, J.P. Sherman, P. Sheridan. 2012. Relationships between aerosols and precipitation in the southern Appalachian Mountains. International Journal of Climatology, DOI: 10.1002/joc.3632

Kelly, G.M., L.B. Perry, B.F. Taubman, P.T. Soulé. 2012. Synoptic classification of 2009-10 precipitation events in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. Climate Research 55-1-15.

3. Climate-Glacier Interactions in the Tropical Andes Mountains: Having spent approximately five years in the Tropical Andes Mountains, I remain engaged in climate-glacier research activities in the region, particularly related to precipitation. Since 2009, I have participated in three major research expeditions in the Cordillera Vilcanota of Peru. In April 2012, Dr. Anton Seimon and I installed two meteorological stations: one at 16,700 ft and another at 18,215 ft on the Osjollo Anante Icecap.  Research priorities include investigating precipitation patterns and processes, decoding multi-centennial climate histories from nearby tropical ice cores, and identifying ecological and societal impacts of climate change and glacier retreat in the region. We recently presented two papers based on our fieldwork at an international climate symposium in Valdivia, Chile:

Perry, L.B. , A. Seimon, G. M. Kelly. 2010. Precipitation patterns in the Cordillera Vilcanota, Peru. II International Symposium: Reconstructing Climate Variations in South America and the Antarctic Peninsula over the last 2000 years, Valdivia, Chile.

Seimon, A., L.B. Perry. 2010. Cordillera Vilcanota, Peru precipitation studies: explicit simulation of oxygen stable isotope ratio profiles in seasonal snowfall. II International Symposium: Reconstructing Climate Variations in South America and the Antarctic Peninsula over the last 2000 years, Valdivia, Chile.

Teaching

This year I am teaching Global Climate Change (GHY 1011), World Regional Geography (GHY 1020), Environmental Remote Sensing (GHY 3310), Andean Mountain Geography (GHY 4530/5530), Climate and Tropical Glaciers (GHY 4531/5531), and Synoptic and Regional Climatology (GHY 4620/5531).

I will also be directing the 2013 Peru Summer Study Abroad program, scheduled for July 8-23. Please contact me for additional information or visit the program website.