he focused his research on included the prediction, movement and strengthening of hurricanes. He has worked with both satellite data and computer models as a means to study these hurricane behaviors.
Area of Expertise
Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies; Hurricane Prediction
Prior to receiving the doctorate, he was an operational weather forecaster in the U.S. Air Force where he maintained greater than 95 percent forecast accuracy. He joined NASA in 1973, and since that time has performed research to assess and improve the impact of satellite data on numerical weather prediction. He was a key member of the team that first demonstrated the significant impact of quantitative satellite data(temperature soundings), and also developed the methodology that led to the first beneficial impacts of satellite surface winds. From 1974-1976, he developed a global upper-ocean model and studied oceanic response to atmospheric wind forcing as well as large-scale atmospheric response to sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. In more recent years, his research concentrated on the role of air-sea interaction in the development of cyclones, the role of soil moisture and SST anomalies in the initiation,
maintenance and decay of prolonged heat waves and drought, and most recently on the modeling and prediction of hurricane formation, movement and intensification. Dr. Atlas has served on numerous NASA Science and Instrument Teams, national and international Science Steering Groups, and the Council of the American Meteorological Society.