There’s something on the wing … something green
5:30 – 7:00 pm MDT
While it may sound straight out of an episode of The Twilight Zone, spraying a green- or orange-colored fluid onto the wings and other parts of an aircraft is an ordinary occurrence during winter weather conditions to deice aircraft before takeoff. But what is the purpose of these fluids, how do they work, and how do they contribute to ensuring people remain safe while flying in winter conditions? NSF NCAR scientists have been conducting research with support from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for many years to determine these answers, including developing a unique artificial snow generation system (or snow machine) for testing these fluids.
In his Explorer Series lecture, scientist Scott Landolt will provide insights into the science behind these fluids, an overview of the snow machine, and the ongoing research challenges associated with testing these fluids in various winter conditions.
Scott Landolt
Scott Landolt is a scientist at NSF NCAR and has worked in the Research Applications Laboratory for over 20 years. One of his primary research areas focuses on improving snowfall measurements and observations. He was an active participant in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment (SPICE) to establish a world standard for snowfall measurement. More recently, Scott has been actively working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on developing methods to utilize snowfall measurements with aircraft deicing practices. In addition to his research, Scott oversees the Advanced Study Program. Outside of NSF NCAR, Scott is a professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver in the meteorology program.