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Harrison Gray Otis House on Beacon Street in Boston

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership of more than 14,000 professionals, professors, students, and weather enthusiasts. Some members have attained the designation "Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM)",^[1] many of whom have expertise in the applied meteorology discipline of atmospheric dispersion modeling. To the general public, however, the AMS is best known for its "Seal of Approval" to television and radio meteorologists.

The AMS publishes nine atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic journals (in print and online), issues position statements on scientific topics that fall within the scope of their expertise, sponsors more than 12 conferences annually, and offers numerous programs and services. There is also an extensive network of local chapters.

The AMS headquarters are located at Boston, Massachusetts. It was built by the famous Boston architect Charles Bulfinch, as the third Harrison Gray Otis House in 1806 and was purchased and renovated by the AMS in 1958, with staff moving into the building in 1960. The AMS also maintains an office in Washington, D.C., at 1120 G Street NW.

Seal of Approval [edit]

The AMS Seal of Approval program was established in 1957 as a means of recognizing television and radio weather forecasters who display informative, well-communicated, and scientifically sound weather broadcast presentations. The awarding of a Seal of Approval was based on a demonstration tape submitted by the applicant to six members of a review panel after paying an application fee. Although a formal degree in meteorology was not a requirement to obtain the original Seal of Approval, either appropriate military training or the minimal requirements of undergraduate meteorology courses, including at least 20 semester college credits appropriate for a meteorology major, must have been taken before applying (ensuring that the forecaster has at least a minimal required education in the field). There was no minimum amount of experience required, but it was recommended that applicants had some previous experience in weather forecasting and broadcasting. It is worth noting that many broadcasters who obtained the Seal of Approval did in fact have formal degrees in meteorology or related sciences and/or certifications from accredited University programs. Upon meeting the core requirements, having the seal, and working in the field for 3 years that broadcaster may then be referred to as a meteorologist in the broadcast community.

As of February 2007, more than 1,600 Seals of Approval had been granted, of which more than 700 are considered "active."^[2] Seals become inactive when a sealholder's membership renewal and annual seal fees are not paid.

The original Seal of Approval program was phased out at the end of 2008.^[3]

Note: The NWA Seal of Approval is issued by the National Weather Association and is independent of the AMS.

Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) Seal [edit]

The original Seal of Approval program was revamped in January 2005 with the introduction of the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) Seal. This seal introduced a 100-question multiple choice closed-book examination as part of the evaluation process. The questions on the exam cover many aspects of the science of meteorology, forecasting and related principles. Applicants must answer at least 75 of the questions correctly before being awarded the CBM Seal.

Persons who obtained or applied for the original Seal of Approval before December 31, 2004 and were not rejected are eligible for an upgrade of their Seal of Approval to the CBM Seal upon the successful completion of the CBM exam and payment of applicable fees. Upgrading from the original Seal of Approval is not required. New applicants for the CBM Seal must pay the application fee, pass the written examination, and have their work reviewed to assess technical competence, informational value, explanatory value, and communication skills, before being considered for the CBM Seal. While original seal holders do not have to have a degree in meteorology or a related field of study to be upgraded, brand new applicants for the CBM seal must hold at least a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology or a related field of study from an accredited college or university.

CBMs may retain their certification and display the CBM logo only so long as they pay their membership and renewal fees each year and show proof of completing certain professional development programs every five years (such as educational presentations at schools, involvement in local AMS chapter events, attendance at weather conferences, and other activities of the like).^[4] The only experience requirement is a nominal three consecutive days, for the purpose of filming demonstration tapes (this contrasts with the NWA's seal, which requires at least two years full-time experience, but allows those who do not have meteorology degrees to apply).

The first person to receive the CBM seal was WRAL's Greg Fishel.^[5] As of February 2007, nearly 200 CBM seals had been awarded to broadcast weather forecasters, either upgraded from the original Seal of Approval or granted to new applicants.^[6]

Awards [edit]

American Meteorological Society offers several awards in the fields of meteorology and oceanography.

Atmospheric Research Awards Committee

• The Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
• The Jule G. Charney Award
• The Verner E. Suomi Award
• The Remote Sensing Prize
• The Clarence Leroy Meisinger
• The Henry G. Houghton

Oceanographic Research Awards Committee

• The Sverdrup Gold Medal
• The Henry Stommel Research Award
• The Verner E. Suomi
• The Nicholas P. Fofonoff Award

Publications [edit]

The American Meteorological Society publishes the following scientific journals:

• Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
• Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
• Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
• Journal of Physical Oceanography
• Monthly Weather Review
• Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology
• Weather and Forecasting
• Journal of Climate
• Journal of Hydrometeorology
• Weather, Climate, and Society
• Earth Interactions
• Meteorological Monographs

The American Meteorological Society produces the following scientific databases:

• Meteorological and Geoastrophysical Abstracts

Policy statements [edit]

As a means of promoting "the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications",^[7] the AMS periodically publishes policy statements on issues related to its competence^[8] on subjects such as drought,^[9] ozone^[10] and acid deposition.^[11]

Statement on Climate Change [edit]

The website of The American Meteorological Society has the following statement about climate change.^[12]

"Warming of the climate system now is unequivocal, according to many different kinds of evidence. Observations show increases in globally averaged air and ocean temperatures, as well as widespread melting of snow and ice and rising globally averaged sea level. Surface temperature data for Earth as a whole, including readings over both land and ocean, show an increase of about 0.8°C (1.4°F) over the period 1901─2010 and about 0.5°C (0.9°F) over the period 1979–2010 (the era for which satellite-based temperature data are routinely available). Due to natural variability, not every year is warmer than the preceding year globally. Nevertheless, all of the 10 warmest years in the global temperature records up to 2011 have occurred since 1997, with 2005 and 2010 being the warmest two years in more than a century of global records. The warming trend is greatest in northern high latitudes and over land. In the U.S., most of the observed warming has occurred in the West and in Alaska; for the nation as a whole, there have been twice as many record daily high temperatures as record daily low temperatures in the first decade of the 21st century.

"Climate is always changing. However, many of the observed changes noted above are beyond what can be explained by the natural variability of the climate. It is clear from extensive scientific evidence that the dominant cause of the rapid change in climate of the past half century is human-induced increases in the amount of atmospheric greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), chlorofluorocarbons, methane, and nitrous oxide. The most important of these over the long term is CO2, whose concentration in the atmosphere is rising principally as a result of fossil-fuel combustion and deforestation. While large amounts of CO2 enter and leave the atmosphere through natural processes, these human activities are increasing the total amount in the air and the oceans. Approximately half of the CO2 put into the atmosphere through human activity in the past 250 years has been taken up by the ocean and terrestrial biosphere, with the other half remaining in the atmosphere. Since long-term measurements began in the 1950s, the atmospheric CO2 concentration has been increasing at a rate much faster than at any time in the last 800,000 years. Having been introduced into the atmosphere it will take a thousand years for the majority of the added atmospheric CO2 to be removed by natural processes, and some will remain for thousands of subsequent years."

Past presidents [edit]

The following AMS members served as presidents of the society during the listed periods:^[13]

References [edit]

1. ^ Directory of Certified Consulting Meteorologists
2. ^ List of AMS Seal of Approval Holders
3. ^ AMS Seal of Approval Program
4. ^ AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) Seal Program
5. ^ List of AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologists (CBM)
6. ^ AMS CBM Seal Holders
7. ^ Statements of the AMS
8. ^ Statements of the AMS (in chronological order)
9. ^ AMS statement Meteorological Drought
10. ^ AMS statement Atmospheric Ozone
11. ^ AMS statement Acid Deposition
12. ^ AMS Statement "Climate Change"
13. ^ AMS Past Presidents, American Meteorological Society, retrieved 2013-03-28. 

External links [edit]

• Official website
  • List of AMS Television Seal Holders
  • AMS List of Certified Broadcast Meteorologists
• The Maury Project (a comprehensive national program of teacher enhancement based on studies of the physical foundations of oceanography)