Space Education and Strategic Applications Journal
more concrete . We can see both the national and international implications of weather on a daily basis .
Dr . Wyatt : APUS has a large number of students and a plethora of disciplines . How does weather relate to other careers offered by APU ?
Dr . Cooper : It ’ s important to see the connections between meteorology and all major disciplines . Let me discuss a few . For careers in business , there are monetary implications to weather . For example , a wind storm would produce a prolonged power outage , affecting millions of residents . For those in the health field , flooding can cause standing water which results in unhealthy conditions . In fact , we are in the midst of a pandemic because of a temperature-dependent airborne virus , so understanding how air quality , temperature , and circulation patterns affect humans is important . Entomology , which is the study of insects , highlighted how Malaria was transported via insects . Hurricanes can affect life and property when they prevent damaged areas from receiving supplies in a timely manner . So , Disaster Relief efforts can affect the supply and demand of an area both before the storm when purchasing items and afterwards when conducting recovery efforts . A single event can affect the hotel industry , the ability to provide fuel ( gas ) to impacted areas , and may limit food distribution . There are many more questions to consider which impacts various careers such as :
• Is this impacting a town , county , state , or region ?
• Is the weather instantaneous ?
• Are the impacts easily addressed ?
Dr . Wyatt : There have been discussions about creating a Space Force ? How will weather impact this emerging field ?
Dr . Cooper : This is another area in which weather is key , literally . Weather is the core / center between atmosphere and space . Imagine the type of weather that may be encountered as you travel through the atmosphere into space . Satellite imagery , GPS , cell phone coverage are all impacted by space weather . Solar flares can affect radio signals , and the ability to communicate from one country to another .
Clouds cover a huge surface area of the earth , and many areas are cloud covered the majority of the year . Satellite imagery helps us understand the interactions of weather on the surface of the earth , over oceans , and throughout the “ column ” from the earth to the upper atmosphere . At APUS , we have courses that delve into these very facets of the earth ’ s atmosphere to highlight why understanding space weather is critical .
Dr . Wyatt : You are currently the course creator for several atmospheric science courses at APUS ? Can you tell us about these courses ?
Dr . Cooper : APUS provides several courses for individuals to expand their knowledge of atmospheric science . There are four meteorology courses — one of which is the SPST465
Space Weather Course . The space weather course investigates weather throughout the at-
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