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Fitria Puspita Sari

Ph.D Student, Graduate Research Assistant (Advisor: Sonia Lasher-Trapp)

Biography

I joined the Department of Atmospheric Science at UIUC, in the Fall of 2022. I am currently working under the supervision of Prof. Sonia Lasher-Trapp and involve in her cloud-physics research group with Holly and Toby. During my formal studies, my main major is meteorology, and I have been a meteorologist since 2010 under the Indonesia Agency of Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG). I obtained my master's degree from Wageningen University, The Netherlands, in the Fall of 2018 and completed my bachelor's from the School of Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics (STMKG), Indonesia, back then in the Summer of 2014. I am interested in studying hail events, especially in Surabaya, because this event requires a special environment. At the same time, Surabaya is the second largest city after Jakarta and is well known as the second-hottest city in Indonesia.  The recent frequent hail events deliver both damaging and societal impacts to the Surabaya society. Thus, I decided to pursue a doctoral degree as I am curious and want to study more about hail events which get the least attention in my home country, especially from a cloud microphysics POV.

 

I know people (even my current supervisor) say that studying hailstorm is difficult, but at least we can do something than nothing ~

Research Interests

  • Thunderstorms and high-impact weather 
  • Cloud-(micro)physics
  • Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP)
  • Machine Learning for weather prediction and post-processing

Research Description

My research mainly involves a high-resolution model to investigate hail events that recently occurred in Surabaya, Indonesia. During 2014 - 2022 there were 6 hail events reported  in Surabaya. These events getting vigourous along the time as the hail size recorded getting bigger. I am using WRF Model to examine thunderstorm dynamics influenced by the interaction between monsoon, urban flow, and sea breeze. I will also employ the CM1 model to see the hail growth in thunderstorms. The rapid urbanization of Surabaya and the increase SST over Madura straits are factors contributing to thunderstorm development over Surabaya. Yet, more investigation needs to be done to see how CCN and other variables involved in producing vigorus thunderstorm in last decade over warm-humid costal urban area as Surabaya.

Education

 

Grants

  • Travel Grant as a Sakura Science Young Researcher to attend a science talk with JAMSTEC, LAPAN, and BMKG young scientist at JAMSTEC HQ, Yokosuka, Japan (October 2 - 11, 2019)

     

Awards and Honors

Courses Taught

Before attending graduate school in UIUC, I worked as a lecterur in my home institution to deliver these courses:

  • Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP)
  • Coupled Atmosphere-wave-ocean Modelling
  • Numerical Technique
  • Basic Differential Equation 
  • Theoritical Basic Weather Satellite

Highlighted Publications

Sari, F. P., Tsiringakis, A., & Manola, I., Steeneveld, G. J. (2023). Understanding the role of sea surface temperature and urbanization on severe thunderstorms dynamics: A case study in Surabaya, Indonesia. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, e2023JD038817. doi: 10.1029/2023JD038817 

Recent Publications

Sari, F. P. & Mahubessy, P. R. (2023). Identifikasi Pengaruh Asimilasi Multi-Data Observasi (MDO) Dengan Metode Three-Dimensional Variational System (3D-Var) Berdasar Letak Efektif Jangkaun Radar Cuaca. Jurnal Matematika dan Statistika serta Aplikasinya11(1), 33-44. doi: 10.24252/msa.v11i1.28339

Safitri, D. J. & Sari, F. P. (2021, November). Four-dimensional variational (4DVAR) performance test with assimilation satellite and radar data (case study of a heavy rainfall Bengkulu March 4, 2019). In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science(Vol. 893, No. 1, p. 012031). IOP Publishing. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/893/1/012031 

Tirtanegara, I. M. K., & Sari, F. P. (2021, November). Spatial fraction verification of high resolution model. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 893, No. 1, p. 012036). IOP Publishing. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/893/1/012036 

Sadarang, F. R., & Sari, F. P. (2021, November). WRF-model sensitivity test and assimilation studies of Cempaka tropical cyclone. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 893, No. 1, p. 012029). IOP Publishing. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/893/1/012029

Jaya, A. M. N., Sari, F. P., Saragih, I. J. A., & Dafitra, I. (2021, November). Sea-level prediction for early warning information of coastal inundation in Belawan coastal area using Delft3D model. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 893, No. 1, p. 012034). IOP Publishing. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/893/1/012034

Sari, F. P., Atsidiq, S. N. (2020). “Investigation of rain pattern change under modified urban area in Makassar, Indonesia”. Prosiding SNFA (Seminar Nasional Fisika dan Aplikasinya) Vol. 5. doi:10.20961/prosidingsnfa.v5i0.46597 (original in Indonesia Language).

Sari, F. P. , Baskoro, A. P., Hakim, O. S. (2018). “Effect of different microphysics scheme on WRF model: A simulation of hail event study case in Surabaya, Indonesia”. AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1987, No. 1, p. 020002. AIP Publishing LLC. doi: 10.1063/1.5047287