MeteorologicalTechnologyInternational Sept2011

The InTernaTIonal revIew of weaTher, ClImaTe, and hydrology TeChnologIes and servICes
Meteorological
T e c h n o l o g y i n t e r n a t i o n a l
HIGH AND MIGHTY

an exclusive look up the Zotino tall tower observatory in Siberia
HIGH TIDE
the British Met office has set up its first dedicated operational Flood Forecasting Centre
ATC upGrADE
the Belgian air traffic Control agency has modernized its communication and data processing systems
Th fu Th e ll is mo W m in sT o e d s r T u i o ld eor sT gn ve e o r if r xp lo y h ic 10 o g a an 0 pr ica s T ex e l ev ex h vie Te er hi ib W c s b iT iT h o in n een io r s o s! id lo ? n e. g y
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Contents
6

SIBERIAN SCIENTIFIC PLATFORM

A look up at the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory
50

12

KNMIs experiences and challenges in automated visual observations
AUTOMATED VISULA SYSTEM
Looking into clouds with the ultra high-resolution MCR Doppler radar
RADAR CLOUD OBSERVATION
54

16

How a combination of expertise from the UKs Met Office gave birth to a dedicated forecast unit
DEDICATED FLOOD FORECAST CENTRE
The owner of Norwegian Geonor discusses the latest precipitation gauge technology
INTERVIEW: YVIND KLEVAR
56

Second-generation Wind Doppler LiDAR meets new Air Traffic Management requirements
AIRPORT WIND DOPPLER LIDAR
24

Rapid sampling of severe storms by phased-array radar
NOAAS SEVERE STORM RADAR
60

Expanding the focus on sun imagery and space weather
SATELLITE ULTRAVIOLET SOLAR IMAGER X-BAND RADAR TECHNOLOGY
26 MTWE SHOW PREVIEW
Being held in Brussels on October 1820, coverage of the first ever show dedicated to meteorological technologies and services, including: speaker interviews, exhibitor highlights, top conference presentations and who to see
64

The latest system of densely distributed radar networks can defeat Earths curvature
68

40 AIR DATA PROCESSING

Belgiums air traffic meteorological data warehouse
The benefits of ground-based flux measurements for hydrological models
LARGE-APERTURE SCINTILLOMETERS
46

Satellite remote sensing is an essential way to monitor the earths climate
IMAGERY USING GLIDER
72

Leveraging satellite and internet distribution
MOBILE DATA DELIVERY
ME TEOROLOGICAL TECHNOLOGy INTERN ATION AL SEp TEMBER 2011 1
76
Weather prediction system assists humanitarian aid
SEARCH AND RESCUE SOFTWARE HUMIDITY SENSING
98
The future safety of navigation across and around the North Pole
ARCTIC OCEAN TRAFFIC
80 85 86
100 RAIN SENSORS
The latest systems that measure humidity using %rh sensing
UHF radio networks for precipitation monitoring
Clear and dynamic methods of displaying weather data
DISPLAYING TEMPERATURE DATA ADVANCED WEATHER DATA INTEGRATION VOLCANIC ASH TRACKING OFFSHORE MONITORING USING BUOYS
104 VISIBILITY SENSORS
Measuring visibility using different optical techniques
108 WEATHER STATISTICAL MODELS

Integration of weather models and air trafc simulation
Dutch airline KLM uses groundbreaking air weather data
90 94
112
Ground-based and satellite infrared sensing of volcanic clouds
Improving humidity measurement accuracy in radiosoundings
RADIOSOUNDING USING ALGORITHMS WEATHER LEGENDS:
116
Offshore renewable energy assessment and monitoring
Regarded as the father of modern meteorology, William Napier Shaw brought the discipline into the 20 th century
76 CONTENTS 94
98
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2 ME TEOROLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY INTERN ATION A L M AY 2011
Meteorologic al
Techno al rnation logy inte
g y n o l o T e c h
ND HIGH AY MIGHT
the Zotino ive look up an exclus a y in Siberi observator tall tower
l i o n a r n a t i n t e
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SePteMB er 2011
BY UKiP PUBliSHeD S ltD MeDia & eVent
TIDE its first HIGH Met office has set upasting Centre h
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E cy upGrAD ATC ian air traffic Control agen and n

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The forecast
Welcome to the Meteorological Technology World Expo 2011 Show Issue
ords cant begin to describe how proud I am to be able to write that last sentence because just three years ago I had no idea that this publication or indeed the aforementioned exhibition would exist. However, as my wife and I drove through Iowa en route coast-to-coast Stateside in 2008, crude weather warnings were broadcast across the car radio revealing with very short notice the likely location of the next tornado. And it was at that point that it struck me that there was an absolute need for better weather prediction technologies and services. Meteorological Technology World Expo, which takes place from October 18-20, 2011, in Brussels, Belgium, and brings the pages of this magazine to life, looks set to be one of, if not the most significant exhibition this industry has ever seen. At the time of writing, over 100 weather forecasting technology companies and service providers have confirmed that they will be exhibiting their very latest and nextgeneration products and services at the World Expo. Meanwhile, Im delighted to report that thus far almost 1,500 key decision makers from the worlds airports, airlines, shipping companies, military organizations, off-shore energy companies, renewable energy firms, met offices, and of course research institutes have already registered to attend. We fully expect that over 2,500 such folk will have registered to visit the event by the time the exhibition doors open. The plan is
that you attend Meteorological Technology World Expo to discover new, improved ways to obtain better, more accurate weather information. Entrance to the World Expo is free, as is participation in the integral Meteorological Technology Conference, which has been described as Probably the best meteorological speaker line-up of the year! Thats fair comment with over 32 speakers including names such as Josh Wurman, president, Center for Severe Weather Research and star of Discovery Channels Storm Chasers; Pamela Heinselman, research scientist, NOAA; Richard K. Thigpen, implementation project manager, WMO/GCOS Secretariat; Steven Albersheim, senior meteorologist, Federal Aviation Administration; Kim Henriksen, ECO Voyage Prime Mover, A. P. Moller-Maersk; Sean Burns, system operations manager, EUMETSAT; and Tom Blees, president, The Science Council for Global Initiatives. Go to www.MeteorologicalTechnologyWorldExpo.com for a full conference program, and the simple registration form for your free exhibition and conference entry badge. Until Brussels, I sincerely hope you enjoy this latest issue of Meteorological Technology International, and the editorial team and I look forward to welcoming you in person at what must surely be the mustattend event of the year.
Graham Johnson Managing Director
Editor Christopher Hounsfield (c.hounsfield@ukipme.com) Assistant editor Bunny Richards (b.richards@ukipme.com) Chief sub editor Alex Bradley Sub editors Russell Cox, Sarah Lee, Lynn Wright Proofreaders Aubrey Jacobs-Tyson, Frank Millard Art director James Sutcliffe Design team Louise Adams, Andy Bass, Anna Davie, Andrew Locke, Craig Marshall, Nicola Turner, Julie Welby, Ben White Head of production & logistics Ian Donovan Production team Carole Doran, Lewis Hopkins, Cassie Inns, Robyn Skalsky Publication & sales director Barry Smith Editorial director Anthony James Managing director Graham Johnson CEO Tony Robinson
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4 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTERn ATIOn A L SEP TEMBER 2011
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Mast observatory
by Jot V. Lavric
Walk tall
A look up at the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory

Key in the efforts to understand climate change, the ZOTTO is a scientific platform in central Siberia for studying biogeochemical changes in northern Eurasia
ong-term, high-quality observations of biogeochemical greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), are essential for understanding how climate change and changes in land use modify their emissions and therefore feed back on the global earth meteorological system. Unfortunately, observations of biogeochemical greenhouse gases are still very sparse in many crucial parts of the world. Particularly critical are the gaps in socalled hot-spot areas, such as northern Eurasia and the tropical regions of Africa and South America. These areas exert particularly important climatic controls because of their potential for large carbon storage or loss in a changing environment.
surface (greenness or biomass) can be used, but they necessitate additional process information and diagnostic models to constrain the gas exchange fluxes. Bridging the gap in scale between the global integrative approaches and the local process studies poses a tough scientific challenge, for which direct observation methods are indispensable. Carbon in Siberia The fate of carbon pools in a warming climate constitutes a pressing question in Earth science. What happens with the large amounts of carbon stored in the forests and soils, as well as in wetlands and the underlying permafrost in the boreal and arctic zone of Eurasia? Siberian forests comprise approximately 10% of the global carbon stored in vegetation and soils, they contribute 5-10% of the global terrestrial net primary productivity, and 65% of the Siberian forests lie on permafrost. Under warming conditions, the increased carbon storage due to a prolonged vegetation period will likely be counterbalanced by enhanced microbial activity that accelerates the release of carbon through respiration. On top of that, changes in precipitation amount and distribution patterns are important because, among other things, they impact frequency and distribution of forest fires and insect outbreaks. Although direct anthropogenic impacts are still relatively small in the region, industrial development and changes in land use and management may become increasingly important. Finally, Siberian permafrost contains huge quantities
View from the top level of the ZOTTO mast. The base of the mast, the roof of the measurement bunker, the roofed path, and the housing are visible (from left to right). The roof over the path is for security reasons during winter large fragments of ice can fall from the mast (Picture: M.Hielscher)
Top-down and bottom-up To observe and quantify the connections between climate change and ecosystematmosphere interactions, current approaches are twofold. The top-down approach uses observations of the atmospheric composition at locations that are remote and only insignificantly influenced by local processes. Together with numerical models of largescale atmospheric transport, sources and sinks of the greenhouse gases at Earths surface are inferred. Conversely, the bottom-up approach is based on local insitu observations of fluxes or changes in ecosystems, which then have to be extrapolated and scaled up in order to make inferences at continental scale. One possibility is the use of numerical models that describe the major processes involved in exchanges of biogeochemical trace gases between the terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. These models are parameterized using in-situ relationships between environment, vegetation, and soils, but can also be evaluated and constrained with remote atmospheric observations. Alternatively, satellite remote-sensing observations of the
Mast observatory
Siberian forests comprise approximately 10% of the global carbon stored in vegetation and soils
ZOTTO mast in late winter 2010. The measurement instrumentation installed on the mast faces harsh conditions: during winter the temperatures can slide below -40C, and can reach +30C in summer (Picture: S. Schmidt)
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTER n ATIOn AL SEP TEMBER 2011 7
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Mast Observatory
Measuring stick
Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO): a 300mtall mast for the long-term monitoring of biogeochemical trace gases, aerosols, and atmospheric chemistry established in central Siberia by the MPI for Biogeochemistry, the MPI for Chemistry and the Institute of Forest, Krasnoyarsk; funded by the Max-Planck Society
The Zotino Tall Tower Observation Facility (ZOTTO) is a climatic research station in the Siberian taiga near Zotino, Russia. Established and operated by the Max Planck Society and the Sukachev Institute of Forest, it serves as a longterm observing platform to be operated for at least 30 years. Far from human influence, researchers aim to determine how the concentration of greenhouse gases, aerosols, and the rising temperatures of the terrestrial atmosphere affect each other. The tower measures 304m (997ft) high on which precision instruments measure the concentration of carbon dioxide, methane,
and other greenhouse gases. The measurement data is processed directly in the station at the foot of the tower and then transferred to the Institute of Forest in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, as well as to the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany. The station has been operational since September 2006. It extended the Terrestrial Carbon Observing System project and was funded by the 5th Framework Programme of the European Union, uniting eight European and four Russian partners. A primary consideration of the project is that Siberian forests constitute a substantially smaller carbon-sink than so far assumed.
of organic carbon, of which a significant fraction could be released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide or methane upon thawing. How fast and how strong these feedback processes operate and interact is still an open question. The utility of a tall tower High-precision, ground-based, vertically resolved quasi-continuous atmospheric measurements of biogeochemical trace gases at coastal and continental sites are vital for the study of atmospheric transport, biogeochemical fluxes, and human emissions. They complement other types of atmospheric measurements such as groundand space-based remote sensing and airborne measurements. In contrast to atmospheric measurements at ground level, a tall (>200m) tower station offers the possibility to sample the
atmosphere at different heights above ground. This allows for measurement of vertical concentration gradients, local carbon flux estimation, and often also sampling of well-mixed air masses above the nocturnal surface layer, which makes the measured mixing ratios representative of a much larger region compared with locally influenced air masses closer to the ground. ZOTTO As part of a global cooperative effort, the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry is establishing measurement sites along a west-east transect at about 60N from the North Atlantic to Siberia, and along a north-south transect in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. In this context and in the framework of the Observing and Understanding Biogeochemical Responses to Rapid Climate Changes in Eurasia
To the right, booms that each hold a 3D sonic anemometer can be seen (corresponds also to the air inlet heights the topmost four out of six are visible)
Mast observatory
STILT footprint for ZOTTO 301m level, made from five days back trajectories from 1.5.30.11.2009. STILT stands for Stochastic TimeInverted Lagrangian Transport and is a Lagrangian particle dispersion model (LPDM) for atmospheric transport. Its primary purpose is to derive the upstream influence region on atmospheric measurement locations. The location of ZOTTO is shown with the lightgreen cross-hair
regional high-resolution forest fire monitoring program based on remote sensing data.
The inside of the measurement bunker. The spherical buffer volumes (top left) allow a near-concurrent measurement of air from all six inlet heights with a single analyzer
Long-term observations allow the institute to capture the systems response to extraordinary events
project, the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO) was constructed. This scientific platform consists of a 304m-tall mast, a partially underground measurement laboratory, and auxiliary infrastructure facilities located in the center of the Siberian taiga, about 20km west of the Yenisei River (near 60N, 90E) and about 600km north of Krasnoyarsk. ZOTTO has been jointly created by the German Max Planck Society and the V. I. Sukachev Institute of Forest in Krasnoyarsk as a partner project of the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC). ZOTTO is linked to a series of complementary projects by Russian and international partners. It is embedded in the Northern Eurasian Earth System Partnership Initiative (NEESPI), an external project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP). Within Germany, ZOTTO is supported by the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research in Leipzig. Furthermore, the project has been endorsed as a priority item by the Earth System Research Partnership of the Max Planck Society. First atmospheric measurements began on the lower levels of the tower in October 2005 and were continued after completion of the tower in October 2006 on all levels until June 2007. After replacing a gas chromatograph/paramagnetic analyzerbased system with a more autonomous, laser-based system, measurements of CO2, CH4, and H 2O have been operative since spring 2009. Buffer volumes in each air inlet line allow continuous, near-concurrent measurements from all six tower levels with only one instrument, and also remove shortterm fluctuations of CO2 and CH4 mixing ratios associated with turbulence. Further measurement systems monitor aerosols, carbon monoxide, ozone and NOx, as well as the local meteorology (e.g. 3D wind data from six tower levels). The tower measurements are complemented by a series of comprehensive ecosystem mapping and forest inventory surveys in the region and a
Outlook It is essential to distinguish between shortterm variations and multi-decade natural climate variability. To detect long-term trends, long periods of measurements are necessary to improve the statistical significance of the observations. Also, many of the critical processes, e.g. permafrost melting, are occurring relatively slowly over decades. Finally, long-term observations allow the institute to capture the systems response to extraordinary events such as an exceptionally dry and hot summer accompanied by extensive fires, as was the case in 2010. It is often on such occasions that one can learn the most. ZOTTO is intended to serve the scientific community for 30 years or more as one of the worlds major continental observatories. It will document and help quantify the anticipated changes in biogeochemical cycles in this important region of the globe. Ultimately ZOTTO aims to become a certified GAW baseline station. And the project has a large synergetic potential in the context of forthcoming research projects in the boreal and arctic Eurasia. z
Jot V. Lavric is the prime author. Contributors include: Martin Heimann, Christoph Gerbig, Jan Winderlich, Ernst-Detlef Schulze from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena; Meinrat O. Andreae from the Institute for Chemistry based in Mainz; and Alexander A. Onuchin and Alexey V. Panov from the V. N. Sukachev Institute for Forest SB RAS in Krasnoyarsk, Russia
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Auto-visual observation
by Dr Wiel M. F. Wauben
room with a view

Experiences and challenges in automated visual observations
An automated visual system used by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) uses a multisensor aroach to generate an otimal roduct
he Royal Meteorological Institute Netherlands (KNMI) performs automated visual observations of visibility, clouds and weather in the meteorological network that is used for synoptic meteorology, climatology and aeronautical purposes at civil airports, military airbases and off-shore structures in the North Sea. Professional human observers are only ever employed at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The automated system uses a multisensor approach to generate an optimal product with the most complete level of detail that meets the requirements of the reporting of meteorological information by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The characteristics of manual and automated visual observations differ as can be expected when using different observational techniques. Ongoing developments with regard to automated visual observations in the Netherlands have been a chief priority for the organization, including challenges for the manufacturers of meteorological instrumentation.
Spatial representativeness Differences in spatial representativeness are generally an important aspect when comparing human and automated visual observations. An observer evaluates the entire sky for reporting cloudiness and considers all directions for reporting visibility and weather at fixed intervals, whereas the sensors involved measure a small sample volume continuously. KNMI uses video cameras at civil airports to assist a remote meteorologist in verifying the local meteorological conditions. For cloud observations a ceilometer is used which determines the cloud base
The NubiScope at the Cabauw research site of KNMI with the 213m meteorological mast in the background
12 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn A L SEP TEMBER 2011
The current weather sensor has limitations regarding the discrimination of solid precipitation
detected and reported. To overcome the representativeness issue KNMI investigated the use of multiple ceilometers at an airport and evaluated the Total Sky Imager (a digital camera pointing downward at a hemispheric mirror that determines the presence of clouds from the color of sky at each pixel) and the NubiScope (a scanning pyrometer that determines the presence of clouds from the sky temperature observed at each orientation). The use of multiple ceilometers does not improve the overall results significantly, whereas the Total Sky Imager and NubiScope contain spatial information on cloudiness, but lack the accurate height information required for aviation. KNMI uses a forward scatter sensor with present weather capabilities for the determination of visibility and weather, specifically precipitation type. This sensor performs a point measurement so that spatial representativeness is also an issue. Concerning visibility, the differences between human and automated observations are also influenced by the fact that human observations reported the minimum horizontal visibility in all directions for synoptic meteorology and climatology. For aviation, nowadays, the prevailing visibility at an aerodrome is reported. But for the local reports for arrival and departure, the visibility and runway visual range representative of the touchdown/take-off zone, and the conditions along the runway in use, need to be reported. ICAO recommends that the latter parameters should be evaluated by visibility sensors at the appropriate locations. Instrument issues Several instrument-related issues need to be addressed concerning automated visual observations. The ceilometer can interpret precipitation incorrectly as the cloud base and sometimes no cloud base is reported at all during precipitation. If the ceilometer reports vertical visibility it is treated as a
The cloud mask reported by the NubiScope at Cabauw on 31 August, 2011 15:20 UT, using false colours simulating a visual observation of the full sky
height directly above the instrument. A sky obscuration algorithm is used to convert a time series of the cloud base information reported by the ceilometer into cloudiness. This shows good overall agreement with the cloudiness reported by a human observer. However, situations with large deviations between the automatically and manually reported cloudiness occur. For general meteorology, it can be stated that the reduced spatial representativeness of the automated cloud observations is largely compensated by the increase, both temporally and spatially, of cloud information made available by the network. For climatology, the differences in characteristics of the human and automated cloud observations, for example, the enhanced frequency of occurrence of situations with clear sky and overcast in the latter, are a major issue. For aviation the reduced spatial representativeness of the automated cloud observations is experienced as a delay in reporting the actual conditions, since the clouds or their absence need to be directly above the ceilometer before they can be
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn AL SEP TEMBER 2011 13
It should be noted that human observations are not perfect. There are limitations during night time
Field setup for the visibility (MOR) calibration of the Vaisala FD12P forward scatter sensor in De Bilt showing the transmitter and short baseline receiver of the MITRAS transmissometer in the background (left), the reference FD12P in the middle, and the long baseline receiver of the transmissometer in the foreground
The Vaisala LD40 ceilometer (inset) and the locations of the Dutch measurement network where cloudiness is observed automatically
The visibility (MOR) observed with the FD12P forward scatter sensor at De Bilt on August 3, 2010. A reduction due to insects occurs around sunset (black curve, 20 UT) is largely reduced by filtering in the research firmware (red), although there is still a reduction compared with the reference constructed by rescaling the MOR of the collocated transmissometer (green)
cloud base in the KNMI sky obscuration algorithm. The sensitivity of the ceilometer should be high in order to be able to detect cirrus clouds, which is important for climatology. The sensitivity should be stable and consistent between instruments, to facilitate the discrimination between moist layers and thin transparent clouds. Experiences revealed that forward scatter visibility sensors, unlike transmissometers, are affected by the presence of insects in the measurement volume, which can lead to significant reductions of the reported visibility. The reductions can be mitigated by filtering out the spikes in the raw sensor signal caused by insects before calculation of the visibility. The visibility of a forward scatter sensor needs to be calibrated with a transmissometer in a field setup. However, the calibration is only valid up to visibility values of about 1,500m. Note that the traceability of the measurements of cloud base height and precipitation type are lacking as well. The current weather sensor has limitations regarding the discrimination of solid precipitation, particularly in situations
with mixed precipitation and light precipitation intensities. Also the detection of freezing precipitation and hail is poor. To improve the results, the information of other sensors is used. This multisensor approach also allows the detection of additional weather phenomena. Research concerning the enhancement of the discrimination of the precipitation type by using the information obtained with a laser disdrometer is ongoing. Visual observation The automated visual observations can to a large extent be considered a good alternative for human observations. Consistency, objectivity and continuity are advantages of the automated visual observations. Care has to be taken in tailoring the algorithms that transform the measurements into the information required by users, as well as the correct operation of the instruments involved in all conditions. The differences in the characteristics between human and automated visual observations and the instrument issues mentioned above are challenges for the meteorological
community and the manufacturers of meteorological instrumentation. It should be noted that human observations are not perfect, for example, there are limitations during night time. Furthermore, it is important to note that for meteorologists and other users, the in-situ observations are complemented by other sources of information, such as remote sensing, satellite and weather model data, which are combined to build a picture of the current, or past, meteorological conditions. Finally, it should be noted that the meteorological information at civil airports is distributed to users after verification and complementation by a remote meteorologist with real-time access to the processed sensor data and images of video cameras. The meteorologist also plays a proactive role in the notification of air traffic control in case of relevant changes in meteorological conditions. An off-line and partly manual validation step is applied to the data for climatology. z
Dr Wiel M. F. Wauben, senior scientist, R&D Information and Observation Technology, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI)
14 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn A L SEP TEMBER 2011
Flood Forecasting Centre

by Dr Will Lang
Risky business
How a combination of expertise gave birth to a dedicated met unit

The Flood Forecasting Centre is the UKs first dedicated operational flood forecasting service. Chief hydrometeorologist Dr Will Lang explains how the centre works
loods can wreck national economies, so flood forecasts are of paramount importance. In England alone there are five million people living and working in properties vulnerable to flooding. In the UK summer floods of 2007, 13 lives were lost and 55,000 properties flooded, with a cost of more than 3 billion. Sir Michael Pitts subsequent review of these floods recommended that stronger links should be put in place between organizations involved in flood prediction, warning and management. In particular, it was recommended that the national meteorological service the Met Office and the Environment Agency (EA), which is responsible for flood warning and management, should work closely to mitigate the effects of flooding. In 2009, these two organizations began to combine their expertise in meteorology and hydrology into a dedicated centre, the Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC), based in London. Its brief was to provide national-scale intelligence in support of existing flood warning services in England and Wales. All sources of flooding were to be considered: river flooding, tidal and coastal flooding, groundwater flooding and surface water flooding. Now relocated at the Met Offices Exeter HQ, the FFC continues to provide a 24/7 flood-forecasting service. It now also runs a comprehensive development program designed to fast-track new science and new technology into operational flood forecasting. The head of the centre, Paul Mustow, says: The move to Exeter has brought us closer to the Met Offices operations and science hub, allowing a much more direct flow of weather forecasting expertise and data through the centre and to our EA partners and wider customers.
Flood services The FFC provides a range of forecast services to the UKs civil protection community. These include the UK Coastal
Monitoring and Forecasting Service, designed to predict coastal flooding due to high tides and storm surges potentially the most disruptive flood scenario for a large part of the UK. Flooding from rainfall and rivers is the focus of most forecasts and warnings. Among the customers for these services are the emergency services and local authorities, and the EAs own regional and local flood forecasting and incident management teams. These teams have expertise working at catchment scales and with local communities. The FFC strives to ensure that they have the best meteorological data and interpretation, as well as the best national-scale flood assessment from which to add this local and important detail. Traditionally, the Met Office provided rainfall forecast services for the EA via simple, tabular forecasts produced daily, and by threshold-based rainfall alerts. The FFC inherited these products, although the emphasis on additional telephone consultancy has steadily increased. Now, a new suite of EA products has been designed, exploiting the Met Offices Hazard Manager web service. This approach enables a much more intuitive, graphical approach to presenting warnings. This not only gives much greater clarity for end users, it means the forecasts and warnings take much less time to produce, freeing up FFC forecasters for allimportant interpretation, decision-making and communicating duties. For heavier rainfall, with intensities usually associated with surface-water flooding, the centre issues Extreme Rainfall Alerts (ERAs) to emergency responders. These typically warn of heavy, localized summer thunderstorm activity. They look at factors that could lead to surface water flooding, such as the capacity of drains, rainfall thresholds and the probability of extreme rainfall breaching those thresholds.
16 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTERn ATIOn A L SEp TEMbER 2011
When theres no flooding, we spend our time preparing for the next flood
It is this risk-based approach that has influenced the design of the FFCs flagship product, the Flood Guidance Statement (FGS). At the heart of the FGS is a simple traffic light colored five-day map of the regions of England and Wales. Colors for a particular area are determined by considering both probability and impact of flooding using a risk matrix. Exactly the same approach is used for the Met Offices National Severe Weather Warning Service. The two services are linked into a single, authoritative voice in times of potential flooding. The FGS is designed to provide an easily understandable planning aid for all emergency responders, but its simple presentation belies a complex production process involving many different forecasting models, tools and subject matter experts. For example, the collaborative process for the FGS involves agreeing a common view on flood risk between the FFC hydrometeorologists, the Met Office chief forecaster, regional EA flood forecasting teams and the Met Offices regionally based public weather service advisors. For flooding events that might affect England and Scotland, consensus must be reached between the FFC and its newly formed counterpart north of the border, the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service (SFFS) a partnership between the Met Office and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). The science behind the operation The operational flood forecasting service is only one aspect of the FFCs activities. Floods occur infrequently, and major incidents (such as the Cumbria floods of November 2009) are rarer still; so a flexible roster system has been developed which makes it possible for the hydrometeorologists to carry out research when the weather allows and enables operations to
Above: The Cumbria floods in November 2009 Left: Heavy rain caused severe flooding and landslides in Cornwall in November 2010
Surface water flooding is notoriously hard to predict especially in urban areas where heavy rainfall can saturate the ground and form pools of water. But ERAs alone do not take into account the likelihood that heavy rain will have adverse consequences. For a given heavy storm, the risk of disruption due to surfacewater flooding also depends on other factors such as terrain, land use, population density, and existing moisture levels within the ground. Finding the location In recent months, the FFC has moved towards producing forecasts that incorporate an assessment of flood risk. The question is no longer just, How much will it rain and for how long? but where will this rain increase the chance of flooding? and What will the effects of this flooding be? Also taken into account is the capability and resources of an emergency response in a particular area. Sparsely populated areas are not necessarily at lower risk of flooding than urban areas; a city may have proportionally more ability to respond.
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn AL SEp TEMbER 2011 17
An aerial photo showing the extent of the devastating Cumbria November 2009 floods in northern England. Below: Hazard Manager is a one-stop information source for the emergency response community. It is an interactive web portal using maps which can be overlaid with weather and incident related information
scale up when needed. When theres no flooding, we spend our time preparing for the next flood, explains Mustow. The FFCs science development program aims to identify and exploit new technical advances at the EA, Met Office and wider research community such as observations, Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models and hydrological models accelerating their implementation into operational flood forecasting. The FFC makes the best use of observations available to the EA and Met Office, such as the UK radar rainfall network, currently being upgraded to incorporate a dual-polarisation and Doppler capability. NWP models used by the FFC include the convection-resolving UKV model (currently running at 1.5km resolution), with a high-resolution ensemble capability due in 2012. Short Term Ensemble Prediction System (STEPS) nowcasts are used to blend current observations with the model output. With STEPS, the rainfall distribution is separated into different sizes,
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DATES IN 2011?

18-20 October 2011
Discover the latest measurement, prediction and analysis tools, technologies, techniques and services! Over 100 exhibitors!
FROM THE PUBLISHER OF METEOROLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
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so heavy rainfall (which is more predictable) can be nowcast further ahead, while smaller events are nowcast over shorter timescales. On the larger scale and for longer forecast periods, the Met Offices Global Model and the Global and Regional Ensemble Prediction System (MOGREPS) are routinely used, with additional input from the European Centre for Mediumrange Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) deterministic and probabilistic forecasts. To step from meteorology to genuine hydrometeorology, the FFC is using a number of innovative tools. For example, one empirical tool compares high-resolution model output to areas identified by the EA as being particularly sensitive to surfacewater flooding, outputting a flood risk assessment as well as rainfall details. The Centre for Ecology and Hydrologys Grid-to-Grid (G2G) hydrological model is being tuned for operational use covering England and Wales at 1km resolution, which represents unprecedented aerial coverage and resolution for this type of model. Using G2G, hydrometeorologists can objectively gauge nationwide river response to forecast rainfall during the entire five-day period covered by the FGS. Although the focus for use of the model is on these larger scales and longer lead times, it is anticipated that the G2G will give useful advice on flood risk in rapid-response catchments, such as those in some coastal areas in southwest England. The people involved The human role in interpreting and communicating flood risk is seen as the key component of the operational service. In the past, there was a risk of dilution or misunderstanding of key messages as forecasts passed between weather forecasters and hydrologists. The FFC has addressed this problem by creating a team of genuine hydrometeorologists, who
With a dedicated team, the FFC provides the best possible intelligence and support to existing Environment Agency flood warnings
understand the weather and its implication for flood risk, and can impart this understanding clearly and authoritatively to local flood experts and other emergency responders. In the FFC, EA hydrologists and flood forecasters have qualified as weather forecasters, completing the same prestigious training program as the Met Offices trainee forecasters. In return, Met Office forecasters
have honed their hydrology skills on secondment with the EA regional forecasting and incident management team. The benefits of combining the two disciplines are enormous, both for the FFC and the local-level teams who rely on their guidance and advice. Planning for change As well as anticipating scientific and technical advances, the FFC is also preparing for long-term variations in environmental conditions. Climate change predictions indicate that an increased flood risk for the UK is likely, from wetter winters, heavier summer thunderstorms and rising sea levels. For Mustow, the message is clear: Were developing a long-term view. We recognise that as the climate changes, and the needs and expectations of our customers also change, we will be able to offer an improving service that helps saves lives and reduces the impact of flooding. z
Dr Will Lang is chief hydrometeorologist at the UKs Met Office
The flood forecast risk matrix
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WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT TO SEE AT METEOROLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY WORLD EXPO?

Data acquisition and analysis systems Solar radiation measurement systems Long- and short-term forecasting technologies Air quality measurement tools Earth observation technologies Onboard aircraft weather systems Water level and ow analysis systems Wind sensors and speed measurement Tsunami monitoring tools Modelling and simulation tools Onboard shipping measurement technologies Temperature sensors Signal conditioning technologies Humidity measurement systems Rain gauges Onboard marine applications Tornado tracking systems Satellite technologies Lightning detection Barometric pressure measurement technologies Evaporation measurement systems Solar radiation technologies Severe weather early warning systems Tripods and towers Visibility analysis tools Ocean current/ow measurement and prediction systems Displays Independent weather service providers Gas monitoring systems Supercomputers Surge protection for systems Oceanic conditions systems Hydrometeorological hazard analysis tools Engineering and surveying Radar Telemetry Weather stations Observatory equipment
0 Over 10 ! rs exhibito

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ver 100 ! O ib i t o r s exh e gi s t e r ! R in e n ow o nl
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THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF CLIMATE, WEATHER AND HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL MEASUREMENT, FORECASTING AND ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES
For more information on how to participate or register, go to: www.MeteorologicalTechnologyWorldExpo.com Technologies and services on show will include:
Data acquisition and analysis systems Solar radiation measurement systems Long- and short-term forecasting technologies Air quality measurement tools Earth observation technologies Onboard aircraft weather systems Water level and ow analysis systems Wind sensors and speed measurement Tsunami monitoring tools Modelling and simulation tools Onboard shipping measurement technologies Temperature sensors Signal conditioning technologies Humidity measurement systems Rain gauges Onboard marine applications Tornado tracking systems Satellite technologies Lightning detection Ocean current/ow measurement and prediction systems Barometric pressure measurement technologies Evaporation measurement systems Solar radiation technologies Severe weather early warning systems Tripods and towers Visibility analysis tools Displays Independent weather service providers Gas monitoring systems Hydrometeorological hazard analysis tools Supercomputers Surge protection for systems Oceanic conditions systems Engineering and surveying Radar Telemetry Weather stations Observatory equipment
Who will be visiting Meteorological Technology World Expo?
0 Over 10 ! rs exhibito
FROM THE PUBLISHER OF METEOROLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
Operations directors, senior scientists, programme managers, purchasing chiefs and managing directors from leading airlines, aircraft operators, shipping companies, marine/port installations, airports, military operations, off-shore exploration companies, wind farm operators and agricultural operations, in addition to met ofces and research institutes

18-20 October 2011

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EXHIBITORS (as of 6 September 2011)
Aanderaa Data Instruments AS Adolf Thies GmbH & Co KG Advanced Radar Corporation AKIM ELEKTRON K LTD. T . All Weather Inc Anhui Sun Create Electronics Co Ltd Astrium Astronautics Corporation of America ATC Network Aviamettelecom of ROSHYDROMET AvMet International BAE Systems Baron Services Beijing Santel Technology & Trading Corp Biral Boreas Ltd Boschung Mecatronic Campbell Scientic Europe Casella Monitor CLS Contour- NIIRS Ltd. Co Copystar Ventures Ltd Davis Instruments DELTA OHM S.r.l. Dr A Muller Meteorologische Instrumente KG Environmental Measurements Limited Envirtech S.p.A. ESA/ESRIN Eumetsat EWR Weather Radar GAMIC mbH Geonor AS GEPARD Gill Instruments Ltd Globoccess AG HMEI International Aeronavigation Systems IPS Meteostar Inc JENOPTIK I Defense & Civil Systems Jinyang Industrial Co Ltd Kipp & Zonen B.V. Kisters AG KMIPA - Korean Meteorological Industry Promotion Agency Komoline Electronics Pvt Ltd Konect GDS Kongsberg Spacetec AS Lambrecht GmbH Laser Systems Leosphere Liquid Robotics Logotronic Lufft Metek GmbH meteoblue Meteorological Technology International Meteorage Meteosim S.L. MicroStep-MIS NESA SRL Nicarnica AS Nicarnica Aviation AS NILU Innovation AS Numtech OMSZ - Hungarian Meteorological Service Optical Scientic Inc Orbital Systems Ltd OTT Hydromet GmbH Panasonic Marketing Europe GmbH Performance Technologies Pessl Instruments GmbH Previmeteo360 Raymetrics S.A Remtech S.A. Roshydromet CDB HI Rotronic AG Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium RPG Radiometer Physics GmbH ScanEx Scintec AG Selex Systems Integration GmbH Sigma Space SSEC Technosky - An ENAV Company Techsense Solutions Sdn Bhd TECMES Instruments Especiales S.R.L. Thales Alenia Space Theodor Friedrichs and Co UK Met Ofce Vaisala Oyj VCS Aktiengesellschaft Vista Data Vision WaterLOG Weather Modication Inc WMO Voluntary Cooperation Programme
Phased-array radar
by P. L. Heinselman & K. D. Hondl
Off the StarbOard beam

The USAs National Severe Storms Laboratory in Oklahoma is looking at major upgrades for its weather surveillance systems
hased-array radar (PAR), with its innate capacity for aircraft tracking and rapid scanning, is the technology being explored by the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, Oklahoma. The US network of weather surveillance radars includes S-band Weather Surveillance Radar 1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) and shorter-wavelength radars used for localized weather surveillance and aircraft tracking at major airports. As these systems approach their engineering-design lifetimes, the organization is exploring technological upgrades that advance weather-surveillance capabilities while providing aircraft surveillance in a multifunction phased-array radar (MPAR). Though the development of an MPAR system is a long-term goal, the current focus is on the development of rapid-scan weather-surveillance capabilities. The National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT) facilitates the exploration and testing of rapid sampling of severe storms. This facility includes a single-faced, vertically polarized Sband US Navy SPY-1A phased-array antenna, composed of 4,352 elements, to electronically steer the beam within 45 in azimuth from the array axis. The NWRT/PARs passive array is powered by a WSR-88D transmitter and driven by a custom-designed controllerprocessor system. The transmitting beam width is ~1.5 at bore site and degrades to 2.1 at 45 from the array axis. This research radar sits on a pedestal to support stationary 90 sector scanning in the direction of interest. In the future, an operational system would provide 360 coverage, employ state-of-the-art PAR technology (such as active array), and be dual-polarized. Four-panel and cylindrical designs are under consideration for MPAR.
DMSP F-11 thermal smooth (1.5 nmi) imagery of severe storms over the Midwest, USA. A tornado was reported 25 minutes later by Tinker AFB
Techniques using beams Two rapid-sampling techniques unique to NWRT/PAR are beam multiplexing and electronic adaptive scanning. Beam multiplexing, developed by Dr Tian Yu and colleagues at the University of Oklahoma and NSSL, exploits beam agility by interlacing the sampling of multiple beam
positions, which results in longer dwell times without increasing the overall scan update time. With the NSSL implementation of this technique, scan time is reduced by half. The trade-off is one of data quality, as ground clutter filters compatible with this technique do not exist. This problem is mitigated by employing the technique in clutterfree regions. Electronic adaptive scanning is accomplished using the ADAPTS algorithm developed at NOAA NSSL. ADAPTS (Adaptive Digital Signal Processing Algorithm for PAR Timely Scans) focuses sampling on beam positions containing weather targets. For a given scanning strategy, beam positions are turned on or off based on three criteria, which are chosen to ensure that: lower elevation angles are always scanned; at higher elevation angles only
significant weather returns are sampled; and on beam positions account for storm growth, decay, and advection. Reduction in sampling time is maximized when observing isolated storms located far from the radar. Appropriate implementation of beam multiplexing, ADAPTS, and/or other
2 4 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn A L SEP TEMBER 2011
Phased-array radar
Though the development of an MPAR system is a long-term goal, the current focus is on the development of rapid-scan weather surveillance capabilities
Warning sign
Given the long-term goal of replacing the WSR-88D network with MPARs, NSSL is also exploring potential impacts of rapid updates on the warning decision process of NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters. In spring 2010, 12 forecasters from 11 NOAA NWS Forecast Offices participated in the first experiment designed to assess such impacts. During the experiment, forecaster pairs worked simulated real-time events (in separate rooms) with either full(~43 seconds) or degradedtemporal resolution (4.5 minutes) NWRT/PAR data. Preliminary findings from a short-lived tornado case suggest that interpretation of radar signatures seen in rapid update data tend to fit better with forecasters conceptual models, and can result in significant improvement in tornado warning lead time (up to 21 minutes).
intensity of new or surging updrafts, the onset of descending reflectivity cores, and the development and intensification of rear inflow jets, convergence boundaries, and rotating updrafts. When combined with other information, such as lightning flash rate, analysis of NWRT/PAR data has shown, in great detail, how storm evolution for a given case relates to changes in storm electrification. z sampling techniques leads to volumetric update times ranging from approximately 30-60 seconds. These rapid updates fill in the temporal gaps present in operational scanning strategies and provide timely sampling of severe storm precursors that lead to the development of hail, straight-line winds, and tornadoproducing circulations. Examination of several cases reveals important evolutionary information, such as initiation of new cells, growth rate,
Kurt D. Hondl is a research meteorologist and has been appointed as NSSLs MPAR project manager (MPAR being the Multifunction Phased Array Radar). The MPAR program will develop a prototype phased array radar with newer technology. Dr Heinselman is a research scientist, NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn AL SEP TEMBER 2011 2 5
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The mosT imporTanT evenT This indusTry has ever seen
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Meteorological Technology World Expo will open its doors from October 18-20, 2011 in Brussels, Belgium to showcase the very latest and next-generation weather prediction and analysis technologies and service providers. Over 100 exhibitors will be participating and the free-to-attend conference features what is quite possibly the most comprehensive, best speaker line-up of the year. Read on to learn more about what we think is the must-attend event of the year...
he worlds first ever technology-based meteorological show is hosting a line-up of the most respected names in the industry from across the globe and with more than 100 exhibitors from the leading companies involved in all meteorological prediction and development systems, it is set to be the must-attend event of the
year...and its all free. With todays changing climate there is now more than ever an absolute need for improved weather prediction technologies and services. Business can be won or lost based on the weather, and disasters can potentially be avoided given timely and accurate information Meteorological Technology
World Expo has been a long time coming! Held in Brussels, Belgium, from 18-20 October 2011, this truly World Expo will showcase the very latest and next-generation meteorological and hydrometeorological prediction hardware, instruments, software, modelling equipment, analysis
tools, and of course a number of independent weather service providers. More than 100 exhibitors are expected to participate at Meteorological Technology World Expo. Taking place on the exhibition floor, is the free-toattend conference that arguably features the best speaker line-up of the year.
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTER n ATIOn AL SEp TEMbER 2011 2 7
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WORLD EXPO JOINS WITH NATO AT SHOW

The NATO Meteorological and Oceanographic (METOC) Military Committee Working Group provides the NATO Military Committee METOC with advice, and acts as a standardization authority through the supervision of subordinate panels on military meteorology and military oceanography. The group, with delegates from military METOC functions within each alliance nation, meets annually each third quarter at NATO headquarters in Brussels, and addresses military METOC policy, procedures and standardization agreements between nations of the 28-member alliance and partner nations. At the request of national delegates, this years
meeting was purposely planned to coincide with the Meteorological Technology World Expo, allowing attendees to interact with exhibitors of the latest technology, and fully optimize their trip to Brussels. Information and contacts will be sought on how these nations are assessing and preparing for climate change and threats to national security, including natural or man-made disaster response.
SMART MONITORS
At Meteorological Technology World Expo Aanderaa Data Instruments (AADI) from Norway will demonstrate the features of the new Smartguard. The company is a maker of reliable instruments for air and water, and its oceanographic instruments are in use in applications ranging from streams to the deep sea, from sh farms to waste water, from polar ice to hydrothermal vents. Its meteorological stations are used when reliable measurements in remote harsh environments are needed, including polar regions, on mountains and on coastal buoys. Smartguard is the latest member in the AADI family of advanced dataloggers. In contrast to the Seaguard and RDCP-600, Smartguard is intended for land and buoy installations. It has low power consumption and the capacity to handle more than 40 AADI and/or third-party sensors using different signal standards.
32 leading global experts will present their unique views on weather prediction systems at the expo
PRODUC DEBUT T
DATA TOOLKIT AT WORLD EXPO
An online weather data integration and visualization toolkit called LEADS will be demonstrated by IPS MeteoStar Inc. (IPSM) during the Expo. IPSM will not only show the current versions of these systems, but they will also preview the new versions, as well as its new GIS data services, expanded aviation, hydrology and climatology applications, and the new LEADSR product line. IPSM will also give a talk on the upgraded weather systems it is installing at the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility, as part of the new Taurus-II International Space Station re-supply program.
CONFERENCE SPEAKER
JOSH WURMAN
Getting close: mobile radar and in situ studies inside tornadoes and hurricanes. Also: Fine-scale and mobile/targetable multiple-Doppler
Viewed by many as a genuine celebrity within the industry, Josh Wurman is an atmospheric scientist noted for his ingenious inventions, his endless quest for extreme weather and his regular television appearances. I am fascinated by tornadoes and hurricanes, but I am also a developer of technologies such as the Doppler On Wheels, a eet of trucks with dual-frequency, dual-polarization rapid-scan capabilities that can collect more detailed information about severe weather than you would think possible. The rst of Wurmans two presentations will address his techniques and strategies for going after severe weather, while the second will outline the technologies he and his team have developed. In the technology address Ill be describing several innovative technologies that Ive developed for recording severe weather, including mobile radars, bistatic radar networks
IN FOCUS:
president, Centre for Severe Weather Research, USA

and inexpensive rapid scanning with multiple beam systems, he says. Ill be discussing how we use these systems, because there is a wide variety of techniques employed, a real different paradigm for how to do eld studies using such instrumentation. An overview of some of his recent studies will include VORTEX2. VORTEX2, where we had 50 vehicles out there surrounding storms, is a prime example of the difference between a traditional eld study and our way of doing things. Tradition has it you sit and wait for the weather to come to you. We go to the weather.
2 8 ME TEOROLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY IN TERN ATION A L SEP TEMBER 2011
2 nd 30 Sta
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LATE TECHNO ST LOGY
TSUNAMI BUOYS
The leading tsunami buoys manufacturer based in Italy is Envirtech SpA. Its main products on display will include: the Vulcan Class seabottom laboratories, with realtime seismic data collection capabilities; the Poseidon Class tsunameters, actually deployed in some regional tsunami warning systems; and the meteorologic data buoy Envirtech Deep Sea MK-I. Envirtech also manages the Italian Data Buoy Network, a 15-buoy network around the Italian coasts, collecting meteorological, chemical, and physical parameters available.
STAND 5020
SHOWCASE SATELLITE STATIONS

Visitors to the World Expo should visit Orbital Systems Ltd, which manufactures and maintains satellite ground stations for reception and processing of EOS-DB satellites such as Terra, Aqua, NPP, JPSS1, FY3, METOP, NOAA, FY1 and others. It offers complete system bundles for its products, including the 2.4AEHP high-reliability antenna positioner, X-L dual-band feed, highand low-rate demodulators, and the EOS-FES front-end server, as well as professional installation to provide a fully functioning ground station up through level 0 data products. Projects requiring high-level data and services can be purchased through systems integrator partners who can customise services.
STAND 5112
SENSORS AND CAMERAS ON SHOW

A combination of electrics, electronics, and mechatronics with laser and infrared sensor systems, optics, and opto-electronics creates powerful solutions for various markets, ranging from specialised components to fully integrated system solutions, will be displayed by Jenoptik Defense & Civil Systems. The Sensor Systems business unit focuses on innovative laser sensors and infrared camera technology. The product range includes: the CHM 15k ceilometers for aerosol height prole analysis up to 15,000m and the SHM 30 optical snow depth sensors for long measuring ranges.
Meteorological Technology World Expo 2011 is free to attend and so is the conference!
CONFERENCE SPEAKER
DR STEVEN DEWITTE
The Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium is one of the most widely respected met ofces in the world. As head of observations, Steven Dewitte plays a crucial role in a division that concerns itself with more than just weather stations. We do satellites, precipitation radar, balloon sounding, ozone, and aerosol measurements, he says. I joined in 1994, when I was still a student working on measuring the earth radiation budget from satellites. Measuring climate change in Belgium is carried out by analysis of long-term systematic observations of temperature, precipitation and sunshine. Temperature change is the most typical indicator for climate change, but we believe precipitation and sunshine duration are also key, says Dewitte. Sometime in the mid1980s there was much concern about acid rain and as a result sulfur emissions were reduced. This had a large impact on air pollution. Since then, air
IN FOCUS:
head of observations, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium

pollution has gone down so we get more radiation. When it comes to space measurement, we make our own instruments to measure the solar irradiance, he says. The solar cycle is 11 years and we measure the difference in energy the sun is outputting. This is also important in the context of climate change. A lot of people believe the sun could have an important inuence in this area. Most likely at this time the solar irradiance was lower than it is today.
EE MUST SM SYSTE
STAND 6100
3 0 ME TEOROLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY INTERN ATION A L SEP TEMBER 2011
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T OP SOFTWA RE
EXHIBITOR
SPOTLIGHT
BEN DIETERINK
CEO KIPP & ZONEN
What is Kipp & Zonen BV?
Kipp & Zonen is the world market leader in sensors and systems measuring solar radiation for meteorology, agriculture, solar energy, and industry. Next to its range of sensors, Kipp & Zonen has developed scientic systems for measuring solar radiationrelated phenomena in the boundary layer.
SEE THE FUTURE OF CLOUDS

On stand 2100, visitors will nd CineSat, a professional software suite for interactive and automated meteorological imaging, real-time weather analysis, and high-performance display. Its special strength is the automated real-time cloud motion analysis and prediction of satellite images and weather movies that run into the future. CineSat includes a rich set of validated, cutting-edge nowcasting methods. It analyses image sequences with ultra-fast and highly accurate algorithms, detects convective cells, analyzes cloud motion, and development. Connected to a real-time data stream like EUMETCast, it automatically derives a set of fully customizable weather products and feeds users applications and websites with high-quality data products, graphics, and animation movies.
STAND 2100
Why are you exhibiting at Meteorological Technology World Expo 2011?

Kipp & Zonen has chosen the World Expo for two product launches. The show appeared to be the best platform for introducing a new range of solar radiation sensors and the completely redesigned scintillometer. The company has developed a range of solar radiation sensors with a smart interface, which are designed to meet the latest requirements for sensors in the solar energy industry. The sensors can connect to digital bus systems and provide onboard data qualications to improve data quality and data security. Dataloggers are no longer required.
What are your pre-conceptions of the event?
The World Expo looks like a great platform for our product launches. We have high expectations for visitor turnout from both the meteorological and solar energy/industrial markets. The mix of exhibitors numbered among them quite a few Kipp customers hopefully generating the required trafc for our product launches. We expect the show to be a great success.
In 2010, Russia suffered its hottest year in 1,000 years of history. At least 10,000 people died from Moscows heat phenomenon
RADAR SIGNAL PROCESSORS

In 2011, GAMIC released the next-generation radar signal processor ENIGMA IV. In its upscale version it can process in full DPOL mode more than 12,000 range bins in real time. Radar systems in X, C, S band, in stationary, transportable, and mobile version as well as Magnetron,
OLOGY TECHNRADE UPG
Klystron, TWT, and solid state are offered. GAMICs ATC Radar Doppler Weather Extractor has now been deployed at more than 36 air force sites in cooperation with CASSIDIAN (EADS). The GAMIC software suite FROGMURAN, Version 4, now has more than 50 weather processing algorithms, including hydrometeor classication, detection, nowcasting, and realtime warnings.
STAND 3010
CALIBRATION TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES

To know that your data is reliable is essential, and not only for weather services every operator of a meteorological network should take care of the reliability of its data. A lot of time is used for planning the meteorological network and for choosing the right sensors. And the right questions should be asked. But what about the time after the installation? Are the sensors still producing reliable data after working for several seasons with changing temperature and air pollution? It is also
necessary to test the accuracy again after a maintenance service. Calibration must not be expensive and time consuming. Besides a wide range of meteorological equipment, exhibitor Theodor Friedrichs & Co produces all kinds of different meteorological calibration equipment for mobile, laboratory, or automatic use.
STAND 1110
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SHOWCASING INNOVATIVE OBSERVATION

One of the most established exhibitors at the World Expo is Vaisala, a global leader in environmental and industrial measurement. With more than 70 years of experience, Vaisala provides a comprehensive range of innovative observation and measurement products and services for meteorology, weather-critical operations, and controlled environments. Vaisalas observation instruments and systems mean users will have accurate, reliable, and real-time weather data when they need it most. Headquartered in Finland, the group employs more than 1,350 professionals worldwide. Vaisala has ofces and operations across the world.
STAND 5000
GLOBAL LEADER
ULTRASONIC WINDSPEED AND DIRECTION SENSORS

Ultrasonic wind sensors have been designed and manufactured by Gill for more that 20 years. All products are designed and manufactured in accordance with ISO 9001, and performance specications are traceable to national standards on show at the World Expo. The new MetPak Pro offers the ability to incorporate four additional sensors into a MetPak Pro and provide a single serial output. The MetPakII selfcontained instrument combines windspeed, wind direction, temperature, pressure, dew point, and humidity sensors to provide a single serial output. The WindSonic windspeed and direction sensor is supplied with a standard two-year warranty. The WindSonic has no moving parts requiring service or calibration; now with reduced power consumption <5mA at 12V. The WindObserver is the wind sensor of choice for the USA Navy Moriah program, replacing old mechanical units. The WindObserver has been accepted by the FAA (USA) and CAA (UK).
STAND 2010
CONFERENCE SPEAKER
IN FOCUS:
STEVEN ALBERSHEIM
senior meteorologist, Federal Aviation Administration, USA
Developments in providing information for ash and space weather in support of air navigation
Over the past 20 years, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has led the successful International Airways Volcano Watch Program (IAVW) to support airlines and air trafc management on the hazards associated with volcanic ash. The program was undermined last year as a result of the Icelandic eruption, leading to a reevaluation of existing standards. The ICAO wants to insure this situation never occurs again, says Steve Albersheim, US representative to the ICAO and US delegate leader for the ICAO Volcanic Ash Task Force. My job is to help formulate US position and policy on how to deal with volcanic ash in airspace in terms of practices and operating procedures. Albersheims must-see address summarizes the issues associated with volcanic ash from a global perspective before explaining the challenges, what has transpired as a result of the Icelandic eruption, and where the international community is looking to make improvements while at the same time pointing out that more work has to be done and uncertainties regarding capabilities remain. There is no doubt that the international community needs to know the status of the volcanic ash program, and I hope I can shed some light on it, says Albersheim, whose presentation will also examine the services required for space weather and its effects on air navigation.
9 out of 10 lightning bolts strike land rather than oceans. A storm named John was the longestlasting Pacic tropical storm continuing for 31 days. As it crossed the dateline twice, it changed status from a hurricane to a typhoon and back to a hurricane
3 2 ME TEOROLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY IN TERN ATION A L SEP TEMBER 2011
Systems Integration
Gematronik Weather Radar Systems
TECHNOLOGY LEADER IN WEATHER RADAR SYSTEMS

More than 300 high-end METEOR weather radar systems installed worldwide More than 50 meteorological, hydrological, and aviation products available in Rainbow 5 Multi-sensor networks and meteorological systems integration Worldwide maintenance services and spare part management
Selex Systems Integration GmbH Gematronik Weather Radar Systems info@gematronik.com, info@selex-si.de www.gematronik.com, www.selex-si.de
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LATES PRODUC T TS
CONFERENCE SPEAKER
IN FOCUS:
DR GILES HARRISON
Hundreds of weather balloons are launched routinely by met services around the world every day and we believe they are under-used, says Professor Giles Harrison. What we have worked on is a way of using additional sensors to obtain more science information than just atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity. Harrisons presentation will detail the practical application of the research he and his team have carried out in the area of volcanic ash and its inuence on aircraft safety. In this presentation I want to show that these sensors have a usefulness beyond the applications weve developed. During the Eyjafjallajkull eruption last year we were able to monitor the plumes of volcanic ash over the UK and that gave us an additional way of making measurements that otherwise couldnt be made because of the ight ban. They were used initially by the UK Met Ofce, but I certainly believe there is a wider interest and potential for this technology. The extra cost for this additional information is minimal. In addition to the measurement of volcanic ash, Harrison will outline how his developmental research is applicable in the area of turbulence measurement. A range of meteorological
LIGHTNING DATA EXPERTISE

Any visitor wishing to nd an expert in lighting data should visit Mtorages stand. Created in 1987, and now a joint venture between Mto France and Vaisala, Mtorage is a lighting detection network operator with a specic knowledge of the conception, marketing, and distribution of lightning data applications. Using its own lightning detection network, Mtorage is serving end users in the French, Swiss, Belgian, and UK markets with a large range of products and services for lightning risk prevention such as lightning data processing and display software, alarm service, remote counter, and statistics. In addition to met services and utility networks, insurance and telcos, civil security and aviation control organizations, Mtorage is serving hundreds of customers in all industrial sectors.
STAND 5060
professor of atmospheric physics, University of Reading, UK

balloon-borne sensors that are both lightweight and low cost will be described, together with the atmospheric measurements made. Harrison himself is interested in the opportunity to bring his science to a broader community, one with an operational view of technology. Im very used to talking to research scientists who are working on particular problems. However, I believe this is a timely technology that has a broader applicability, and this is an opportunity for us to showcase some of our science to a more operational community at an event that is taking place for the rst time but promises much.
Meteorological Technology World Expo is being organized by the publishers of Meteorological Technology International magazine, the worlds only publication dedicated to weather, climate and hydrometeorological prediction, measurement and forecasting instruments and services
APPLICABLE INNOVATIONS
With a focus on leading-edge hydrometeorological sensor and data management technology, OTT Hydromet will be presenting an array of products at the expo. ADCON Telemetry, as a new member of the OTT Hydromet Group, offers smart, compact and low-power wireless system solutions for environmental monitoring, including simple and straightforward data storage and monitoring through the internet. Our product development activity is focused on nding technologies that are able to maintain high levels of performance with a low power requirement, but without a need for frequent maintenance or calibration, says Kurt Nemeth, BDM at OTT Hydromet. Our latest smart sensors reect this
strategy. ADCONs telemetry solutions provide us with even greater options for remote monitoring systems. Exhibits will include the latest versions of OTTs most advanced systems for monitoring precipitation: Pluvio2 employs a highly accurate weighing mechanism and is able to monitor all types of precipitation up to 3,000mm/ hour. Parsivel2, the companys premium laser-based disdrometer, differentiates and classies precipitation particles as drizzle, rain, sleet, hail, snow or mixed precipitation.
STAND 4080
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time series management

Kister is a leading developer of standard software for the hydrological, hydrometeorological, air quality, and energy markets, and its core competence is in time series data management and analysis for complex monitoring applications in the aforementioned fields. System states and changes must be traceable, and decisions must be based on facts for future verifiability. The technology is called time series management. Its implementation in software and databases has been a core competence at Kister for 20 years in a leading technological position.
M A JO DISPLAR Y
The companys products allow customers to collect, manage, and analyse data and processes accruing in the hydrological, hydrometeorological, and air quality monitoring industries offering maximum efficiency and low personnel costs. On display will be WISKI: time series management software for hydrometeorological applications; CALAMAR: precipitation radar evaluation, forecasting and visualization software; and SODA: telemetry units.
stanD 2040
EXHIBITOR
SPOTLIGHT
Nicolas Deve
T PRODUC UT DEB
What is Leosphere?
marketing plan manager, leosPHeRe
Weather station in miniature

The LP-WIVIS system is being launched at the World Expo. Manufacturer Optical Scientific Inc claims it to be the worlds most advanced present weather/visibility sensor designed for lowpower applications. The low power requirements of the LP-WIVIS make it ideal for portable battery- and solarpowered installations. It is more than a sensor, it is a system. The analogue and serial inputs are available for interface to other sensors. A weather station built around the LP-WIVIS does not require a separate data acquisition system, and serves as the data acquisition device. This results in a complete small weather station with low power requirements and quick setup. The LP-WIVIS is targeted for military, hazmat, and other weather sensor and station applications that require quick and easy deployment. The LP-WIVIS uses patented environmentally adaptive algorithms based on artificial intelligence technology derived from over 200 million field hours of real-world data from OSis sensors. OSis optical sensors provide critical weather data to airport, highway, military, research, and meteorological weather information systems at over 2,000 sites.
stanD 2050
Leosphere is a one of the leading companies in lidar atmospheric observations. Our core activity is to develop, manufacture, sell and service lidar remote sensing instruments that are able to measure components of the atmosphere such as particles, aerosols, and wind. During the volcanic ash events of 2010, Leosphere instruments played a key role.
Leosphere wants to become one of the worlds leading companies in the remote sensing meteorological observations market, so we are always keen to discover any new exhibitions where we could increase our visibility. Our experience in meteorology is that there are not many significant and important exhibitions in the world that allow both large and small companies to exhibit in the weather industry and also the airport industry. As a young and fast-growing company, this event should help us improve our visibility in the industry.
What are your pre-conceptions of the show?
This is the first Meteorological Technology World Expo and therefore there are great expectations. Europe definitely needs a big and important exhibition related to meteorology and the airport weather industry. EMS does exist, but is a rather small and scientific event. We know about Meteorology Technology International because we advertise in it and understand it is the same people behind the expo. We have invested a significant amount of money to exhibit and since it is going to be the first ever event it is hard for us to know what the ROI is going to be, making expectations even higher expectations!
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn AL SEp TEMbER 2011 3 5
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OPERATIONAL SYSTEMS
One of the Far-Eastern companies to visit is Beijing SanTel Technology & Trading Corp, a state-owned enterprise mainly engaged in export and import, international bidding, engineering project management and consultation services. It is subordinated to the Second Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). Mechanical equipment and electronic information are the companys primary business, and the rm is becoming the most competitive corporation specializing in meteorological observation operating and communication systems. At present SanTel is focusing on more professional products such as GPS sonde, proler radars, yaway antenna, all solid-state shot wave transmitter, etc. At the exhibition the company will display the GPS sonde, which can perform accurate weather forecasting. Also on show will be the Proler radar with tropospheric wind proler radar, and the boundary layer wind proler radar, which is a type of pulse Doppler radar with solidstate transmitter technology.
STAND 6082
EXHIBITOR
SPOTLIGHT
THE TOTAL RANGE

Supporting a wide array of meteorological systems ranging from research-quality polarimetric Doppler radar systems to advanced atmospheric measurement instrumentation, AvMet offers a complete pre- and post-installation service in support of these systems. Alongside those on display is Weather Modication (WMI), which provides a wide range of groundbased and airborne meteorological services that include weather forecasting, modeling, precipitation development and measurement, climate study/data analysis, and environmental monitoring.
STAND 2000
SIMONETTA CHELI
What is the European Space Agency?
head of coordination ofce, directorate of earth observation
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an international organization with 19 member states. The ESAs purpose is to provide and promote for exclusively peaceful purposes cooperation among European states in space research and technology and their space applications.
ESA will promote its Earth observation missions and additionally its contribution to meteorological missions. We will meet scientists, journalists, industries, and students and will demonstrate how satellite results represent a powerful tool to monitor climate and predict the effects of climate change. Our focus will be on MetOp satellites, a joint venture between ESA and Eumetsat.
What are your pre-conceptions of the show?
The Meteorological Technology World Expo enables us to pass on information to a wide international audience. It also offers the opportunity to meet with experts in various related elds and to share and exchange experiences and information. The economic and social benets of accurate weather forecasts are huge; they allow us the time to prepare and make decisions. Satellites have radically improved the accuracy of weather forecasts. It is crucial that we continue to further our understanding of the Earth system and its processes, and to share this with others.
Mawsynram in India is noted as being the wettest place on earth with over 11 meters of rain falling every year
the altitudes up to 300m. In case of detection of dangerous meteorological events (wind shear, high level of turbulence), the wind lidar transmits a message to the airport meteorological service, as well as to the air trafc participants in the presence of data lines. Besides aviation, wind lidars are necessary elements of equipment for different meteorological services, including heliports, grounds for dirigible launch, etc. The system could also be applied in such areas as wind power engineering (for example, to examine airows near wind generators, as accurate information about the vertical wind prole near the generator blades allows one to greatly increase the generator efciency).
STAND 5010
WIND LIDAR PROFILER RT

Meteorological Technology World Expo 2011 will be the rst global technology-based exhibition in the industry to feature more than 100 exhibitors
Elevation of the safety level while increasing air transportation extent demands development of ground-based technical tools for distant monitoring of meteorological conditions near a runway. One of the means is a lidar wind proler (Windex). It performs remote measurements and obtains the following information: windspeed and direction at different altitudes; wind shear and ambient turbulence. For an introduction to this technology, visitors should visit Laser Systems. As a rule, a wind lidar is placed near the inner beacon to control airspace around the glide path at
RPO TOP AITEMS YS S
Conference programme
FULL SPeAKer LINe-UP

Tuesday OctOber 18
Moderated by Nancy Vermeulen, royal Meteorological Institute of belgium 10:30am Measuring climate change in Belgium Dr Steven Dewitte, head of department, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, Belgium 11:00am Weather balloons for atmospheric research and aircraft safety Dr Giles Harrison, professor Atmospheric Physics, University of Reading, UK 11:30am Current developments in the provision of information for volcanic ash and space weather in support of international air navigation Steven Albersheim, senior meteorologist, Federal Aviation Administration, USA 12:00pm Getting close: mobile radar and in-situ studies inside tornadoes and hurricanes Dr Joshua Wurman, president, Center for Severe Weather Research, USA 12:30pm Rapid sampling of severe storms by phased-array radar Dr Pamela Heinselman, research scientist, NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, USA 1:00pm Scalable integrated naval METOC systems Richard Elkington, head of Business Development, BAE Systems, UK 1:30pm Speeding up computing by use of GPUs Dr Peter Scheidgen, head of Business Segment Earth Observation, VCS Aktiengesellschaft, Germany Moderated by bart Nicolai, Senior expert Met Studies and Strategy, belgocontrol 2:00pm 2:30pm 3:00pm Future of data services (decision support) Peter Trevelyan, Expert Strategic Advisor, Met Office, UK A new look at weather radars and their use for the future Dr Roelof Bruintjes, CEO/president, Advanced Radar Corporation, USA Microwave radiometers for atmospheric profiling of temperature, humidity, clouds and rain Dr Harald Czekala, business development manager, Radiometer Physics GmbH, Germany 3:30pm Modernizing the Wallops Island launch weather decision support system: readying NASA to support the International Space Station resupply mission Richard Stedronsky, program manager/senior meteorologist, IPS MeteoStar Inc, USA 4:00pm Wave Glider: persistent remote sensing providing highresolution data for better meteorological models Francois Leroy, senior vice president, Liquid Robotics, USA 12:00pm Fine-scale and mobile/targetable multiple-Doppler, multiple-frequency, dual-polarisation and bistatic technologies for weather research Dr Joshua Wurman, president, Center for Severe Weather Research, USA 12:30pm A plan to eliminate anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 Tom Blees, president, The Science Council for Global Initiatives, USA 1:00pm Voyage optimization for a large container vessel Kim Henriksen, ECO Voyage Prime Mover, A. P. Moller-Maersk, Denmark 1:30pm GCOS renovation projects: process and procedures used Richard K. Thigpen, implementation project manager, GCOS Secretariat, USA Moderated by rosemary Howard, PhD candidate, University of british columbia 2:00pm Ceilometer advanced technology: the diminishing transition between lidar instruments and ceilometer Holger Wille, product manager, Jenoptik | ESW GmbH, Germany 2:30pm Introduction of the NIMH-BAS marine forecasting system for the Black Sea Dr Georgi Kortchev, director general, Bulgaria Met Office, Bulgaria 3:00pm Experiences and challenges in automated visual observations Dr Wiel Wauben, Senior Scientist, Royal Meteorological Institute Netherlands, Netherlands 3:30pm Monitoring wind hazards near airports with scanning wind Doppler lidar Ludovic Thobois, Scientific manager, LEOSPHERE 4:00pm Remote, unattended, and automatic precipitation station for wireless, battery-powered operation, combined with UHF or GPRS communication systems Dr Bernhard Pacher, managing director, Adcon Telemetry
THuRsday OctOber 20
Moderated by Nelis Vet, NAtO, head of the belgium Military forecasting centre 11:00am Smartguard: new ultra-flexible datalogger and communication hub for meteorological and hydrological sensors with different signal standards Jarle Heltne, product manager, Aanderaa Data Instruments/ ITT, Norway 11:30am The science and business of weather modification Daryl ODowd, senior consulting meteorologist, Weatherdyne International, Canada 12:00pm EUMETSAT DCP and in-situ data collection Sean Dominic Burns, system operations manager, EUMETSAT, Germany 12:30pm EUMETSAT operational satellites and services Mikael Rattenborg, director of operations, EUMETSAT, Germany 1:00pm A look at the latest technology in present weather and visibility measurement Donn Williams, executive vice president, Optical Scientific Inc, USA 1:30pm A detailed look at calibration equipment for meteorological sensors Jrgen Zillmer, sales director, Theodor Friedrichs & Co, Germany 2:00pm 25 years experience in environmental data management: software solutions for radar and hydrometeorology Roland Funke, group leader Hydrology, Kisters AG, Germany
wednesday OctOber 19
Moderated by Nancy Vermeulen, royal Meteorological Institute of belgium 10:30am Safety of navigation in the Arctic Charlotte Havsteen, head of division, Danish Maritime Safety Admin, Denmark 11:00am Routine measurements of meteorological key variables at safety-related industrial sites and airports Hans-Jrgen Kirtzel, general manager, Metek Meteorologische Messtechnik GmbH, Germany 11:30am Modeling climatic influence on rainfall and temperature in South Australia Dr Mohammad Kamruzzaman, post-doctoral research fellow, University of South Australia, Australia
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTER n ATIOn AL 37
THREE LINE WHIP

Meteorological Technology World Expo 2011 will feature one of the best, most insightful and exclusive speaker line-ups of the year. And the conference is free for anyone visiting the. Indeed, the conference stage is located inside the exhibition hall, meaning you can pick and choose which sessions you need to watch, and then spend the rest of your time visiting the exhibition, searching for new technologies or services.
CHRISTOPHER HOUNSFIELD, EDITOR OF METEOROLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL TAKES A GAMBLE AND PULLS OUT THE TOP TEN MUST-GO, WORLD EXPO CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS OUT OF HIS HAT
Tuesday OcTObER 18 1
LOCaL HeRO
10:30am
TwisTeR CHaseR
12:00pm
Measuring climate change in belgium

Dr Steven Dewitte, head of department, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, Belgium
Climate change in Belgium is revealed by analysis of long-term systematic observations of temperature, precipitation both available since 1833 and sunshine duration available since 1887. We analyse these Belgian measurements and relate them to variability of the earth radiation budget, changes in the North Atlantic oscillation, changes in air pollution and changes in total solar irradiance.
Getting close: mobile radar and in-situ studies inside tornadoes and hurricanes
Dr Joshua Wurman, president, Center for Severe Weather Research, USA
A network of Doppler On Wheels (DOW) mobile radars and arrays of surface instrumentation have been deployed to study a variety of small, short-lived and/or violent weather phenomena. This adaptable/targetable network has been used to study tornadoes, hurricanes and lake effect snow storms. Overviews of some of these recent studies, including VORTEX2 the largest, most ambitious tornado study, in which 12 mobile radars, 40 deployable instruments and 12 instrumented vehicles surrounded tornadic storms.
PLaNes aNd vOLCaNOes

11:30am
current developments in the provision of information for volcanic ash and space weather in support of air navigation
Steven Albersheim, senior meteorologist, Federal Aviation Administration, USA
Over the past 20 years the ICAO has had an active programme to support airlines and ATM on the hazards associated with volcanic ash. The programme, known as the International Airways Volcano Watch Programme (IAVW), has had great success. With the Icelandic eruption in 2010, weaknesses in the provision of information were identified that resulted in cancellation and delays of thousands of operations. In response to this crisis, ICAO decided to re-examine existing standards with the aim to avoid a repeat of this situation. This presentation will review the current status of the VA programme and progress for the provision of space weather information.
sCaNNiNG sTORms
12:30pm

Dr Pamela Heinselman, research scientist, NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, USA
The unique electronic scanning capabilities of the National Weather Radar Testbed phased-array radar in Norman, Oklahoma are advancing rapid scanning of severe storms. Two sampling techniques discussed are beam multiplexing and adaptive electronic scanning. Analyses of rapid update data (~1 minute or less) collected using these and other sampling techniques show the detailed evolution of severe weather precursors that can be poorly observed by slower updates of the operational Weather-Surveillance 1988-Doppler (WSR-88D) radars.
wednesday OctOber 19
aRCTIC VOyaGe
10:30am
see CLeaRLy
3:00pm
experiences and challenges in automated visual observations

Dr Wiel Wauben, senior scientist, Royal Meteorological Institute Netherlands, Netherlands
The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) performs automated visual observations of visibility, cloud and weather for synoptic meteorology, climatology and aeronautical purposes at civil airports and military airbases. KNMI employs professional observers only at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The automated system uses a multi-sensor approach to generate an optimal and most complete level of detail of meteorological information in the reporting rules of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The characteristics of manual and automated visual observations differ, as could be expected when using different observational techniques.
Safety of navigation in the Arctic

Charlotte Havsteen, head of division, Danish Maritime Safety Admin, Denmark
Global warming and the decreasing amount of ice in the Arctic can create new opportunities for shipping, with the possibility of transporting goods from Europe to Asia as well as opening up new sources of oil and minerals. This in turn leads to an increased need and demand for infrastructure to ensure operational services to increase the safety of navigation in these new waters.
sOUTHeRn RaIn
11:30am
Modelling climatic influence on rainfall and temperature in South Australia

Dr Mohammad Kamruzzaman, post-doctoral research fellow, University of South Australia, Australia
This study investigated the strength of the El Nio Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its influence on rainfall and runoff variability in South Australia (SA) from 1960 to 2009. Initially this paper examines the ENSO indices, to highlight the influence of observed Pacific Ocean Sea Surface Temperature (SST) patterns on rainfall and runoff in the SA area. The study explores the relationships between ENSO indices, correlated at the 5% significance level. Correlograms and cross-correlograms show serial correlation for ENSO indices for at least lag 3 (months). Moreover, the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) is serially correlated for lag 12 (months). A regression model with periodic functions including linear and quadratic terms is used to investigate the residuals, where there is evidence of trends in climatic indicators. To assess the effect of auto-correlation, a fitting procedure known as a generalised least square (GLS) method is used to estimate the standard error of the regression parameters to account for auto-correlation in the residuals series.
THURsday OctOber 20 9
weaTHeR MOdIFICaTIOn
11:30am
the science and business of weather modification

Daryl ODowd, senior consulting meteorologist, Weatherdyne International, Canada
Only a handful of substances have been found to efficiently alter cloud processes. The introduction of these substances into the atmosphere at the right place, time and concentration can have significant commercial and social benefit. Fog and hail reduction plus increases in rain and snowfall are possible consequences of wellexecuted weather modification programmes. Some programmes have operated continuously for more than 50 years, and the extent is global from Tasmania to Thailand to Timbuktu. The science of weather modification and the business of providing weather modification expertise and infrastructure to enable these programmes will be discussed.
RIdInG THe waVe

2:30pm
Introduction of the NIMH-bAS marine forecasting system for the black Sea
Dr Georgi Kortchev, director general, Bulgaria Met Office, Bulgaria
The presentation will briefly describe the existing operational system for wind waves forecasting in the Black Sea. It is a system of coupled atmospheric and wave numerical models aiming at a detailed and accurate sea state forecast on an operational level. The numerical wave models VAG, WAVEWATCH III and WAM and SWAN developed by the research groups of Meteo-France, NCEP, WAMDI and TUDelft have been adopted for the Black Sea area and implemented at the NIMH-BAS to allow real-time forecasts and hindcasts of the waves in the Black Sea.
10
saTeLLITe aCCess
12:30pm
eUMetSAt operational satellites and services

Mikael Rattenborg, director of operations, EUMETSAT, Germany
EUMETSAT owns and operates geostationary (Meteosat) and low Earth orbit (Metop) satellites, and processes payload data to produce a comprehensive set of meteorological and environmental products. This workshop presentation provides a brief overview of the products and how users access them.
Aero meteorology
by Andr van der Walt & Wim Demol
Air spAce
Real-time meteorological data warehouse

Meteorological communication and data processing at Belgocontrol, the air traffic control agency based in Brussels
n order to cater for the evolving needs of Belgocontrol but also to address the emerging requirements of the Single European Sky program, the recent upgrade of the Met System occurred during 2009/2010, when the mid-life upgrade (MMU) contract was awarded to NetSys International to consolidate the numerous updates introduced during the previous years and to keep the Met System operation current with World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and International Civil Aeronautical Organization (ICAO) changes and updates in procedures and protocols. It also provided an opportunity to utilize the latest technology hardware and software as well as the recently introduced Belgocontrol Integrated Network (SIN) infrastructure. Two very important aspects of the upgrade project were conformance to Eurocontrol safety regulatory requirements (ESARR) and support of advanced communication services replacing the current aeronautical fixed telecommunication network (AFTN).
Prime function The core function of the system is centralization of MET data within Belgocontrol in a data warehouse. The prime sources of global MET data are the WMO global telecommunications system (GTS) and the ICAO aeronautical message handling system (AMHS). The hardware component of the system comprises commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) network equipment, servers, workstations, plotters, printers and modems, most of which are duplicated. The design of the application software supplied by NetSys International is founded on server-client architecture and the server software hosted on a dual redundant high-
availability cluster permitting live and hot standby operation. Clients connect to the cluster IP address, which is always associated with the live server. As part of the redundancy provision, multiple LAN interfaces are used on the servers as well as workstations, and the server cluster members are located in separate buildings with a dedicated fiber-optic heartbeat connection linking them. Two equivalent clusters an operational (OPS) and a test and training facility (TTF) cluster are provided to allow seamless replacement of a disabled server in the OPS cluster with one from the TTF in the event of loss of one of the locations (e.g. fire). The NetSys message handling system (nsMHS) supplied as the core element of the MMU project connects to the Belgocontrol ICAO aeronautical message handling system (AMHS) (project ISAAC) using X.400 P3 protocol to facilitate the exchange of OPMET weather data. As such, the nsMHS can be considered as a gateway or bridge between the WMO and ATS message exchange domains as per EUROCONTROLAMHS-SPEC. In addition, in early 2010 AMHS interoperability across heterogeneous systems gained momentum when NetSys successfully demonstrated the automatic exchange of significant weather charts in pictorial form via ISAAC with other AMHS user agents, thus delivering on one of the core promises of AMHS. Data reception and distribution The Met System is connected to a number of interfaces that feed it automatically with meteorological data. Manual input of messages by forecasters, observers and operators is also possible, and is mainly used as a fallback possibility in case of
Aero meteorology
The core function of the system is centralization of MET data within Belgocontrol in a data warehouse
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn AL SEP TEMBER 2011 41
Aero meteorology
Belgocontrol with headquarters in Brussels, is also active in Charleroi Brussels South
At the heArt of AtM

Aeronautical meteorology (MET) is a key element of an air traffic management (ATM) system, since weather conditions affect all facets of air transport. Meteorology limits where, how and when aircraft may operate, and which airports and ground facilities can be utilized. As part of the initiative by the Belgian air traffic control agency (Belgocontrol) to completely revamp, integrate and modernize the systems satisfying its ATM obligation, NetSys International, a MET solutions provider of long standing, was contracted recently to upgrade the MET system it installed at Brussels National Airport in 2000. Belgocontrol is an autonomous public company in charge of the safety of air traffic in the controlled civil airspace above Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for which the Belgian state is responsible. Belgocontrol provides all the essential services to manage and control air traffic safely, among which are air traffic management and control and meteorological information services. NetSys International is an ISO 9001:2008-certified South African company that specializes in solutions for the weather and aviation industries. Since its inception in 1981 it has grown from a dedicated communications company to one that offers products to solve real-world problems for the meteorological and aviation communities. The Belgocontrol Met System is a computer-based system that handles all aspects of meteorological data communication, processing, storage and presentation to provide accurate, coherent and timely MET information in support of flight operations in the airspace controlled by Belgocontrol. Its primary functions include communication with other meteorological centers. This entails real-time data reception and distribution worldwide, through meteorological and aeronautical telecommunication networks (ICAO/AFTN&AMHS, WMO/GTS), satellites (ICAO/ SADIS, ESA/MSG) and also through the internet. Another function is the distribution of standard as well as tailor-made products to air traffic control, internal and external customers via fax, email, dedicated interfaces and web-based applications. The Brussels EUR OPMET Database one of the three European aeronautical meteorological databases serving aeronautical users is also a function, as well as the generation of meteorological flight documentation for all flights departing from Belgian airports.
failure of the observation system (BARWIS) or forecasting systems (METAFOR). The system uses the concept of data streams. A stream is associated with a user of the system, which can be another external computer system or network, a printer, a fax number or another application program within the Met System. The Met System primarily handles data of a very specific worldwide standardized format: the WMO message format. This principally means that each meteorological message is preceded by a so-called abbreviated header line (AHL). Using this AHL, the Met System knows what to do with the message (how to process it, whether to store it, where to send it). Some examples of data types handled by the Met System include standard ICAO/WMO observational data as well as ad-hoc airport observations issued when certain weather thresholds are reached or passed, forecasts of expected weather conditions at aerodromes, information concerning en-route weather phenomena that may affect aircraft operations, upper air sounding data, aerodrome warnings and advisories regarding volcanic ash and tropical cyclones. World Area Forecast System data such as output from numerical weather prediction models in a binary gridpoint (GRIdded Binary) format, weather charts, radar, lightning and satellite images are also ingested for distribution to other local systems. The distribution of messages (message routing) can either be initiated automatically
42 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn A L SEp TEMbER 2011
Aero meteorology
Messages are deposited as archives Short- and long-term archives These archives contain all MET messages that are produced by Belgocontrol and include SYNOP, TAF and METAR bulletins, and EUR OPMET Database replies. Messages stored in the short-term archive are kept for about nine months. legal (ICAO Annex 3) archive of flight folder documents. All flight folder documents have to be stored electronically in this archive for at least 30 days. graphical products created automatically or manually by the forecasters are also stored; some of these are permanently archived. this archive contains TAFs, SYNOPs, METARs, TEMPs of the Belgocontrol stations in a decoded format. This archive is used for climatological purposes and for quality control of the TAF-forecasts.
Legal records:
Image and chart archive:
Climatology archive:
Aeronautical information is a key element for Air Traffic Management
in real time when triggered by the reception of a message (the routing of the message depends on its AHL) or on fixed times. Any message stored in the system can manually be sent to any output stream by an operator. The system also offers a configurable monitoring functionality capable of generating alarms when certain messages have not been received on time. Furthermore, statistics can be generated of the received data (via which channel, in time/too late/too early). data processing storage and archive All incoming and outgoing messages are stored in a flat file database. The storage time varies typically between one hour and 24 hours, and is determined by the AHL of the message. All the stored messages can be viewed, edited, printed and re-transmitted. A selection of messages is also deposited in archives, of which different types are implemented and accessible by other Belgocontrol systems.
data visualisation and product creation Met System users, operators and administrators can visualise any textual or graphical product stored in any of the Met System databases or other applications, through a number of tools. Furthermore, products of some other systems are available via web browsers and/or X-display. These other systems include the Belgocontrol radar, the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) reception system, BARWIS (Belgocontrol Aerodrome and Runway Weather Information System) and AMF (Aerodrome Meteorological Forecast). Meteorological products are created through a number of applications and tools, both manually and automatically. Text messages are created by filling in pre-defined message templates. For some of these, format validation is done before the message is submitted in the system. A large number of the graphical products are created on a separate
METAFOR (meteorological analysis and forecasting) system. production of flight folder documents It is an ICAO requirement to provide meteorological pre-flight briefing documents for every flight departing from an aerodrome. An online self-briefing web portal developed by Belgocontrol allows handlers and airline companies to create and manage pre-flight information bulletins (PIB) in real-time. The information of a PIB may include NOTAM, SNOWTAM, OPMET and meteo charts. A valuable new service realized with the upgrade affords the Belgocontrol Web developers the ability to generate pre-flight briefing documents that include current weather information on demand. A number of the new services offered by the nsWEBPIP facility take as arguments a flight parameter document (FPD), chart parameter document (CPD) and scheduling parameters (SP), all presented as XML documents using a W3C XML schema. nsWEBPIB returns the correct selection of charts, SIGMETS and OPMET data based on the take-off time, flight duration and route, defined by a departure, optional en-route and destination aerodromes. A scheduling subsystem for the automatic generation of flight documents, which may be printed, faxed, sent via FTP or email or downloaded, also allows the system to import daily departure lists and automatically set up the flight and scheduling information to create the folder an hour before departure. z
Andr van der Walt is a director with NetSys International (Pty) Ltd. Wim Demol is responsible for meteorological methods and development, Belgocontrol Met Department
The eUR OPMeT DaTabank

The Brussels EUR OPMET databank is one of the three official ICAO Regional OPMET databases in Europe (the other two being located in Vienna and Toulouse). In addition to the EUR region, the Brussels databank serves the North Atlantic (NAT) region. A regional OPMET databank stores OPMET data (METAR/SPECI, TAF, SIGMET, AIRMET, GAMET, volcanic ash and tropical cyclone advisories, which can be queried via the AFTN/AMHS network). The main aim of these databases is to serve as a backup for aeronautical users (airlines, met offices, airport operators) in case they have data missing from their meteorological databases. In addition to backup purposes, the Brussels database is frequently used for briefing purposes. The Brussels database currently processes around 1,500 requests per day from all over the world.
www.dq.fo
Satellite sensors
by Todd Berendes, Rahul Ramachandran & Sara Graves
Glide path
Satellite remote sensing is an essential way to monitor the earths climate

Satellite data-mining for the classroom and the lab, using the GLIDER system to visualize, analyze and mine satellite imagery
hematic information derived from satellite imagery has a wide variety of applications at local, regional and global scales. Extracting thematic information using satellite imagery is a nontrivial task that usually requires preprocessing data by applying operations for radiometric and geometric corrections. Analysts need the ability to interactively apply different enhancement operations to digitally enhance imagery, in order to identify subtle information that might be otherwise missed. Advanced algorithms are needed to allow users to analyze imagery and extract thematic information without having to alter the original data through geographic projections. Presently, there are limited freely available tools that provide users with the capability to easily visualize, extract, and exploit the information contained within the satellite imagery. The Globally Leveraged Integrated Data Explorer for Research (GLIDER) seeks to fill that gap. GLIDER is a free tool for visualization, analysis and mining of satellite imagery. Users can visualize and analyze satellite imagery in its native sensor view, which is an important capability since geographic projections can result in loss of information. A full suite of image processing, pattern recognition and data-mining algorithms is provided for image enhancement and analysis. Analysis results and imagery can then be displayed simultaneously and compared using a 3D globe display that supports image overlays and web map service (WMS) layers.
Foundation technologies GLIDER integrates three mature visualization and analysis tools for environmental data. The Interactive Visualizer and Image Classifier for Satellites (IVICS) provides the 2D native sensor view for visualization and analysis. NASA World Wind provides 3D visualization and image overlays. The final component, Algorithm Development and Mining toolkit (ADaM),
brings a wealth of data-mining and analysis capabilities. Each of these tools provides powerful capabilities, and combining them all into a single package makes GLIDER unique. The NASA Earth Science Data Systems Software Working Group awarded GLIDER the 2010 Peer Recognition Software Reuse Award. The group estimated that the reuse of the three mature products reduced development costs equivalent to the efforts
of four full-time programmers over the course of the two-year project. The Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) is used as the framework for GLIDER and integrating the components. The Eclipse RCP is a robust, platform-independent Java application framework with a component architecture that can be easily extended or modified. The component architecture allows GLIDER itself to function as an Eclipse
4 6 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTERn ATIOn A L sEp TEMbER 2011
Satellite sensors
Remotely sensed satellite imagery is routinely analyzed to extract thematic information

Earth View showing Hurricane Irene image on 3D globe display
Image analysis view showing histogram equalized true color image of Hurricane Irene
globe, like place names, country political boundaries, and so on, is also listed as a layer in the Earth Views layer manager. Data-mining Remotely sensed satellite imagery is routinely analyzed to extract thematic information. This entails applying different pattern recognition and data-mining algorithms to multispectral data to extract information. There are two broad classes of mining algorithms in GLIDER that can be used for this purpose: supervised and unsupervised classification. Supervised classification algorithms require representative training datasets which have been labeled as known classes. Creation of training datasets requires domain experts to select appropriate subregions of an image displayed on a screen and to label them as specific classes. This method, known as sample selection, is supported in the GLIDER Image Analysis View. Once a training dataset has been created, supervised classification algorithms can be used to build classification models which can then be applied to other images of the same data type. The resulting classification produces a thematic map with all of the pixels labeled as one of the defined classes identified by the domain expert. Unsupervised classification or clustering is used to partition satellite imagery in multispectral feature space. Since clustering does not require training data, it requires only a minimal amount of input from the users. Once a clustering algorithm has generated a classification map containing the specified clusters, the user can assign information classes to the different clusters, creating a thematic classification map. This mapping is typically based on the evaluation of the cluster center values at the different spectral bands. Case study Suppose a GLIDER user wants to extract Hurricane Irene in a satellite image using
plugin which can be integrated into other Eclipse RCP applications. The Eclipse RCP has a large user community that has created a large suite of plug-ins for various purposes which can be leveraged to extend GLIDER and provide additional functionality. GLIDER views GLIDER provides three main views to manage, visualize, and analyze data. The
Project Explorer View allows users to create projects and organize their data files and analysis results. Data files can be manipulated and processed using contextual menus. For example, a MODIS Level 1B file is recognized and a menu option is available to calibrate the file and convert it to GLIDER format. The converted data file is then available for visualization and analysis using the Image Analysis View, which visualizes the entire satellite data swath in the native sensor swath format. The view supports three band RGB color composites, single channel gray-scale, and user defined color look-up table, displays. The user has full control over spectral band combinations and interactive image enhancements can be applied, such as histogram equalization, contrast stretching, and gray-scale inversion. The view provides analysis capabilities with both interactive data exploration options and a full suite of algorithms that can be applied to the data. The Earth View uses the navigation information of the satellite data to display imagery on the 3D globe. Any imagery currently displayed in an Image Analysis View can also be displayed in the Earth View, where the 3D globe provides users with spatial context for their imagery, as well as limited GIS capabilities such as overlaying multiple layers for comparison. As multiple images are added to the view, each forms a layer that can be turned on or off using a layer manager inside the Earth View. The layer manager lists all the layers currently available in the order of visibility and also allows reordering the layers to place one on top of the other. In addition, the Earth View has a Web Map Server (WMS) panel. This panel enables the user to add WMS server URLs and access their content. Any WMS content added to the
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn AL sEp TEMbER 2011 47
Satellite sensors
Interactive image analysis tools in the Image Analysis View
example. KMeans groups pixels based on spectral similarity. Using an interactive dialog, relevant spectral bands are selected as features and the number of clusters set to ten. After configuring a few other parameters, the KMeans algorithm is applied to the image. Behind the scenes, GLIDER invokes the ADaM KMeans classification algorithm and the result is generated as a new GLIDER image, appearing in the Project Explorer View. The interactive image analysis tools are used to help identify and label the clusters as category types such as land, water, and cloud. In this case, we are able to identify two clusters as land and water, while the remaining eight appear to be different cloud types associated with Hurricane Irene. This shows a starting point for further analysis and experiments that could allow identification of more specific hurricane features, such as identifying rain bands. Analysis of imagery Researchers and analysts have used GLIDER for detailed analysis of satellite imagery and extraction of thematic information from datasets. GLIDER has also been used in the classroom to teach the basics of satellite remote sensing, including interpretation and analysis of multispectral imagery. GLIDER gives the general public a means to visualize freely available satellite imagery from agencies such as NASA. Dr Sundar Christopher, professor and chair of the Atmospheric Science Department at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, has helped development of GLIDER by providing science scenarios that guided development of some of GLIDERs features. From a science and education perspective, Christopher says, Satellite Remote Sensing is the only viable way to monitor the global earth-atmosphere on a reliable, repeated basis. There has been a tremendous increase in meteorological and climate satellite datasets over the last decade. GLIDER is an efficient way to visualize, interpret and analyze satellite data. Moreover GLIDER is free and users can quickly learn the software. z
Todd Berendes is a research scientist, Rahul Ramachandran is the principal research scientist, and Sara Graves is the director of Information Technology and Systems Center at the University of Alabama
Earth View of K-Means clustering algorithm results using a look-up table with clusters displayed as different colors
unsupervised classification. Hurricane Irene imagery is acquired by searching and browsing the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center data archive. The Level 1B MODIS imagery is ordered and downloaded onto a local computer. Once the full resolution data set is acquired, detailed analysis of the satellite imagery is performed. Different combinations of spectral bands are displayed as three-channel red-green-
blue (RGB) color composite images. The spectral profile tool is used to identify spectral bands that provide the best separation for different categories of interest, such as clouds, land, and water. Other analysis tools are also used to look at the transect profile and the histograms for an area of interest. The KMeans clustering algorithm is selected for this unsupervised classification
4 8 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn A L sEp TEMbER 2011
Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.

Sren Kierkegaard
Changing the world of precipitation measurement

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Mid-course radar
by Jerome M. Schmidt
On ClOud nine
Peering into clouds with the highresolution MCR Doppler radar

odern radars and radar analysis techniques have led to numerous studies that routinely exploit various aspects of the emitted and backscattered waveforms to extract information on the internal flow structure, composition, and shape of a large collection of cloud particles in great detail, it has remained a more elusive undertaking to remotely sense the properties of specific individual hydrometeors that are suspended in the naturally occurring cloud systems. This is understandable as even modern radar pulse volumes tend to contain millions, if not billions, of cloud hydrometeors under even relatively benign conditions. Is it possible, though, to obtain radar observations of individual hydrometeors within naturally occurring cloud systems, or to observe clouds with such a fine range resolution that the measured circulation features are considerably finer than currently resolved with even the most sophisticated large eddy simulation models? For the past three years a multi-agency field experiment has been conducted at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) near Cape Canaveral, Florida area in an effort to obtain high-resolution measurements of various cloud systems using a variety of surface-based sensors and in-situ aircraft measurements. One of the key experimental instruments utilized in this study is the high-resolution C-band Doppler Mid-Course Radar (MCR) operated by the US Navy. This radar was initially developed in 1994 and has recently been routinely utilized by NASA to monitor Space Shuttle launch debris, starting with the post-Columbia-disaster STS-114 Space Shuttle return to flight. Because of the radars unique sensitivity and high range resolution (as fine as 0.5m), a team of scientists from the Navy Research Laboratory (NRL) Monterey, in coordination with scientists from the Johns Hopkins
Radar observation is extremely useful to remotely sense the properties of hydrometeor systems in clouds
Interior view of the MCR radar displaying the systems large dish and surrounding dome
University Applied Physics Laboratory, L-3 Interstate Electronics Corporation Anaheim, California; Weather Modification Inc; and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, set about testing the MCRs ability to measure local cloud structure, beginning in the summer of 2008. This radar has subsequently been shown to be capable not only of detecting single large (>0.5mm) hydrometeors within naturally occurring
cloud systems, but also providing a view of the internal structure and circulation of clouds in unprecedented detail. Instrumentation and analysis techniques The MCR radar is a marvel of modern technology, which combines its Doppler and polarization capability with an option to exercise a variety of scanning strategies
Mid-course radar
For three years a multi-agency field experiment has been conducted at the Kennedy Space Center
The Piper Cheyenne aircraft operated by Weather Modification Inc, equipped with meteorological probes used for obtaining in-situ cloud data
and surrounded by a gated property that readily facilitates the placement of additional instrumentation. In addition, the radar is surrounded by a data-rich environment due to its proximity to the NASA Shuttle landing facilities, therefore making more comprehensive experiments simpler to accomplish.
Exterior view of the MCRs protective dome features a dome 70ft in diameter
including an ability to track specific targets of interest such as meteorologically equipped aircraft. Featuring a 15.25m-diameter dish sheltered within a 22.8m-diameter dome capable of withstanding sustained Category 4 hurricane force winds (see image above), the radar is capable of emitting a peak power of 3MW over a narrow 0.2 beam width. When combined with a loop gain of 270dB, this precisely tuned instrument can detect and track individual pea-sized (3mm) particles at a range of approximately 5km from the radar. The radars operational center is housed in a modern NASA building complete with ample research facilities
Scientist viewing the in-house-made all-sky camera used to continuously record sky conditions throughout the experiment, see lefthand image overleaf
Mid-course radar
Averaged time-height plot of the MCR wideband high-resolution (0.5m) radar reflectivity field (in dBZ, shaded and contoured) taken between 1944 and 1947 UTC August 27, 2011. Note the vertical scale represents only 200m of total depth. The reflectivity maximum near 1944 UTC represents the location of the research aircraft as it passed directly over the radar at an altitude of 6,750m. The MCR was executing a vertical stare at the time of these observations
View of the cloud conditions valid near 2000 UTC August 27, 2011 as taken from the all-sky camera. The MCR appears to the right (east) on this figure. The image reveals the altocumulus layer being scanned by the MCR
Overall, the MCR is about 20dB more sensitive with respect to its radar reflectivity measurement of clouds, and has one to two orders of magnitude better range resolution than other state-of-theart research weather radars. The MCR transmits two wave forms that differ in their effective resolution and coverage. The narrow-band waveform has a modest range resolution of 37m, while the wide-band waveform has an effective range resolution of 0.5m. Each waveform is comprised of two range windows that can be selected to overlap, lie contiguously, or be independently placed based on the users need. When run in a contiguous fashion, the total combined range window for the narrow-band and wide-band wave forms is 30km and 240m, respectively. When combined with the narrow beam width, the exceptional range resolution of the wide-band waveform leads to 6dB pulse volumes, which can be as fine as ~14m 3 at the minimum detectable range (~2.0km). These small pulse volumes lead to the intriguing and amazing possibility that the MCR is actually capable of detecting single cloud hydrometeors within naturally occurring cloud systems, provided the concentration of the particles in question is on the order of one large (>
0.5mm) particle per radar pulse volume (a fact that has been confirmed in a separate and earlier study). Radar calibration and sensors In an effort to ensure the highest possible data quality, the radar can be calibrated using the orbiting calibration sphere 5398 LCS4. This particular object, with a known orbit and C-band cross-section of 0 dBsm, is tracked by the MCR over an interval that includes the point of closest approach in order to generate the largest possible signal-to-noise power ratio. The data collected during the overpass is postprocessed using pulse compression, time alignment (if required), and a power average of 2,000 pulses. From this result the signal-noise-power ratio (SNR) is estimated; given the radar cross-section of the sphere and its range derived from the track filter, the radar sensitivity may then be computed. In addition to the MCR, several other surface and airborne sensors were included as part of the field study: Sigma Space Micro Pulse Lidar, the METEK Micro Rain Radar, an in-house-developed all-sky camera, and the Snow White rawinsondes developed by the Swiss company Meteolabor AG. In addition to that, a dual-propeller Piper Cheyenne
research aircraft operated by Weather Modification Inc was deployed to obtain in-situ cloud measurements. The K-band Micro Rain Radar from METEK was deployed to measure lower tropospheric vertical profiles of rain, liquid water content, and drop size distribution. This radar operates at a wavelength of 12.5mm (K-band) and low signal power of 50mW. The beam width of this system is 2. The maximum height range of this instrument is approximately 6km or roughly 40 range gates, and was used primarily to help guide the placement of the MCRs wide-band window and the research aircraft in real time. The MRR is frequency modulated in FM-CW mode and was operated in a vertical stare mode throughout the experiment. Camera eye The cloud cover was measured continuously using an in-house-developed whole sky camera operating at one-minute intervals. A maximum field of view was accomplished through the use of a Nikon Fisheye Converter FC-E9 lens mounted on the computer-controlled consumer-grade Canon A510 camera. Full sky panoramas were also created using a consumer-grade Canon A75 camera mounted on the GigaPan robotic camera mount obtained from Gigasystems. This instrument proved to be particularly valuable in recounting sky conditions at times when the MCR was recording the internal cloud and precipitation structure. The twin-engine Piper Cheyenne II aircraft provided by Weather Modification
5 2 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTERn ATIOn A L SEP TEMBER 2011
Mid-course radar
was capable of climbing at 14ms -1 to a ceiling of 9,800m while maintaining an airspeed of 138ms -1. The cloud microphysical measurements were made with particle measuring system probes the forward scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP) and the two-dimensional-cloud (2D-C) optical array imaging probe. In addition to two cloud imaging probes, the aircraft was equipped with a CSIRO-King liquid water probe, the Rosemount total temperature sensor (Model 102 Deiced), the SETRA 270 pressure probe, the Edgetech digital dew point sensor (Model 137), the Ball variometer from Blue Sky Avionics, and an onboard video camera to document local cloud conditions encountered during the flight. Case study By far the greatest utility of the MCR is to measure the internal cloud reflectivity and velocity structure a previously unavailable spatial resolution. As an example, the results from a single case event of an altocumulus cloud system that was observed during the afternoon of August 27, 2010 is shown. The high-resolution view of the cloud layer taken from the MCRs wide-band waveform is shown at an analysis time that corresponds with the all-sky image of the altocumulus layer shown in the figures. Of notable interest is the ability of the radar to depict the sharp undulations and reflectivity gradients evident near cloud top and between the individual cloud cells that comprise the shallow ~200m-thick cloud layer. Such detail
HigH resolution
A high-power, high-resolution Doppler radar previously used to measure NASA space shuttle debris has for the first time been applied to local cloud observations obtained in the Cape Canaveral region. Using the radars high-resolution (0.5m) wide-band waveform, scientists are now able to peer into clouds with previously unobtainable resolution, enabling the detection of extremely fine eddy circulations and individual cloud hydrometeors. It is suspected that the ability to obtain such fine detail of the internal cloud precipitation and vertical velocity structure obtained from these and other cloud systems will prove to be of great interest to those in the high-resolution large eddy simulation (LES) modeling community. At least the local wildlife seemed to have had a curious interest in what was going on at the site (see right). This data should also serve as a basis to test hypotheses and physical processes thought to impact middle-level cloud structure and evolution.
Schematic showing physical processes thought to impact the evolution and structure of a middle-level altocumulus cloud layer
A curious visitor to the radar site taking the shade and waiting outside the main entry way to the radar (about noon local time)
should prove useful in examining the turbulent structure of these clouds as well as the nature of the cloud top entrainment thought to govern their dynamics. Note also that the radar readily detects the
research aircraft within the cloud layer (which appears as the localized reflectivity maximum near 19:44UTC in the figure on the opposite page, right). Interestingly, it was demonstrated at the last field experiment that the MCR radar can track a meteorologically equipped aircraft in real time by feeding the GPS coordinates of the aircraft into the MCRs antenna control software. It is hoped that this unique capability will lead to an improved interpretation of the radar and in-situ aircraft measurements such as the development of Z-R relationships at times when the separate sensors are measuring co-located regions of the same cloud type. z
Jerome M. Schmidt is from the Marine Meteorology Division, Naval Research Laboratory based in Monterey, California. Piotr. J. Flatau is from S cripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California. Robert D. Yates is from L-3 Interstate Electronics Corporation. Paul. R. Harasti and Jerome R. Vetter are from The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel. Mark J. Anderson is from Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division in Virginia. Ed Fletcher is from Radar Technology Specialists Corp in California
An approaching storm system measured by the MCR and aircraft on August 20, 2011
Industry interview
by Christopher Hounsfield
Rain man
yvind Klevar owns Geonor, a Norwegian company that for years has been manufacturing and installing precipitation gauges from sea level to Mount Everest
Can you briefly describe your latest technologies? The basic core sensor technology (vibratingwire) has more or less remained the same since the 1960s. It has an unparalleled track record of consistent performance. NGI has an ongoing test where the same vibrating wire sensor has been in continuous operation for more than 35 years without failure and within the specified accuracy of 0.1% of FS. There is really no need to improve anything about the sensor. Geonor has made new developments by offering greater capacity versions, up to 1,500mm. Geonor is also working on solutions to make interfacing and programming simpler. Where are your gauges installed? Can you give an example of the latest challenging installation? More than 2,000 gauges have been installed on all continents around the world from sea level up to 7,000m altitude on Mount Everest. The most challenging locations are installations by the sea with heavy precipitation, and locations with very heavy wet snow. These challenges have been solved with new anti-corrosive material and coating and inlet heater system to avoid snow capping. What are the biggest problems you face with meteorological applications? How have you overcome these? Our biggest challenge for meteorological applications has been to convince the users of the value and benefit of access to unmanipulated raw data. If needed, the post-processing can be carried out later. The availability and access to the raw data is important to validate and trust the measurements. The challenge for us is to convince meteorological scientists of the simplicity and accuracy of the Geonor vibrating wire sensor. Among others, the US Climatic Reference Network (USCRN) understands and values this aspect of the Geonor precipitation gauge. Who do you supply your precipitation gauges to? The Geonor precipitation gauges are distributed worldwide. Typical users are national meteorological, agricultural and climatic networks as well as water resource and hydro power companies, transportation authorities and public authorities for flood prevention, where accurate measurement of precipitation and its intensity is crucial. The need to measure precipitation and precipitation intensity on all continents will increase considerably in years to come due to climate change and natural hazards due to extreme weather conditions. Our gauge was tested among all available precipitation gauges during the comprehensive WMO field test of intensity in Italy 2007-09, and received the top score for accuracy and reliability. What is your next development? We will continue to make beneficial changes to the T-200B Series as needed. Geonor has for example a prototype 400cm 2 inlet being tested in environments where wet, heavy snow caps smaller inlets. You are a company based in Norway. Has the geographical location in northern Europe affected the systems you have developed?
The T-200 precipitation gauge system located at a height of 4,800m in Bolivia
5 4 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn A L SEp TEMbER 2011
Industry interview
The availability and access to the raw data is important to validate and trust the measurements
Norway is more or less covered by snow from November through to April every year. So the amount of snow affects daily life for all Norwegians during a large part of the year (infrastructure, agriculture, water resources surveillance, tourism, airports, etc.). The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (NMI) was therefore searching to have a more reliable system for measuring solid precipitation than could be obtained by the traditional tipping bucket instruments during the winter season. In the early 1980s Geonor and NGI in cooperation with NMI therefore developed a completely new all-weather precipitation weighing gauge based on our already wellproven and internationally renowned vibrating-wire technology. What is your personal view on the future of weather prediction systems, with particular regard to your field? I feel the need for accurate, real-time data will continue to grow as the human population grows, weather patterns shift, intensity increases, risk for natural hazards increases and greater demand is put on our water supplies. z
yvind Klevar is the owner of Geonor. After being made managing director, he purchased the company four years later. He studied at HEC Lausanne, Switzerland
Two inTo one

In 1957 the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) created Geonor AS as a daughter company to produce test apparatus and instrumentation for related fields of work designed and approved by NGI. Since 1970 Geonor has supplied much of the specialized instrumentation specified by NGI for the offshore oil industry. Geonor equipment is in use by public authorities, consultants, contractors, universities and research institutes in over 100 countries. yvind Klevar used to just work with several small and medium-size technology-oriented companies overseeing international marketing, sales and management. But in 1993 he was hired as managing director of Geonor and given the task of restructuring the company. In 1997 he took the bold step of actually purchasing the company from Norsk Hydro and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI).
T-200 at Ny lesund, Spitzbergen, 79 degrees North
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn AL sEp TEMbER 2011 5 5
Airport wind detection

by Laurent Sauvage & Ludovic Thobois
Clear for take-off

Second-generation LiDAR meets new ATM requirements
hould they be wind shears, gusts, wake vortices, volcanic ash or fog, weather hazards at airports can have dramatic consequences for air traffic safety. Although strict ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) rules are applied, dramatic events can occur. This was demonstrated by the crash of an American Airlines A300 in the New York City area on November 12, 2001 two months after the September 11 attacks, due to pilot overreaction to a wake vortex. These events, have, so far, strongly limited any intention of modifying ICAO rules regarding time and distance between aircraft in approach or take-off. The next big challenge for controllers and meteorologists will be to prevent the effect of these hazards more successfully and to enable a safe increase in airport traffic capacity.
Modern Wind Doppler LiDAR is ready for reliable and accurate real-time monitoring of weather hazards around airports, offering improved severe weather forecasting
conditions within the proximity of airports, especially in the case of wind and turbulence. Currently, international aircraft regulations keep a minimum delay between aircraft take-off and landing times which varies with the weight of the two aircraft. This regulation has been established in standard atmosphere conditions. However, in practice, one can expect that, with turbulence in the atmosphere and cross winds, the effective delay after which wake turbulences are sufficiently dissipated may be much lower. This would enable controllers to increase the frequency of aircraft take-off and landings when wind conditions are favorable. Benefits of LiDAR technology Wind Doppler LiDARs (LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging) are laserbased remote sensors that can provide air traffic managers with the accuracy they need and help them to adapt their plans in real time. Unlike in-situ instruments, scanning remote sensors have the advantage of monitoring a large volume of atmosphere from a single location. They also do a good job scanning large areas (typically hundreds of square kilometers) fast enough to capture the dynamics of wind at a high spatial resolution. Radars or LiDARs are both based on electromagnetic waves which propagate at the speed of light. They are complementary in the weather range where they can operate, LiDARs are optimal in clear air and hazy conditions, whereas radars take the lead under rainy conditions. They can both probe large atmospheric volumes in real-time and at a high resolution. To get a high accuracy and spatial resolution, wake vortices cores must be detected within a few meters and the sampling volume must be as small as possible, leading to the use of very short pulses for the electromagnetic source, such as lasers.
Small-scale measurements Wind shears and wake turbulences originate from very different phenomena. The former are generated by geographical disparities around airports, whereas wake turbulences are created by the aircraft themselves. Wind shears usually appear in airports located near coasts, valleys, or mountains. All these topographic elements generate complex wind fields and strong wind shears depending on meteorological conditions. Besides, wind variations can be very fast in such situations, which is why the real time monitoring of large wind fields is necessary to warn air traffic management regarding severe weather and prevent air traffic hazards. In addition, wind variations in wake vortices are generated by every aircraft. Size and intensity of wake vortices are directly linked to the flight speed and also by aircraft characteristics, such as weight and wingspan. Despite the efforts that have been made to study and model wind shears and wake vortices, on-site measurements remain the only way to accurately detect them, as they depend a great deal on meteorological
For several years, LiDARs equipped with powerful lasers and scanner heads have been developed in the USA, Japan, and Europe. Figure 2 (overleaf) represents one long-range scanning pulsed coherent LiDAR, based on a proven technology formerly developed at ONERA, the French aerospace lab. It involves reliable highpower fibered laser amplifiers and telecommunication components at a wavelength of 1.5m. WINDCUBE LiDAR have benefitted from this exclusive technology, which maximizes the stability and toughness of the instrument, while minimizing the cost and maintenance effort. In a vertical wind profiling mode, WINDCUBE technology has been intensively validated against standard sensors, such as cup anemometers and radar wind profilers, during various tests in the USA (NOAA) and in Europe (DWD, Lindenberg). These LiDARs are now used worldwide in hundreds of locations for wind energy, atmospheric research and met observations. The scanner head can perform any scanning pattern in 3D space and benefits from gearless design. The diverse topologies and complex wind conditions can require the LiDAR to be able to scan in staring mode, plan position indicator (PPI) mode (Figure 1, right shows a windfield around the LiDAR), range height indicator (RHI) mode or vertical azimuth display (VAD) mode. All modes must be adaptive to ensure the monitoring of various flow structures in the atmosphere, such as wind shears and wake vortices with the remote sensor. Next-generation ATM standards Two campaigns have been realized in 2011 with a WINDCUBE Doppler LiDAR for evaluating the ability of this LiDAR to detect wind shears and wake turbulences. One LiDAR has been deployed at Nice airport in the south of France, to detect any windshear around the airport because it can be very intense in this area, due to the
5 6 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn A L SEp TEMbER 2011
The SESAR project is aiming at modernizing European airspace and its Air Traffic Management (ATM) standards
Figure 1: Various wind conditions displayed in a RHI mode observed by the WINDCUBE200S LiDAR at Charles de Gaulle Airport for the SESAR Project

vicinity of high mountains and strong winds. Also, a benchmarking of various technologies has been conducted in the framework of the Single European Sky ATM research program (SESAR) and in partnership with Thales Air Systems. The SESAR project is aiming at modernizing European airspace and its Air Traffic Management (ATM) standards over a long period, and acts as the technological mainstay of the future single European sky. At Charles de Gaulle airport, a five week-long campaign was recently conducted with a WINDCUBE200S LiDAR. Although Charles de Gaulle airport is not too exposed to the hazards generated by wind shears; some have still been detected but with a low intensity, this is why they do not impact air traffic. If the LiDAR is able to detect weak wind shears, it can be expected that it will be easily able to detect the strong ones. As already explained, flexible modes were required, since wake turbulence detection has been done both for landing and take-off phases on the aircraft runways of the airport, as well as below the landing glides. Figure 3 shows the monitoring of the two counter-rotated wake vortices generated by a heavy aircraft during take-off during a one minute period. The LiDAR detects each wake vortex as one dipole in terms of
Figure 2: Sample of a windfield, measured by the WINDCUBE200S LiDAR on a horizontal plan, showing a south west mean flow
velocity, one half composed of the highest speeds approaching the LiDAR (red color) and the other half representing the highest speeds away from the LiDAR (blue color). Promising times The results are very promising since various wind conditions have been successfully monitored with the scanning WINDCUBE Wind Doppler LiDAR. Whatever the characteristic times and scales of the wind field, a versatile scanning Wind Doppler LiDAR can accurately monitor the wind conditions, due to its degrees of freedom. Based on the backscattering of light, Doppler LiDAR can detect aerosol plume, as well as fog. but of course weather conditions have a direct influence on the range of the system. Under severe rainy or foggy conditions, the coupling of a LiDAR with radar would be ideal. The major challenge that will have to be faced over the coming years is to convert all the detailed meteorological information, measured by the LiDAR, into comprehensive information that can be used directly by air traffic control and the pilot. z
Laurent Sauvage is scientific director, and Ludovic Thobois is scientific manager at Leosphere Incw
Figure 3: Dynamic of the two counter-rotated wake vortices generated by a heavy aircraft during takeoff at Charles de Gaulle airport, France, for the SESAR project
5 8 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn AL SEp TEMbER 2011
The SESAR project is aiming at modernizing European airspace and its Air Traffic Management (ATM) standards
Figure 1: Sample of a windfield, measured by the WINDCUBE200S LiDAR on a horizontal plan, showing a south west mean flow

vicinity of high mountains and strong winds. Also, a benchmarking of various technologies has been conducted in the framework of the Single European Sky ATM research program (SESAR) and in partnership with Thales Air Systems. The SESAR project is aiming at modernizing European airspace and its Air Traffic Management (ATM) standards over a long period, and acts as the technological mainstay of the future single European sky. At Charles de Gaulle airport, a five week-long campaign was recently conducted with a WINDCUBE200S LiDAR. Although Charles de Gaulle airport is not too exposed to the hazards generated by wind shears; some have still been detected but with a low intensity, this is why they do not impact air traffic. If the LiDAR is able to detect weak wind shears, it can be expected that it will be easily able to detect the strong ones. As already explained, flexible modes were required, since wake turbulence detection has been done both for landing and take-off phases on the aircraft runways of the airport, as well as below the landing glides. Figure 3 shows the monitoring of the two counter-rotated wake vortices generated by a heavy aircraft during take-off during a one minute period. The LiDAR detects each wake vortex as one dipole in terms of
Figure 2 : Various wind conditions displayed in a RHI mode observed by the WINDCUBE200S LiDAR at Charles de Gaulle Airport, France for the SESAR Project
velocity, one half composed of the highest speeds approaching the LiDAR (red color) and the other half representing the highest speeds away from the LiDAR (blue color). Promising times The results are very promising since various wind conditions have been successfully monitored with the scanning WINDCUBE Wind Doppler LiDAR. Whatever the characteristic times and scales of the wind field, a versatile scanning Wind Doppler LiDAR can accurately monitor the wind conditions, due to its degrees of freedom. Based on the backscattering of light, Doppler LiDAR can detect aerosol plume, as well as fog. but of course weather conditions have a direct influence on the range of the system. Under severe rainy or foggy conditions, the coupling of a LiDAR with radar would be ideal. The major challenge that will have to be faced over the coming years is to convert all the detailed meteorological information, measured by the LiDAR, into comprehensive information that can be used directly by air traffic control and the pilot. z
Laurent Sauvage is scientific director, and Ludovic Thobois is scientific manager at Leosphere Inc
Figure 3 : Dynamic of the two counter-rotated wake vortices generated by a heavy aircraft during takeoff at Charles de Gaulle airport, France, for the SESAR project
Solar imaging
by Dr. Kenneth E. Washington
space storm
Expanding the focus on Sun imagery and space weather

An instrument on board the GOES-R satellite will include a solar ultraviolet imager that will observe and record major solar events
or telegraph operators in 1859, the technology at their fingertips must have seemed almost miraculous. Transmitting messages instantaneously over long distances using electricity was a breakthrough of a magnitude that is hard to appreciate by todays technological standards. So imagine the shock (literally and figuratively) that those early operators received in the pre-dawn hours of September 2, when without warning a shower of sparks leapt from their equipment and gave them a painful jolt. In some places, telegraph paper was set on fire, and systems continued to operate even after batteries had been disconnected. These operators were on the front lines of societys introduction to the hazards of major space weather events. The Carrington Event, named after British solar astronomer Richard Carrington, consisted of a huge solar flare followed by a coronal mass ejection (CME) that sent billions of tons of charged particles hurtling across space toward the Earth, resulting in the most powerful geomagnetic storm on record. Yet aside from a few startled and singed telegraph operators, the event seems to have had few negative consequences for the people here on Earth. In fact, people around the globe were thrilled by the dramatic aurora that lit up the night sky. We would not be so delighted, however, if the Carrington Event occurred today. A 2008 National Academies report entitled, Severe Space Weather Events Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts, estimated that the cost of a severe geomagnetic storm scenario would reach as high as US$2 trillion in the first year alone, with a total recovery time of four to 10 years.
Potential loss numbers of this magnitude, which move ever higher as society becomes more dependent on technology systems vulnerable to electromagnetic disturbances, are the reason that understanding the causes and effects of space weather has become a major scientific focus, not just among research scientists, but also at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The role of SUVI When NOAA launches its first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Series satellite in 2015, the spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, will include in its payload an instrument pointed not at the Earth, but rather toward the Sun. The Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) will observe and record large solar events, such as flares, and the coronal signatures of CMEs and the solar wind, which are by far the most significant generators of potentially dangerous space weather. Built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, California, SUVI will join a growing array of instruments gathering data and monitoring the Suns activity. Many of the instruments currently studying the Sun are part of missions sponsored by NASA and other national space agencies, but SUVI will continue the near- and real-time spaceweather-prediction focus that falls under NOAAs purview. GOES 12 through 15 spacecraft have each carried a Solar X-ray Imager (SXI), the last three also built by Lockheed Martin, which images the structure of the solar atmosphere in the soft x-ray to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Full-disk solar
An image taken by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission. The image has been rebinned to approximate how the Sun might appear when observed by the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) instrument. The bandpass shown is dominated by emissions of Fe XII, which are observed from coronal plasmas that have a temperature of approximately 1,600,000K. The brighter regions show the location of active regions
Solar imaging
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Solar imaging
The Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) instrument will fly on NOAAs next generation GOES spacecraft
images are provided in regular sequences of exposures that are downlinked at oneminute intervals. The latest of the satellites, GOES 15, began returning SXI images in 2010. The SXI instruments have added valuable imagery to a growing database of images in the soft x-ray to EUV range that can be used to understand the correlations between disturbances at or near the Suns surface and space weather storms in the near-Earth space environment and the upper atmosphere. As scientists who study Earth weather systems are all well aware, historical data is invaluable for mapping trends over time and identifying triggers and signatures that enable increasingly accurate predictions. Enhanced imaging capabilities SUVI will continue to add to that historical database, thereby extending the record for many more years. But SUVI is not simply an updated version of SXI. It is, in fact, a new telescope design with valuable new features and capabilities. SUVI will improve image resolution by a factor of two over SXI, provide several images per minute, and, most significantly, image a much wider temperature range. Six EUV bandpasses covering spectral lines of iron and He II will cover the entire dynamic range of solar EUV features from coronal holes to X-class flares and enable the estimation of coronal plasma temperature and emission measure. Expanding the temperature range is critical because of the nature of the Suns atmosphere and the huge differences in temperature within its three regions. In the chromosphere closest to the surface, the temperature is about 10,000K. In the
The Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) instrument, seen at center frame, will fly on NOAAs next generation GOES spacecraft
transition zone above it, the temperature increases to 50,000K and higher still, in K the corona, temperatures range from 1,000,000K to 20,000,000K during a K K flare. Seeing these wide temperature differences in a layered imaging product can greatly enhance scientists ability to identify signatures leading up to a flare or solar eruption. SUVI data will be made available by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), jointly operated by NOAA and the US Air Force, which is the nations official source of space weather alerts, watches and warnings. In addition to providing solar imaging products, the SWPC analyzes and supplies in situ data gathered from orbiting satellites that indicate current space weather conditions, in much the same way as a weather station functions on Earth.
Importance of space weather prediction As previously noted, understanding space weather has become increasingly vital to the functioning of modern society because of the increasing sophistication of and reliance on electronic systems. The Carrington Event in 1859 was little more than a curiosity, but by 1882, when another major geomagnetic storm occurred, the damage was significantly greater because of increased reliance on electronic communication and power distribution systems. According to newspaper reports, the storm disrupted the Chicago stock market, interfered with the telephone service, and the switchboard at the Chicago Western Union office caught fire. While no recent event has reached the degree of severity of those storms, many have greatly surpassed their level of damage.
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Solar imaging
Perhaps the most noted event has been the disruption of northeastern Canadas HydroQuebec power grid during a geomagnetic storm in March 1989. The collapse, which happened in less than two minutes, left millions of people without electricity for up to nine hours. Its not difcult to imagine how long periods of power grid failure would have extreme monetary costs and contribute to loss of human life. Space weather can, and does, disrupt many systems and activities beyond electric power distribution. Oil and gas pipelines are subject to corrosion from the effects of electrical currents generated by geomagnetic storms; high-frequency radio communications and navigation signals from Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites are disrupted by ionospheric density disturbances; and HF communications on transpolar aviation routes can be degraded or even lost entirely during polar cap absorption (PCA) events. The effects on spacecraft and humans in space, where the Earths atmosphere offers no protection, can be even more severe. Spacecraft exposed to energetic particles and radiation spikes can suffer operational anomalies and damage to sensitive
GOES-R: A WEATHER AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PHENOMENON

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R), scheduled to launch in 2015, continues a tradition of US weather observation spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit that reaches back to 1966. But the GOES-R satellite is anything but traditional. In addition to the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI), the Lockheed Martin designed and built spacecraft will carry ve major science instruments, providing revolutionary capabilities to NOAA and NASA data users. The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), the primary Earth-imaging instrument on GOES-R, will give forecasters exceptional new capabilities for tracking the early stages of storm development. It will provide three times more spectral information, four times the spatial resolution, and ve times faster temporal coverage than the current system. Another Earth-pointing instrument, the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, will provide an early indication of storm intensification and severe weather events, improved tornado warning lead time of up to 20 minutes or more, and data for long-term climate variability studies, while the Space Environment In Situ Suite (SEISS) and in situ magnetometer will monitor space weather conditions for the protection of satellites and humans located in space. Joining SUVI on the Sun-pointing deck will be the Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS), which detect solar soft x-ray irradiance and solar extreme ultraviolet spectral irradiance that can disrupt communications, degrade navigational accuracy, and affect satellite tracking and ionospheric changes.
Space weather can, and does, disrupt many systems and activities beyond electric power distribution
provide data to researchers who will use it to build better prediction models. When combined and correlated with data from the many other satellites and instruments studying the Sun, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) launched in February 2010, SUVI imagery may allow researchers to improve the accuracy and advance warning to operators and owners of systems and equipment that are vulnerable to severe space weather events. Again, in the same way as terrestrial weather systems, the forces that cause explosive events on the Sun are complex and far reaching. In the past, scientists looked for answers in the narrow bands of data observed by their instruments. Now, instruments on the SDO and many other missions are providing a much fuller and far-reaching picture of the surface, subsurface and atmospheric dynamics, enabling researchers to understand the interactive forces on a much larger scale and, eventually, much further in advance of events that cause catastrophic space storms here on Earth. As solar research advances, SUVI instruments on GOES-R and S series satellites will play a signicant ongoing role in predicting space weather with evergreater accuracy. That is an exciting prospect for the science community, including the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), which is part of the Space Systems ATC and has a long history of contributing to solar science. On a larger scale, the advancement of solar science is a vitally important development for human society, which will certainly continue to increase its dependence on sophisticated technology systems to support daily life. Through instruments such as SUVI and all the work that has been done at LMSAL and other Space Systems sites, Lockheed Martin is committed to helping to nd solutions to space weather prediction that will save property, money and, most critically, lives.
Dr. Kenneth E. Washington is vice president, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company Advanced Technology Center based in Palo Alto, California, USA
SUVI will join a growing array of instruments monitoring the Suns activity. The telescope will record dangerous space weather events
electronics systems. Energetic particle events can also damage solar arrays and optical systems. Humans traveling in space, meanwhile, could be subject to potentially lethal dosages of radiation if caught outside their spacecraft during a high-energy particle barrage. Supporting continued advances While SUVIs most immediate contribution will be to help provide advance warning of eruptions on the Sun that could cause widespread damage to satellites and Earthbased systems, disrupting everything from aircraft landings and banking transactions to radio broadcasts and cellular phone communications, the telescope will also
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Radar networks
by David McLaughlin & Ted Djaferis
AheAd of the curve

he dense radar network is an emerging technology capable of providing gap-free radar coverage from ground level to the tops of storms. Such networks have the potential to supplement, or perhaps replace, the longrange weather radars in use today. Long-range microwave radar networks are an important part of the weather forecasting and warning infrastructure used by many nations today. Despite decades of technological improvement, a fundamental limitation of todays longrange weather radar networks is their inability to observe the lower part of the atmosphere due to Earths curvature and terrain blockage. Taking the USA as an example, the radars of the WSR-88D, or NEXRAD, system are spaced more than 230km apart. Earths curvature prevents the network from observing more than 70% of the troposphere below 1km. Owing to this observing gap, detection and forecasting of weather near ground level relies on extrapolation of observations taken aloft. This results in high false alarm rates, missed-detections of tornadoes and other hazards, and large errors in estimation of precipitation and other weather near ground level, where people live.
Gap-free X-band radar technology

The latest system of dense distributed radar networks can defeat Earths curvature, and they even surpass existing radar technologies
Radar systems NEXRAD, like the operational weather radar networks deployed throughout Europe and other wealthy nations around the world, relies on physically large, highpower radars. Long-range weather radars need to operate at S or C band in order to minimize attenuation due to precipitation. Radars operating in these bands require high-power transmitters to achieve adequate sensitivity, and they require large antennas and sturdy pedestals in order to survey the atmospheric volume with high spatial resolution. These requirements drive the cost of the radars
NEXRAD radar coverage at 3km and 1km. White spaces are regions of no coverage resulting from Earths curvature and terrain blockage (Data courtesy of Ira Graffman, NOAA). Copyright American Meteorological Society
and also create the need for dedicated land, towers, and other support infrastructure. The acquisition cost for todays weather radars, including radar equipment, land, and other installation cost, can be as high as US$10 million, and the operating and maintenance cost can be several hundreds of thousands of dollars per radar each year The large physical size of these systems combined with potential environmental effects limits the availability of potential installation sites.
Scanning the antenna beams below 0.5 elevation is sometimes prohibited because of the publics concerns about radiation safety. For all these reasons, the strategy for deploying national radar networks such as this, is to judiciously attempt to site radars where low-altitude coverage is most needed while simultaneously minimizing the number of radars in the network as a means of controlling the lifecycle costs of the entire system. This results in our present low-altitude observing gap.
Radar networks
Scanning the antenna beams below 0.5 elevation is sometimes prohibited because of the publics concerns about radiation safety
Comprehensive low-altitude radar The need for low-altitude radar coverage, particularly in the planetary boundary layer, is increasingly evident and a growing list of applications demands better, more comprehensive low-level radar data. When tornadoes, land-falling hurricanes, and other hazards strike, storm spotters and emergency managers need detailed information close to ground level to support alerting, evacuation, and firstresponse activities. In addition, applications such as improved forecasting and warning of localized hazardous weather, wind mapping for fire fighting, tracking airborne toxic releases, monitoring bird migration, enhanced roadway weather forecasting, and wind power forecasting are among the many existing and emerging applications that need better low-altitude radar coverage. Such needs cannot be met with networks composed of long-range radars because of the fundamental inability of such systems to provide comprehensive low-altitude coverage. Dense radar network solution The National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) is developing a different approach to weather radar. CASAs concept is to use large numbers of small radars spaced several tens of kilometers apart and arranged to operate in a collaborative network. A network comprised of such radars would not suffer blockage from Earths curvature or terrain, and would be capable of providing coverage from near ground level up to the tops of storms. Short-range operation permits using radar frequencies in X band, where required antenna sizes are much smaller than at the lower S and C bands. In contrast to todays large radars, such as NEXR AD, that have 9m-diameter
Storm forecasters (upper photo) and emergency responders (below) need geographically specific, spatially accurate depictions of weather at ground level for issuing alerts and saving lives and property
antennas, the antennas in dense networks would be just 1m across. Moreover, they would require only tens of watts average power due to their short-range operation and enhanced scattering from raindrops at X band. A dense network of several thousand such radars would be required to blanket a region the size of the contiguous USA. Such radars would be capable of achieving <1km spatial resolution throughout the entire troposphere from the critical low troposphere gap region up to the tops of storms. Blanket deployment of thousands of small radar nodes across the entire nation is but one of several possible future deployment strategies for this technology. Additional strategies include selective deployment of tens to hundreds of radars in more heavily populated areas; in geographic regions particularly prone to wind hazards or flash floods; in valleys
within mountainous regions; or in specific regions where it is particularly important to improve observation of low-level meteorological phenomena. Deployment of dense networks such as this represents a major change from our present concept of sparse, widely spaced radar networks, where we seek to minimize numbers of radars owing to cost and to the
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Radar networks
Artists concept showing how small meter-sized X-band phased arrays will be deployed on towers and the sides of buildings to make use of existing infrastructure. (c)American Meteorological Society
social footprint of large radar installations. Deployment of a dense network requires that the radars be small enough that they integrate into the background infrastructure, making use of existing towers and rooftops. Cost-effective deployment of such networks requires that the acquisition, deployment, and recurring costs be substantially smaller than the per-radar costs of todays high-power radar designs. Rather than acquiring acre-size land plots and deploying large towers to accommodate megawatt-class transmitters and ~10m radomes, dense networks will require deployment on small towers with small land footprints, or existing infrastructure elements such as rooftops, sides of buildings, and communication towers. Proof of concept To investigate the small radar/dense network concept, the participants of the CASA project designed, fabricated, and deployed a four-radar demonstrator testbed network in Oklahoma. The radars in this testbed operate at X band and employ 1.2m-diameter, dual-polarization parabolic reflector antennas; ~ 10kW peak power (10W average power) magnetron transmitters; and dual coherent-on-receive receivers. These types of radars, which the CASA project has been able to develop and deploy for several hundred thousand dollars per site, represent a new class of low-power, low-cost radar systems. They are able to achieve +10dBZ sensitivity out to 30km range. In trials conducted with the test network during recent severe storm
outbreaks in southwest Oklahoma, the system has demonstrated measurement capabilities fundamentally beyond those of todays long-range radars. These capabilities include observations from several hundreds of meters above ground level up to the tops of storms; multiple Doppler coverage for retrieving wind vector fields during rain events; and higher temporal and spatial resolution. During a tornado outbreak on May 24, 2011, emergency managers in Newcastle, Oklahoma, relied on CASA data to help with evacuations during the touchdown of an EF-4 tornado. City manager Nick Nazar, who worked to shelter citizens and place emergency responders on the scene to deal with tornado impacts, reported, We were able to position (the first responders) much closer to the affected areas because we literally knew what was coming. The opportunity to use this advanced technology was very helpful and probably saved lives. It was literally up to the minute and it made a difference. These trials help validate the concept that small, low-power radars, arranged in dense networks, can provide better coverage in those regions where weather data is most needed. Similar networks are now being developed in numerous countries around the world as researchers explore the applicability of the concept to the weather in their region. Implementation The feasibility of implementing this dense network concept beyond the prototype level will ultimately depend on cost. Radars can be purchased at prices ranging from US$200
for automobile collision radar, to US$2,000 to US$20,000 for marine navigation radars, to US$1 million to US$10 million for large weather radars, to costs in excess of hundreds of millions of dollars for the highperformance radars developed for complex missions in defense and other applications. The cost of a radar is driven both by the volume of radars manufactured and the required performance. The small radars
Radar networks
CASAs prototype radar design uses a 1.2m antenna and low-power transmitter inside a radome. The CASA team was able to realize these radars using only US$78,000 in radar parts, yet the demonstration network comprised of four of these radars demonstrated capabilities fundamentally beyond those of todays larger weather radars
CASA prototype network observes an evolving hook echo with 500m spatial resolution and 60-second update time (upper panels). The spatial resolution is high enough to locate small-scale vortices and follow them down streets. With 2.5km resolution and five-minute update time, NEXRAD radar (lower panels) focuses on the parent storm but misses these details. Copyright American Meteorological Society
CASAs academic participants during 200405 using a combination of off-the-shelf and custom-made components. The total parts cost of the transceiver, antenna, computers, and data acquisition system for these dualpolarized, coherent-on-receive radars was US$78,000. The parts cost of all the components in a complete installation, including the towers, concrete, radomes, environmental and power conditioning, and high-speed antenna positioners, was US$229,500. Phased arrays Phased arrays are a key enabling technology in many radars produced for defense applications. They are a desirable technology for use in dense radar networks because they do not require maintenance of moving parts and they permit flexibility in beam steering without requiring the maintenance of antenna pedestals. Moreover, phased arrays can potentially be mounted to the sides of towers and buildings, giving flexibility in the selection of suitable radar sites. A particular challenge to realizing cost-effective dense networks composed of thousands of phased-array radars will be achieving a design that can be volume manufactured for about US$50,000 per phased array (assuming several panels per site and assuming each panel is selfcontained with the antenna elements and radar transceivers as well as computers for beam steering, data acquisition, signal processing, communication interfaces, and power conditioning electronics). Several thousand transmit/receive (T/R) modules are needed to obtain a phased array capable of electronically steering a 2 beam in two dimensions over the desired scan range without requiring moving parts. Realizing such an antenna requires the use of low-cost microwave semiconductors combined with very low-cost packaging, fabrication, and assembly techniques. Recent papers have described an architecture and prototype of a phased array with these characteristics being developed
by Raytheon, based on manufacturing processes similar to those for making lowcost computer boards. Electronic beam steering Another approach to realizing these panels is to perform electronic beam steering in the azimuth direction while mechanically steering (tilting) the antenna in the elevation direction. A prototype version of such an antenna is being developed within the CASA center. Because electronic beam steering is only needed in the azimuth direction, the individual panels in this design require only 64 1-W T/R modules. Antenna manufacturer First RF, of Boulder, Colorado is developing an X-band elevation gimballed phased array antenna (FRF-166) using the same basic concept. Looking to the future Todays widely spaced long-range radars are blocked from viewing the lower part of the troposphere by Earths curvature. Dense networks of short-range radars defeat the blockage and enable observing the full vertical depth of the atmosphere, from the boundary layer to the tops of storms. With only 1m antennas and tens of watts of transmitter power, such networks provide observing capabilities beyond the operational state of the art. Improved capabilities associated with this technology include low-altitude coverage of weather, sub-kilometer spatial resolution, rapid update times, and multiDoppler retrievals of vector winds, which are important for todays applications of weather radar. This technology has the potential to supplement, or perhaps replace, the widely spaced networks of large high-power radars in use today. z
Dr David McLaughlin and Dr Ted Djaferis are with the College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. McLaughlin is director of CASA and professor of electrical and computer engineering. Djaferis is Dean of the College of Engineering.
considered for dense networks transmit <100W average microwave power. From the point of view of transmitted power, this puts them in the same performance category as the marine radars at the lower end of the price range. CASAs costs to build, install, and operate the radars in the Oklahoma testbed serve as a useful first data point in projecting costs for this new class of radar. The radars were designed and fabricated by
Scintillometers
by Martin Veenstra
Bridge over trouBled waters

The benefits of ground-based flux measurements for hydrological models
The need to be able to measure surface energy fluxes has become more and more urgent. One method is to use large-aperture scintillometers
ince water has become a scarce commodity in many parts of the world, it is of great importance to implement effective water management strategies for well-informed decisions based on the best available data. Many regions are characterized by large temporal and spatial variations in water availability. These variations depend on many factors, such as the amount of rainfall, hydraulic properties of the soil, water transpired by crops, surface water and soil evaporation, agricultural irrigation, and river run-off. During the last two decades there have been many investigations into the application of remote sensing satellite data to estimate regional evapo-transpiration distributions. As a result a number of remote sensing-based algorithms have been developed such as SEBAL (surface energy balance algorithms for land) and METRIC (mapping ET at high spatial resolution with internalized calibration). These models have been successfully used by hydrologists and water managers around the world. In addition to remote satellite data, ground-based measurements of surface fluxes are beneficial to hydrological models for validation and calibration.
The energy balance The basis for these models and remote sensing techniques is the energy balance at the earths surface. The driving force is the net radiation that is divided among the three surface energy fluxes: the soil heat flux and the sensible and latent heat fluxes. The difference between the net radiation and the soil heat flux is the available energy for the latent heat flux or evapo-transpiration.
The net radiation consists of the sum of global solar radiation and the long-wave thermal radiation received from the atmosphere and clouds minus the sum of the global solar radiation reflected by the surface and thermal radiation emitted by the land surface. The sensible heat flux changes the temperature of the air; the soil heat flux causes the soil temperature to change. The latent heat flux is a non-sensible heat flux since it does not cause any detectable temperature changes in the air. This energy component when added to water causes a phase change from the liquid to the gaseous state. This state change is evaporation. The term latent is used because the energy is released again when the water changes back from the gas to the liquid state. This latent heat flux cannot be sensed or felt because the temperature of the water molecules is not changed. For example, vegetation extracts large amounts of water from the soil and releases it back into the atmosphere through a process called transpiration. Together with surface water and soil evaporation these are the two main contributors to the latent heat flux. Evaporation and transpiration are often referred to as evapo-transpiration (ET) because it is much easier to measure the ET of a land surface than the separate fluxes of transpiration and evaporation. In many regions the ET is the main source of outgoing fluxes of water. Eddy covariance Traditionally the method for obtaining accurate surface heat fluxes has been the eddy covariance (EC) technique, where sensible heat flux is derived from highfrequency measurements of the vertical
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Scintillometers
The difference between the net radiation and the soil heat flux is the available energy for the latent heat flux or evapotranspiration
A Large Aperture Scintillometer receiver installed on a tripod
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTER n ATIOn AL sEp TEMbER 2011 6 9
Scintillometers
System application For shorter paths, up to a kilometer, rugged tripods may be sufficient for the installation; for longer paths the scintillometer needs to be installed higher above the surface. In a typical application with a path length of several kilometers, the transmitter and receiver are installed at a height of 3-20m, depending on the path length and the expected intensities of the fluxes. This can be done using dedicated meteorological towers, although existing structures such as church, water, and telecommunication towers can also be utilized. Hills and other terrain features can be a good option for installation. The most important requirement is that the transmitter and receiver have a clear line-of-sight and that they are installed on stable bases to maintain beam alignment. The meteorological instruments for wind, temperature, and other parameters are installed along the path between the transmitter and receiver at the elevation of the infra-red beam. All measurement data is recorded and stored in a central data acquisition system that can be connected directly to a computer or network for data retrieval. The resulting data files can be processed using dedicated software supplied by the manufacturer, but raw data is also available for use in other processing algorithms. Scintillometer systems are often installed in remote areas, where limited or no infrastructure is available. This means that these systems need to be able to operate autonomously from power and communication lines. Therefore these systems are usually designed to operate from simple solar-powered batteries and communicate using wireless networks. Another important aspect is the harsh environments in which measurements sometimes need to be taken. Scintillometer systems are installed in a range of climates such as arid deserts where the temperatures are as high as +50C during the day and can fall to -10C at night, the ever hot and humid Amazon rain forest, and the corrosive atmosphere of coastal areas. Scintillometers are designed to cope with these conditions; a weatherproof enclosure and built-in window heater system ensure proper operation under virtually all weather conditions. After being used for energy balance studies for over three decades in a wide range of environments, the scintillometer has proven itself to be a reliable instrument for continuous and long-term flux measurement applications. z
Martin Veenstra is business manager Hydrology at Kipp & Zonen
Schematic representation of a Scintillometer system with meteorological instruments used to validate remote sensing data pixels.
wind velocity and air temperature. This measurement method yields fluxes representative of a footprint extending to around 100m from the measurement site. This means there is a large discrepancy between the EC footprint scale and the typical pixel size of daily available satellite imagery (250m to 4km) and weather prediction models (1-4km). This is most significant in areas where the terrain is not homogeneous in composition, elevation, and vegetation. An alternative method for continuous monitoring of the surface energy balance is a measurement system based on a largeaperture scintillometer (LAS). An LAS consists of a transmitter and a receiver, placed at opposite ends of a path ranging from 100m up to several kilometers. The transmitter emits a beam of near infra-red radiation that is detected by the receiver. The beam is refracted and scattered by variations of temperature and water vapor concentration within turbulent eddies in the atmosphere along the path. The receiver detects these intensity variations of the beam that are proportional to small changes in the refractive index of air. To derive the sensible heat flux, the Monin-Obukhov Similarity Theory is applied by combining the measurements of the refractive index of air from the
scintillometer with time-coherent local meteorological measurements of ambient air temperature, pressure, and windspeed. To calculate the latent heat flux and evapo-transpiration, additional data is required. The net radiation is measured using a net radiometer, which measures the incoming solar short-wave and atmospheric long-wave radiation and subtracts the reflected solar radiation and the long-wave radiation emitted by the earths surface. The soil heat flux is measured with heat flux plates, which measure the amount of energy that flows into, or out of, the soil. Two very accurate temperature sensors are required to determine the direction of the heat flow in the atmosphere. Finally, the latent heat flux is determined as the residual term of the energy balance: the difference of the net radiation minus the sum of soil heat flux and sensible heat flux. With a LAS ET system the entire energy balance can be accurately monitored. A major advantage of this system is that it yields the average fluxes over a large representative footprint, which matches the pixel sizes of daily satellite imagery as well as weather prediction and distributed hydrological models.
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Mobile data delivery

by Michael Richardson
THE WX FACTOR
Leveraging satellite and internet distribution
Mobile weather data delivery can enhance situational awareness for users on a constant basis, using advanced satellite and internet technology
n the age of laptops, mobile devices, and all the accompanying software, mobile weather data delivery is an increasingly essential component of the meteorological infrastructure. Although personnel involved in xed-base operations typically require a standard broadband internet connection, the challenges in providing weather data to users in the eld are unique. Depending on the application, satellite and internet data delivery may be utilized to supply mobile users with invaluable weather data products, providing users with enhanced situational awareness for improved decision making. To provide mobile users with desirable, value-added data products in mobile applications, Baron Services has developed accurate and reliable technologies for both types of data delivery, originating from its primary facility in Huntsville, Alabama, and a backup site in Asheville, North Carolina. Regardless of the distribution method, the initial steps in data collection and preparation are largely the same.
Data acquisition, processing, and compression Data inputs are acquired from public and private sources, including the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as the US Navy. This data is collected at Barons operations center in Huntsville, where it is packaged and distributed. With customized applications, weather sensor inputs could be collected and distributed from the customers facility. Due to the limitations of satellite delivery bandwidth, compression routines are applied during the packaging process, which is especially important because doing so maintains relatively small le size despite the large amount of data being transmitted. For internet-delivered applications, in particular, compression helps the user decrease download costs due to bandwidth constraints.
Proprietary processing techniques are applied to many data products, ensuring enhanced accuracy and specicity. The company supplies a number of services to customers through satellite and internet-delivered data. One is the NEXRAD radar composite. For US mobile applications, Baron supplies a multi-tilt radar reectivity composite, consisting of all active NEXRAD radar sites within the continental USA. While most composite radar images utilize base reectivity for product generation, this approach provides a more complete indication of a vertical storm structure. The composite is continuously subjected to a quality control process in which false echoes caused by anomalous propagation (AP) are removed. The company also supplies a storm tracking system. Discussed in previous issues of Meteorological Technology International, Baron-patented SCIT (Storm Cell Identication and Tracking) attributes allow for accurate storm cell and tornado identication, as well as projections on storm cells speed and direction. Another system is a high-resolution sea surface temperatures (SST) data product, which employs advanced forecast modeling in conjunction with actual satellite observations to eliminate data gaps caused by cloud coverage and missed satellite passes. A global satellite imagery product is generated once an hour from observations obtained by multiple satellite networks, including GOES, METEOSAT, and MTSAT. Infrared imagery is used, allowing mobile users to receive observations at all hours of the day. Satellite imagery for more localized areas can also be deployed over the Baron data stream in extremely high resolution. For winds and maritime conditions such as wave heights, direction and period, the US Navys COAMPS model is used as a basis. Proprietary customization and processing are performed to each COAMPS data set, adjusting for the presence of coastal
land masses for improved forecasting accuracy. Worldwide buoy and METAR observations are also available. XM WX satellite weather In 2003, Baron Services and XM Satellite Radio (now Sirius XM), a commercial provider of satellite-transmitted audio programming, teamed to create the XM WX Satellite Weather data service, providing mobile users in the USA with graphical weather data. The data is GPS-referenced, allowing software to plot the users location as an overlay on the map. Users include pilots, boaters, emergency management
72 ME TEOROLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY IN TERN ATION A L SEP TEMBER 2011

The internet-based data products update with the same frequency as data transmitted over a satellite network
Left: COBRA processing automatically identies the most intense elements of a storm (ooding, hail, and wind shear), and highlights them using a single integrated composite
Data supplied by Baron is viewable on compatible handheld devices, allowing users continuous access to weather data during mobile operations
personnel, and more. Users receive and display mobile weather data using their choice of compatible solution. A portable antenna, about the size of a matchbook, captures the XM satellite signal, and routes it to a small-footprint data receiver. The receiver connects to a display device anything from a PC solution to a compatible multifunction display on which the user can view and time-lapse the data, as well as zoom and pan across the weather map. Many data products can be overlaid onto the map simultaneously, providing a clear, comprehensive picture of weather conditions.
Two active satellites (XM Rhythm and XM Blues) are located in orbit at 85 west longitude and 115 west longitude, respectively, transmitting signals in the Sband wavelength, which prevents reception issues caused by rain fade. In addition, a network of terrestrial repeaters is in place to ensure continuous coverage across the mainland USA, as well as southern portions of Alaska and Canada. Two older satellites remain in orbit as spares. As an entire system, this conguration provides a great deal of coverage redundancy, since both active satellites transmit simultaneously, ensuring that sufcient signal quality is
continuously received, regardless of location or antenna orientation. Data refresh frequency is scheduled according to the priority of the data products. Refreshes of high-priority data products including radar and lightning occur every ve minutes, for example. Lower-priority data products, such as those based on model data, are refreshed every 12 minutes. The meteorological analysis and distribution technology used for the XM WX service can also be easily applied to an existing weather infrastructure, supplying accurate, near real-time weather

data to organizational personnel in need of mobile weather data access. XM NavWeather Another satellite-delivered data offering currently in service is also through the XM partnership. Called XM NavWeather, Barons patented Threat Matrix technology makes use of data inputs as varied as radar, road condition sensors, and data modeling. The concept of NavWeather is to deliver timely, accurate, and personalized weather information straight to equipped vehicles in a manner that is both simple and beneficial to the driver for any location and route. In order to achieve these objectives, Baron Services developed a system that incorporates real-time weather data from a wide variety of sources, and applies state-of-the-art algorithms, advanced numerical modeling techniques, and patented storm-tracking technologies, resulting in a simple and precise location-based interpretation of current and short-term weather threats with a driver-centric philosophy. For example, the inclusion of information on the short-term movement of a severe thunderstorm, which may produce tornadoes, damaging hail and lightning, can warn of a possible intersection with the threat, giving the motorist a chance to avoid it. US National Weather Service watches and warnings are
This diagram is a basic depiction of the data collection, processing and transmission process for internet-based weather data delivery
also transmitted straight to the vehicle as soon as they are issued. The system works by dividing the USA into a grid, allowing conditions to be monitored at an extremely localized level. Weather conditions are prioritized according to severity. The most concerning conditions for any box on the grid are then transmitted via satellite to the vehicle. The driver then sees the highest-priority condition on the NavWeather display, which is integrated into the vehicles GPS system. The services flexible nature allows automobile manufacturers to incorporate XM NavWeather data into their onboard electronics most any way they see fit, although Baron does provide implementation guidance if requested. Threatening weather can develop rapidly, so updated NavWeather data is sent to XM every 90 seconds, covering the entire continental USA at a high resolution. The NavWeather service has been implemented in a range of vehicles sold in the USA, including models from Acura, Hyundai, Infiniti, Lexus, Nissan, and Porsche. Weather data via XM NavWeather is also available on handheld display devices, allowing users to access Threat Matrix data anywhere in the field. Internet data delivery Much of the data provided through the XM partnership is also available using internet data connections, including standard ground-based connections, cellular data and
satellite broadband services. The internetbased data products update with the same frequency as data transmitted over a satellite network, but are augmented with a data-rich burst upon each initiation of the weather data connection. Although not part of Barons current consumer offerings, given enough bandwidth practically any kind of weather data product can be transmitted over mobile data connections, including value-added data products enhanced with COBRA technology. Fundamentally, COBRA algorithms process volumetric radar data and graphically isolate areas of concern, whether from flooding, hail, tornadoes or winter weather events. Satellite and internet weather data connections provide much flexibility in how essential weather information can be disseminated, not just to stakeholders but the general populace as well. Weather data services supplied over these data connections can be entirely customized well beyond their commercial counterparts from the USA, depending on the users requirements. In the future, further development of global weather data products will necessitate detection inputs originating from entirely new sources an area where Baron is looking to expand its capabilities and relationships. z
Michael Richardson is the marketing and communications manager with Baron Services in the USA
QuikLink displays showing the eastern Pacific and the western Mediterranean
74 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTERn ATIOn A L sEp TEMbER 2011
Extreme software system

by lafur Rgnvaldsson
Search and reScue

The SARWeather software system has been developed to facilitate search and rescue operations in harsh weather
t is the rule rather than the exception that rescue missions and search operations for missing people are initiated under harsh weather conditions. In any case, such missions are dependent on weather forecasts, as the safety of the field personnel must be secured in the best possible manner and the missions must be run as efficiently as possible. SAR (search and rescue) operators and personnel work in extreme conditions, where better and timely information is of paramount importance. IMR/Belgingur has developed an innovative weather forecasting system, SARWeather (Search And Rescue Weather). The system is tailored to serve the demanding needs of SAR teams and rescue control centers worldwide. It is an ondemand software suite that brings the power of modern weather forecasting models to the hands of ordinary people. To ensure its usability, SARWeather has been developed in close collaboration with the Civil Protection Department of the Icelandic Police (CPD), the Icelandic Search and Rescue Association (ICE-SAR), and the United Nations Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT).
Weather prediction system assists humanitarian aid

I
SARWeather is also a certified service provider to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS www.gdacs. org). GDACS is a joint initiative of the United Nations and the European Commission that aims to consolidate and strengthen the network of providers and users of disaster information worldwide in order to provide reliable and accurate alerts and impact estimations after sudden-onset disasters, and to improve the cooperation of international responders in the immediate aftermath of major natural, technological, and environmental disasters. An important feature of SARWeather is the potential of using the model output data directly as input to other decision support software, such as ArcGIS, atmospheric dispersion models, or ocean wave models. It is this flexibility that makes SARWeather an ideal tool for SAR operators and decision makers. Ongoing development New methods for data assimilation and nowcasting are under constant development and aim to provide increasingly accurate weather forecasts on the scale of minutes and horizontal scales of a few hundred meters. Obtaining the extra meteorological observations needed, as input to these methods, can be tricky in remote areas or regions severely affected by natural catastrophes. An example of such a region is Haiti after the large earthquake in January 2010. The range of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) flying meteorological observatories is an important addition to the meteorological toolbox. Increasingly robust aircraft models can be deployed at a well-defined extra cost, with current weather conditions, in particular windspeed, being the determining factor. Meteorological observatories may even be retrofitted on SAR reconnaissance drones. An example
ICE-SAR was the first international rescue team to arrive in Haiti after the large earthquake in January 2010. Having received a request for high-resolution forecasts for Haiti from ICESAR, it took IMR scientists less than two hours to set up an operational weather forecasting system for Haiti a system that is operational to this day. With the current version of SARWeather, this process now only takes a few minutes (Picture: ICE-SAR)
SARWeather SARWeather provides a simple, web-based, user interface to the WRF modeling system. In a few easy steps the user places a new forecast order, defines the region of interest, verifies and modifies the choice, submits the forecast order, and finally views the resulting high-resolution weather forecast. The forecast is updated four times a day until the user chooses to cancel the order. The SARWeather system uses data from the Global Forecasting System (GFS) run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as initial and boundary data. The GFS data is scaled down to 1km horizontal resolution using the WRF models nesting technique. This detailed
resolution ensures that the effects of complex terrain on the atmospheric flow are taken into account in the weather forecast. Using high-performance computer clusters to calculate the forecast guarantees speedy delivery to the SAR community. SARWeather was first used in operational mode during the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake in January 2010. On-site SAR personnel used the forecasts to plan day-today operations. Since then it has been used to create forecasts for Pakistan during the flooding events in the fall of 2010; to provide detailed forecasts for parts of Libya where humanitarian aid was being provided; and to run high-resolution forecasts for the region around the Fukushima nuclear plants after the 2011 earthquake. In addition to being run operationally by ICE-SAR, SARWeather is being integrated into the search and rescue web service provided by Decisions for Heroes (www. decisionsforheroes.com), making SARWeather available to hundreds of SAR teams worldwide.
SARWeather was first used in operational mode during the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake in January 2010
Complex orography in the vicinity of erupting volcanoes can, for example through the formation of mountain waves, affect the vertical displacement of volcanic ash. This is particularly true if the ash plume does not penetrate deeply into the atmosphere, as was the case during most of the Mt Eyjafjallajkull eruption in spring 2010. Current ash dispersion models do not take this potential orographic influence into account. The formation of mountain waves can be correctly simulated using high-resolution weather models; the results can in turn be used as input data to advanced ash dispersion models. Image is from NASAs Terra satellite 12:15 UTC, May 11, 2010. Mt Eyjafjallajkull is represented by a red rectangle (Picture: NASA Goddard/MODIS Rapid Response Team)
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTER n ATIOn AL SEp TEMbER 2011 77
The SUMO system has been used with great success in Iceland, Norway, and Svalbard (Photo by Erik Kolstad)
of a cost-effective UAV system is the small unmanned meteorological observer (SUMO). To demonstrate the effects that three-dimensional observations, made by the SUMO-system, can have on high-resolution weather forecasts, data from test flights done on July 15, 2009 have been used as an input to the SARWeather system. For this particular day and location, high-resolution atmospheric simulations failed to produce north-easterly accelerated flow on the lee-side of Mt Esja (900 m.a.g., southwest Iceland, near the capital Reykjavk), as was observed in the SUMO test flight as well as at the ground. Instead, the atmospheric models produced a fictitious westerly sea breeze in the early afternoon. The graph shows results from two different simulations done with the SARWeather system at 1km horizontal resolution. The figure to the left shows the standard simulation where the model is only forced with initial and boundary data from a global forecasting model. When applying the SUMO observations, there is a considerable improvement in the quality of the simulated atmospheric flow, and the wind field in the lee of Mt Esja is correctly captured.
Simulated and observed surface windspeed [m/s] and direction in the vicinity of Mt Esja, southwest Iceland. The left figure shows results from a standard simulation. The figure to the right shows results from a simulation where observations from five consecutive SUMO flights, from the MOSO field project, were used to nudge the simulation. Observed surface windspeed and direction is shown with red wind barbs. Both simulations are done with 1km horizontal resolution and are valid, as are the observations, at 15:00 UTC, July 15, 2009
Software solution A unique software solution has been developed that makes it simple for regular people or operators to create highly accurate weather forecasts for any location worldwide and on demand. The first version of the on-demand software solution has been named SARWeather,
Development funDs
The initial development of SARWeather was funded in part by grant number 550025 (Vejrtjeneste for Sberedskab) from NORA and by the European Commission under the 7th Community Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (GalileoCast). GalileoCast was managed by GSA, the European GNSS Supervisory Authority. Ongoing development of SARWeather is funded in part by the Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS).
and fulfills the demanding needs of search and rescue operators. An important feature of the SARWeather system is the potential to use on-site weather observations to improve the local forecast. Notably, 3D observations made in real time using a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be used to enhance the forecast quality. To fulfill this need, an improved version of the SUMO is being developed. Further use of SARWeather is envisioned, for example providing highresolution weather data as input to atmospheric dispersion models and ocean wave models. z
lafur Rgnvaldsson is the CEO of the Institute for Meteorological Research/Belgingur
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Humidity sensing
by Robin Farley
Something in the air

The latest systems that measure humidity
eather forecasting, environmental research, pollution control, horticultural research, and ice warning systems are examples of applications that depend on accurate humidity measurement in the meteorological industry. Electronic %rh sensors are widely used, but many operators do not fully understand the technology, its application, the required maintenance, and calibration.
Users can make informed decisions about the suitability of current %rh sensing technology for a particular purpose if fully aware of its capabilities
Sensing humidity There are many techniques for the measurement of humidity, and none are perfect. If you judge science and industrys satisfaction with humidity measurement technology by the number of new research projects and proposed new measurement techniques, it is clear that this area of meteorology has some way to go.
The main problem with humidity sensing is the need for the measurement device to be in contact with the environment. With parameters such as temperature and pressure, there is the opportunity to protect the actual measurement device with mechanical protection, coatings or membranes to maintain performance over time, but with humidity this is obviously not possible. The sensor is exposed to everything that the environment presents, including chemical pollution and particulate contaminants, and this inevitably affects the long-term stability of every humidity measurement technique to some extent. There are three prime methods used for the measurement of humidity in meteorological applications. The first is the %rh sensor. Two types are in widespread use, both based on the variation of
capacitance or impedance of a hygroscopic polymer. In meteorological applications, the capacitive type is most widely used because of good speed of response, reasonable cost, and low power consumption. The main disadvantages of this sensing technology is its sensitivity to chemical pollution, reduced accuracy over wide temperature ranges, and a need for routine calibration for best possible performance. Despite these factors, this type can be considered the workhorse of meteorological humidity measurements. The second method is the wet/dry bulb psychrometer. Psychrometers work on the principle of the depression of the temperature caused by the evaporation of water from a saturated wick covering a temperature probe. The decrease in temperature is directly related to the humidity of the air, and in combination with a dry bulb measurement of temperature,
Humidity sensing
and practicality of instruments has improved significantly. It must be said that in many installations, cost is also a key factor and accuracy is less critical, so manufacturers have therefore been forced to develop a range of solutions to best suit each installations requirements. Long-term stability Each %rh probe will have different characteristics and may be well suited to some, but not all, environments. Long-term stability is mostly related to chemical contamination, so the chemistry of the sensor defines its tolerance to pollutants. Changes include better-quality materials, alternative polymers, and improved manufacturing techniques. Typically, a sensor in a clean application should be able to stay within 1% of its original calibration over the course of one year. But this must be defined for each installation by routine calibration, and this is often difficult when probes are regularly interchanged. However, with good inventory management the data can be highly useful in establishing long-term stability, and is usually referred to as a calibration history. Where calibration history is not maintained, the convenience of interchangeable probes cannot be understated. Digital signal communication simplifies the process and helps maintain measurement accuracy. Tolerance to condensation In almost all climates, condensation will occur at some time. A well-known characteristic of %rh probes is their poor recovery from 100%rh conditions. For a period of time after the exposure, the probe will continue to measure 100% even when the actual conditions have dropped. The probe will also exhibit a more significant hysteresis, and long-term stability can be affected. There are various reasons for this, including slow evaporation of water from the installation, and desorption of water from the probes materials of construction and from within the sensor element. Again, manufacturers have responded with solutions such as ventilated radiation shields and improvements in materials. The best sensors recover very quickly, and it is easy to check actual performance with a simple test. Suppliers should be able to provide data or better still accredited certificates that show capability in this respect. Temperature measurement accuracy The measurement of temperature in air is not the precise science that you would imagine. The thermal conductivity of air is poor, so it is difficult to transfer energy
The Jungfraujoch in Switzerland the top of Europe, at 3,454m Europes highest altitude railway station
Naturally ventilated shield with Meteo-Transmitter for interchangeable probes
humidity can be derived from the psychrometer equation. Performance capability of this technique is theoretically very good, but practical considerations limit their application in modern systems. These include the need for a continuous and clean source of water, regular wick maintenance, and the more complex data acquisition requirement to convert the two measurement temperatures into a compatible parameter. Furthermore, the techniques precision is dependent on carefully matched temperature probes, and in practical terms, the management of this issue can have a major impact on installation and maintenance requirements. The final method is the condensation hygrometer. Often referred to as chilled mirror or dew point hygrometers, these instruments are without question the most precise and dependable currently available. All national standard institutions throughout the world use them as either the primary national standard, or as a transfer standard for comparison with firstprinciples systems such as two pressure/two temperature or gravimetric generators. Condensation hygrometers are also used in field meteorological measurements, and they provide precise measurements in almost any condition. The measurement of dew point is unaffected by variations in temperature, so in combination with precise temperature measurements, very accurate humidity data can be achieved. In this application field,
condensation hygrometers have two significant flaws. Each measurement system is many times the cost of a high-quality %rh sensor, making deployment throughout a network of weather stations extremely expensive. Secondly, the measurement principle requires the presence of a dew or ice layer on the surface of a temperaturecontrolled mirror, and any residual contamination will cause measurement errors. Accordingly, mirror cleaning is required on a regular basis, so in combination with the high capital cost this renders the condensation hygrometer best suited to only the most critical applications and reference installations where maintenance can be easily performed. Most commonly used The great increase in the number of weather stations deployed across the world means that humidity measurement in meteorological applications has also grown in importance. By far the most commonly used measurement technique is the %rh probe. The main problems associated with %rh probes are: long-term stability; tolerance to condensation; temperature measurement accuracy; temperature compensation; and mounting hardware and its influence on measurement precision and calibration. No single manufacturer can claim to have dealt absolutely with these issues, but in recent times, the measurement capability
Humidity sensing
these laboratories and coordination with organizations such as Euramet (European Association of National Metrology Institutes) means that more data can be trusted and compared with higher confidence. Field calibration is, however, impractical so features such as probe or sensor interchangeability and the increasingly high calibration standards that are available mean that measurement uncertainty can be maintained in all installations. In many other key industries such as climatic test, pharmaceutical, food, and power generation, full uncertainty budgets for many measurement scenarios are now implemented and validated. Future developments The humidity monitoring industry has developed substantially over the past 20 years. The ability to measure humidity precisely and substantiate the data means that climatic research, weather forecasting, and weather management can perform to much higher standards. The future challenges that face the scientific community, including climatic change, will depend on accurate humidity data, so there will be continued pressure on manufacturers to develop more accurate and reliable instrumentation, at reasonable cost. It is also clear that standards do still vary from country to country, from manufacturer to manufacturer and from installation to installation. But with the rapid development of calibration capability, and the better understanding of users and suppliers, poor measurements can be practically eliminated in any scenario. It is difficult to see where a substantial leap forward in best measurement capability for %rh measurement at low cost could be achieved. The industry as a whole is constantly striving to develop better solutions at every level, and the user should now expect precise and reliable performance. There are many specialist manufacturers that are always prepared to discuss the application requirements and apply the best possible solution, or even develop a customized product. Each year new and innovative monitoring systems are developed, and the %rh probe requirements are often specialized. Future developments will be user-driven, mostly in terms of measurement accuracy, but with the application of the latest technology it is certain that humidity measurement will continue to develop to meet the needs of the meteorological industry. z
Robin Farley is a senior consultant for Rotronic, based in the UK
Standard Meteo humidity and temperature probe
without long stabilization times. Most calibration equipment is fluid-based, and this is not ideal for humidity probes, although by using certain inert liquids, %rh sensors can now be calibrated in fluid baths. But the main issue is the comparison of calibration data with actual measurement data. The thermal characteristics of electronic devices can vary substantially if it is not being continuously cooled in a fluid bath. Calibration in air, with conditions matched to the likely application, can be provided by many accredited laboratories worldwide. This issue is resolved in a number of ways, some of which are described elsewhere in this article. Using a separate and dedicated Pt100 in its own shield is very common, and direct Pt100s integrated within the %rh probe are available. Active probe ventilation is also a useful benefit in achieving best temperature measurement performance. In a competitive market, manufacturers need to optimize the manufacturing time for their products; it is a simple fact of economics. So in general, %rh probes are adjusted during manufacture at ambient temperatures. Now, almost everything electrical has a temperature coefficient, and will behave slightly differently over a range of temperatures. The %rh sensors have temperature coefficients, and in order to achieve the best possible performance, most instruments have integral temperature compensation. Increasingly manufacturers are supplying effectively temperature compensated probes with actual calibration data. It is simply a matter of requesting this information to establish actual performance.
Again an accredited calibration certificate is the best option. Typically %rh probes have been installed using the plate-type radiation shield in a wide range of configurations, each designed to achieve best possible performance. The proliferation of shapes and sizes must lead to the conclusion that there is still a need to develop the design. It is well known that in hot conditions the plate-type of shield can induce errors in temperature measurement. A shield can also exacerbate the problem of residual condensation in cold conditions. Various solutions have been proposed over the years, such as heating and ventilation. Ventilated shields are increasingly popular in installations where power consumption is not critical. The continuous airflow over the sensors means that temperature measurement is precise and condensation is more rapidly evaporated. In comparative tests carried out during co-development with Meteo Swiss of Rotronics RS ventilated shields, the combination was shown to match the measurement performance of reference condensation hygrometers. Of course, longterm stability must still be assured by routine calibration. Calibration Because of the unstable nature of %rh sensors, calibration is a key issue in development of improved measurement performance. Most meteorological organizations maintain their own in-house calibration standards, so are able to meet their own requirements. Accreditation of
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Combined with a Rotronic meteorological probe, our ventilated weather shield allow precise measurements of temperature and humidity, uninfluenced from radiation. Highlights: Simple to install protective shield, integrated fan allowing constant air flow over the sensor, special white coating (RAL 9010) minimising solar heating and suitable for various probes. You will find detailed information at www.rotronic-humidity.com.
ROTRONIC AG, Grindelstrasse 6, CH - 8303 Bassersdorf Tel. +41 44 838 11 44, Fax +41 44 837 00 73, humidity@rotronic.ch
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Temperature presentation
Weather presenter
Clear and dynamic methods of displaying weather data
Figure 1: A typical temperature trend line through a time series for ambient air temperature data, showing two months of data every 10 minutes. The location is Reykjavik, Iceland
Figure 2: An XY graph of the air temperature. Clearly the highest temperature is measured when wind is from the west
here are several ways that present useful and beneficial temperature data. While temperature data has been chosen in this demonstration, any other meteorological data could also benefit from this method of display. As a start, lets look at Figure 1, a typical temperature trend line through a time series for ambient air temperature data; here it shows two months of data every 10 minutes. The location is Reykjavik, Iceland. While certain trends may be visible to the trained eye, there are several options of displaying data in order to bring forward important aspects of the data. Now lets look at a few examples. Figure 2 is an XY graph of air temperature for July 2011, plotted as function of wind direction. The temperature is plotted against the Y-scale while the 360 of wind direction are plotted against the Xscale. The blue dots indicate air temperature measured under a radiation shield and the red dots indicate temperature on the surface of the ground. Figure 3 is an intensity plot of air temperature for July 2011. The 31 days are on the Y-scale and the 24 hours of each day are
on the X-scale. It is easy to recognize the main trends, for example that it is coldest in early morning and warmest in the afternoon, as expected. Two periods of time are different from the rest, that is, the cold night of July 7 and the warm afternoon of July 15. Clearly, ground temperature is highest when wind is blowing from the west, indicating clear sky, however the air mass higher up is not affected by sunshine. Figure 4 is an overlay graph of air temperature for July 2011. The Y-scale is temperature in C and the X-scale is hours of the day starting at midnight, with noon in the middle and midnight again to the right. On display are trend lines of the first 28 days of July. Clearly, it was a cold morning on July 7 and until that afternoon (light-grey line at the bottom). And on the afternoon of July 15, it was warm (purple line at the top). The data in Figure 5 is borrowed from a permafrost temperature profiling project. On display is one year of permafrost temperature data from the Arctic zone. The data is read from 10 temperature sensors located at different levels, the one closest to
the surface is 10cm down and the deepest one is 30m down (the dots on the graph indicate the location of the sensors). Using a temperature profile chart makes it easy to understand complex systems like this one. For the sake of simplicity, the data plotted is reduced to one reading per month. It is easy to see that ground temperature closest to the ground is affected by ambient temperature, with July and August reading as the warmest (6.9C), but March reading as the coldest (-14C). Below 25m there is a steady -6C frost (permafrost) all year round. z
Andres Thorarinsson is the CEO of Vista Data Vision, Reykjavik, Iceland, vdv@vistadatavision.com
Figure 3: An intensity plot of air temperature for July 2011 in Reykjavik
Figure 4: An overlay graph of the air temperature in July 2011
Figure 5: A year of permafrost temperature data from the Arctic zone, displayed as a temperature profile
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy In TERn ATIOn AL 2011 8 5
Air weather information

by Richard Stedronsky
crosswind take-off
Dutch airline KLM uses groundbreaking air weather data
Clear skies ahead: KLM has optimized its commercial flight operations by using advanced weather data integration
lmost a decade ago, Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij NV, better known as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (the oldest commercial airline in the world that operates under its original name), approached IPS MeteoStar Inc (IPSM) to begin integrating meteorological data and information into its flight planning, flight following, and pilot briefing systems. Using data fed by redundant IPSM Leading Environmental Analysis and Display System (LEADS) located in the USA, KLM has set the standard for integrating weather data to help optimize its commercial flight operations. With new challenges ahead, including increasing fuel costs, next-generation aircraft with longer ranges, and volcanic ash events impacting air traffic flow, KLM has once again approached IPSM, one of the leaders in the aviation weather industry, to further advance the synergy of new, modern weather information with flight operations.
KLM and its operation KLM operates a modern fleet of more than 110 Boeing, Airbus, and McDonnellDouglas aircraft, servicing 130 destinations around the globe. With such a large system of routes and destinations, the airline relies heavily on weather information to help optimize all aspects of flight operations, from planning, to take-off, en-route, and
landing. KLM is also very sensitive to operational weather impacts and stays abreast with all the modernization programs within aviation meteorology. A perfect example of this took place back in April 2010, when KLM flew one of the first test flights into the Eyjafjallajkull ash cloud, reporting no risk and forcing the aviation weather industry to rethink its approach to volcanic ash events/products. KLM now looks to the future, and to IPSM, to continue the assimilation of even more, newer weather products into its everexpanding operations. The LEADS product line is a cuttingedge, net-centric weather toolkit, which allows for the ingest, integration, processing, storage, visualization and dissemination of virtually any type of meteorological/ environmental data. LEADS provides scalable, versatile weather solutions and data services for various types of operations, as well as overall support applications within any weather-sensitive enterprise. LEADS supports the ingest of virtually every type of raw meteorological data set, including GRIB1/2, BUFR, NetCDF, all standard WMO and ICAO Annex 3 formats, global satellite, radar, worldwide lightning, and all textual aviation data. Current KLM services IPSM provides KLM with numerous weather data sets and products generated by
redundant LEADS systems located in Colorado and California. At a simplistic level, IPSM ingests diverse weather data sets via direct satellite and FTP/SFTP feeds from around the globe. Once received, these data sets are fed into the mirrored IPSM data centers, where LEADS software processes the data and disseminates the resultant products to the KLM Operations Control Center (OCC) in required formats. After the data reaches the OCC, it is fed into assorted flight planning and flight following tools. From here, the 50+ KLM OCC managers, dispatchers, schedulers, and other end users on shift at any given time can easily access the data and use it for aviation operations decision support. The products provided to KLM range from simple alphanumeric data, such as SIGMETs, METARs, TAF, etc., to more complex products, such as derived cloud top height products, radar displays, and satellite imagery. All these weather assets play a vital role in ensuring the KLM OCC team is readily aware of where the weather is and where it is going to be. In turn, timely, accurate meteorological data permits KLM to maximize flight planning and flight following optimization, while minimizing diversions, delays, hazards to flight, and cancellations. In the end, KLM saves time, fuel, and money, and ultimately provides customers with a safe traveling experience.
KLM relies heavily on weather information to help optimize all aspects of ight operations
A KLM Airbus A330 taxiing at Amsterdams Schiphol International Airport. The absence of a center-line main undercarriage distinguishes the A330 from the A340
by KLM. Cloud-top height information from global geostationary weather satellite imagery, combined with global numerical weather prediction model data, is another technology, as well as GRIB forecast data used for ight planning system optimization of ight level winds and temperatures, and BUFR SIGWX charts, used for ight planning and ight following operations. Toward the future With recent increases in fuel prices, frequent ight risk due to volcanic eruptions, and an overall desire to further optimize ight operations, KLM recognizes the need for not only additional weather data sets, but also more advanced, derived products. During recent meetings between IPSM and KLM, many new products and additional data sets were discussed for use in KLMs copious ight operations systems. To this end, IPSM has spearheaded development of many new state-of-the-art weather products, as well as preparing other pre-existing products for integration into the KLM OCC. The image samples listed below outline some of the many products/data sets already in the works: additional weather radar data has expanded its coverage to include Japan and western Europe. Lightning data has expanded global coverage to include the major oceans, where general meteorological data is sparse.
KLM headquarters in Amstelveen, Netherlands
The examples below detail some of the more commonly used weather technologies that KLM receives from IPSM; alphanumeric feeds include METARs, TAFs, SIGMETs, AIRMETs, tropical cyclone bulletins, and volcanic ash advisory messages. KLM not only receives a feed of weather radar information spanning North America,
but by working closely with the Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI; Royal Netherlands Meteorology Institute), IPSM also provides a Dutch weather radar mosaic. Satellite imagery, global IR and WV channels, which are provided by the complete constellation of geostationary weather satellites, are utilized
Sample IPSM KNMI radar mosaic imagery over Holland
KLMs OCC in Amstelveen, Netherlands
There are several other derived products including tropopause heights, aircraft-induced lightning areas (to be provided by the KNMI), and fog and visibility forecast displays. VOLASH concentration charts are new to the industry, and come as a direct result of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption. These products were first used during the Grimsvotn event earlier this year. The product provides the aviation industry with more precise information on the forecasted concentration of volcanic ash at different levels versus just the ash cloud coverage. Finally, gridded SIGWX information, provided by the SADIS/WAFS/WIFS data feeds, produces graphically displayed and forecasted areas of turbulence, icing, convection, and other flight hazards. In addition to supplementary weather products and data sets for flight planning and following, KLM is expanding the use
of weather data as viewed in GIS tools and mobile devices. IPSM plans to work with KLM and bring to bear its experience in these disciplines as they apply to meteorological information. Some of the planned tools and integration points include a web-based airport crosswind calculator, which allows pilots, flight planners, and dispatchers to monitor and view real-time crosswind conditions at any airport, as well as see and input forecasted crosswinds for up to five days in advance. A briefing tool The iPAD pilot briefing tool integrates new, advanced weather data sets into a fully mobile briefing capability, where dispatchers can provide up-to-the-minute flight planning information prior to takeoff, even as the aircrew is performing pre-flight checks in the cockpit. Also,
Sample IPSM North American radar mosaic imagery over the northeastern US (with proprietary precipitation-type algorithm applied)
high resolution weather overlays display on the massive monitors in the center of the KLM OCC. These products can be provided as traditional images or as GIS layers for use in KLMs common operating picture tools. Dutch airline KLM has a long tradition of standing at the forefront of commercial aviation technologies. The airline has already realized major cost savings from optimized flight operations due to close integration with provided weather information. Looking ahead, KLM is focused on improving on past, positive performance by working with IPSM to further advance weather synthesis in the form of new products, tools, and capabilities. The result will undoubtedly be continued cost savings, hazard avoidance, and, most importantly, passenger safety for everyone traveling with the Flying Dutchmen. z
Richard Stedronsky is a meteorologist and program manager at IPS MeteoStar
IPSMs Global Satellite Mosaic product (IR Channel), which is also provided to KLM
Remote sensing
by Dr Fred Prata
MagMa force
Ground-based and satellite infrared sensing of volcanic clouds

The use of passive infrared and ultraviolet measurements is making a major difference to satellite tracking of volcanic ash
bout 1,500 volcanoes over the earths surface have been active in the last 10,000 years. In any given week there can be one or two volcanoes erupting somewhere. Figure 1 shows an image taken from a satellite orbiting at about 800km above the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The image is a single snapshot acquired in less than a few seconds and shows three volcanoes in eruption. Tavurvur volcano, near the town of Rabaul, in the far east of the image, has been active and erupting ash and sulfur dioxide gas (SO2) for over a decade. The two other volcanoes, Mt Uluwun and Mt Talawe, episodically emit low-level ash and SO2 into the atmosphere. None of these volcanoes is instrumented, so satellites provide a very useful means for monitoring restless volcanoes, not just in PNG but anywhere in the world, night or day. It is important to monitor volcanoes because of their deleterious effects on life and property, the potential effects on local and global climate, and the economic impact volcanic ash can have on air transport systems, as dramatically illustrated by the recent eruption of Eyjafjallajkull in Iceland. Volcanic particles and gases can cause serious health hazards to life in the vicinity of the volcano and their effects can be widespread. Large volcanic eruptions, which emit particles and gases high into the atmosphere (>10km or more), occur on average once every 10-20 years. The global appetite for progress and the ever-increasing pressure on transport systems mean that air traffic will grow and the problem of jet airliners encountering dispersing volcanic ash clouds will inevitably become more severe. Technology can be usefully applied to the problem of monitoring volcanic eruptions and quantifying the emissions in order to provide information for public health services, emergency management offices, volcanic ash advisory centers, and
Figure 1: MODIS true-color satellite image of the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. On this day three volcanoes can be clearly seen in eruption: Tavurvur (in the Northwest, marked by a red square), Mt Talawe (in the East, also marked by a red square), and Mt Uluwun (west of center) with a long plume moving southward
for researchers involved in understanding and predicting global climate change. Volcanic ash satellite remote sensing The Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) in Norway has developed technologies around the use of passive
infrared (812m) and ultra-violet measurements, available from many operational satellites and incorporated into fast-sampling imaging cameras that can be ground-based or placed on airborne platforms. By selecting appropriate wavebands, the silicate signature, common
Remote sensing
The silicate signature can be identified and quantified to determine the mean effective particle radius of ash
homogeneously spread through the vertical, the concentration is simply the mass loading divided by the vertical cloud thickness, which, in this case, was ~2km. Quantitative retrievals like these are useful for the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers (VAACs) that have the responsibility for issuing advisories for aviation. Ground sensing of volcanic ash and SO2 Monitoring volcanoes requires instruments that can operate continuously, day or night, in a harsh environment and be able to distinguish ash eruptions from gas eruptions, and also provide quantitative data for hazard assessment. In the past, fixed-pointing or scanning optical instruments have been used intermittently and in some cases as semi-permanent installations providing gas flux measurements, when combined with wind data. These CCD spectrometers measure SO2 by examining the absorption of ultraviolet light (wavelengths less than 320nm); they rely on the sun as a light source and consequently are restricted to daylight hours. A natural extension to this is to use fixed, staring cameras that can sense in the UV and IR. EnviCam UV SO2 camera EnviCam is a fast-sampling (>1Hz) multifilter imaging camera incorporating a large CCD (1344 x 1024 pixels) of high quantum efficiency coaligned with an OceanOptics spectrometer. Up to four filters can be mounted, but in practice one filter measuring on an SO2 absorption peak and one at a transmission peak is adequate. The spectrometer measures the scattered UV light at one position on the image and the spectrum can be used to calibrate the image data. Figure 3 shows the camera in action at Lascar volcano on the Chilean altiplano. Although Envicam was principally designed to measure volcanic emissions,
Figure 2: Volcanic ash concentrations determined from the SEVIRI satellite sensor for the eruption of Eyjafjallajkull on May 16, 2010
Figure 3: Envicam measuring emissions from Lascar volcano, Chile
to all volcanic ash, can be identified and quantified to determine the mean effective particle radius of ash, its optical thickness, and the mass loading of fine-grained (radii < 16m) ash in a volcanic cloud. As an
illustration of the technique, Figure 2 shows an ash mass retrieval for the Eyjafjallajkull, Iceland eruption on May 16, 2010. Concentrations can be determined because a coincident space-borne lidar was used to estimate the thickness of the volcanic cloud; by assuming that the volcanic ash is
Remote sensing
because of its highly sensitive detector and its ability to image quickly, the camera may also be used to monitor and quantify industrial and ship emissions (see figure 4). The rapid setup, ease of deployment and stand-off ability make Envicam ideal for monitoring natural and anthropogenic emissions. The ground-based Envicam camera is very sensitive and can accurately measure small (~<10 ppm*m) amounts of SO2, but the camera requires sunlight. There are applications where monitoring in low light or night conditions is needed. This is especially true for volcano monitoring, as the hazard is generally greater when an eruption occurs at night. NicAIR - IR camera The NicAIR infrared (IR) camera uses an uncooled microbolometer array, sensitive to radiation in the band 7-13m with a noiseequivalent-temperature difference (NEDT) of <80 mK at 290 K. The detector incorporates a calibration shutter with temperature monitors, a fourposition filter wheel, and read-out electronics. The current system has an array of 640 x 512 pixels, f1.3 optics, with 7fps image acquisition and bandpass filters with central wavelengths at 8.6, 10.0, 10.8, and 11.9m. Figure 5 shows a photograph of the NicAir camera in operation at Turrialba volcano, Costa Rica measuring SO2 emissions. Turrialba volcano sits above the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose, a city with a metropolitan population of about 1.7 million people. The four panels in Figure 6, on the right, show results from the camera processed to give SO2 path concentrations in g/m-2. One useful aspect of the camera system is that the fast sampling allows an accurate estimate of the speed of the plume. Coupled with the measurement of SO2 abundance and an estimate of the plume dimensions, the flux of gas from the volcano can be estimated. Imaging the environment New technologies for measuring and monitoring volcanic ash and gas from satellites, from ground-based cameras and airborne platforms, have been developed at NILU. These systems are relatively inexpensive and easy to use. They are designed for use in the field at restless volcanoes and for airborne use as a tactical complement to existing warning systems to aid aviation in the avoidance of hazardous volcanic ash clouds. The camera system can also be used in industrial settings, to measure fugitive emissions and also to measure SO2 emissions from ships that burn high sulfur-
Figure 4: Tripod mounting of Envicam on the deck of an Italian Coast Guard vessel in Genoa harbor pointing toward a slow moving container ship
Figure 5: Photograph of the nicAIR infrared camera monitoring SO2 emissions from Turrialba volcano, Costa Rica
content fuel. Automated systems can be deployed that provide rapid, quantitative emission measurements to authorities for compliance monitoring and for safeguarding the environment against shipping polluters. In the future, these camera systems may be modified and developed to measure other
gases; when combined with other types of measurements and models they can become part of a properly integrated environmental monitoring system. z
Dr Fred Prata is a senior scientist, Climate and Atmosphere Department for NILU, Norway
Figure 6: NicAIR SO2 retrievals for emissions from Turrialba volcano, Costa Rica on January 18, 2011
Detection and Forecasting Technologies

Read NILU Senior Scientist Dr. Fred Pratas article in this publication
Volcanic Ash
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Offshore monitoring
by Don Bryan & Graham Howe
Buoyed up
Offshore renewable energy assessment and monitoring

Environmental sea monitoring is a critical factor in the success of an energy-capturing device for wind, wave or tide
ffshore renewable energy technology is primarily concentrated on winds, waves, and tides. The technology for these three conditions is based on employing an energycapturing mechanism that takes advantage of either the sea or the wind. As a result of the historical success of onshore wind farms, offshore wind energy is the leader of the three technologies, with 2,946MW currently deployed in Europe, and plans to develop North Americas first offshore wind farm in 2012. Although wave and tidal energy industries are at an earlier stage, the Carbon Trust has estimated that 240GW of wave and tidal energy could be deployed worldwide by 2050. The majority will come online beginning in 2020, nearly all of which will most likely come from wave energy. All three of these industries are in a stage of important technology development, and accurate measurement will be critical to their future advancement.
Environmental offshore monitoring Environmental monitoring is a critical factor in the success of an energy-capturing device, whether it is a wind turbine, wave energy converter, or tidal energy converter. Developers initially work through an assessment phase, in which environmental measurement is crucial to the overall success of the site, not only in assessing the potential of the location but also the positioning of the energy-capturing devices. This data can be acquired from historical sources such as wave watch models, or using in-situ instruments such as wind, wave, and current buoys. These buoys provide reliable, highly accurate, realtime data over a long period of time, which allows developers to evaluate the location and make informed decisions about whether to use the site being monitored. In addition, the weather data analyzed by oceanographic consultants can be useful in determining if the energy-capturing device will stay anchored in place in order to provide long-term energy.
Offshore monitoring
Wave/current data is an important parameter to monitor in order to ensure safe and secure waterway navigation
Once the assessment phase is complete and the site has been confirmed, the energy farm is then developed. Given the cost of working in such a harsh environment, accurate environmental weather data is essential to control expenses and protect assets. For example, it costs approximately 12,000 (US$19,500) per day to hire a service vessel, which could potentially go out to a location only to sit idle because the sea state does not allow the location to be serviced. Using information from a data buoy transmitting environmental conditions by satellite can allow developers to know the weather in advance, saving thousands of dollars during the manufacturing phase. Once the energy farm is built and in a production stage, it still requires constant monitoring to ensure that the maximum power output is maintained. Monitoring equipment can help developers understand if they are getting the amount of power from their capture device that they were initially expecting. Systems for environmental monitoring There are a variety of environmental monitoring platforms to serve different needs. They also host a wide range of sensors and telemetry devices. Sensors can gather data on winds, waves, currents, atmospheric pressure, air and water temperature, relative humidity, and many other parameters. The core of the monitoring system is the controller and data logger inside the platform. The controller forms the brains of the system, and is the interface between sensors and telemetry devices. The controller takes data inputs from the various sensors, processes the data, and makes it available to the telemetry device to send to shore. Another important feature of the controller is its ability to scale up based on program needs. Therefore if monitoring demands change in future years, a controller that is scalable to grow with the project is
Left: A 3m buoy deployment to gather real-time weather data for Smart Bay in Newfoundland Above: A 3m met ocean buoy gathers weather data
Offshore monitoring
TRIAXYS directional wave buoy deployed off the coast of Norway supports major EU renewable energy companies in their wave energy site assessments
The TRIAXYS directional wave buoy gathers wave data to support operations in and around offshore wind farms
WatchKeeper buoy deployed off the coast of Venezuela provides various weather and water quality data
very helpful. The controller should also contain a compact flash card able to hold a year or more of buoy data. Telemetry system For monitoring applications close to shore (<10-30km) and with good line-of-sight to a receiving station, VHF or UHF radio telemetry should be considered. This will help reduce the ongoing operational costs of the project by not being tied to a data plan. Radio frequency approval needs to be considered, because licenses may be required for certain frequency bands. Radio operation in the 900MHz range is typically free within Europe. As one moves up in the frequency bandwidth, however, transmission distance starts to drop, which will require buoy placement to be closer to the data receiving station. For users who are within cell phone coverage area, cellular networks using GSM, GPRS, or CDMA can be an effective method of transmitting buoy data. With data
packages of several gigabytes being offered at low monthly rates, sending large amounts of data via cellular technology is not as expensive as it once was. Users of this telemetry are advised to make sure service is available at their deployment site. Satellite telemetry is another option for data transmission from monitoring buoys. Iridium, Inmarsat, ARGOS, GOES, METEOSAT, and other satellite services are all available within the EU. The selection of a particular service will come down to operational budgets and location of end users receiving data. Most satellite services can transmit great distances; however the end user becomes committed to an ongoing monthly data cost. In certain applications, such as buoys deployed hundreds of kilometers from shore, there is no other reliable source. Data system A data management and display tool is a crucial part of the environmental
monitoring system. Suppliers of these systems typically provide a data display package; frequently these are web-based applications that allow a user to log in and see data at any time, anywhere in the world. More robust software tools or services will also allow users or select project stakeholders to remotely configure their monitoring platforms from their offices. They should also have the option of taking data streams from the buoy and uploading into their own data display tools. It is important to ensure that post-processing software is provided to view any logged data stored within the buoys controller. Types of buoys Wave/current data is an important parameter to monitor in order to ensure safe and secure waterway navigation, as well as the energy potential for a renewable energycapture device. The inclusion of water level, 3D currents and wave height, speed, and direction spectrum are essential details for
Offshore monitoring
offshore developers. Wave and sea surface temperature data is collected, processed, and logged on the buoy and then transmitted to a base station where developers can analyze the data to make informed decisions regarding their project. Meteorological buoys Ocean and coastal monitoring buoys can be designed and configured in a variety of ways, depending on the data requirements and environmental conditions. A typical buoy can measure windspeed and direction, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, relative humidity, water temperature, currents, waves, pH, and other water quality parameters. Raw data is processed and can be logged on board the buoy and then transmitted to the end user. These buoys provide the dual function of automated weather station and navigational aid. Deployments can be in a variety of locations, from calm, shallow waterways to 5,000m depth in open oceans. Wind buoys The standard solution for gathering wind resource assessment data is to construct a met mast equipped with anemometers. In the offshore environment this solution is difficult and expensive. New buoy-based technology uses a laser wind sensor to gather wind data at turbine hub height, which can survive in the hostile environment and provide accurate data due to its unique in-built motion compensating capacity. These buoys can be used to assess power from a location prior to setting up or building a turbine, and then manage that turbine going forward. Additional sensors can also be integrated into the buoy, including weather, water quality, and even bat and bird sensors. Developers in the modern offshore renewable energy industry are often inexperienced when it comes to understanding the tools that can be used to help manage their projects throughout their lifecycles. However, these tools in ocean monitoring technology have been in use for decades. As the renewable energy industry begins to develop more offshore resources, we expect to see a major investment in the ocean monitoring field, with developers relying on these tools to help them improve yields and reduce costs. Environmental monitoring will play a key role in making offshore renewable energy a success in the years to come. z
Don Bryan is the marine systems manager with AXYS Technologies Inc; Graham Howe is from international business development, Renewable Energy, with AXYS Technologies Inc; www.axystechnologies.com
WindSentinel is an offshore wind resource assessment buoy using a simultaneously pulsing laser wind sensor to measure windspeed, direction, and turbulence at turbine hub height and across the blade span Below: Annotated diagram of the WindSentinel
Arctic Ocean prediction

by Charlotte Wiin Havsteen
Arctic meltdown
The future safety of navigation across the Pole
he decreasing amount of ice across the Arctic regions can lead to a number of new opportunities. These include several possible new shipping routes across the Arctic Ocean, linking the Atlantic to the Pacific. The region may also contain yet undiscovered sources of oil, gas, and minerals. The Arctic is also a region where nature has remained relatively untouched, with a vulnerable environment. The melting ice alone challenges not only the Arctic region and the countries bordering the Arctic Ocean, but in fact, it also poses challenges to the entire global community with the associated meteorological effects of rising water levels worldwide and the consequences and related problems this can cause. The increased opportunities for shipping and the transportation of cargo across the polar region in turn raise the issue of the need for an increased infrastructure to ensure safety of navigation and to protect the environment.
Meteorological and oceanographic information including online measurements, observations, and forecasts is essential for ocean-going traffic through the Arctic
Hydrographic surveys These requirements include, first and foremost, an increased need for hydrographic surveys to map the vast uncharted areas so all forms of vessel traffic (cruise ships, cargo vessels, and boats) as well as the excavation and extraction of oil and minerals can be carried out safely, all the while taking the surrounding environment into consideration. To succeed, these activities, in turn, require the availability of stable, reliable, and high quality operational services supplying information of all kinds to the wide range of present and future users in the Arctic regions. The operational services, which are of major importance, concern the delivery of timely meteorological and oceanographic information. This can consist of online measurements and observations and forecasts to enable the users to plan and
The Arctic Ocean is as yet mostly uncharted, but with the decreasing amounts of ice, there is a corresponding growing need for more hydrographic surveys
carry out their operations and tasks in a safe manner. Additional information concerning the location and intentions of other users in the area is of great value to the others in the vicinity and also to national and international authorities
responsible for search and rescue, environmental monitoring, surveillance, and other related activities. The provision of operational services, such as these, to users in remote areas of the world requires a suite of up-to-date
Arctic Ocean prediction
The provision of these services requires international and national coordination on many levels
There will be increased traffic along the two sea routes, as well as on other routes crossing the North Pole
technical solutions that involve a combination of many sources and methods to collect, prepare, calculate, and disseminate data and products to all users in the region. Some of these technical
solutions are already available, but the number and type of services is expected to increase, requiring the development of new and improved means of providing the necessary information.
More than local
A commission was appointed in October 2010 to develop maritime infrastructure in the Arctic and help increase safety for those navigating in the region. The Arctic Regional Hydrographic Commission (ARCH) consists of the five Arctic coastal states: Canada, Denmark, Norway, the Russian Federation, and the USA. The Danish Maritime Safety Administration, The National Survey, and Cadastre represent Denmark. By exchanging knowledge and information and by providing quality assured data, the Members of ARCH aim to facilitate an environmentally responsible exploration of Arctic waters. ARCH will thereby contribute in the development of the maritime infrastructure required for safe navigation and protection of the marine environment in the Arctic.
International coordination The provision of these services requires international and national coordination on many levels. Several existing forums are already discussing ways and means of providing the services now, as well as planning programs for the future. There is a coordinated effort in the IHO (International Hydrographic Organization) among the nations around the Arctic to plan and carry out hydrographic surveys. The IMO (International Maritime Organization) has also developed the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). The WMO (World Meteorological Organization) has subsequently recognized the need for providing marine weather forecasts and warnings for the Arctic area. The use of satellites for a number of tasks in the Arctic region is increasing, creating new possibilities for users, researchers, and industry to join together to develop and deliver high quality operational services from originators out to users. Information about the atmosphere, the ocean, ice-cover, the location and heading of ships, and navigational information from GPS satellites is all available, and the possibilities and challenges are there to be handled. Here again, there are opportunities for cooperation and collaboration between satellite agencies, meteorological and oceanographic agencies, hydrographic offices and so forth to work together to develop and implement operational systems to help increase safety of navigation in remote areas like the Arctic: systems which can monitor the Earth, systems to aid navigation, and last but not least, systems for telecommunication purposes. z
Charlotte Wiin Havsteen is head of division, Danish Maritime Safety Administration
Precipitation sensors
by Dr Bernhard Pacher and Kurt Nemeth
weighing in
UHF radio networks for precipitation monitoring

One rain gauge sensor can carry up to a years amount of precipitation, making it ideal for unmanned rain gauge operations
recipitation monitoring, with particular regard to climatological and synoptical purposes, is facing a number of serious challenges, namely to deliver accurate data in near real time with low operational costs from almost any point in the world. Difficult as this may seem, there are solutions to the problem. One is the precipitation sensor. Although mechanical systems, in particular tipping buckets, have proved their case of delivering decent accuracy at relatively low cost, they face two major difficulties: solid precipitation such as snow and ice going unnoticed (unless a heating system can be installed, annihilating the cost advantage of the system, and limiting the potential sites of installations), and relatively high maintenance costs, caused by regular site visits to keep the gauge clear of debris such as leaves, insects, and bird droppings. Weighing the amount of precipitation has shown to be a viable way to overcome both issues. To an accurate scale it makes no difference if it weighs liquid or solid precipitation, i.e. snow or ice/hail. Even leaves and bird droppings leave the gauge and its accuracy unaffected. Such a sensor, if built around an accurate and temperature-compensated strain gauge, beats three birds with one stone. It can deliver high accuracy for any precipitation event, regardless of its intensity or state of aggregation. It therefore does not require external power sources to melt solid forms of precipitation. And, if equipped with a sufficiently large container to hold several months of expected precipitation, it can be installed in even the remotest and extreme of locations, where power for heating is not available, and frequent maintenance visits are not cost-effective or simply not feasible.
An operator connects the OTT Pluvio 2 to an Adcon RTU: It is simple to plug the binder connector into the SDI-12 port of the RTU
In a recent comparison study conducted by the WMO in Geneva, the German-made OTT Pluvio weighing precipitation gauge outperformed all other participants in all categories that were tested. This not only included the accuracy of the sensor in absolute and relative terms, independent of the intensity of the respective precipitation incidents, but also its temperature compensation over the full operating temperature range and its low drift over time. The sensor provides both an SDI-12 and a pulse output, and requires only a few mA for operation. Depending on the orifice selected (both 200cm 2 and 400cm 2 are available), this gauge can hold up to one years amount of precipitation. Only once
the containers capacity has been reached does the gauge require a site visit, largely eliminating all costs associated with ongoing maintenance, making it suitable for long-term operation in unmanned environments in any climatic zone. Rainfall data Until recently the vast majority of precipitation gauges were observer stations, where the gauges were read one to several times per day, and one way or another reported their readings back to HQ. But now the undisputed trend (and necessity) is toward near real-time data collection and transmission. Particularly for agrometeorological purposes and those of civil protection, rainfall data needs to be available immediately, as even short
Precipitation data is processed into statistical data, be that hourly, daily or weekly
delays can cause major damage to human lives or crops. The most popular approach in most parts of the world is the use of GPRS via the GSM network, due to the rapid expansion of cell phone networks and their almost ubiquitous availability. In most cases the advantages of this technology outweigh its disadvantages: fairly good coverage, particularly in urban and near-urban areas; available infrastructure being operated and maintained by a third party; and a large number of transmission devices available at reasonable cost. For the operator of a network, additional criteria need to be observed: again the required effort to install, operate and maintain the data logger and the GPRS modem; its susceptibility to theft and vandalism; its requirements for maintenance; and the monthly charges for the SIM cards. With costs having come down considerably in recent years, this latter factor appears not to be an issue any more however, even a small amount of money can weigh in considerably if multiplied by several hundred stations. Disadvantages and alternatives So what are the disadvantages/shortcomings of GSM/GPRS? Foremost is the lack of coverage in remote areas, particularly outside the European Union. The GSM infrastructure itself is beyond the control of a rain gauge stations operator. If this infrastructure fails, for example due to flooding or simply overload in case of disaster, there is nothing the operator of the weather station can do but wait for the repair of the system or the availability of the next data transmission slot. Therefore ultra high frequency (UHF) is again becoming an attractive alternative, for several reasons. A proprietary UHF network can be maintained and controlled by whoever set it up. In most cases UHF devices consume much less power than GPRS devices. And in most countries,
Agricultural risk management station in a Chilean vineyard. The radio transmission station is installed at the top of the pole
special exemptions permit the operation of met stations for governmental and civil protection agencies free of charge. The only real disadvantage of UHF is the fact that limited output power restricts the achievable transmission distances. Therefore either a certain number of repeater stations need to be installed, or the logger stations themselves must have the capability of working simultaneously as loggers and repeaters for others. Some manufacturers even offer the combination of both, with UHF networks being established in the wilderness, but the data being hauled back to base through a single GPRS connection. Traditional weather stations are being built around a conventional data logger. This requires the establishment of a fairly bulky setup, consisting of an outer shell providing adequate environmental protection, a sufficiently large battery with a charging regulator, a GPRS modem and the respective cabling, all hooked up to a solar panel of the required size to charge the battery. Such a setup is rather demanding when it comes to installation and maintenance. Standard solar panels from most off-theshelf manufacturers, and the dimensions of the cabinets housing the equipment, require a very solid foundation and sturdy mast construction to withstand wind load that could topple the mast. This, and the fact that solar panels are increasingly desirable to thieves, means the footprint of a station should be kept as small as possible. One of the images shows an integrated system provided by Austrian manufacturer Adcon Telemetry. Rather than assembling a station from individual components, all the parts are fully integrated into the compact aluminum case on top of the pole. the UHF connection. Once stations and telemetry are set up, the data needs to be retrieved automatically from the remote sites. In this particular case a so-called telemetry gateway, which also provides the abovementioned remote configuration option, retrieves the data from up to 1,000 sites within any user intervention, be those sites GSM, GPRS or UHF-equipped. The gateway In contrast to the much-hyped selforganizing, self-healing systems, this gateway-based system manages all UHF stations in a polling mode, therefore effectively avoiding data collisions, unnecessary retries and thus waste of energy and unnecessary spectrum usage (duty cycle restrictions!). Furthermore, it is capable of graphically visualizing the data, provides multi-user access, and can also be remotely accessed through any internet connection. Since the RTUs of a gateway-based system do not provide local displays and keyboards, setting up this type of station is done remotely. Adding a Pluvio is very straightforward, by simply plugging the provided binder connector into the SDI-12 port of the RTU. Pre-setup sensor drivers in the logger (see screen shot) contain all required SDI-12 information such as address, methods and the readings that are to be delivered. Three clicks are enough: clicking on the port of the RTU where the Pluvio is connected, selecting the desired sensor driver and clicking on Connect. A reconfiguration, address or method change, or even sensor calibration, can also be done remotely, through the gateway, by UHF or GPRS. Once data from remote systems has been retrieved by the gateway, it is automatically picked up and put onto a website, which provides access to registered users by means of user name and password. Precipitation data is processed into statistical data, be that hourly, daily or weekly. Totals, displayed graphically in tables and as instruments, can automatically trigger alarms by email, entries in events lists or VoIP telephone calls; they can even be used to trigger action, such as activating pumps, sirens or other kinds of equipment. Standard hydrographical software can also be used to haul in the data and import it either in the form of ASCII files or through a simple set of XML commands. Given the high level of integration, quick installation and setup, and the extremely low maintenance cost, the system provides a remarkably low ToC (total cost of ownership) over the equipments expected lifetime of more than 10 years. z
Dr Bernhard Pacher is part of the management team at Adcon Telemetry GmbH and Kurt is Business Development Manager Meteorology at OTT Hydromet, Kempten.
Compact Adcon RTU A755 connected to OTT Pluvio2 ; two solar panels facing SE/SW
The small size and low weight of such a type of radio transmission unit (RTU) permit installation at the top of the pole and out of reach, with the solar panel right underneath. Wiring efforts are limited to plugging in a Binder M9 jack to a keyed female plug, so incorrect polarity or improperly wired signal cables are effectively prevented. No special skills are required to connect a sensor, and maintenance is simple: clean the panel, swap the battery every once in a while. All desired modifications to the initial setup can be done remotely, either through the GPRS or through
Screenshot showing configuration settings for a OTT Pluvio2 precipitation sensor connected to a compact Adcon radio transmission unit (RTU)
OTT Pluvio2 with bucket orifices of different sizes (200 cm2 and 400 cm2 ) offering measuring capacities of 1,500 and 750mm respectively
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Optical sensors
by Dr Sten Lfving
Sow the SeedS and Scatter
Measuring visibility using different optical techniques

Visibility sensors are used in an increasing number of applications. But of the different types available, which is the most effective?
Optical sensors
In foggy weather less light will reach the receiver because of the scattering along the ray path
There is also the forward-scatter method, in which the light scattered by the particles is collected in an optical receiver. The back-scattered method is based on collecting the back-scattered light. This is the most compact way of detecting particles in the air since the transmitter and the receiver can be located close to each other in the same box. The main disadvantage of the back-scatter concept is that the optical power reaching the receiver is lower than that in the forward-scatter method. We can conclude that all optical sensors primarily give a local reading of the density of scattering particles in a zone with typical dimensions much smaller than the displayed visibility. But we can convert the local density of scattering particles to visibility under the assumption that it is homogeneous. How do we define visibility? The most understandable measure of visibility is the meteorological optical range (MOR). The simple definition of MOR is how far we can see objects. Therefore different standards have been created. Using just one of them, for daylight conditions, the object is a black and white checkerboard pattern. MOR varies between 50km or even more during very clear weather down to just 10m in heavy fog. (During heavy snowfall or snow combined with wind, MOR can be even lower.)
Light scattering by a particle. A fraction of the laser light propagating from left to right will be scattered in all directions but with different intensity by the particle
isibility is one of the standard meteorological parameters. But weather stations are far too often lacking in visibility sensors because of the cost factor. Visibility is key in so many areas of safety. In airports it is a vital safety parameter, and sensors have a long tradition in these facilities. With road safety, many car accidents have occurred in low-visibility conditions, so sensors are sometimes integrated into road weather stations. Another area is sea safety: the use of radar has made it possible to run ships safely in fog, but there are cases where visibility sensors are used to automatically switch foghorns on and off.
phenomena: the light gray haze covering the whole image comes from scattered light from the fog particles. How do we measure visibility? There are several methods used for detecting fog and measuring visibility. First there is the classic transmission method, which measures how much light is transmitted from a light source to a receiver located at a distance for example 50m away. In foggy weather less light (compared to clear weather) will reach the receiver because of the scattering along the ray path. The scattered light will not be collected by the receiver. In the instrument this reduction is calculated and used as primary data for further calculations. This method is used along airport runways.
Scattering of light in fog Consider a light beam that hits a small particle in the air. The light source can, for example, be an LED or laser. The wavelength may be inside or a little outside the visible range. The particle is typically a small water drop constituting fog. The light that has only changed its propagation direction slightly is called forward-scattered light, and the light that has changed its direction around 180 is called back-scattered light. Scattered light is lost when providing an image on the retina in the eye. This is why the perception when looking at objects with our eyes (or with a camera) changes during fog. We also have another
Transmission principle. In foggy weather less light will reach the receiver because of the scattering along the ray path
Optical sensors
converted to MOR without approximations is measured. It has been shown that forward-scatter sensors measure within 15% accuracy if the scattering angle 42 is used, which these days is usually the case. The back-scatter method will overestimate the visibility during rain and give roughly correct values during snowfall. The different methods for measuring visibility can now be compared. Regarding sensitivity, the transmission method can measure up to about 50km visibility. The forward-scatter method is able to measure up to about the same order, or even better. In both cases this is an improvement on back-scatter sensors, which are able to detect visibilities up to about 10km. The next criterion is correctness, a term that describes the ability to measure visibility in all conditions that occur. The most interesting cases besides fog are when the visibility is reduced because of rain or snow. The winner in this discipline is the transmission method, since it measures the quantity relevant for visibility, namely the transmitted light. Forward-scatter sensors are ranked as second. The backscatter method overestimates the visibility during rain, giving it a ranking of third (see table below). Compactness is a term used to describe visibility. The winner in this case is the back-scatter method, which is easily understood when looking at the figures in the table. The forward-scatter sensors are second in this discipline and the transmission method is ranked third. The back-scatter sensors are the cheapest. Forward scatter is the second cheapest, and the transmission system is ranked third again. The conclusion is that transmission and forward-scatter sensors have the best, but almost equal, performance. But back-scatter visibility sensors are an interesting alternative in applications where a low price is important and visibility reduction because of fog, below less than 5 to 10km, is the main concern. z
Dr Sten Lfving, Optical Sensors, Sweden Email: lofving@gmail.com
Forward scatter principle.
Backscatter principle. This is the most compact way of detecting particles in the air
The attenuation of a light ray that is propagating through a homogeneous absorbing or scattering atmosphere can be mathematically described using an exponential function containing a constant describing the exponential extinction. This constant is often called alfa, and is a constant (unit m-1) that determines the attenuation. Depending on definition, MOR relates to alfa as MOR= 3.9/alfa or MOR =2.5/alfa or something in between, such as MOR =3/alfa (this is probably the most common). Theoretically about 2% to 8% remains at the distance MOR depending on whether the value 3.9, 3 or 2.5 is used. Measuring visibility during rain and snow Visibility is reduced not only during fog but also during rain, snowfall and air pollution,
conditions that scatter light and also cause reduced visibility. But the forward and back-scatter methods will give errors for these conditions in terms of MOR when calibrated for fog. The reason is that the form of the scattering lobes (also called phase function) are not the same for the different scattering particles involved. The transmission method will give correct results since the relevant quantity the not scattered light that can be
Ranking of the technologies in diffeRent Respects
Transmission Sensitivity Correctness Compactness Price 1 1 3 3
Forward-scatter 1 2 2 2
Back-scatter 3 3 1 1
10 6 ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTERn ATIOn A SEp TEMbER
Innovative optical sensors

For: Visibility: OFS and MiniOFS - two backscatter fog sensors - small size, very low price. Present Weather: Air eye Backscatter Sensor for visibility, rain and snow. Road condition: Road eye - NIR laser spectroscopy sensor for detecting slippery conditions on road surface.
Gteborg, Sweden
Sten Lfving Optical sensors,
web: www.opticalsensors.se, e-mail: lofving@gmail.com
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Weather statistical models

by Paola Colagrande & Marco Fontana
CorreCt Flight path

Integration of weather models and air traffic simulation
The use of weather statistical models applied to trajectories can ensure smoother and safer air traffic management
eather phenomena can play havoc with aviation. Significant efforts have now been devoted to integrate weather information with ATM decision support tools. Strategic flight planning requires the knowledge of weather forecasts several hours into the future, which draws heavily upon numerical weather prediction (NWP). Aviation users need forecasts that provide not only details about the likely weather outcome with lead times of up to six to 12 hours, but also information about storm structure and intensity and the associated forecast uncertainty. With high-level models, it is not possible to provide semi-continuous atmospheric characteristics by NWP models, either using synoptic or mesoscale models. For this, the system needs to define adequate statistical and dynamical downscaling techniques; as well as the ability to define the uncertainties produced by a coupling NWP model and downscaling techniques. The model chain together with the forecast error evaluation constitutes the weather statistical model used in the present case study.
The model is integrated with an air traffic simulator in order to realize an ATM decision support tool, which helps the ATC controllers in their operations. The synergy between the stochastic simulations of atmospheric changing conditions along the trajectories and the capability of the ATC simulator to modify the aircrafts navigation gives a high degree of variability and flexibility in generating different scenarios and case studies. WeSMAT: weather statistical models applied to trajectories The company Vitrociset, jointly with CMCC (Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici EuroMediterranean Center for Climate Change) and CIRA (Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali Italian Aerospace Research Center), performed a study to investigate the possibility of integrating its own air traffic control simulator (ATRES) with weather statistical models in order to realize a testing platform to simulate random variations of the weather conditions along an aircraft flight trajectory.
Current numerical models for weather forecasts can be subdivided into two main categories: global circulation models (GCMs) and limited area models (LAMs). Global models perform forecasts of the synoptic processes of atmospheric phenomena; they simulate the weather evolution across the earth. The global model considered in this case study is the IFS (Integrated Forecast System) developed by ECMWF and characterized by a spatial resolution of about 20km. It is able to simulate large-scale phenomena and is used for medium-term forecasts (about 10 days). LAMs are used to simulate a limited domain and can therefore be used at higher resolutions, improving the simulation of the mesoscale processes, such as breeze, orographic winds, and convective processes. This case study makes use of the local model COSMO-CLM, at a resolution of 7km for a weather forecast of 72 hours, and 2.8km for a forecast of 18-24 hours. It was developed in its first version by DWD and is currently managed and updated by
Left Radar display showing current weather Below right: ECMWF analysis for temperature and winds
Dynamical downscaling is performed to obtain data at a resolution up to 1km
Left: COSMO-7 forecast for precipitation over Central and Western Europe Right: Uncertainty on the east component of the wind velocity as a function of the altitude
the European COSMO consortium, which involves met offices in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, and other eastern European countries. A broad research study is currently being performed dealing with COSMOCLM, and focuses on the optimization of physical parameterizations and numerical schemes employed by this model. Many activities have been and are still conducted in order to develop the so-called numerical simulations chain with which, starting from meteorological data (observed or foreseen) and using some downscaling techniques, several scenarios are foreseen and analyzed. Different downscaling techniques are used depending on the meteorological information to be provided during the cruise phase or during take-off and landing, and considering the different
characteristics of the available synoptic (global circulation) and mesoscale (limited area) models. Atmospheric profile Dynamical downscaling is performed to obtain data at a resolution up to 1km, and statistical downscaling is performed to reach a resolution up to 100m, to obtain a semicontinuous atmospheric profile for the variables that have a great impact on the aircraft trajectories, such as horizontal and vertical wind velocity components, pressure, precipitation, etc, with close attention to the consistency between parameters and atmospheric phenomena. Although intense research and implementation have been carried out in the field of meteorological downscaling, it was almost always applied to a two-dimensional domain: the earths surface. Now the
challenge of this case study is to extend downscaling methods to the volumetric domain. The algorithm merges two models and correctly deals with a strong nonlinearity present in the numerical models for the newly added dimension: height. Indeed, through an extensive processing of historical atmospheric data concerning the variables that affect the aircraft flight trajectory, it is possible to obtain a statistical characterization of the weather forecast data. For each variable a stochastic process is characterized and used to get different realizations of the atmospheric/weather variables along the flight trajectory. As the atmospheric weather data comes from either a meteorological numerical model or from observations, an ad-hoc processing of this information enables weather data with high spatial and temporal resolution to be obtained. Stochastic

have been used to process weather data in order to predict and optimize scientific balloons trajectories up to 18 hours before the scheduled liftoff. Statistical characterization of weather forecast data has also been used to improve virtual air data estimated using a sensor fusion methodology that blends inertial measurements with meteorological forecast data coming from the forecast model IFS by ECMWF. In this context, the aim of the case study is to show how the weather forecasts can play a key role in the ATC decisionmaking process loop. The main steps of the meteorological data and ATC integration into the operational decision loop can be summarized in the scheme in the radar display figure. The integrated WeatherATM system can be described as a tool to determine the impact of the weather conditions on air traffic control and to support the decision making of mitigation plans and their execution. The future for ATC operators Adverse weather phenomena such as low cloud ceilings, low visibility, and wind, play a significant and major role in airport capacity degradation as well as in the selection of safety flight trajectories. Taking into account these considerations, this case study can support the decisionmaking process in air traffic control operational activities. The ATC operator, using the additional information provided by the weather forecast models, will be able to check if a 4D trajectory goes through a portion of airspace affected by adverse weather conditions and in that case modify the planning by re-routing. Starting from this, the first case study, it is possible to foresee further studies on advanced tools as AMMTCD (ATC and Meteorological Medium Term Conflict Detection) to alert controllers about some eventual incompatibility between the traffic planning and the future adverse weather conditions. z
Paola Colagrande & Marco Fontana are from VITROCISET in Italy. The authors wish to thank the team at CIRA and CMCC for their qualified collaboration in this case study, and in particular P. Schiano, E. Bucchignani & R. Palumbo
Above: Radar display showing the evolution of weather conditions Below: Decision process loop in an integrated weather and ATM system
characterization of the variables of interest for flight trajectories is carried out performing a statistical analysis based on a set of forecast and analysis data relative to a reference airport or an area over a wide temporal range. Forecast data provide the predicted variables of interest as a function
of the altitude, latitude, and longitude. This data is compared to the analysis data assumed to be the true atmospheric data to perform a statistical characterization of the meteorological forecast error at a specified number of hours before a given reference time. Currently similar techniques
Forecast data provide the predicted variables of interest as a function of the altitude, latitude, and longitude
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Radiosounding
by Markus Turunen, Matti Lehmuskero & Hannu Jauhiainen
Radiosounding
Algorithmic meAns
It is imperative that the technical solutions used in radiosounding equipment provide highly accurate data that is fit for purpose
he uses of radiosonde data today cover a variety of meteorological applications. Technical solutions in radiosounding systems must provide accurate data. Humidity is still the most difficult parameter to measure properly in the upper atmosphere. It is a demanding task to ensure that the observed values exhibit low biases in all conditions, both during the day and at night. The Vaisala Radiosonde RS92-SGP humidity sensor has been specifically developed for performing radiosoundings. Chemical contamination, a typical phenomenon that happens with thin-film polymer sensors, is eliminated using a reconditioning process of the humidity sensors. This ensures that any chemical contaminant that may have accumulated on the humidity sensor during storage is removed before the radiosonde is launched. Although the sensor is very fast in its class, there is still room to improve the measurement results by algorithmic means at the temperatures prevailing in the upper troposphere and higher. The accurate calibration stability of the sensor and its high sensitivity to atmospheric
Improving humidity measurement accuracy in radiosoundings
profile changes make this type of correction feasible. Recently, this humidity measurement accuracy has been improved by introducing new solar radiation and response time algorithms. The solar radiation algorithm improves measurement accuracy in daytime conditions, while having no effect on nighttime soundings. The humidity sensor response time algorithm makes it possible to recover humidity profile details also at very low temperatures. This algorithm affects both daytime and night-time soundings. Humidity measurement improvements have the biggest impact in the middle and upper troposphere region. In addition, more accurate temperature measurement is now obtained in soundings by fine-tuning the solar radiation correction. The algorithm takes into account radiosonde ventilation during the flight. Also, the effect of evaporative cooling is minimized by utilizing a hydrophobic coating on the temperature sensor, which prevents water from accumulating on the sensor in the first place. If the temperature sensor is not properly protected, evaporative
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTER n ATIOn AL sEp TEMbER 2011 113
Radiosounding
Figure 2: Sounding profile from tropical conditions
Figure 1: Sounding profile from tropical conditions, with a time highlight at 40 minutes Figure 3: Sounding profile at higher latitudes
The humidity sensor response time algorithm makes it possible to recover humidity profile details
cooling can cause several degrees of error in temperature measurement in the atmospheric layer above the cloud for several hundreds of meters, which in turn affects the heights of inversion. Humidity measurement algorithms Sensor response time is dependent on ambient temperature, being the greatest at cold temperatures below the tropopause. This is why humidity profiles tend to appear slightly smoothed in that region. To rectify this effect, a new algorithm was developed to achieve more correct profiles when the temperature is below -40C. In sounding profiles, this can be seen as an increased span between minimum and maximum relative humidity levels and as a steeper change to low humidity at the tropopause. Humidity measurement was also improved to take into account the effect of solar radiation on the sensor during a sounding. This effect has the most significant impact at altitudes of approximately 10-15km, depending on the humidity profile and the tropopause height. A new solar radiation algorithm was developed to improve daytime humidity measurement accuracy. The modification has no effect on the measurement results of night-time soundings. Figures 1 and 2 present examples of a daytime sounding profile from tropical conditions. The profile VAI_NEW is calculated with the new solar radiation and response time algorithms. The greatest difference compared with the old calculation is at the heights of 10-15km (30-45 minutes). In Figure 1, the effect of the time response algorithm is especially evident at around 40 minutes. In the sounding profile from higher latitudes in Figure 3, the differences are even less pronounced. Figure 4 presents the direct differences of 20 flights calculated with the new and old humidity algorithms. The soundings were performed in tropical conditions. The new algorithms have the biggest impact at the 14km level. Similar differences can be detected in soundings carried out at higher latitudes, but with lower values due to the lower position of the tropopause (see Figure 5). Comparison against CFH In Figure 6, the data with the new humidity algorithm is compared against a cryogenic frost point mirror hygrometer (CFH). A CFH
Figure 4: Twenty flights calculated with new and old humidity algorithms
is capable of measuring water vapor in the troposphere and lower stratosphere, and is thus considered a reference standard for upper-air water vapor measurement. As a result of the comparison, a very good agreement between the two instruments can be detected. Humidity measurement reproducibility To evaluate the new algorithms effect on soundings reproducibility, a series of 25 twin-sonde flights was performed. The test verifies the agreement between similar
Radiosounding
Figure 5: The lower position of the tropopause
Figure 6: Humidity algorithm compared against a cryogenic frost point mirror hygrometer (CFH)
radiosondes when the measurement is performed in the same atmospheric conditions. The result is presented in Figure 7. Reproducibility is very good below 2% and well in line with the previous measurements. Therefore, it can be concluded that the new improved algorithms, while measuring atmospheric humidity details more accurately, do not introduce undesirable deviations into the measurement results. Reporting on data continuity The new algorithms improve Vaisala Radiosonde RS92-SGP measurement accuracy successfully for both operational and climatological observation needs. For climatological data continuity purposes, good understanding of the instrument and changes in the data products are essential. This also applies to operational soundings, but is especially important to observations gathered within the WMO/GRUAN GCOS Reference Upper Air Network. Therefore, all changes and further developments described here are
Figure 7: Twenty-five twin-sonde flights were performed. Reproducibility was very good below 2%
documented in detail on the data continuity website Vaisala established in 2009 to ensure observation data remains comparable and representative of the actual real-life phenomena. Validation in WMO Radiosonde Intercomparison The accuracy of measurement results obtained with the Vaisala Radiosonde RS92-SGP are globally of a very high standard. This is shown, for example, by the recent results of the Eighth World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Intercomparison of Radiosonde Systems study held in July 2010 in Yangjiang, China. The new humidity and temperature algorithms were used in all the intercom-
parison flights and provided extremely accurate results. In addition, geopotential height, pressure, and wind measurements were at a very high level and showed highly consistent performance throughout the Intercomparison. All three are based on the observations from the onboard GPS receiver. The Intercomparison results show that Vaisalas sounding system provides extremely accurate data for a wide range of meteorological applications, such as numerical weather prediction models, climatology, and synoptic meteorology. z
Hannu Jauhiainen is an R&D manager, Markus Turunen is a research scientist and Matti Lehmuskero is an application manager within the Vaisala Group.
ME TEOROLOGICAL TEChnOLOGy InTER n ATIOn AL sEp TEMbER 2011 115
Forecast legends
by Dr Frank Millard
Pressure cooker
Justifiably regarded as the father of modern meteorology, William Napier Shaw brought the discipline into the 20th century and made it truly scientific in method and application. His influence is still very much felt today
eteorologist William Napier Shaw was something of a polymath. His personal expertise in three scientific disciplines mathematics, physics, and chemistry allowed him to approach his chosen subject with a broad vision and so progress the subject accordingly, dragging it into the 20th century. It might be said that he invented modern meteorology and gave it wider application and meaning. Shaw was not just a brilliant pioneer, visionary, and administrator. He introduced bars and millibars, invented the tephigram, anticipated polar front theory, and explored the effects of pollution in towns and cities as micro-climates and micro-environments with their own weather. Shaw was born in Birmingham, UK on March 4, 1854. The third son of strict nonConformist parents, he was educated at King Edwards School in the city, but went on to become very much a Cambridge man, graduating from Emmanuel College where he read mathematics, chemistry, and physics, in which he was awarded a distinction. He remained at Emmanuel for over 20 years. In 1877 he became a fellow of the college, and in 1887 he was appointed lecturer in Experimental Physics. In 1888, the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society published an article by Shaw on hygrometry, which brought him to the attention of the British Meteorological Council. His interest in the movement and behavior of air and air pressure led to a deep interest in meteorology, and was also expressed in several other associated areas. In 1907 he wrote a book, Air Currents and the Laws of Ventilation, which addressed the problems associated with the heating and ventilation of buildings, concerning which he
acted as a consultant. By the end of the 19th century Shaw had become secretary of the Meteorological Council, and in 1905 he became director of the Meteorological Office. When he took over as secretary, the Meteorological Council was in decline, with an aged membership and an unscientific approach. He then had to set about turning it into a cutting-edge research body employing up-to-date scientific theory and practice. Charles Darwins cousin, Francis Galton, famously asked him, Do you think, Shaw, you will ever make anything of it? In answer he set about overhauling the Meteorological Office, introducing more women to its ranks and ensuring that all its staff had proper scientific training. Shortly afterward he also became president of the International Meteorological Committee. The all-rounder that he was, Shaw even designed the building into which the Meteorological Office was removed in 1910. His contributions to meteorology included publications such as Forecasting Weather (1911), The Life-History of Surface Air Currents (an analysis thought to have come very close to defining fronts), and the comprehensive four-volume Manual of
Meteorology (1931). Together with J. S. Owens, he wrote The Smoke Problems of Great Cities, which investigated the problems of civic pollution and its effect on local climate, temperature, and overall weather. They later co-founded the Atmospheric Pollution Committee. It was through Shaw that the use of the bar and millibar (10-3 bar) as units of atmospheric pressure was introduced in 1909. They were adopted in the UK at the start of the Great War of 1914-18 and internationally in 1929. In 1920, Shaw was appointed professor of meteorology at Imperial College, London, where the meteorology and aeronautics departments were inextricably linked, conforming to and reinforcing his preoccupation with air pressure and weather systems. One of Shaws major contributions to the science of meteorology is that he made it truly scientific in method and application, and applied it practically to aviation and military requirements. J. Burton writes in Weather, November 2004, that meteorology became modern when it became recognizably scientific, this brings us to Napier Shaw. z
Ground-breakinG Graph
In 1915, Shaw invented the tephigram, a diagram of thermodynamics for use in weather forecasting plotting air temperature and dew point temperature against pressure. It is described in the Encyclopaedia Britannica as a graphical representation of the first law of thermodynamics as applied to Earths atmosphere.
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