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Title: NWS Meteorologists Guide to TAMDAR Weather Data


1
NWS Meteorologists Guide to TAMDAR Weather Data
The Great Lakes Fleet Experiment Fall
2004-Spring 2005
2
NWS Meteorologists Guide to TAMDAR
  • Roger Smith
  • General Forecaster
  • Baltimore/Washington WFO
  • Sterling, Virginia

3
Brief History of NWS Acquisition of Upper Air
Data via Aircraft Flights
  • NWS began regularly scheduled aircraft weather
    observations in 1919. Pilots were not paid unless
    they reached an altitude 13.5 k ft. Pilots
    received a bonus for every 1000 ft above 13.5 k
    ft.
  • Aircraft obs were discontinued in the early
    1940's, when radiosondes were first employed by
    the NWS.
  • ACARS ( Aircraft Communications, Addressing and
    Reporting System) was first used to report wind
    and temperature data in support of the Global
    Weather Experiment in August of 1979.
  • TAMDAR deployed in Great Lakes Forecasting
    Experiment beginning in the fall of 2004.

4
ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and
Reporting System)
  • While aircraft weather data is often commonly
    referred to as ACARS, it is also known as MDCRS
    (Meteorological Data Collection and Reporting
    System) and AMDAR (Aircraft Meteorological Data
    Report)
  • American, Delta, Northwest and United Airlines
    and Federal Express and United Parcel Service
    supply ACARS data.
  • Airlines agreed to allow NWS, airline and
    university meteorologists to use ACARS (MDCRS)
    data in 1997.
  • Airline and NWS meteorologists have found
    ACARS/MDCRS data very useful in producing more
    accurate forecasts and warnings
  • The NWS and United Parcel Service are evaluating
    a new water vapor sensor at the present time.

5
TAMDAR Program Description
Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Report
  • As part of the Aviation Weather Safety Program
    initiative, NASA has contracted with AirDat LLC
    to design and build a low cost airborne
    instrument to measure temperature, moisture,
    pressure, wind, ice accretion and turbulence
  • The goal is to determine if additional upper air
    observations will contribute to improved aviation
    and public weather forecasts and warnings.
  • TAMDAR sensors were first installed on prop-jet
    aircraft that serve small and medium size
    airports.

6
TAMDAR Program Description
  • TAMDAR were installed on 64 Mesaba Airlines
    (Northwest Airlink) Saab 340 aircraft beginning
    in September 2004

7
TAMDAR Instrument
UND Cessna Citation II
NASA Twin Otter
TAMDAR instruments
Pictures of TAMDAR units installed on NASA and
UND research aircraft
8
AirDat operates a sensor network for collecting
upper air data in near real time. The
aircraft-mounted sensor, called TAMDAR
(Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data
Reporting), transmits observations via satellite
to AirDat's data center, where they are
processed, archived and distributed. TAMDAR
supplements existing data sources with improved
temporal and spatial coverage and richer data
sets for better weather reporting and
forecasting. AirDat is now deploying TAMDAR
sensors to provide upper air data for the
continental United States.
9
TAMDAR Design Specifications
  • Operating Temperature -70 C to 55 C Ambient
  • Pressure Altitude Range -500 Ft. to 50,000 Ft.
  • Airspeed Range lt Mach .82

10
TAMDAR Overview
  • TAMDAR (Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data
    Report) is the result of several NASA sponsored
    aviation weather safety initiatives. The goal is
    to design, build, and fly an inexpensive
    instrument that would measure meteorological
    variables from commuter aircraft flying to small
    and medium size cities. It is anticipated that
    TAMDAR will result in more accurate weather
    forecasts and reduce aircraft accidents and
    delays.
  • NASA has partially funded the design and testing
    of the TAMDAR instrument. Airdat LLC has
    contributed towards the design and testing, as
    well as satellite communications capabilities,
    quality control, etc. Mesaba Airlines is
    providing access to, and modification of, their
    aircraft to install the TAMDAR sensor. National
    Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists used the
    data as part of the Great Lakes Fleet Experiment,
    and provide feedback on data quality,
    availability, and application to various weather
    phenomena.

11
TAMDAR Overview
  • TAMDAR data is retrieved from 64 Mesaba Airlines
    Saab 340 turboprop aircraft.
  • The Saab 340 was chosen because it flies shorter
    flights at lower altitudes than most regional jet
    aircraft. The fact that there are shorter
    duration flights means that there are more
    takeoffs and landings, and therefore, more
    soundings.
  • The fact that they fly at lower altitudes is also
    important, as data from the mid levels of the
    atmosphere is important for most meteorological
    processes. This also compliments the large
    commecial jets that provide a significant amount
    of ACARS/MDCRS data from the upper levels of the
    atmosphere.
  • Even though TAMDAR will initially be used on the
    Saab 340, it can be installed on most any
    commercial aircraft, with FAA certification.

12
TAMDAR Overview
  • Data are generally available every 10 mb from the
    surface through the first 100 mb, and every 50 mb
    thereafter.
  • Test flights indicate that TAMDAR temperatures
    are accurate
  • within 1 deg C, humidity within 5, wind
    direction within 5
  • degrees, and wind speed within 4 knots.

13
TAMDAR and RAOB Sites ( through 08/06/2005)
14
Data Availability
  • Mesaba flies the Saab 340 aircraft to
    approximately 80 cities
  • Since each of the 64 aircraft makes approximately
    seven flight segments per day, there are nearly
    1000 soundings per day.
  • Data coverage is greatest in the Great Lakes
    region, but still considerable in parts of the
    Northeast, Southeast and northern Plains

15
Data Availability
  • Some destinations have nearly 100 soundings per
    day (MSP, DTW, MEM), while others have only a few
    (BGM, FNT)
  • You can find TAMDAR flight schedules on the GLFE
    web page www.crh.noaa.gov/tamdar

16
TAMDAR Program Description
TAMDAR Flights are In Green Notice that data is
also available beyond the Great Lakes region
17
Why do we need TAMDAR?
  • Numerical model skill improved greatly during the
    past twenty years due to improved model terrain,
    physics, grid sizes, as well as increased
    computational speed.
  • Future improvements will likely be slower, unless
    more upper air data is acquired.

18
Why do we need TAMDAR
In order to fill in some of the gaps in the
weather balloon network, the NWS uses other
useful sources of upper air data, such as
Wind Estimates from Doppler Radar
Wind Profilers
GOES and POES Satellites
Commercial aircraft
19
Why do we need TAMDAR?
  • The NWS Upper air network is nearly the same as
    it was in the 1940s.

A lot of weather occurs between radiosonde sites!
20
Why do we need TAMDAR?
Current NWS radiosonde network east of the Rocky
Mountain States
21
Why do we need TAMDAR?
  • ACARS data from commercial jet aircraft are very
    helpful, but there are relatively few soundings
    from small cities

22
Why do we need TAMDAR?
TAMDAR Soundings will fill many of the gaps in
the current upper air network!
23
Great Lakes Fleet Experiment
  • A NASA/AirDat funded six-nine month evaluation
    called the Great Lakes Fleet Experiment began
    November 1, 2004. The NWS was a major
    participant.
  • The goal was to determine whether TAMDAR units
    are a reliable, cost effective means of gathering
    upper air data - and whether these data can
    improve warnings and forecasts

24
Great Lakes Fleet Experiment
  • NWS Meteorologists were asked to use the data and
    comment on its quality, timeliness and utility.
  • TAMDAR has potential to significantly improve
    warnings and forecasts

25
Great Lakes Fleet Experiment
NWS meteorologists can retrieve TAMDAR data from
the FSL aircraft data web page at
http//acweb.fsl.noaa.gov This interactive web
page can produce wind plots and soundings
26
NWS Forecaster Role
  • TAMDAR should be useful in many forecast
    applications
  • Upper air analysis and verification of model
    forecasts
  • Precipitation type forecasts
  • Severe storm environments
  • Fog formation (UPS method)
  • Turbulence forecasts
  • LLWS

27
Upper Air Analysis
TAMDAR winds, temperature and dewpoints can be
compared to model initial analyses and forecasts
28
Precipitation Type Forecasts
Real time data from the lower troposphere is
crucial when forecasting the precipitation type
of winter storms. TAMDAR could provide this
information at many locations
29
Severe Storm Environments
  • Research has shown that knowledge of the
    near-storm environment is essential to effective
    severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings.
  • Wind profilers, WSR-88D VWP, and 18UTC special
    radiosonde releases are helpful in determining
    the potential for severe thunderstorm
    development, but there are still many spatial and
    temporal gaps in coverage.
  • TAMDAR soundings will be useful in determining
    stable layers, lapse rates, winds aloft and
    moisture availability.
  • Stability parameters such as CAPE and CIN can
    also be calculated.

30
Low Ceiling and Visibility Forecasts
  • Knowledge of the temperature, moisture and wind
    fields in the boundary layer is vital when
    forecasting low ceilings and visibilities. Little
    real time data is available at most airports, so
    model soundings and MOS guidance are often used
    when producing aviation forecasts.
  • TAMDAR equipped aircraft will fly to and from
    nearly 80 airports in the central and eastern
    United States, and can provide the necessary data
    to produce more accurate forecasts of low
    ceilings and visibilities that adversely affect
    all airports.

31
Low-level Wind Shear
  • The presence of low-level wind shear should be
    easy to determine at airports with TAMDAR data.
  • Wind speed and direction at 10mb vertical
    increments in the boundary layer, along with an
    airborne turbulence sensor, will provide the
    necessary information to make more accurate
    forecasts of LLWS.

32
Temperature
Water Vapor Mixing Ratio
Vector Wind Magnitude
Key Blue-w/o TAMDAR Red-with TAMDAR Solid-analysi
s Dotted-6 hour forecast Dashed with triangles-12
hour forecast
33
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34
Great Lakes Fleet Experiment
  • TAMDAR data can also be sent to AWIPS via FSLs
    MADIS data server. Instructions can be found on
    the GLFE web page http//www.crh.noaa.gov/tamdar

35
NWS Forecaster Resources
  • A web site http//www.crh.noaa.gov/tamdar has
    been established that will provide meteorologists
    with information on TAMDAR and the GLFE
  • It contains the latest flight schedules so that
    you can determine when TAMDAR soundings are
    available in your area, a Forum where you can ask
    or answer questions, and people to contact for
    more information.

36
References
  • Comprehensive article on Aircraft Weather Data
  • http//www.crh.noaa.gov/tamdar/papers/aircraft.pdf
  • TAMDAR instrument details and flight tests
  • http//www.crh.noaa.gov/tamdar/papers/TAMDARsensor
    .pdf
  • NWP applications of TAMDAR
  • http//www.crh.noaa.gov/tamdar/papers/RUC.pdf
  • Impacts of aircraft data on FSL, NCEP and ECMWF
    models
  • http//www.wmo.int/files/www/GOS/Alpbach2004/3B_3P
    etersenRalph.pdf
  • Previous forecaster evaluations of aircraft
    weather data
  • http//acweb.fsl.noaa.gov/docs/mamrosh-2000/p.pdf
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