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- Author or Editor: Alexander E. MacDonald x
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A new long-term global observing system is proposed that would provide routine, detailed vertical profiles of measurements in the atmosphere and oceans. The system, which would need to be designed, developed, and operated by a consortium of nations, would consist of 240 equally spaced, fixed locations over oceans and polar regions. It would use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the lower stratosphere to drop sondes every 72 h, and buoys in the ocean to report surface and subsurface data. In addition, the UAVs could descend routinely at a few locations to near the surface to measure detailed profiles of clouds, aerosols, and chemistry. The objective of the observing system would be to improve weather and climate prediction. It would address the important long-term climate issue by providing better monitoring of global and regional change, better measurement of climate feedbacks, and data that can be used to improve long-term climate models. It is argued that the combination of fixed and adaptive soundings over oceans and polar regions would significantly reduce initial analysis error, thus, leading to better weather prediction. The system, which should be designed to complement planned satellite and surface systems, could be operational by the middle of the next decade.
A new long-term global observing system is proposed that would provide routine, detailed vertical profiles of measurements in the atmosphere and oceans. The system, which would need to be designed, developed, and operated by a consortium of nations, would consist of 240 equally spaced, fixed locations over oceans and polar regions. It would use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the lower stratosphere to drop sondes every 72 h, and buoys in the ocean to report surface and subsurface data. In addition, the UAVs could descend routinely at a few locations to near the surface to measure detailed profiles of clouds, aerosols, and chemistry. The objective of the observing system would be to improve weather and climate prediction. It would address the important long-term climate issue by providing better monitoring of global and regional change, better measurement of climate feedbacks, and data that can be used to improve long-term climate models. It is argued that the combination of fixed and adaptive soundings over oceans and polar regions would significantly reduce initial analysis error, thus, leading to better weather prediction. The system, which should be designed to complement planned satellite and surface systems, could be operational by the middle of the next decade.
TRANSITION OF WEATHER RESEARCH TO OPERATIONS
Opportunities and Challenges
The National Weather Service (NWS) of the United States has recently completed its modernization phase. This comprehensive modernization has put into place new observing systems, both ground-based and in space. The modernization has also involved the consolidation of field forecast offices, the relocation of field offices, and changes in the staffing profiles of field offices. Finally, next generation supercomputing facilities, communications, and interactive systems have been installed. Taken together, these substantial investments have resulted in a new and flexible infrastructure that is producing significant improvements in NWS weather forecasts and warnings. Benefits can also be found in the value-added services provided by the private sector. Anticipated advances scientifically and technologically will provide abundant opportunities for further major improvements to weather services of the future. Accuracy and specificity will improve on all relevant time and space scales, and the world of information technology will ensure that weather forecasts are provided to all who need them expeditiously and reliably. The challenge to the NWS, and to all who provide weather services, is to ensure that the results of research are effectively, regularly, and cost-effectively transferred into the operational system. For this to happen, the research agenda must be properly structured and the community of researchers, forecasters, and users must work interactively and cooperatively.
The National Weather Service (NWS) of the United States has recently completed its modernization phase. This comprehensive modernization has put into place new observing systems, both ground-based and in space. The modernization has also involved the consolidation of field forecast offices, the relocation of field offices, and changes in the staffing profiles of field offices. Finally, next generation supercomputing facilities, communications, and interactive systems have been installed. Taken together, these substantial investments have resulted in a new and flexible infrastructure that is producing significant improvements in NWS weather forecasts and warnings. Benefits can also be found in the value-added services provided by the private sector. Anticipated advances scientifically and technologically will provide abundant opportunities for further major improvements to weather services of the future. Accuracy and specificity will improve on all relevant time and space scales, and the world of information technology will ensure that weather forecasts are provided to all who need them expeditiously and reliably. The challenge to the NWS, and to all who provide weather services, is to ensure that the results of research are effectively, regularly, and cost-effectively transferred into the operational system. For this to happen, the research agenda must be properly structured and the community of researchers, forecasters, and users must work interactively and cooperatively.
In recognition of the educational efforts throughout the atmospheric and oceanic science communities, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) has instituted an annual forum called the Symposium on Education. The third such symposium was held this year in conjunction with the 74th Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. The theme of this year's symposium was “Preparing for the Twenty-First Century.” Thirty-one oral presentations and 26 poster presentations summarized a variety of educational programs or examined issues of importance for both the precollege and university levels. In addition, there was a panel discussion on future directions for the undergraduate degree in the atmospheric and marine sciences. One interesting aspect of this year's symposium was a joint session with the 10th International Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology on new technologies for the classroom. Over 200 people representing a wide spectrum of the Society attended one or more of the sessions in this two-day conference, where they increased their awareness of the educational initiatives of members and institutions associated with the AMS.
In recognition of the educational efforts throughout the atmospheric and oceanic science communities, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) has instituted an annual forum called the Symposium on Education. The third such symposium was held this year in conjunction with the 74th Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. The theme of this year's symposium was “Preparing for the Twenty-First Century.” Thirty-one oral presentations and 26 poster presentations summarized a variety of educational programs or examined issues of importance for both the precollege and university levels. In addition, there was a panel discussion on future directions for the undergraduate degree in the atmospheric and marine sciences. One interesting aspect of this year's symposium was a joint session with the 10th International Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology on new technologies for the classroom. Over 200 people representing a wide spectrum of the Society attended one or more of the sessions in this two-day conference, where they increased their awareness of the educational initiatives of members and institutions associated with the AMS.
Abstract
We report on a multiyear set of airborne field campaigns (2005–16) off the California coast to examine aerosols, clouds, and meteorology, and how lessons learned tie into the upcoming NASA Earth Venture Suborbital (EVS-3) campaign: Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE; 2019–23). The largest uncertainty in estimating global anthropogenic radiative forcing is associated with the interactions of aerosol particles with clouds, which stems from the variability of cloud systems and the multiple feedbacks that affect and hamper efforts to ascribe changes in cloud properties to aerosol perturbations. While past campaigns have been limited in flight hours and the ability to fly in and around clouds, efforts sponsored by the Office of Naval Research have resulted in 113 single aircraft flights (>500 flight hours) in a fixed region with warm marine boundary layer clouds. All flights used nearly the same payload of instruments on a Twin Otter to fly below, in, and above clouds, producing an unprecedented dataset. We provide here i) an overview of statistics of aerosol, cloud, and meteorological conditions encountered in those campaigns and ii) quantification of model-relevant metrics associated with aerosol–cloud interactions leveraging the high data volume and statistics. Based on lessons learned from those flights, we describe the pragmatic innovation in sampling strategy (dual-aircraft approach with combined in situ and remote sensing) that will be used in ACTIVATE to generate a dataset that can advance scientific understanding and improve physical parameterizations for Earth system and weather forecasting models, and for assessing next-generation remote sensing retrieval algorithms.
Abstract
We report on a multiyear set of airborne field campaigns (2005–16) off the California coast to examine aerosols, clouds, and meteorology, and how lessons learned tie into the upcoming NASA Earth Venture Suborbital (EVS-3) campaign: Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE; 2019–23). The largest uncertainty in estimating global anthropogenic radiative forcing is associated with the interactions of aerosol particles with clouds, which stems from the variability of cloud systems and the multiple feedbacks that affect and hamper efforts to ascribe changes in cloud properties to aerosol perturbations. While past campaigns have been limited in flight hours and the ability to fly in and around clouds, efforts sponsored by the Office of Naval Research have resulted in 113 single aircraft flights (>500 flight hours) in a fixed region with warm marine boundary layer clouds. All flights used nearly the same payload of instruments on a Twin Otter to fly below, in, and above clouds, producing an unprecedented dataset. We provide here i) an overview of statistics of aerosol, cloud, and meteorological conditions encountered in those campaigns and ii) quantification of model-relevant metrics associated with aerosol–cloud interactions leveraging the high data volume and statistics. Based on lessons learned from those flights, we describe the pragmatic innovation in sampling strategy (dual-aircraft approach with combined in situ and remote sensing) that will be used in ACTIVATE to generate a dataset that can advance scientific understanding and improve physical parameterizations for Earth system and weather forecasting models, and for assessing next-generation remote sensing retrieval algorithms.
