New
Data Product Warns Alaska Pilots of Clouds, Dangerously Cold Weather
A new product that alerts pilots to clouds, icy conditions and dangerously cold
temperatures is tapping into NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System's satellites
for the critical data it needs.
Starting next month, scientists will start the first round of testing of this
product on flight paths over Alaska. The product, which combines cloud
measurements from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)
instrument on the Suomi-National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (NPP) and NOAA-20
satellites with atmospheric sounding data from the Advanced Technology
Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument and pilot reports, is designed to help
pilots understand the extent of clouds and hazardous icing conditions on a
given flight route.
This product, which is funded by the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research in
the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University, was developed in response
to specific needs from the aviation community and a demand for satellite cloud
products for aviation weather applications, said Yoo-Jeong Noh, a research
scientist with CIRA and one of the product's developers.
"Before this approach, we usually just provided a two-dimensional view of
the cloud tops," she said. "But aviation users are always interested
in the vertical structure of clouds."
"While the tops of clouds are important, I need to know what the clouds
are made of, and I need to know how far down they go and how close they are to
the ground," he said. "And this is the first time we've had a product
that helps us answer these questions."
In some clouds, supercooled droplets turn to ice and accumulate on the
windshield, nose, propeller and wings of the plane, changing the shape of the
airfoil and the weight of the aircraft, said Tom George, a pilot and the Alaska
regional manager for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
"Ice is a serious issue for pilots, so they either need to avoid it or
have the proper equipment to deal with it," George said.
Icy conditions makes pilots of small planes especially nervous, White said.
"The shape of the wings is critical for an aircraft to fly," he said.
"If you change that shape, it's not generating lift in the same way. And
you can get to the point where they can't generate lift at all. That's a severe
case, but it can happen frighteningly quick."
In the lower 48, more information is available on flight conditions, especially
on busy flight routes. But in Alaska, where colder conditions persist
throughout the year, and where there are fewer weather radars and limited
surface observation data, satellite data are especially useful. Especially from
satellites like Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, which, because of their polar orbit,
cross over Alaska multiple times in a day with a 50-minute delay between the
two.
The product has been in development for about two years, but recent updates
were made that include an expanded temperature range, adaptations for users
with color blindness, and an updated user guide.
The next step is a demonstration phase, which involves sending the product to a
large group of pilots for testing and feedback.
In the meantime, White, a government liaison for the Alaska Airmen's
Association and a participant in the JPSS program's aviation initiative, said
he's already using the product to inform flight decisions.
"I've made decisions not to fly on a particular day because of what this
product has shown me, even in the testing phase," he said. "It's
saved me from potential problems, whether it's icing or clouds down to the
ground that I wouldn't be able to navigate."
The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series of satellites enable forecasters
and scientists to monitor and predict weather patterns with greater accuracy
and to study long-term climate trends by extending the more than 30-year
satellite data record. JPSS is a collaborative program between the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its acquisition agent, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Suomi NPP satellite
served as the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System of satellites and
JPSS. For the JPSS-2, -3 and -4 satellites, NOAA is responsible for managing
and operating the JPSS program, and developing the ground segment, while NASA
is responsible for developing and building the JPSS instruments, spacecraft,
and providing launch services.
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