Chris Sisko (NOAA/Tropical Prediction Center)
Power Point presentation on this
Project
Aerosonde Corp.
Aerosonde first hurricane flight
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility
Objective:
While the successful utilization of the P-3 Orion and Gulfstream 4
aircraft have made NOAA a global leader in the area of hurricane
aircraft surveillance and reconnaissance, detailed observations of
the near-surface tropical cyclone (TC) boundary layer environment
have been elusive due to the severe safety risks associated with low
level TC manned flight missions. The primary objective of this funded
project is to address this significant observational shortcoming by
utilizing the unique low flying attributes of the (unmanned) Aerosonde
observing platform.
It is believed that the payoff for such an effort would be significant
and in some cases immediate. These benefits would include detailed
documentation of a heretofore unknown region of the TC (Monitor and
Observe) and simultaneously provide NOAA's Tropical Prediction Center
(TPC) with real-time near surface wind and thermodynamic data within
the TC environment. In addition, this effort will enhance our physical
understanding of this critically important environment (Understand and
Describe) and ultimately, provide improvements to future forecasts of
TC intensity change (Assess and Predict).
The primary objective of this project is to utilize the unique
capabilities of the Aerosonde platform to document areas of the TC
environment that would otherwise be either impossible or impractical
to observe. While the main scientific goal of this project is to
accurately document and improve our understanding of the
rarely-observed TC boundary layer, an important (and immediate)
additional benefit would be the real-time transmission of TC surface
conditions directly to the TPC. In addition, detailed comparisons
between in-situ and satellite-derived observations will also be
possible. It is also envisioned that this unique data could ultimately
be used to help initialize and verify both operational and
research-oriented TC numerical simulations. When combined, these
research and operational objectives match NOAA's Weather and Water
stated outcome of "Increased accuracy and amount of lead time."
Background:
Simply stated, continuous observation of thermodynamic (temperature
and moisture) and kinematic (wind) structure of the near-surface
hurricane environment has never been documented in a hurricane. This
environment, where the atmosphere meets the sea, is critically
important since it is where the ocean's warm water energy is directly
transferred to the atmosphere just above it. The TC surface layer is
also important because it is where we find the strongest winds in a
hurricane and coincidentally, the level at which most of us live
(i.e. at/near the surface). As such, observing and ultimately better
understanding this region of the storm is crucial if we hope to
improve our ability to make accurate forecasts of TC intensity change.
Enhancing this predictive capability would not only save our economy
billions of dollars but more importantly it would save countless lives.
Method:
The two primary scientific objectives would be to observe and better
understand:
- The surface ocean and atmospheric boundary layer environment
ahead of and along the projected TC track
- The low-level inflow layer associated with a mature hurricane.
Under the first objective, the PI and select key participants plan to
investigate Sea Surface Temperature (SST) variability along the
predicted storm track as well as the thermodynamic structure of the
ambient atmospheric boundary layer ahead of the storm. The motivation
for this work is multifold. Findings from Cione and Uhlhorn (2003)
show a clear link between SST variability within the TC inner core
environment and subsequent changes in storm intensity. In addition,
such an experiment would also support recent work by Dunion et al.
(2004) that illustrates a relationship between ambient low moisture
conditions surrounding the TC and storm intensity change.
This experiment would also be in support of ongoing funded work by
Cione under NOAA's 2003-05 Joint Hurricane Testbed (JHT) as well as
the scientific foci associated with the
African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) field experiment
scheduled for 2006.
Under the second objective, the focus would be to document the TC
inflow layer out ahead of the storm, through the storm eyewall region
and into the eye and compare these findings with recent results from
Cione and Uhlhorn (2003), Wroe and Barnes (2003), and Cione et al (2000).
As mentioned previously, documenting and improving our understating of
this rarely observed high wind storm environment is critical if we are
to significantly improve future forecasts of TC intensity change.
This project is funded by the OAR Assistant Administrator's
Discretionary Fund (AADF) project, the JHT, and NASA. This includes
75 Aerosonde flight hours as well as travel costs for the PI to the
Aerosonde Wallops Island VA launch facility.
Accomplishment:
Key references:
- Cione, J.J., and E. W. Uhlhorn 2003: Sea surface temperature
variability in hurricanes: Implications with respect to intensity
change. Mon. Wea. Rev., v.131, pp.1783-1796
- Wroe, D.R. and G.M. Barnes 2003: Inflow Layer Energetics of
Hurricane Bonnie (1998) near Landfall. Mon. Wea. Rev.
v.131 pp. 1600-1612
- Cione, J.J., P. J. Black and S. Houston 2000: Surface observations
in the hurricane environment. Mon. Wea. Rev, v.128 pp.1550-1561
- Dunion, J.P., and C.S. Velden, 2004: The impact of the Saharan Air
Layer on Atlantic tropical cyclone activity. Bull. Amer. Meteor.
Soc., v.85 no. 3, pp.353-365
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Last modified: 4/04/2005