3/14/2016

Overview

• Highlighting FAA needs in several key FAA Observing Needs Now and in the Future areas: Presented to the AMS Forum on Observing the Environment – MPAR from the Ground Up – Airborne Observations March 8, 2016 – NSOC – Numerical Modeling improvements – Quantification of Benefits for FAA operations

Federal Aviation Federal Aviation Administration Administration

MPAR MPAR

Improvements to Current Missions Emerging Needs Weather Wind Farm New User Air Surveillance Observation and Mitigation Entrants Prediction

• Mitigates equipage • Extends high quality • Broad-spectrum • Provides position of failures to cooperative / wx at small / medium clutter suppression non-cooperative dependent aircraft airports • Improved low altitude targets • Enhanced target • Icing risk identification target detection and • Offers support to acquisition and • identification tracking avoidance and well tracking clear policies and • Improved forecasts • Eliminate weather – Smaller RCS detection false-alarms on ATC applications – Improved clutter • Longer lead times for displays performance severe weather warnings

Federal Aviation Federal Aviation Administration Administration

Airborne Observations Programs Aircraft Meteorological Reports (AMDAR) [~1970s]/ Meteorological Data Collection and Reporting System (MDCRS) [~1990s] WOI Program Description 24-hour coverage (Winds, Temp, Pressure, Turbulence, Water Vapor) • WOI technically validates concepts to close high priority ground-based weather observation shortfalls. – WOI is currently addressing winter weather observing improvements

• Today’s automated observing systems report , and freezing rain but do not discriminate and report the occurrence of , , and freezing drizzle which significantly inhibits effective deicing and other winter weather operations.

• WOI has executed a concept maturity model that is partnered with industry and MDCRS – all flight levels MDCRS – 10,000 ft and below repeatable, thus designed to overcome short-comings of previous efforts that (large impact on aviation forecast models) attempted to fulfill this original ASOS requirement. Reporting Aircraft (July 2015) •AMDAR Worldwide: 4551 (13 countries) – The WOI effort will level-set the FAA sensor specifications for a Next-Generation Present Weather Sensor. •MDCRS USA: 3002 (included in AMDAR #) •Panasonic (TAMDAR): ~400 under contract • The current body of work concludes with the delivery of a technical transfer •Water Vapor: 123 USA, 6 Europe package comprised of sensor performance requirements and meteorological •Turbulence: algorithms for investment planning of ASOS integration. Global AMDAR EDR: (22 Aug-22 Sep) 312 UAL, SWA, DAL WSI (TAPS): >300 AA TAMDAR: ~400 under contract

Federal Aviation Federal Aviation Administration 5 Administration

1 3/14/2016

2015/16 Winter Demonstration Numerical Modeling

• Much of this forum will Direct tasking from AWRP to NOAA highlight the need for ESRL in 2015: improved data assimilation • Develop cloud/hydrometeor in numerical models assimilation from dual-polarization Pittsburgh Grand Forks Logan NCAR 2 St Johns • NWS WFO • Capture very cold • Service Level A • Collocated with • Environment ranging from nested grids radar for RAP and HRRR. • High incidence precip events NCAR 1 for Canada of PL consistency testing • High incidence to global coverage • Test and evaluate direct radial of freezing • FAA’s Aviation Weather velocity and reflectivity data Precip assimilation for RAP and HRRR. Research Program (AWRP) • Assimilation of GOES-based continues to support NOAA cloud-top cooling data in RAP and efforts, especially on HRRR. updates to RAP and HRRR, • Assimilation of data as well as ensembles for directly within the HRRR to augment radar data. ACY Marshall Field Joint Base Cape Cod aviation use. FAA Technical Center NCAR test facility Volpe test facility

Federal Aviation Federal Aviation Administration Administration

Quantification of Benefits

• In today’s challenging budget environment FAA (and other Federal Agencies) pushing hard to quantify the benefits of Thank you! acquisitions/enhancements: – Quantify cost savings – Document safety improvements • Some tough questions: – How does more observations directly tie to improving National Airspace (NAS) efficiency? Steve Abelman – Can NAS decision-making be enhanced by higher resolution models? [email protected] – How does information get to the cockpit for more tactical decisions?

Federal Aviation Federal Aviation Administration Administration

2