Lecture Notes on Marine Meteorology

Lecture notes on Marine Meteorology By Shri S. P. Joshi Assistant. Meteorologist Office of DDGM (WF) India Meteorological Department Pune-5 Preface The aim of these lecture notes is to provide training to the marine observers in handling and maintenance of meteorological instruments and collect meteorological observations in the form of logbooks. The chapters included in these lecture notes are from the Basic and Intermediate training courses of the department. The present lecture notes are merely a collection of information available on Internet and are compiled from various WMO sites, freely available, keeping in view the up-and-coming trends and new technological advancements. This collection is for private circulation for trainees of Basic and Intermediate training courses of the department and the author do not intend to violate copyrights of anybody what so ever. Port Meteorological Officers in the immediate future have to deal with the modernization of the marine equipments and automation of Marine Data collection, its transmission and archival by observing minimum quality control through the in-built software like TURBOWIN. These lecture notes will also be useful to Port Meteorological Officers in understanding the nature of work of PMOs and will provide them the useful guidelines. A separate chapter on installation of Turbowin is also included in these notes. S. P. Joshi. 9th April 2005. Gudhi Padva Table of contents Chapter no Contents Page no. 1 WMO Voluntary Observing Ships’ Scheme 1 2 Meteorological Instrumentation on board ships 8 3 Port Meteorological Office ( PMO ) 15 4 The Ship Weather Code 19 5 Broadcast of weather bulletins for Merchant shipping 24 6 Broadcast of weather bulletins for Indian navy 28 7 Warnings to Ports and Storm Warning Signals 30 8 Broadcast of weather warnings for fishermen through 34 All India Radio. 9 Marine Pollution Emergency Response Support System 36 (M.P.E.R.S.S.) 10 Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) 37 11 Inmarsat Satellites 41 12 National Data Buoy Programme 47 13 The Turbowwin 3.03 software 50 1 WMO Voluntary Observing Ships’ Scheme The international scheme by which ships plying the various oceans and seas of the world are recruited for taking and transmitting meteorological observations is called the "WMO Voluntary Observing Ships’ Scheme". The forerunner of the scheme dates back as far as 1853. The delegates of 10 maritime countries came together, to discuss the establishment of a uniform system for the collection of meteorological and oceanographic data from the oceans and the use of these data for the benefit of shipping in return. In the twentieth century, the system was recognized in the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. The convention is "the Contracting Governments undertake to encourage the collection of meteorological data by ships at sea and to arrange for their examination, dissemination and exchange in the manner most suitable for the purpose of aiding navigation". Voluntary observing ships make a highly important contribution to the Global Observing System of the World Weather Watch. Although new technological means, such as satellites and automated buoys, are used to gather data from the oceans, the voluntary observing ships continue to be the main source of oceanic meteorological information. From the beginning shipping has assisted in the scientific exploration of the oceans and also in the development of suitable measuring techniques for use by ship borne observers. Nowadays, the cooperation of voluntary observing ships is sought in each of the large-scale scientific experiments conducted by special research vessels to furnish the additional data needed for complete analysis of environmental conditions. In addition, the participation of these ships is regularly requested in technical studies and investigations concerning observing methods, such as the measurement of sea-surface temperature, precipitation, wind, etc. Lecture notes on Marine Meteorology by S P Joshi Assistant Meteorologist-- Page No 1 Types of surface synoptic sea stations Meteorological observing stations include surface synoptic sea stations of different types. There are three types of mobile ship stations engaged in the WMO Voluntary Observing Ships’ Scheme, namely: (a) Selected ship stations; (b) Supplementary ship stations; (c) Auxiliary ship stations. Selected ships A selected ship station is a mobile ship station, which is equipped with sufficient certified meteorological instruments for making observations, transmits regular weather reports and enters the observations in meteorological logbooks. A selected ship should have at least a barometer (mercury or aneroid), a thermometer to measure sea-surface temperature (either by the bucket method or by other means), a psychrometer (for air temperature and humidity), a barograph, and possibly, an anemometer. Selected ships constitute the large majority of voluntary observing ships. Supplementary ships A supplementary ship station is a mobile ship station equipped with a limited number of certified meteorological instruments for making observations transmits regular weather reports and enters the observations in meteorological logbooks. Auxiliary ships Beyond the shipping lanes normally used by selected or supplementary ships very few observations are available. Ships in these data-sparse areas, although not equipped with certified instruments, may be asked to make and transmit weather Lecture notes on Marine Meteorology by S P Joshi Assistant Meteorologist-- Page No 2 reports. They are classified as ‘auxiliary ships’. An auxiliary ship station is a mobile ship station, normally without certified meteorological instruments, which transmits reports in a reduced code form or in plain language, either as a routine or on request, in certain areas or under certain conditions. RECRUITMENT OF VOLUNTARY OBSERVING SHIPS Requirement to recruit ships According to the Manual on the Global Observing System, each Member shall arrange for the recruitment of ships that are on the national register of that Member as mobile sea stations. In fulfilling this obligation, each Member contributes to the common objective of obtaining sufficient coverage of meteorological observations over the sea. While a uniform coverage of the oceans is desirable, this is difficult to achieve in view of the large differences in the density of shipping traffic. This traffic is comparatively dense in the Northern Hemisphere, but this is not the case in the tropics or in the Southern Hemisphere. Consequently, greater attention should be given to the recruitment of voluntary observing ships in these areas. Meteorological Services in many countries are required to provide more detailed information of the weather and sea conditions in coastal areas. Some Services have successfully recruited ships of local companies to make and transmit observations during their voyage from harbour to harbour along the coast. Such ships may be recruited as supplementary or as auxiliary ships. Their observations have everywhere been found to be of great value. Criteria for recruitment Several criteria can be used in deciding whether a particular ship should be recruited as a selected, supplementary or auxiliary ship, to satisfy both national and international needs. Questions that should be examined are whether all the necessary instruments can be installed, whether the ship's officers will have the time available for Lecture notes on Marine Meteorology by S P Joshi Assistant Meteorologist-- Page No 3 recording and transmitting the observations and whether the necessary regular contact can be established for the receipt of meteorological logbooks. Generally ship owners and masters are very cooperative in these matters; however, it is advisable that these questions be thoroughly discussed at the recruiting stage. Countries may recruit ships of foreign registry, which visit the ports of the recruiting country sufficiently often to permit regular contact. This recruitment is sometimes done by arrangement between the Meteorological Services of two countries concerned. In order to avoid the entry of duplicate data into the international archiving system, meteorological logbooks from ships of foreign registry should be procured and stored through appropriate arrangements with the Meteorological Service of the country of registry. When a ship of foreign registry is recruited, the Member in whose country the ship is registered should be notified. For the recruitment of an auxiliary ship, no prior arrangements are required with the Meteorological Service of the country of registry. Members should establish a suitable organizational unit for the recruitment of voluntary observing ships. This unit should contact shipping agencies to enlist their cooperation, arrange for the provision of instruments, instructive material and other necessary documents to ships, arrange for the collection and examination of the ships’ meteorological logbooks, arrange for visits to ships, and to look after the various financial questions involved. Port meteorological officers can play a large role in the recruitment of ships. Programme for surface observations on board ships Synoptic observations should be made at the main standard times: 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC. When additional observations are required, they should be made at one or more of the intermediate standard times: 0300, 0900, 1500 and 2100 UTC. While taking observations, atmospheric pressure should be read at the exact standard time,

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