41621Y_Vaisala156 6.4.2001 10:05 Sivu 1 156/2001156/2001 Extensive AWOS System: Singapore Changi Airport 2000 NWS Isaac Cline Meteorology Award: Dropsonde for Weather Reconnaissance Short-Term Weather Predictions in Urban Zones: Urban Forecast Issues and Challenges The 81st AMS Annual Meeting: Precipitation Extremes and Climate Variability 41621Y_Vaisala156 6.4.2001 10:05 Sivu 2 Contents President’s Column 3 Vaisala’s high-quality customer Upper Air Obsevations support aims to offer complete solutions for customers’ AUTOSONDE Service and Maintenance measurement needs. Vaisala Contract for Germany 4 and DWD (the German Dropsonde for Weather Reconnaissance in the USA 6 Meteorological Institute) have signed an AUTOSONDE Service Ballistic Meteo System for the Dutch Army 10 and Maintenance Contract. The service benefits are short GPS Radiosonde Trial at Camborne, UK 12 turnaround times, high data Challenge of Space at CNES 14 availability and extensive service options. Surface Weather Observations World Natural Heritage Site in Japan 16 The First MAWS Shipped to France for CNES 18 Finland’s oldest and most Aviation Weather experienced helicopter operator Copterline Oy started scheduled The Extesive AWOS System to route traffic between Helsinki Singapore Changi Airport 18 and Tallinn in May 2000. Accurate weather data for safe The New Athens International Airport 23 journeys and landings is Fast Helicopter Transportation Linking Two Capitals 24 provided by a Vaisala Aviation Weather Reporter AW11 system, European Gliding Champs 26 serving at both ends of the route. Winter Maintenance on Roads Sound Basis for Road Condition Monitoring in Italy 28 Fog Monitoring Along the River Seine 30 The French Air and Space Academy has awarded its year Additional Features 2000 “Grand Prix” to the SAFIR system development teams of Urban Forecast Issues and Challenges 30 Vaisala and ONERA (the The 81st AMS Annual Meeting: French National Aerospace Precipitation Extremes and Climate Variability 38 Research Agency). This award acknowledges exceptional Eleven US Scientists Win the technological achievements 15th Professor Vaisala Award 39 benefiting the aviation and space community. For a The Frech Air and Space Academy decade, the SAFIR system has Awards the Grand Prix to the SAFIR System Team 40 served the French aerospace centers and numerous China Hosts 2000 WMO Meetings 42 international users in the Vaisala Supports Finnish Technical Unversities 44 aviation and meteorological fields. Total Network Solution Using GOES Direct Readout Ground Station in Vicksburg Missisippi 47 Vaisala in Brief – We develop, manufacture – We focus on market seg- Editor-in-Chief: Editors: and market products and ments where we can be Marit Finne Bellcrest Language services for environmental world leaders, the pre- Publisher: Services Oy and industrial measure- ferred supplier. We pay Vaisala Oyj Printed in Finland by ments. high attention on customer P.O. Box 26 Sävypaino, Finland satisfaction. Our main FIN-00421 Helsinki – Purpose of those meas- value discipline is Product FINLAND urements is to provide Leadership. Competitive Phone (int.): basis for better quality of advantage is enhanced by +358 9 894 91 life, cost savings, protection economies of scale and of environment, improved scope. Telefax: safety and performance. +358 9 8949 2227 Internet: www.vaisala.com Design and Artwork: 2 156/2001 Non-Stop Studiot Oy ISSN 1238-2388 41621Y_Vaisala156 6.4.2001 10:05 Sivu 3 I President’s Column I When Market Demand and Technological Push Coincide e humans have an in- Changi Airport installation. time, but only for a very short built instinct to im- The highly-perceptive customer time span. This need has long W prove our living con- helped us to create new useful been latent. The next question ditions. It includes features for our product and real- is: how will this service be orga- understanding and exploiting ly forced us to develop our pro- nized? Will it be the responsibi- nature, adapting to extreme na- cedures for delivery projects. lity of society, or the private sec- tural phenomena and protecting We believe that our other cus- tor, or a combination of both? ourselves from natural disasters. tomers will also benefit from The major achievements of Significant progress occurs when this in the future. our sector have been considered market demand and technologi- Comparisons between differ- in granting the 15th Professor cal push coincide in a positive ent manufacturers’ observation Vilho Vaisala Award, which way. Sometimes the customer devices have been carried out went to eleven researchers this and his needs are the driving for a long time in meteorology. year. James L. Franklin was force for development, and We have eagerly participated in awarded the year 2000 NWS sometimes it is the technology them in order to learn. When Isaac Cline Meteorology Award developers themselves. the best specialists – users and for his hurricane study. Vaisala’s Meteorological researchers industry – together analyze the SAFIR team for thunderstorm and weather service profession- performance of observation de- forecasting won the “Grand als regularly meet each other in vices with objective methods, Prix” of the French Air and two major arenas: WMO’s then we not only know where Space Academy. TECO Conference and the things are going, but we also Meteorology is a great field. It AMS Annual Meeting. Both find new direction for future brings the scientific community, events provide an opportunity development. the users and industry together to share the latest achievements A recent challenge for re- in fruitful cooperation. We are of researchers, users and indus- searchers has been high preci- proud to be a part of it. I try — as if in mutual stimulation. sion weather forecasting, which A very concrete way of cross- has produced concepts such as ing the borders is to participate nowcasting, mesoscale forecast- in demanding system applica- ing and urban zone forecasting. tions. As a good example, I It involves extremely high accu- Pekka Ketonen could mention Singapore’s racy with respect to place and President and CEO 156/2001 3 41621Y_Vaisala156 6.4.2001 10:06 Sivu 4 Jarmo Franssila, M.Sc. (Eng.) Product Manager (AUTOSONDE) Upper Air Division Vaisala Helsinki Finland AUTOSONDE Service and Maintenance Contract for Germany Comprehensive aftersales service has always been one of aisala’s high-quality the key aspects of Vaisala’s operations. Vaisala and DWD customer support is an essential part of (the German Meteorological Institute) have signed an V the service concept, AUTOSONDE Service and Maintenance Contract. The which aims to offer complete so- service benefits are short turnaround times, high data lutions for customers’ measure- availability and extensive service options. ment needs. Vaisala’s new service concept is exceptionally well suit- ed to remote-controlled AU- TOSONDE systems installed at distant sites and operating in harsh weather conditions. Customer cooperation The first AUTOSONDE deli- vered to Germany was pur- chased by DWD (Deutscher Wetterdienst), the German Meteorological Institute, in 1997. It was field tested in two locations, Quickborn and Lindenberg, before arriving at its final site in Essen. The cus- tomer set quite demands on the quality of the soundings be- fore accepting the system for operational use. The RS80-30GA GPS ra- diosondes and 600-gram bal- loons with internal parachutes proved to be ideal for high alti- tude soundings combined with high data availability. Due to the good results achieved with the first unit, DWD decided to order two more units as part of their “MESSNETZ 2000” project. These additional AUTOSON- DEs were installed at Stuttgart in 1999 and in Halle in 2000. The AUTOSONDE system in Halle, Germany. 4 156/2001 41621Y_Vaisala156 6.4.2001 10:06 Sivu 5 The DWD representatives visiting Expertise for Vaisala (from left): Mr. Gerhard maintenance service März, Mr. Gerhard Limberger, Mr. Klaus-Jürgen Schreiber and AUTOSONDE is a technically Dr. Eckhard Lanzinger. advanced automation system consisting of many different subsystems – a sounding sys- tem, pneumatic system, data transmission, gas system, etc. It is a complex task to thoroughly understand the functions of these subsystems and their in- Remote service the DWD access server, for tion. As routine soundings are teraction. available maintenance purposes. Using performed on a regular and Customers can have difficul- this remote access the Vaisala continuous basis, it is impor- ty keeping the technical know- A remote control station is a Technical Support Team has tant to get help immediately it ledge of their service personnel standard part of each AU- been able to track down prob- is needed in order to keep at a sufficiently high level, in TOSONDE system. The re- lems and assist the customer in downtime to a minimum. This order to solve problems that mote station provides remote solving them. help can be in the form of in- seldom occur. Instead, they can control and monitoring fea- structions on the phone, re- release their personnel for tures, and receives both data Extensive service levels mote diagnostics or a spare other productive tasks and rely and messages from the AU- parts service. on the assistance of Vaisala’s TOSONDE sounding sta- The maintenance contract be- Level 2 covers all the services technical support. We have the tions. DWD has located all of tween DWD and Vaisala start- of level 1, plus the additions expertise to control the whole its remote stations in Munich ed at the beginning of this year. mentioned above. chain from the first screw up to in order to centralize the con- The contract includes all three The purpose of level 3 is to the latest data level. trol of their AUTOSONDEs. levels of maintenance, tailored ensure reliable functioning and In practice this means that the to customer requirements. high data quality. The annual Automated upper air functions of all three AU- Level 1 includes software up- maintenance procedure per- observations TOSONDE stations can be grades and a remote diagnostics formed by Vaisala has been controlled by one person in service.