9.1 TROPOSPHERIC AIRBORNE METEOROLOGICAL DATA REPORTING (TAMDAR) OVERVIEW Taumi S. Daniels* NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia William R. Moninger NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado Richard D. Mamrosh NOAA National Weather Service, Green Bay, Wisconsin 1. INTRODUCTION These aircraft make over 400 flights daily to 75 airports, providing more than 800 soundings for This paper is an overview of the a total of over 22,000 daily observations of wind Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data and temperature. This number can be compared Reporting (TAMDAR) project, giving some history with the approximately 100,000 observations of on the project, various applications of the only wind and temperature over the entire atmospheric data, and future ideas and plans. As contiguous U. S. from aircraft that currently part of NASA's Aviation Safety and Security provide Meteorological Data Collection and Program, the TAMDAR project developed a small Reporting System (MDCRS) data. While originally low-cost sensor that collects useful meteorological funded by NASA for six months, more funding data and makes them available in near real time to from the FAA was provided to perform an improve weather forecasts. additional six months of the GLFE. This activity has been a joint effort with FAA, The automated collection, processing, and NOAA, universities, and industry. A tri-agency dissemination of meteorological data from aircraft team collaborated by developing a concept of are referred to as MDCRS in the U.S. and as operations, determining the sensor specifications, Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) and evaluating sensor performance as reported by throughout the rest of the world. The role of Moosakhanian et. al. (2006). Under contract with TAMDAR within this wider scheme is described by Georgia Tech Research Institute, NASA worked Moninger et. al. (2006a). with AirDat of Raleigh, NC to develop the sensor. The sensor is capable of measuring temperature, 2. TAMDAR TEAM relative humidity, pressure, and icing. It can compute pressure altitude, indicated and true air The guiding principle of the GLFE is to make speed, ice accretion rate, wind speed and the data freely available to researchers for direction, peak and average turbulence, and eddy evaluation purposes. As a result, a large team of dissipation rate. The overall development process, atmospheric modelers and forecasters has sensor capabilities, and performance based on banded together to characterize the sensor ground and flight tests is reported by Daniels performance through application to their particular (2002), Daniels et. al. (2004) and by Tsoucalas et. research. This paper provides an overview of the al. (2006). known research activities at specific organizations An in-service evaluation of the sensor was and is presented in alphabetical order. performed called the Great Lakes Fleet Experiment (GLFE), first reported by Moninger et. 2.1 AirDat al. (2004) and Mamrosh et. al. (2005). In this experiment, a Mesaba Airlines fleet was equipped The TAMDAR sensor was developed with to collect meteorological data over the Great input from NOAA Earth System Research Lakes region during normal revenue-producing Laboratory (ESRL), the FAA, and the WMO to flights. achieve both improved mesoscale modeling and aviation safety. As part of the development, numerous ground and flight tests were conducted. * Corresponding author address: Taumi Daniels, Sensor performance on various aircraft is provided [email protected], phone: 757-864-4659, by Mulally (2006). For the GLFE, AirDat equipped fax: 757-864-7891, Mail: NASA MS-473, 8 North 63 Mesaba Airlines Saab 340 aircraft with the Dryden, Hampton, VA 23681 USA TAMDAR sensor, interface circuitry, and Iridium satellite modem. AirDat has built a network operations center to receive and process the atmospheric observations, to format and relay the Researchers have been receiving and monitoring data to end users, and to provide ongoing lifecycle the GLFE data for quality and eventual ingest to management of the TAMDAR network including their global and regional numerical weather sensor quality monitoring. A description of the data prediction models. This research is detailed by quality system that AirDat uses to process the Zaitseva et. al. (2006). data is provided by Anderson (2006). The overall system for collecting, processing, and 2.4 Cooperative Institute for Meteorological disseminating weather observations is described Satellite Studies on the company website http://www.airdat.com/. The company also has a mesoscale modeling As part of the GLFE, a team of researchers capability in use at their network operations from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological center. This mesoscale model uses real-time four- Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin dimensional data assimilation to compare parallel collected ground truth data at Memphis 12-hour simulations. Data denial data sets are International Airport. During these deployments, generated for case studies of interest. This work is they collected much needed ground truth or detailed in Jacobs (2006). reference data. The team made extra radiosonde Deployment of TAMDAR sensors on other launches from their mobile sounding facility. Two commercial aircraft is under negotiation. AirDat 2-week deployments were completed by the team plans to equip a minimum of 600 aircraft with in March and June 2005 as described by Feltz et. TAMDAR sensors to provide adequate coverage al. (2006). The data is available online at the of the continental U.S. for model ingest. The focus website: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tamdar/. is on regional aircraft flying at lower altitudes and The team also collected temperature and providing ascent/descent profiles into several moisture profiles using an automated ground- hundred airports, though some larger commercial based passive infrared interferometer. This jets may also be equipped. instrument is described in Feltz et. al. (1998). Using these profiles along with the rawinsonde 2.2 Aviation Weather Center data, the team performed an analysis of parameter errors. These experiments were conducted to At the Aviation Weather Center, forecasters assess the accuracy of the TAMDAR instruments issue warnings of hazardous conditions within the by comparing the temperature, moisture, and wind domestic and international airspace, operational profiles to collocated radiosonde data. This work is aviation forecasts, and analyses of relevant described by Bedka et. al. (2006). atmospheric variables. The AWC prepares all The team fielded a similar campaign as part of NWS domestic and international aviation products, the Water Vapor Sensing System II (WVSSII) except for terminal forecasts and transcribed evaluation at Louisville, KY in June 2005. A weather broadcasts, which are produced by the comparison between TAMDAR, WVSSII, and the Weather Forecast Offices. In-situ observations reference data is presented in Peterson (2006). from aircraft are used indirectly through forecast model output. Recently, AWC forecasters have 2.5 Earth System Research Laboratory / Global started an evaluation of TAMDAR data. In Systems Division particular, the data is being evaluated for use in helping AWC forecasters properly assess the NOAA ESRL Global Systems Division (GSD) Great Lakes region environment, resolve (formerly Forecast Systems Laboratory) is playing differences in model output, and improve a central role in the distribution and evaluation of convection forecasts. This research will analyze TAMDAR data. GSD's efforts are described by particularly interesting case studies of significant Moninger et. al. (2006b) and include the following. weather and is reported by Fischer et. al. (2006). - Ingesting TAMDAR data from AirDat, LLC, performing additional quality control checks, and 2.3 Canadian Meteorological Center distributing the data to authorized users via our MADIS program. This work is described in Miller As part of a larger Canadian AMDAR project, et. al. (2006). 15 TAMDAR sensors are planned to be installed - Providing documentation and consultation to on First Air Airlines DHC-8 aircraft. This research NWS offices that have chosen to ingest TAMDAR has similar goals as the GLFE, in collecting real- data into their AWIPS workstations. time aircraft observations for improving weather forecasts and is described in Fournier (2006). - Making the TAMDAR data available to 2.6 National Aeronautics and Space authorized users on FSL's aircraft display at Administration http://amdar.noaa.gov/ - Ingesting and displaying radiosonde A long-standing need to automate pilot reports soundings gathered by the University of Wisconsin was the original impetus for the TAMDAR project. CIMSS group for comparison with TAMDAR (and While NASA’s initial role was development of the other aircraft) soundings. sensor, this role has changed to project - Evaluating the TAMDAR data on a case- management. Over the past year, NASA has study basis, such as by comparing TAMDAR taken the lead in organizing the research, soundings with nearby radiosondes and wind providing funding, setting goals, and measuring profilers. progress. The project culminates with the GLFE, - Hosting a NWS survey for operational after which, NASA’s role will be limited. weather forecasters on their use of TAMDAR data NASA provided the genesis for the (http://amdar.noaa.gov/TAMDAR/survey/). development of TAMDAR and has been an active - Working with scientists at National Center for tester, integrator