scholarly journals Meteorology as Citizen Science

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eirik Samuelsen ◽  
Per Pippin Aspaas
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Large Network ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Project Smart ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Meteorological Models ◽  
Meteorological Institute ◽  
Weather Service

Eirik Samuelsen, senior meteorologist at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (Met) and UiT The Arctic University of Norway, discusses the importance of citizen science to current meteorology in Norway. Amateurs contribute to the improvement of weather forecasts in various ways, from anecdotic but valuable feedback on errors in the forecast to a large network of private weather stations providing precious data for the free-to-use weather service www.yr.no. Besides yr.no as such, which is maintained by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), there is mention of Eiriks værblogg (Eirik's weather blog) on Facebook, the network of Netatmo Weather Stations, the open database of meteorological models and weather data thredds.met.no, and the project Smart Senja. First published online September 23, 2020.

scholarly journals Evaluation of NASA POWER Reanalysis Products to Estimate Daily Weather Variables in a Hot Summer Mediterranean Climate

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1207
Author(s):  
Gonçalo C. Rodrigues ◽  
Ricardo P. Braga
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Bias Correction ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Mediterranean Climate ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Mean Bias Error ◽  
Bias Error ◽  
Weather Variables ◽  
Weather Stations

This study aims to evaluate NASA POWER reanalysis products for daily surface maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperatures, solar radiation (Rs), relative humidity (RH) and wind speed (Ws) when compared with observed data from 14 distributed weather stations across Alentejo Region, Southern Portugal, with a hot summer Mediterranean climate. Results showed that there is good agreement between NASA POWER reanalysis and observed data for all parameters, except for wind speed, with coefficient of determination (R2) higher than 0.82, with normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) varying, from 8 to 20%, and a normalized mean bias error (NMBE) ranging from –9 to 26%, for those variables. Based on these results, and in order to improve the accuracy of the NASA POWER dataset, two bias corrections were performed to all weather variables: one for the Alentejo Region as a whole; another, for each location individually. Results improved significantly, especially when a local bias correction is performed, with Tmax and Tmin presenting an improvement of the mean NRMSE of 6.6 °C (from 8.0 °C) and 16.1 °C (from 20.5 °C), respectively, while a mean NMBE decreased from 10.65 to 0.2%. Rs results also show a very high goodness of fit with a mean NRMSE of 11.2% and mean NMBE equal to 0.1%. Additionally, bias corrected RH data performed acceptably with an NRMSE lower than 12.1% and an NMBE below 2.1%. However, even when a bias correction is performed, Ws lacks the performance showed by the remaining weather variables, with an NRMSE never lower than 19.6%. Results show that NASA POWER can be useful for the generation of weather data sets where ground weather stations data is of missing or unavailable.

scholarly journals Advanced Flight Planning and the Benefit of In-Flight Aircraft Trajectory Optimization

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1383
Author(s):  
Judith Rosenow ◽  
Martin Lindner ◽  
Joachim Scheiderer
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Trajectory Optimization ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Aircraft Trajectory

The implementation of Trajectory-Based Operations, invented by the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research program SESAR, enables airlines to fly along optimized waypoint-less trajectories and accordingly to significantly increase the sustainability of the air transport system in a business with increasing environmental awareness. However, unsteady weather conditions and uncertain weather forecasts might induce the necessity to re-optimize the trajectory during the flight. By considering a re-optimization of the trajectory during the flight they further support air traffic control towards achieving precise air traffic flow management and, in consequence, an increase in airspace and airport capacity. However, the re-optimization leads to an increase in the operator and controller’s task loads which must be balanced with the benefit of the re-optimization. From this follows that operators need a decision support under which circumstances and how often a trajectory re-optimization should be carried out. Local numerical weather service providers issue hourly weather forecasts for the coming hour. Such weather data sets covering three months were used to re-optimize a daily A320 flight from Seattle to New York every hour and to calculate the effects of this re-optimization on fuel consumption and deviation from the filed path. Therefore, a simulation-based trajectory optimization tool was used. Fuel savings between 0.5% and 7% per flight were achieved despite minor differences in wind speed between two consecutive weather forecasts in the order of 0.5 m s−1. The calculated lateral deviations from the filed path within 1 nautical mile were always very small. Thus, the method could be easily implemented in current flight operations. The developed performance indicators could help operators to evaluate the re-optimization and to initiate its activation as a new flight plan accordingly.

Logistic problems in the Canadian Arctic

Polar Record ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 10 (67) ◽  
pp. 365-371
Author(s):  
T. A. Harwood
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Weather Bureau ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Resolute Bay ◽  
States Weather

In 1946 the United States Weather Bureau and the Canadian Meteorological Service installed the first of the Joint Arctic Weather Stations at Resolute Bay. The network of satellite stations was extended into the Arctic archipelago in the following years on roughly a 275-mile spacing to Mould Bay, Isachsen, Eureka and Alert.

Assessment of Temperature and Specific Humidity Inversions and Their Relationships in Three Global Reanalysis Products over the Arctic Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 493-511
Author(s):  
Liang Chang ◽  
Shiqiang Wen ◽  
Guoping Gao ◽  
Zhen Han ◽  
Guiping Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Temperature Inversions ◽  
Global Reanalysis ◽  
Less Common Multiple ◽  
Better Than

AbstractCharacteristics of temperature inversions (TIs) and specific humidity inversions (SHIs) and their relationships in three of the latest global reanalyses—the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim Reanalysis (ERA-I), the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis (JRA-55), and the ERA5—are assessed against in situ radiosonde (RS) measurements from two expeditions over the Arctic Ocean. All reanalyses tend to detect many fewer TI and SHI occurrences, together with much less common multiple TIs and SHIs per profile than are seen in the RS data in summer 2008, winter 2015, and spring 2015. The reanalyses generally depict well the relationships among TI characteristics seen in RS data, except for the TIs below 400 m in summer, as well as above 1000 m in summer and winter. The depth is simulated worst by the reanalyses among the SHI characteristics, which may result from its sensitivity to the uncertainties in specific humidity in the reanalyses. The strongest TI per profile in RS data exhibits more robust dependency on surface conditions than the strongest SHI per profile, and the former is better presented by the reanalyses than the latter. Furthermore, all reanalyses have difficulties simulating the relationships between TIs and SHIs, together with the correlations between the simultaneous inversions. The accuracy and vertical resolution in the reanalyses are both important to properly capture occurrence and characteristics of the Arctic inversions. In general, ERA5 performs better than ERA-I and JRA-55 in depicting the relationships among the TIs. However, the representation of SHIs is more challenging than TIs in all reanalyses over the Arctic Ocean.

Monitoring Svalbard’s environment and cultural heritage through citizen science by expedition cruises

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Poulsen
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Science Program ◽  
Cruise Ship ◽  
Cruise Ships

<p><strong>Monitoring Svalbard’s environment and cultural heritage through citizen science by expedition cruises</strong></p><p>Michael K. Poulsen1, Lisbeth Iversen2, Ted Cheeseman3, Børge Damsgård4, Verena Meraldi5, Naja Elisabeth Mikkelsen6, Zdenka Sokolíčková7, Kai Sørensen8, Agnieszka Tatarek9, Penelope Wagner10, Stein Sandven2, and Finn Danielsen1</p><p>1NORDECO, 2NERSC, 3PCSC, 4UNIS, 5Hurtigruten, 6GEUS, 7University of Oslo, 8NIVA, 9IOPAN, 10MET Norway</p><p><strong>Why expedition cruise monitoring is important for Svalbard. </strong>The Arctic environment  is changing fast, largely due to increasing temperatures and human activities. The continuous areas of wilderness and the cultural heritage sites in Svalbard need to be managed based on a solid understanding.</p><p>The natural environment of Svalbard is rich compared to other polar regions. Historical remains are plentiful. The Svalbard Environmental Protection Act aims at regulating hunting, fishing, industrial activities, mining, commerce and tourism. Expedition cruises regularly reach otherwise rarely visited places.</p><p><strong>Steps taken to improve environmental monitoring. </strong>A workshop for enhancing the environmental monitoring efforts of expedition cruise ships was held in Longyearbyen in 2019, facilitated by the INTAROS project and the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators  (https://intaros.nersc.no/content/cruise-expedition-monitoring-workshop) with representatives of cruise operators, citizen science programs, local government and scientists. They agreed on a pilot assessment of monitoring programs during 2019.</p><p><strong>Results show the importance of cruise ship observations. </strong>The provisional findings of the pilot assessment suggest thatexpedition cruises go almost everywhere around Svalbard and gather significant and relevant data on the environment, contributing for example to an improved understanding of thestatus and distribution of wildlife. Observations are often documented with photographs. More than 150 persons contributed observations during 2019 to eBird and Happywhale. iNaturalist, not part of the pilot assessment, also received many contributions. The pilot assessment was unable to establish a useful citizen science program for testing monitoring of cultural remains.</p><p><strong>Conclusions relevant for monitoring and environmental management. </strong>Cruise ships collect environmental data that are valuable for the scientific community and for public decision-makers. The Governor of Svalbard isresponsible for environmental management in Svalbard. Data on the environment and on cultural remains from expedition cruises can be useful for the Governor’s office. Improved communication between citizen science programs and those responsible for environmental management decisions is likely to increase the quantity of relevant information that reaches public decision makers.</p><p><strong>Recommendations for improving the use of cruise ship observations and monitoring.</strong></p><ul><li>1) All cruise expedition ships should be equipped with tablets containing the apps for the same small selection of citizen scienceprograms so that they can easily upload records.</li> <li>2) Evaluation of data that can be created and how such data can contribute to monitoring programs, to ensure that data is made readily available in a form that is useful for institutions responsible for planning and improving environmental management.</li> <li>3) Clear lines of communication between citizen science program participants, citizen science program organizers, the scientific community and decision makers should be further developed.</li> <li>4) Developing expedition cruise monitoring is of high priority in Svalbard, but is also highly relevant to other polar regions.</li> <li>5) Further work is necessary to fully understand the feasibility and potential of coordinated expedition cruise operator based environmental observing in the Arctic.</li> </ul>

An Open-Sourced Web Application for Aerial Applicators to Avoid Spray Drift Caused by Temperature Inversion

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-84
Author(s):  
Yanbo Huang ◽  
D. K. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Web Application ◽  
Mississippi Delta ◽  
Temperature Inversion ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
List Type ◽  
Spray Drift ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Open Source Hardware

HighlightsA web application for guiding data calculated from distributed weather data through open-source cloud service.A design scheme of portable weather stations built from inexpensive open-source electronics.Integration of open-source hardware and software for online guiding data to avoid drift caused by temperature inversion.Abstract. It is important for agricultural chemical applicators to follow proper spray procedures to prevent susceptible crops, animals, people, or other living organisms from being injured far downwind. Spraying during stable atmospheric conditions should be avoided to prevent surface-temperature inversion-induced off-target drift of crop protection materials. Previous statistical analysis determined times of high likelihood of stable atmospheric conditions, which are unfavorable for spraying, during the day under clear and cloudy conditions in hot summer months in the Mississippi Delta. Results validated the thresholds of temperature increase in the morning and temperature drop in the afternoon with wind speeds and the transition between stable and unstable atmospheric conditions. With this information, an algorithm was developed to calculate if atmospheric conditions were favorable for spraying based on field temperature and wind speed at any instant. With this algorithm, a web application was built to provide real-time determination of atmospheric stability and hourly online recommendation of whether aerial applications were appropriate for a location and time in the Mississippi Delta. This study further developed another web application specifically for Stoneville, Mississippi, with data measured from weather stations constructed from inexpensive open-source electronics, accessories, and software for more accurate online guidance for site-specific drift management. The web application is adapted for accessing on mobile terminals, such as smartphones and tablets, and provides timely guidance for aerial applicators and producers to avoid spray drift and air quality issues long distances downwind in the area. Keywords: Open-source hardware, Open-source software, Spray drift, Temperature inversion, Web application.

scholarly journals Dutch Offshore Wind Atlas Validation against Cabauw Meteomast Wind Measurements

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 6558
Author(s):  
Steven Knoop ◽  
Pooja Ramakrishnan ◽  
Ine Wijnant
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Weather Model ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Wind Measurements ◽  
Sea Wind ◽  
Global Datasets ◽  
Meteorological Institute

The Dutch Offshore Wind Atlas (DOWA) is validated against wind speed and direction measurements from the Cabauw meteorological mast for a 10-year period and at heights between 10 m and 200 m. The validation results are compared to the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) North Sea Wind (KNW) atlas. It is found that the average difference (bias) between DOWA wind speeds and those measured at Cabauw varies for the different heights between −0.1 m/s to 0.3 m/s. Significant differences between DOWA and KNW are only found at altitudes of 10 m and 20 m, where KNW performs better. For heights above 20 m, there is no significant difference between DOWA and KNW with respect to the 10-year averaged wind speed bias. The diurnal cycle is better captured by DOWA compared to KNW, and the hourly correlation is slightly improved. In addition, a comparison with the global European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA-Interim and ERA5 reanalyses (used for KNW and DOWA, respectively) is made, highlighting the added skill provided by downscaling those global datasets with the weather model HARMONIE.

scholarly journals In-Flight Aircraft Trajectory Optimization within Corridors Defined by Ensemble Weather Forecasts

Aerospace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Lindner ◽  
Judith Rosenow ◽  
Thomas Zeh ◽  
Hartmut Fricke
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Control ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Trajectory Optimization ◽  
Air Traffic ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Parameter Uncertainties ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Fuel Savings ◽  
Flight Plan ◽  
Aircraft Trajectory

Today, each flight is filed as a static route not later than one hour before departure. From there on, changes of the lateral route initiated by the pilot are only possible with air traffic control clearance and in the minority. Thus, the initially optimized trajectory of the flight plan is flown, although the optimization may already be based upon outdated weather data at take-off. Global weather data as those modeled by the Global Forecast System do, however, contain hints on forecast uncertainties itself, which is quantified by considering so-called ensemble forecast data. In this study, the variability in these weather parameter uncertainties is analyzed, before the trajectory optimization model TOMATO is applied to single trajectories considering the previously quantified uncertainties. TOMATO generates, based on the set of input data as provided by the ensembles, a 3D corridor encasing all resulting optimized trajectories. Assuming that this corridor is filed in addition to the initial flight plan, the optimum trajectory can be updated even during flight, as soon as updated weather forecasts are available. In return and as a compromise, flights would have to stay within the corridor to provide planning stability for Air Traffic Management compared to full free in-flight optimization. Although the corridor restricts the re-optimized trajectory, fuel savings of up to 1.1%, compared to the initially filed flight, could be shown.

scholarly journals Investigation into the Effects of Climate Change on Reference Evapotranspiration Using the HadCM3 and LARS-WG

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Bayatvarkeshi ◽  
Binqiao Zhang ◽  
Rojin Fasihi ◽  
Rana Muhammad Adnan ◽  
Ozgur Kisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Reference Evapotranspiration ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Base Period ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Weather Information ◽  
Daily Weather Data ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
A1b Scenario

This study evaluates the effect of climate change on reference evapotranspiration (ET0), which is one of the most important variables in water resources management and irrigation scheduling. For this purpose, daily weather data of 30 Iranian weather stations from 1981 and 2010 were used. The HadCM3 statistical model was applied to report the output subscale of LARS-WG and to predict the weather information by A1B, A2, and B1 scenarios in three periods: 2011–2045, 2046–2079, and 2080–2113. The ET0 values were estimated by the Ref-ET software. The results indicated that the ET0 will rise from 2011 to 2113 approximately in all stations under three scenarios. The ET0 changes percentages in the A1B scenario during three periods from 2011 to 2113 were found to be 0.98%, 5.18%, and 12.17% compared to base period, respectively, while for the B1 scenario, they were calculated as 0.67%, 4.07%, and 6.61% and for the A2 scenario, they were observed as 0.59%, 5.35%, and 9.38%, respectively. Thus, the highest increase of the ET0 will happen from 2080 to 2113 under the A1B scenario; however, the lowest will occur between 2046 and 2079 under the B1 scenario. Furthermore, the assessment of uncertainty in the ET0 calculated by the different scenarios showed that the ET0 predicted under the A2 scenario was more reliable than the others. The spatial distribution of the ET0 showed that the highest ET0 amount in all scenarios belonged to the southeast and the west of the studied area. The most noticeable point of the results was that the ET0 differs from one scenario to another and from a period to another.

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