Aviation Weather

A new Aviation Weather Decision Support System is now operational at the Dubai International Airport. The system combines radiometer, wind profiler, radar and satellite data in a WRF model to deliver automated fog, turbulence, wind shear and downburst alerts for air traffic control. The state-of-the-art system, developed by Weather Decision Technologies, is the most advanced aviation weather Nowcast and forecast system available today. The AWDSS is the system of choice for critical and timely weather information needed for safe and efficient modern airport operations.

Real-Time Radiometer Soundings

The German Weather Service has been observing temperature, humidity and liquid profiles with a Radiometrics TP/WVP-3000 since 1998. The DWD website compares radiometer soundings with these other methods:

NOAA Environmental Sciences Research Laboratory (ESRL) provides continuous forecast indices generated from microwave profiler data. This tool delivers the most accurate local short term weather forecasts available today for the following sites:

NSSTC -- National Space Science & Technology Center (NASA - U. Alabama) with its Mobile Integrated Profiling System (MIPS), delivers real-time radiometer, numerical weather model, satellite, ceilometer, wind radar and sodar soundings.

NASA -- Glenn Research Center (GRC) delivers radiometer, cloud radar and ceilometer data. The GRC Icing Remote Sensing program supports NCAR Aircraft Icing Research.

Clark County, Nevada -- Las Vegas Ozone Transport Study (SLOTS) delivers continuous radiometer and wind profiler data for state-of-the-art air quality management.

Chilbolton Observatory -- Rutherford Laboratory (U.K.) measures water vapor profiles, integrated water vapor and integrated liquid water to correct radio astronomy observations.

Beijing Meteorological Bureau -- delivers temperature, humidity and liquid profiles from a radiometer network for state-of-the-art short term weather forecasting and weather modification for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Radiometrics delivers real-time radiometer and radiosonde soundings from its facilities in Boulder, Colorado.

International Profiling Experiment

The Temperature, Humidity and Cloud Profiling (TUC) experiment was conducted during 2004-05 in Payerne, Switzerland. This location frequently experiences difficult to forecast fog and elevated temperature inversions. The experiment, conducted to evaluate and refine upper-air observation technology, is described in the following Meteorol. Z. (2006) papers:

The COST 720 Temperature, Humidity, and Cloud Profiling Campaign: TUC, D. Ruffieux, J. Nash, P. Jeannet, J. Agnew.

Temperature and humidity profile retrievals from ground-based microwave radiometers during TUC, D. Cimini, T. Hewison, L. Martin, J. Gueldner, C. Gaffard, F. Marzano.

Combining UHF radar wind profiler and microwave radiometer for the estimation of atmospheric humidity profiles, V. Klaus, L. Bianco, C. Gaffard, M. Matabuena, T. Hewison.

Intercomparison of integrated water vapour measurements, L. Martin, C. Matzler, T. Hewison, D. Ruffieux.

Validating clear air absorption models using ground-based microwave radiometers and vice-versa, T. Hewison, D. Cimini, L. Martin, C. Gaffard, J. Nash.

Comparison of brightness temperatures observed from ground-based microwave radiometers during TUC, D. Cimini, T. Hewison, L. Martin.