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NOAA's Hurricane Researchers Log Many Flight Hours & Accomplishments in the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season
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GOES Satellite image of Hurricane Dennis on September 7 |
As the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season continues to march on with the birth of Wilma in the Caribbean, NOAA's cadre of hurricane researchers at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) are wrapping up an extremely busy and accomplished research field season. Scientists in the Hurricane Research Division of AOML regularly fly aboard NOAA's WP-3D and G-IV aircraft to gather information and test instrumentation that lead to better understanding of hurricane structure and mechanics as well as improved hurricane forecasts of track and intensity. This year's umbrella experiment – the Intensity Forecasting Experiment, or IFEX – included a series of observations into eleven named tropical storms and hurricanes with a total of 81 missions onboard NOAA hurricane aircraft.
Hurricane Dennis was the backdrop for the first IFEX experiment of the season. Dennis' entire lifecycle was observed, from post-genesis to post-landfall from NOAA's WP-3D aircraft. Tropical Storm Gert was also observed from early development including early genesis and observations included two coordinated flights with NASA's high altitude ER-2 aircraft. Both storm data sets will add to the knowledge base of what conditions specifically are conducive to storm development. The data collected from Dennis will also help in the evaluation of operational numerical models thanks to the long-term coverage of the storm.
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The flight crew of the NOAA G-IV jet after the first research mission to study the Saharan Air Layer. |
Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene, while never threatening the US with a landfall, was of particular interest to hurricane researchers because of its association with the Saharan Air Layer (SAL). The SAL is a large mass of dry dusty air that originates over the African continent and interacts with developing systems in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean , often inhibiting development. Data collected in the SAL experiment will be used to improve model forecasts of hurricane intensity change.
Hurricane Katrina
AOML hurricane scientists participated in seven aircraft missions from Katrina's south Florida landfall to the Louisiana landfall, providing support to the National Hurricane Center through flight track planning, and quality control of observations from the airborne instrumentation, remote sensing systems, and the first delivery of analysis products of hurricane structure using Doppler radar. These data were transmitted in real-time to the NOAA National Hurricane Center and/or the NOAA Environmental Prediction Center for use in preparation of hurricane warnings and initialization of hurricane models.
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(Left) Radar image of Hurricane Katrina taken from the lower fuselage radar of a NOAA P-3 aircraft just prior to the Florida landfall on August 25. (Right) Photograph of Katrina's eyewall taken by colleague Frank Roux on board a NOAA P-3 |
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AOML also worked with the NSF-sponsored Rainband Experiment (RAINEX) Navy-P3 to address joint research objectives in Katrina during two of the missions in the Gulf of Mexico. The NOAA NESDIS Ocean Winds program was integral in providing the radar data necessary to coordinate the flight tracks of the NRL and NOAA aircraft in this experiment. RAINEX partners include the University of Miami, the University of Washington, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Hurricane Ophelia
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(Top) NOAA P-3 in Costa Rica where early season observations of developing storms were based (Bottom) NOAA hurricane scientist and Field Program Manager Robert Rogers conducts a pre flight briefing. |
RAINEX and IFEX flights continued during Hurricane Ophelia's life cycle. The 3-plane mission on September 11 included three airborne Doppler radars mapping out the storm's inner core and rainbands extending 100-150 km from the center. The Ophelia data set will be extremely useful for studying hurricane intensity change.
The first Aerosonde flight into an Atlantic storm took place on Sept. 16 as Tropical Storm Ophelia moved off the east coast of the US. This unique experiment tested the ability to use small unmanned aircraft to observe at low altitudes in the hurricane environment. Ophelia also provided an opportunity for an extra-tropical transition experiment with partners in Canada as the storm moved off the Canadian Maritimes. This set of experiments makes for an unprecedented sampling of the life cycle of a single hurricane from genesis to transition to extra-tropical status.
Both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita grew to category 4 or 5 status while in the Gulf of Mexico. The deep warm water Loop Current and its associated eddies played a role in providing a suitable environment for such intensification to take place. AOML was able to deploy a series of airborne ocean probes near the Loop Current in the wake of each of these storms, collecting valuable data to describe the exact role ocean heat content and transfer plays in storm intensification.
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The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory conducts a basic and applied research program in oceanography, tropical meteorology, atmospheric and oceanic chemistry, and acoustics. AOML's research program seeks to understand the physical characteristics and processes of the ocean and the atmosphere, both separately and as a coupled system. Our scientists study hurricanes, ocean current and temperature structures, ocean/atmosphere chemical exchanges, and the coastal ocean by using research ships and aircraft, satellite remote sensing techniques, numerical and statistical models, radar, acoustics, and drifting buoys. |
10/17/05
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