Calculating Dropwindsonde Location and Time from TEMP-DROP Messages for Accurate Assimilation and Analysis

Current practice is to transmit dropwindsonde data from aircraft using the TEMP-DROP format, which provides only the release location and time with 0.1° latitude × 0.1° longitude (about 11 km) and 1-h resolutions, respectively. The current dropwindsonde has a fall speed of approximately 15 m s−1, so...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology 2017-08, Vol.34 (8), p.1673
Main Authors: Aberson, Sim D, Sellwood, Kathryn J, Leighton, Paul A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Aircraft
Cyclones
Distance
Global positioning systems
GPS
Hurricanes
Mathematical analysis
Messages
Tropical climate
Tropical cyclones
Wind speed
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Summary:Current practice is to transmit dropwindsonde data from aircraft using the TEMP-DROP format, which provides only the release location and time with 0.1° latitude × 0.1° longitude (about 11 km) and 1-h resolutions, respectively. The current dropwindsonde has a fall speed of approximately 15 m s−1, so the instrument will be advected faster horizontally than it will descend if the wind speed exceeds this value. Where wind speeds are greatest, such as in tropical cyclones, this will introduce large errors in the location of the observations, especially near the surface. A technique to calculate the correct time and location of each observation in the TEMP-DROP message is introduced. The mean differences between the calculated and reported locations are about 0.5 km for distance and 15 s for time, or
ISSN:0739-0572
1520-0426
DOI:10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0023.1">