A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/629688
why they were seein g very inconsistent data. They also had a hard time comparing EDR to PIREP information. In the long term this research could result in a numerical - based turbulence reporting system , taking out the subjectivity that currently plagues the system. In addition to a standardized reporting format with datalink and ADS - B in and out , aircraft could transmit what their aircraft is reporting to surrounding aircraft and take the controller out of the loop. Also , if all aircraft were transmitting the information down i t would enable forecasters to create much better and accurate turbulence forecasts than what are currently available. o The FAA is currently funding studies based on water vapor sensing from onboard sensors in the climb out phase of flight to determine the c loud bases around an airport. This research could result in more accurate ceiling information around an airport. The ASOS that currently creates the METAR for an airport only has one ceilometer at most airports , thus only report the cloud heights directly above the sensor. Use of water vapor data during climb and de s cent could replace the ceiling information in the METAR , providing a more accurate picture of the ceiling conditions around an airport. The same sensor has the ability to detect icing that could impact the aircraft sensing systems , i.e . Pitot system. This detection capability could provide better information that they are encountering conditions that may affect the readings on the aircraft ' s angle of attack and airspeed. This is the issue that con tributed greatly to the Air France 447 acc ident off the coast of Brazil. In addition , the water vapor sensor paired with a laser - based particle sensor can detect volcanic ash and provide air crews with accurate ash locations and intensity , thus possibly res ulting in less impacts from an volcanic eruption like the one in Europe that ground ed flights due to lack of accurate ash cloud location information. o Multiple panels were held about volcanic ash, ranging from airborne detection to using satellites for early eruption detection. Currently NOAA has created a satellite - based system known as Volcanic Cloud Analysis Toolkit (VOLCAT), which has the ability to: Identify volcanoes that are in a state of unrest prior to an explosive eruption, Detect expl osive volcanic eruptions in a timely manner and provide alerts to VAAC s and volcano observatories, Track volcanic ash clouds, Extract information on volcan ic ash cloud height and amount, Generate the parameters needed to initialize volcanic a sh dispersion and transport models. • Surface Weather System (SWS) o The SWS is designed to replace the old vane and cup anemometers that are in a large number of control towers around the NAS. The system consists of an u ltra sonic anemometer, temperature an d dew point sensor, and a barometric pressure sensor. All the new sensors are new generation Visalia sensor s that have on - board diagnostics. The anemometer has rotating spikes to help keep birds off of the sensor and can also tell if there is an obstructio n between the three sensor heads and adjust the sensing to correct. The displays for the system are 10 - inch displays that will show the airport wind, temp/dew point , and altimeter.