Dr. Scott Braun Principal Investigator
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Dr. Scott Braun Principal Investigator
description
Dr. Scott Braun Principal Investigator. Hurricane Intensity Is Difficult To Predict. Hurricane intensity forecasts have not improved much over the past many years. Intensity prediction is difficult because it depends on weather at very large and very small scales. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Dr. Scott Braun Principal Investigator
Dr. Scott BraunPrincipal
Investigator
Hurricane Intensity Is Difficult To Predict
Intensity prediction is difficult because it depends on weather at very large and very
small scales
Hurricane intensity forecasts have not improved much over the past many years
The Saharan Air Layer: Friend or Foe To Tropical Cyclones?
Moisttropical air
Dry Saharan air
TS Isaac
The hot, dry, dusty SAL air mass has been argued to both favor and suppress tropical cyclone
development
Do Deep Thunderstorms
Play a Fundamental
Role?3D view from NASA’s TRMM satellite
HS3 Will Use Two Global Hawks
The “Environmental” GH
The “Over-Storm” GH
Three 4-5 week deployments: 2012, 2013, & 2014
The Global Hawk Allows HS3 to Have Unprecedented Coverage and On-Station Time
1370 miles
GH can fly this distance, dwell for 20
hours and return
3291 miles
10-hr dwell
The Global Hawk can fly for up to 30 hours, allowing coverage of the entire Atlantic and on-station times of 10-20 hours.
HS3 Explores the Outflow of Leslie
Hurricane Leslie
Hurricane Michael
Date: September 6-7
Target: Hurricane Leslie
Goal: Transit from Dryden to Wallops, examine the outflow structure of Leslie
HS3 Explores Nadine’s Interaction With the SAL
Tropical Storm Nadine
SAL dust
Date: September 11-12
Target: TS Nadine
Goal: Examine whether SAL air is getting into Nadine’s circulation and perhaps slowing its development
DustSample data from theCloud Physics Lidar
HS3 Explores the Impact of Strong Wind Shear on Nadine’s Development
Date: September 14-15
Target: TS/Hurricane Nadine
Goal: To investigate how wind shear affects storm structure and intensification
Today’s Flight Into Nadine
Goal: To determine how Nadine remains a tropical storm despite strong vertical wind shear, dry air, and cool ocean temperatures.
Achievements and Outlook For The Remainder Of The Mission
• Many technical and logistical challenges– Excellent support from Dryden and Wallops
• Successful flights into Leslie and Nadine– Dropsonde data getting into forecast models– Analysis yet to begin– Solved many problems that will improve
operations in 2013-14• Looking forward to two-aircraft operations
Instruments on the Environmental Global Hawk
Airborne Vertical Atmospheric
Profiling System (AVAPS)
PI: Dr. Gary Wick NOAA, NCARMeasurements: Temperature, Pressure, wind, humidity vertical profiles; 89 Dropsondes per flight
Scanning High Resolution Infrared
Sounder (S-HIS)
PI: Dr. Hank RevercombUniversity of WisconsinMeasurements: Upwelling thermal radiation at high spectral resolution between 3.3 and 18 microns.Temperature, water vapor vertical profiles
T
u
r
nWater Vapor Relative Humidity
Atmospheric Temperature
Thou
sand
s (fe
et)
Thou
sand
s (fe
et)
RH
(%)
T
(
K
)
Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL)
PI: Dr. Matt McGillNASA Goddard Space Flight CenterMeasurements: Cloud structure and depth
Instruments on the Over-StormGlobal Hawk
Hurricane Imaging
Radiometer (HIRad)
PI: Dr. Tim MillerNASA Marshall Space Flight CenterMeasurements:Surface wind speed, rain rate
High Altitude Imaging Wind and
Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP)
PI: Dr. Gerry HeymsfieldNASA Goddard Space Flight CenterMeasurements: Radar reflectivity, wind profiles
High Altitude Monolithic Microwave
integrated Circuit Sounding Radiometer
(HAMSR)
PI: Dr. Bjorn LambrigtsenJet Propulsion LaboratoryMeasurements: Temperature, water profiles, cloud liquid water
