1 Dropsonde Operations in HS3 2012

2 WISPAR analyses nearing completion Atmospheric River analysis AR transport characteristics Comparison with NWP reanalyses Publication to be submitted within ~1 month Arctic flight Janet Intrieri leading publication for submission Comparison with satellite integrated water vapor underway HS3 Pacific comparison desirable Global Hawk dropsonde system overview paper getting underway

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5 Dropsonde System Launch Tube Dropsonde Launch Assembly Dropsonde System Electronics

High-altitude, long- endurance UAS 6 FlightDateTargetSonde Released/ Loaded Notes 1Sept 5-6Ferry & Leslie30/50Excellent Data, NASA inadvertently turned off power to all instruments, impacted one sounding 2Sept 11-12Nadine34/78First real-time GTS data transmission. Sonde jams in launch tube, halts continued release of sondes. RF noise issue emerges in flight 3Sept 14-15Nadine70/71RFI continues, poor telemetry 4Sept 19-20Nadine76/80RFI continues, poor telemetry, 1 sonde failed to release in storage bin 5Sept 22-23Nadine58/58RFI continues, poor telemetry, Data system required reboots, lost data to 6 soundings 6Sept 26-27Nadine75/75RFI continues, poor telemetry Total Sondes Dropped343

High-altitude, long- endurance UAS 55,000 – 65,000 ft Wing Span: ft 7

First operations with Ku communications Improved system operability and data display Raw D-files downloaded during flight Real-time ASPEN processing Near real-time posting of skew-T plot to MTS Near real-time transmission to GTS Data referenced in NHC Nadine forecast discussions Full 8-channel capability demonstrated ~90 second launch spacing at our discretion New record number of sondes deployed Real-time feedback on cloud top heights Demonstrated deployment flexibility in additional Atlantic FIRs 8

dum 9 Nadine Flight, 14 September 2012

5 science flights to date 10 BASED ON THE IMPROVED SATELLITE APPEARANCE AND TROPICAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF 2.5 AND 3.0 FROM SAB AND TAFB... NADINE IS CLASSIFIED AS A TROPICAL STORM ONCE AGAIN. DROPSONDE DATA FROM AN ONGOING NASA GLOBAL HAWK MISSION SUGGESTS THAT THE MAXIMUM WINDS ARE NEAR 50 KT. A DROPWINDSONDE NEAR THE CENTER AROUND 1030 UTC MEASURED A PRESSURE OF MB WITH STRONG WINDS...SO THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 986 MB. TROPICAL STORM NADINE DISCUSSION NUMBER 44 NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER 1100 AM AST SUN SEP Nadine flight and rapid launch sequence 14 March 2012 Nadine flight March 2012

Impact of HS3 Dropsondes for Nadine Track Error (nm)Intensity: Max. Wind Error (kts) Intensity: Min. SLP Error (hPa) Bias (dash) HS3 drops No drops HS3 drops No drops HS3 drops No drops Bias (dash) Dropsonde impact experiments performed for Sep. (3 flights) -Red: with HS3 drops -Blue: No drops with synthetics COAMPS-TC Intensity and Track skill are improved greatly through assimilation of HS3 Drops.

Tropical-extratropical transition: trough interactions Aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions: Role of SAL HS3 science investigations: Build collaborations with investigator teams that are using the dropsonde data 12

Launcher Performance 1 system jam due to parachute cap anomaly 89% deployment success: 343 of 387 desired 1 sonde stuck in dispenser Additional safety latch spring problem on S-NPP underflight 100% IR communication success Sonde Performance 1 failed temperature sensor 1 sonde with no GPS data Overall System Statistics Percentage of sondes with useable data/real-time display: 92% Telemetry issues to follow 13

14 Flight #1 Black: % of good PTU And GPS Winds data Red: % of bad PTU data Green: % of bad GPS Wind data Drops

15 Flight #1: No RF Interference, system and sondes performed very well Flights #2 to #6: RF Interference, significant impact to data retrieval

HS3 2012: Science Flight #2 (Nadine) Two AVAPS 400 MHz Spectrum Analyzer data frames during Flight Average noise floor jump 10 dB ( -110 dBm to ~ -100 dBm ) These plots are 6 seconds apart in time Minimal RF Interference (Drop #1) RF Interference( All subsequent Drops) approx mean: -110 dBm approx mean: -102 dBm

17 Drop #1 of Flight 2 No RF Interference Raw Data of Temp, RH, Wind Speed versus Pressure)

18 Drop #8 of Flight 2 RF Interference Raw Data of Temp, RH, Wind Speed versus Pressure

19 Drop #31 of Flight 3 RF Interference Raw Data of Temp, RH, Wind Speed versus Pressure) Plane Banking Complete loss of data

Two AVAPS team members required in the PMOF Dedicated drop operator necessary because of intensive comms Science seat valuable for real-time science interactions and coordination of drop plan modifications Availability of additional team for real-time processing almost a necessity Real-time data use feasible and highly beneficial Sonde preparation more time consuming than expected (~4 hours for 80 sondes) Lack of testing opportunities in flight configuration adds risk Opportunities to debug during high-tempo operations is limited End-to-end communications testing in hangar desirable Formal pre-flight testing procedures required 20

Quality-controlled data just released 2013 sonde production underway 550 sondes to be available 5 week deployment planned for 2013 August 20 through September 23 Expect 5-6 flights 2 aircraft operations from NASA Wallops

22 Relocate antenna to tail of aircraft New double-shielded high-quality coax cable Modified transmission of wind data Plans to test fly computer system in May

Many important new firsts this year Ku-band data transfer Near-real time processing and display Real-time data utility demonstrated Forecast discussions Real-time flight planning Poor telemetry impacted data quality Loss of data near surface and during maneuvers RF interference issues must be resolved Improvements required for manufacturability of parachute cap 23

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Developed through collaborative partnership between NOAA, NCAR, and NASA Relies on NCAR/EOL’s long experience with dropsonde development, aircraft launch systems, and data Q/C processing Uses new Global Hawk sonde: smaller and lighter than standard dropsondes System has 88-sonde and 8-channel capacity (track 8 sondes simultaneously) Automated telemetry frequency selection D-file returned to ground following drop Ground processing enables GTS transmission 25

High-altitude, long- endurance UAS 55,000 – 65,000 ft 28 hour endurance Wing Span: ft Length: 44.4 ft Payload: >1500 lbs Communications Iridium Ku-band high rate 26 Global Hawk Operations Center (GHOC) Global Hawk

Size: 4.5 cm dia. X 30.5 cm length Mass: ~167 g Fall rate: ~11 m/s at surface Sensors based on Vaisala RS-92 radiosonde sensor module Temperature: +60° to -90 ° C, 0.01 ° C resolution Humidity: 0 to 100%, 0.1% resolution Pressure: 1080 to 3 mb, 0.01 mb resolution 2 Hz update rate Winds based on OEM GPS receiver and position 4 Hz update rate Stable cone parachute design Remote control of power on/off and sonde release Designed for extreme environmental conditions 27