Further Exploring the Potential for Assimilation of Unmanned Aircraft Observations to Benefit Hurricane Analyses and Forecasts

Further Exploring the Potential for Assimilation of Unmanned Aircraft Observations to Benefit Hurricane Analyses and Forecasts

Blog Article

ABSTRACT: This study explores the potential of assimilating data from multiple instruments onboard high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft to improve hurricane analyses Wall Clock and forecasts.A recent study found a significant positive impact on analyses and forecasts of Hurricane Karl when an ensemble Kalman filter was used to assimilate data from the High-altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP), a new Doppler radar onboard the NASA Global Hawk (GH) unmanned airborne system.The GH can also carry other useful Queen instruments, including dropsondes and the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD), which is a new radiometer that estimates large swaths of wind speeds and rainfall at the ocean surface.The primary finding is that simultaneously assimilating data from HIWRAP and the other GH-compatible instruments results in further analysis and forecast improvement for Karl.The greatest improvement comes when HIWRAP, HIRAD, and dropsonde data are simultaneously assimilated.