A Terminal Area PBL Prediction System at Dallas—Fort Worth and Its Application in Simulating Diurnal PBL Jets

A Terminal Area PBL Prediction System at Dallas—Fort Worth and Its Application in Simulating Diurnal PBL Jets

A state-of-the-science meso-β-scale numerical weather prediction model is being employed in a prototype forecast system for potential operational use at the Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). The numerical model is part of a unique operational forecasting system being developed to suppor...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Vol. 81; no. 9; pp. 2179 - 2204
Main Authors: Kaplan, Michael L., Lin, Yuh-Lang, Charney, Joseph J., Pfeiffer, Karl D., Ensley, Darrell B., DeCroix, David S., Weglarz, Ronald P.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Boston, MA American Meteorological Society 01-09-2000
Subjects:
Aircraft
Airports
Atmospheric models
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Mathematical models
Meteorology
Meteors
Modeling
Prediction models
Simulation
Simulations
Weather
Weather analysis and prediction
Weather forecasting
Wind
Wind velocity
United States
North America
Texas
America
Case study
Weather forecast
Atmospheric turbulence
Atmospheric boundary layer
Airport
Numerical forecast
Low level jet
Wind shear
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A state-of-the-science meso-β-scale numerical weather prediction model is being employed in a prototype forecast system for potential operational use at the Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). The numerical model is part of a unique operational forecasting system being developed to support the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Terminal Area Productivity Program. This operational forecasting system will focus on meso-β-scale aviation weather problems involving planetary boundary layer (PBL) turbulence, and is named the Terminal Area PBL Prediction System (TAPPS). TAPPS (version 1) is being tested and developed for NASA in an effort to improve 1–6-h terminal area forecasts of wind, vertical wind shear, temperature, and turbulence within both stable and convective PBLs at major airport terminal areas. This is being done to enhance terminal area productivity, that is, aircraft arrival and departure throughput, by using the weather forecasts as part of the Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS). AVOSS is dependent upon nowcasts or short-period forecasts of wind, temperature, and eddy dissipation rate so that the drift and dissipation of wake vortices can be anticipated for safe airport operation. This AVOSS system will be demonstrated during calendar year 2000 at DFW. This paper describes the numerical modeling system, which has three basic components: the numerical model, the initial data stream, and the postprocessing system. Also included are the results of several case study simulations with the numerical model from a field program that occurred in September 1997 at DFW. During this field program, detailed local measurements throughout the troposphere, with special emphasis on the PBL, were taken at and surrounding DFW in an effort to verify the numerical model simulations. Comparisons indicate that the numerical model is capable of an accurate simulation of the vertical wind shear structure during the diurnal evolution of the PBL when compared directly to specific local observations. The case studies represent unambiguous examples of the dynamics of the Great Plains diurnal low-level jet stream. This diurnal jet stream represents the dominant low-level wind shear–production mechanism during quiescent synoptic-scale flow regimes. Five consecutive daily case studies, during which this phenomenon was observed over and in proximity to DFW, are compared to the products derived from TAPPS.
ISSN:0003-0007
1520-0477
DOI:10.1175/1520-0477(2000)081<2179:ATAPPS>2.3.CO;2