AircraftWxObs Jan07RAM

Aircraft Weather Data
History, Data Quality, Utility and Display

Aircraft Weather Data – Outline
• A short history of aircraft weather data
• Different sources of data from aircraft
• Water vapor measurements
• Resolution and accuracy
• Data utility
• Advantages and disadvantages versus other upper air data
• Display of data
• Future plans
Aircraft Weather Data – A Short History
• Aircraft have been used as

a source of weather data since
the dawn of aviation.
• In 1904, the United

States government
began using aircraft to
conduct atmospheric
research.
Weather instruments on a Navy biplane

• In 1931, the Weather Bureau began

regular aircraft observations at
Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas and Omaha,
at altitudes reaching 16,000 feet.
• This program replaced weather

observations from "kite stations."
• In 1937, the first

official Weather
Bureau radiosonde
sounding was
made at Boston,
Mass.
• Weather soundings
from aircraft soon
ended.
• The invention of
aircraft data
links in the
1970s created
renewed interest
in using aircraft
as weather
platforms.
• The first
automated
aircraft weather
reports were
made in 1979. ACARS display units in aircraft cockpit
• In the 1980's, the

Earth Systems
Research Laboratory
received permission
to use aircraft
reports in
experimental NWP
models.
• In 1993 ESRL began

regular assessment
of aircraft data
Earth Systems Research Lab quality. A web based
display was
developed.
• March 20, 1996

the airlines
agreed to allow
direct access to
their data by
NWS WFO
meteorologists.
• Other users
now include the
FAA, DOD, and
universities.
NWS office in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Aircraft Weather Data – Different Sources
• You may have heard aircraft data referred to as

ACARS, MDCRS, AMDAR or TAMDAR.
• ACARS (Aircraft Communications, Addressing, and Reporting

System) is the name of a datalink service provided by
Aeronautical Radio Inc. that sends information between
aircraft and ground stations.
• MDCRS (Meteorological Data, Collection and Reporting

System) is the weather portion of the ACARS data stream.
• Aircraft Meteorological DAta Report (AMDAR) is the preferred

term by the WMO and NWS.
• TAMDAR (Tropospheric AMDAR) is provided by a private

company, AIRDAT, using a regional air carrier.
• Eight U.S. Airlines share AMDAR

• American
• Delta
• FEDEX
• Mesaba
• Northwest
• Southwest
• United
• UPS
The airlines share the cost of down linking the data with the NWS and FAA
• 14 Countries now share AMDAR from 2,300 aircraft

• Australia, New Zealand, China,
• Hong Kong China, Saudi Arabia,
• South Africa, United States, Canada,
• Netherlands, United Kingdom, France,
• Sweden, Hungary, Germany
• 5 Countries developing AMDAR systems

• Chile, Finland, Argentina,
• Republic of Korea, and
• United Arab Emirates
• The number of
observations has
increased
greatly, and is
now over a
quarter million
per day from
around the
world!
Aircraft Weather Data – Measured Quantities
• Nearly all participating AMDAR aircraft

report temperature and wind data.
• Temperature is determined by the Total Air

Temperature sensor, while ground relative
winds are computed using an Inertial
Navigation System or GPS.
• As of 2006, fewer than 10 percent of AMDAR

aircraft measured water vapor, turbulence
and icing.
Aircraft Weather Data – Water Vapor
• Measuring water vapor in the upper

atmosphere is a difficult task for any sensor.
• NWS radiosondes use thin film capacitors to

measure relative humidity.
• The sensors are relatively inexpensive, but

sometimes are prone to errors at very high
and very low relative humidity.
• Studies in the early 1990s

showed that relative
humidity measurements
from commercial aircraft
were feasible.
• A sensor called the “Water

Vapor Sensing System”
(WVSS) using a thin film
capacitor was installed on
six UPS aircraft between Water Vapor Sensing
1997 and 1999. System Unit
While the WVSS data compared favorably with radiosondes, the

sensors needed to be replaced too frequently to be used on
commercial aircraft.
• A new sensor
(WVSS-II) employs
a diode laser to
measure water
vapor mixing ratio.
• WVSS-II was
WVSS-II laser diode shown next to installed on 25 UPS
a penny, for size comparison
purposes.
aircraft between
2004 and 2005.
Field studies were conducted
at the Louisville airport
(June 2005, November 2006) to
compare WVSS-II with precision
radiosondes.
A mobile sounding unit from the

University of Wisconsin launched
radiosondes every three hours
during the evening and overnight
hours. This was supplemented by
interferometer data.
WVSS-II and radiosonde data

within an hour and 50km of each
other were compared. Mixing
ratio was measured by WVSS-II
and relative humidity by the
radiosonde.
Results from the WVSS-II

and radiosonde comparison
showed an average relative
humidity bias near zero in
the lowest 200hPa and
about 5% above. Standard
deviations are about 5%
below 800hPa and 10%
above.
The accuracy satisfies WMO

requirements for regional
forecast applications.
Aircraft Weather Data – Resolution And Accuracy
• Much as ASOS, AWOS, DOT and

mesonet observations have differences
in reporting frequency, accuracy and
reliability, so too do reports from
aircraft.
• Most AMDAR from foreign airlines

conform to a WMO reporting standard
called ARINC 620. U.S. AMDAR
observations generally do not.
• ARINC 620 standard provides a data

point every 300 feet up to around 850
hPa, then every 1000 feet to cruise
altitude.
• Most U.S. AMDAR report data at set

1,000-2,000 foot intervals through ascent
and descent.
• The NWS and WMO are urging U.S.

airlines to adopt ARINC 620 standard.
• Many studies have been conducted to

compare AMDAR to radiosondes,
profilers and other upper air data.
• They generally show that AMDAR

temperatures and winds are slightly
superior to those from radiosondes.
Aircraft Weather Data – Resolution and Accuracy
• A 2001 study by Erik Andersson, Carla

Cardinali and Antonio Garcia-Mendez of
the ECMWF showed the addition of
AMDAR resulted in significant model
forecast improvements, all the way out
to 7 days.
• A study conducted by Ralph Petersen,

Geoff Manikin and Dennis Keyser
showed that AMDAR contributes
significantly to the RUC at all run
times.
• In fact, the RUC provides little value at

asynoptic times without AMDAR – the
RUC accuracy declined 20% in the
days following September 11, 2001
when air traffic was grounded.
Aircraft Weather Data – Forecast Applications
• AMDAR data have proven extremely useful in a wide variety of forecast
situations, including:
• Aviation
• Low level wind shear
• Ceilings and visibilities
• Icing and turbulence
• Winter Storms
• Precipitation type
• Lake effect snow
• Thunderstorms
• Convective initiation
• Calculation of stability indices
• Fire Weather
• Mixing heights
• Haines indices
• Relative humidity forecasts
• Marine Forecasts
• Small craft and Gale Warnings
• Hazardous Materials Support
• AMDAR can be used to support HAZMAT teams
• Can be input into local dispersion models
Advantages and Disadvantages
•Like any system, AMDAR

has advantages and
disadvantages.
Disadvantages
• Volume of data may be reduced during

large storms.
• Most aircraft do not measure water

vapor.
• AMDAR soundings usually end at

500hPa for regional aircraft, and
250hPa for most others.
Advantages
• Soundings are not limited to 00UTC and
12UTC. This is important especially during
convective season.
• Many airports have 10 or more soundings

per day (Some large airports have over
100).
• AMDAR does not have limiting angles

problems like radiosondes.
• Inexpensive (AMDAR sounding less than $1

vs. $200 for radiosonde)
Aircraft Weather Data – Display Options
• AMDAR are available in real-time to

the NWS, FAA, and DOD via the ESRL
aircraft data web at
http://amdar.noaa.gov.
• AMDAR may also be displayed on

AWIPS, via the volume browser.
ESRL Aircraft Data
• http://amdar.noaa.gov has links to
AMDAR data, FAQs, research papers,
training materials and more.
• Web site has archive of about 3 years

of data, allowing for easy retrieval for
case studies.
• Data can be found at

http://amdar.noaa.gov/java.
AMDAR Display Options– Web
• ESRL web page should allow access to data

at all NOAA installations.
• Contact Bill Moninger at ESRL regarding

access issues. (303) 497-6435
William.R.Moninger@noaa.gov
• Data may not be redistributed in real time.

Web Display Resources
• Additional training on the use of the

web page can be found at
http://amdar.noaa.gov/videos/.
Future Plans - NWS
• Support existing AMDAR data network

• Expand number of participating regional
airlines
• Reduce redundant AMDAR soundings at hubs
(optimization)
• Increase number of water vapor sensors
• Let contract for management of water vapor
sensing program this year
• Deploy 110 units annually through 2010
• Reach ~1600 units deployed by 2020
Future Plans - WMO
• Support expansion of AMDAR

network
- Assist emerging national AMDAR
programs
• Provide recommendations for

data formats
• Provide training and outreach

References – History of Aircraft Data
Hughes, P., 1970: A Century of Weather Service,

Gordon and Breech, 212 p.p.
Hughes and Gedzelman, 1995: The New Meteorology.

Weatherwise. 48, 26-36
Moninger, W. R., R. D. Mamrosh, and P. M. Pauley:

Automated Meteorological Reports from
Commercial Aircraft. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 84, 203-216
References – Different Sources
Cunning, J., 2000: Commercial Aircraft Provided Weather Data,

Preprints, Fourth Symposium on Integrated Observing Systems,
Long Beach, CA, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 45-48
Moninger, W. R. and P. A. Miller, 1994: ACARS Quality Control,

Monitoring, and Correction. 10th Conference on Numerical Weather
Prediction, Portland, OR, Amer. Meteor. Soc. 1-3
References – Resolution and Accuracy
Benjamin, S.G., B.E. Schwartz, and R.E. Cole, 1999: Accuracy of ACARS
wind and temperature observations determined by collocation.
Wea. Forecasting, 14, 1032-1038.
Jamison, Brian and William R. Moninger, 2002: An Analysis of the

Temporal and Spatial Distribution of ACARS data in support of the
TAMDAR program. 10th Conf. on Aviation, Range, and Aerospace
Meteorology, Portland, OR, Amer. Meteor. Soc.
Lord, R.J., W.P. Menzel, and L.E. Pecht, 1984: ACARS wind measurements:
An inter-comparison with radiosonde, cloud motion, and VAS thermally
derived winds. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 1, 131-137.
Morone, L.L., 1986: The observational error of automated wind reports

from aircraft. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 67, 177-185.
Schwartz, B. E., and S. C. Benjamin, 1995: A Comparison of Temperature

and Wind Measurements from ACARS-Equipped Aircraft and Rawinsondes.
Wea. Forecasting, 10, 528-544.
Supplemental Slides

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Aircraft Weather Data

History, Data Quality, Utility and Display

• Different sources of data from aircraft

• Water vapor measurements

• Resolution and accuracy

• Advantages and disadvantages versus other upper air data

• Aircraft have been used as

• In 1904, the United

Weather instruments on a Navy biplane

• In 1931, the Weather Bureau began

• This program replaced weather

• In 1937, the first

• In the 1980's, the

• In 1993 ESRL began

• March 20, 1996

• You may have heard aircraft data referred to as

• ACARS (Aircraft Communications, Addressing, and Reporting

• MDCRS (Meteorological Data, Collection and Reporting

• Aircraft Meteorological DAta Report (AMDAR) is the preferred

• TAMDAR (Tropospheric AMDAR) is provided by a private

• Eight U.S. Airlines share AMDAR

• 14 Countries now share AMDAR from 2,300 aircraft

• 5 Countries developing AMDAR systems

• Nearly all participating AMDAR aircraft

• Temperature is determined by the Total Air

• As of 2006, fewer than 10 percent of AMDAR

• Measuring water vapor in the upper

• NWS radiosondes use thin film capacitors to

• The sensors are relatively inexpensive, but

• Studies in the early 1990s

• A sensor called the “Water

While the WVSS data compared favorably with radiosondes, the

A mobile sounding unit from the

WVSS-II and radiosonde data

Results from the WVSS-II

The accuracy satisfies WMO

• Much as ASOS, AWOS, DOT and

• Most AMDAR from foreign airlines

• ARINC 620 standard provides a data

• Most U.S. AMDAR report data at set

• The NWS and WMO are urging U.S.

• Many studies have been conducted to

• They generally show that AMDAR

• A 2001 study by Erik Andersson, Carla

• A study conducted by Ralph Petersen,

• In fact, the RUC provides little value at

•Like any system, AMDAR

• Volume of data may be reduced during

• Most aircraft do not measure water

• AMDAR soundings usually end at

• Many airports have 10 or more soundings

• AMDAR does not have limiting angles

• Inexpensive (AMDAR sounding less than $1

• AMDAR are available in real-time to

• AMDAR may also be displayed on

• Web site has archive of about 3 years

• Data can be found at

• ESRL web page should allow access to data

• Contact Bill Moninger at ESRL regarding

• Data may not be redistributed in real time.

• Additional training on the use of the

• Support existing AMDAR data network

• Support expansion of AMDAR