Meteorological Technology International
  • News
    • A-E
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
    • G-P
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
    • R-S
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
    • T-Z
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • April 2023
    • September 2022
    • April 2022
    • September 2021
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Jobs
    • Browse Industry Jobs
    • Post a Job – It’s FREE!
    • Manage Jobs (Employers)
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
  • Sign-up for Free Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
  • News
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. April 2023
    2. September 2022
    3. April 2022
    4. September 2021
    5. Archive Issues
    6. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    April 18, 2023

    In this Issue – April 2023

    By Web TeamApril 18, 2023
    Recent

    In this Issue – April 2023

    April 18, 2023

    In this Issue – September 2022

    August 12, 2022

    April 2022 issue is now available online!

    April 12, 2022
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Jobs
    • Browse Industry Jobs
    • Post a Job – It’s FREE!
    • Manage Jobs (Employers)
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Meteorological Technology International
Automated Weather Stations

Saildrone to launch fleet of ocean drones to gather crucial data on 2021 hurricane season

Helen NormanBy Helen NormanJune 3, 20213 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Hurricane season
Share
LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email

Saildrone has announced a new mission to deploy five uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) from the US Virgin Islands in August to gather key data throughout the 2021 Tropical Atlantic hurricane season.

The USVs will be equipped with specially designed ‘hurricane wings’ to enable them to operate in extreme conditions. Saildrones have been designed to withstand winds over 70mph and waves over 10ft.

The five saildrones will sail into the paths of hurricanes to provide valuable real-time observations for numerical hurricane prediction models and to collect new insights into how these large and destructive weather cells grow and intensify. The mission aims to improve understanding and predictability of tropical cyclone intensity changes and advance knowledge of the ocean-atmosphere interactions that fuel them.

The saildrones will provide new in situ data to NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) and Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) – Saildrone’s scientific partners in this mission.

The data will also be valuable to other groups, including the US National Weather Service, which will use the data to improve forecasting, and the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS), which will work to align data findings from other observing platforms, such as gliders.

“The biggest gap in our understanding of hurricanes are the processes by which they intensify so quickly, as well as the ability to accurately predict how strong they will become. We know that the exchange of heat between the ocean and the atmosphere is one of the key physical processes providing energy to a storm, but to improve understanding, we need to collect in situ observations during a storm. Of course, that is extremely difficult given the danger of these storms. We hope that data collected with saildrones will help us to improve the model physics, and then, in turn, we will be able to improve hurricane intensity forecasts,” explained Dr Jun Zhang, a scientist in the Hurricane Research Division at NOAA/AOML.

The vehicles will transmit meteorological and oceanographic data in real time including air temperature and relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, water temperature and salinity, sea surface temperature, and wave height and duration. The data will also be sent to the WMO’s Global Telecommunication System (GTS) and disseminated to all of the major forecast centers – some 20 agencies worldwide, including NOAA.

“PMEL has been working with Saildrone to develop the platform for specific ocean conditions since 2015. Sending a robotic vehicle into the eye of a hurricane, that’s never been done before. It’s an incredibly complex engineering challenge that could have a significant positive impact on our ability to predict extreme weather, for the benefit of communities facing these events,” said Christian Meinig, director of Engineering at NOAA/PMEL.

This mission is expected to create a foundation for PMEL and AOML to deploy a larger fleet of saildrones as part of a major field campaign for hurricane observations.

Previous ArticleCopernicus Marine Service to contribute to digital twin of the ocean project
Next Article Leosphere launches dual scanning lidar offering for wind measurement

Read Similar Stories

Remote Sensing

Skyfora develops world’s lightest weather sonde

May 30, 20232 Mins Read
Extreme Weather

Cost of weather-related disasters soars but early warnings save lives

May 23, 20232 Mins Read
Climate Measurement

NCAR scientists develop high-resolution drought forecasts up to three months in advance

May 16, 20233 Mins Read
Latest News

Vaisala celebrates 40 years of operating US lightning detection network

June 1, 2023

Celeste Saulo to become first female secretary-general of the WMO

June 1, 2023

Tomorrow.io launches first forecast plug-in for ChatGPT marketplace

May 31, 2023

Receive breaking stories and features in your inbox each week, for free


Enter your email address:


Supplier Spotlights
  • Meteorage
Latest Job Postings
  • Sailing Weather Specialist

    • Remote
    • SeaTactics
    • Part Time
  • SALES MANAGER

    • Erftstadt, Germany
    • GWU-Umwelttechnik GmbH
    • Full Time
Getting in Touch
  • Contact Us / Advertise
  • Meet the Editors
  • Download Media Pack
  • Free Weekly E-Newsletter
Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
© 2023 UKi Media & Events a division of UKIP Media & Events Ltd
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Notice and Takedown Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by