Publications
Comparisons between total lightning data, mesocyclone strength, and storm damage associated with the Florida tornado outbreak of February 23 1998
September 14, 1998
Conference Paper
Published in:
19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, 14-18 September 1998, pp. 681-684.
Summary
During the late evening and early morning hours of February 22/23 1998, the worst tornado outbreak in recorded history occurred over the peninsula of central Florida. Analysis of KMLB Doppler radar data indicated at least 9 supercells developed over the region, with 4 of the supercells producing tornadoes. These 4 tornadic supercells produced a total of 7 tornadoes, some of them on the ground for tens of miles (Fig. 1.). A total of 42 fatalities were reported with over 260 injured. Monetary losses totaled over 100 million dollars. During this severe weather outbreak, National Weather Service Melbourne, in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was collecting data from a unique lightning observing system called Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Applications Display (LISDAD). This system has the capability to combine radar reflectivity data collected from the KMLB WSR-88D, cloud to ground data collected from the National Lightning Detection Network, and total lightning data collected from NASA's Lightning Detection And Ranging (LDAR) system. The object of this study is to compare total lightning data collected from the LISDAD system to mesocyclone strength as observed from the KMLB WSR-88D. These data will then be compared to the times of tornadic winds.
Summary
During the late evening and early morning hours of February 22/23 1998, the worst tornado outbreak in recorded history occurred over the peninsula of central Florida. Analysis of KMLB Doppler radar data indicated at least 9 supercells developed over the region, with 4 of the supercells producing tornadoes. These 4...
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Observations of total lightning associated with severe convection during the wet season in Central Florida
September 14, 1998
Conference Paper
Published in:
19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, 14-18 September 1998, 635-638.
Summary
This paper will discuss findings of a collaborative lightning research project between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Melbourne (MLB), Florida and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In August 1996, NWS MLB received a workstation which incorporates data from the KMLB WSR-88D, Cloud to Ground (CG) stroke data from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), and 3D volumetric lightning data collected from the Kennedy Space Centers' Lightning Detection And Ranging (LDAR) system. The two primary objectives of this lightning workstation, called Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Applications Display (L1SDAD), are to: a.) Observe how total lightning relates to severe convective storm morphology over central Florida, and, b.) Compare ground based total lightning data (LDAR) to a satellite based lightning detection system. This presentation will focus on objective #1.
Summary
This paper will discuss findings of a collaborative lightning research project between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Melbourne (MLB), Florida and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In August 1996, NWS MLB received a workstation which incorporates data from the KMLB WSR-88D, Cloud...
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The design and evaluation of the Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Applications Display (LISDAD)
September 14, 1998
Conference Paper
Published in:
19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, 14-18 September 1998, pp. 631-634.
Summary
The ultimate goal of the LISDAD system is to quantify the utility of total lightning infomation in short-term, severe-weather-forecasting operations. Secondary goals were to collect times series of various storm-cell parameters that relate to storm development and electrification and subsequently make these data available for post-facto analysis. To these ends scientists from NASA, NWS, and MIT/LL organized an effort to study the relationship of lightning and severe-weather on a storm-by-storm, and even cell-by-cell basis for as many storms as possible near Melbourne, Florida. Melbourne was chosen as it offers a unique combination of high probability of severe weather and proximity to major relevant sensors, specifically: NASA's total lightning mapping system at Kennedy Space Center (the LDAR system) at KSC [Lennon and Maier, 1991], a NWS / NEXRAD radar at Melbourne, and a prototype Integrated Terminal Weather System (ITWS), at Orlando. The ITWS system obtains cloud-to-ground lightning information from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) via a link to Lexington, MA, and also uses NSSL's Severe Storms Analysis Package (NSSL / SSAP) to obtain information about various storm-cell parameters
Summary
The ultimate goal of the LISDAD system is to quantify the utility of total lightning infomation in short-term, severe-weather-forecasting operations. Secondary goals were to collect times series of various storm-cell parameters that relate to storm development and electrification and subsequently make these data available for post-facto analysis. To these ends...
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Total lightning as a severe weather diagnostic in strongly baroclinic systems in Central Florida
September 14, 1998
Conference Paper
Published in:
19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, 14-18 September 1998, pp. 643-647.
Summary
Severe weather is defined by specific thresholds in wind. hail size and vorticity. All of these phenomena have close physical connections with vertical drafts in deep convection, which are themselves not directly measured with scanning Doppler radars of the NEXRAD type. Cloud electrification and lightning are particularly sensitive to these drafts because they modulate the supply of supercooled water which is the growth agent for the ice particles (ice crystals, graupel and hail) believed essential for electrical charge separation. For these reasons, one can expect correlations at the outset between total lightning activity and the development of severe weather which may aid in the understanding and prediction of these extreme weather conditions. The exploration of these ideas has historically been impeded by lack of good quantitative observations. A recent review of results on severe storm electrification (Williams, 1998) indicates a general absence of cases for which total lightning activity is documented over the lifetime of a severe storm. The recent development of LISDAD (Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Application Display) (Boldi, et aI., 1998) has largely remedied this problem. This paper is concerned with the use of LISDAD to quantify the behavior of total lightning in all types of severe weather, with a focus on a pair of extraordinarily electrified supercells in the Florida dry season.
Summary
Severe weather is defined by specific thresholds in wind. hail size and vorticity. All of these phenomena have close physical connections with vertical drafts in deep convection, which are themselves not directly measured with scanning Doppler radars of the NEXRAD type. Cloud electrification and lightning are particularly sensitive to these...
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Total lightning and radar storm characteristics associated with severe storms in Central Florida
September 14, 1998
Conference Paper
Published in:
19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, 14-18 September 1998, pp. 639-642.
Summary
A number of prior studies have examined the association of lightning activity with the occurrence of severe weather and tornadoes, in particular. High flash rates are often observed in tornadic storms but not always. Taylor found that 23% of nontornadic storms and I% of non-severe storms had sferics rates comparable to the tornadic storms. MacGorman (1993) found that storms with mesocyclones produced more frequent intracloud (lC) lightning than cloud-ta-ground (CG) lightning. MacGorman (1993) and others suggest that the lightning activity accompanying tornadic storms will be dominated by intracloud lightning- with an increase in intracloud and total flash rates as the updraft increases in depth, size, and velocity. In a recent study, Perez et aI. (1998) found that CG flash rates alone are too variable to be a useful predictor of (F4, F5) tornado formation. Studies of non-tornadic storms have also shown that total lightning flash rates track the updraft, with rates increasing as the updraft intensifies and decreasing rapidly with cessation of vertical growth or downburst onset (Goodman et aI., 1988; Williams et aI., 1989). Such relationships result from the development of mixed phase precipitation and increased hydrometeor collisions that lead to the efficient separation of charge. Correlations between updraft strength and other variables such as cloud-top height, cloud water mass, and hail size have also been observed. In this paper we examine the total lightning activity (with high time resolution), and the associated Doppler radar time history of weaker (FO, Fl) tornadic storms in Florida. Much of the prior work has focused on tornadic supercells in the Great Plains.
Summary
A number of prior studies have examined the association of lightning activity with the occurrence of severe weather and tornadoes, in particular. High flash rates are often observed in tornadic storms but not always. Taylor found that 23% of nontornadic storms and I% of non-severe storms had sferics rates comparable...
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Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS) initial 1997 system deployment at Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) Airport
July 8, 1998
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report NASA-L-3
Summary
The potential hazard of aircraft encounters with the wake turbulence of preceding aircraft requires the use of minimum separations on landing that are a significant constraint on airport arrival capacity during instrument flight rules (IF) conditions. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center has been researching the development of the Aircraft Vortex Spacing System (AVOSS) which would dynamically change aircraft arrival separations based on the forecasted weather conditions and vortex behavior. An experimental AVOSS test system has been constructed at DFW airport and includes a large set of meteorological instruments, wake vortex sensors from three organizations, and an aircraft data collection system. All of this data are relayed to a central processing center at DFW for processing by automated meteorological data fusion algorithms and by NASA vortex behavior predictions software. An initial deployment and test of the DFW system was conducted during a three-week period in September/October of 1997. This document describes the overall system, the Lincoln-deployed sensors, including the Continuous-Wave Coherent lidar, and the meteorological data collection and processing system. Algorithms that were used to process the data for scientific use are described, as well as the conditions of the data collection and the data formats, for potential users of this database.
Summary
The potential hazard of aircraft encounters with the wake turbulence of preceding aircraft requires the use of minimum separations on landing that are a significant constraint on airport arrival capacity during instrument flight rules (IF) conditions. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center has been researching the...
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Global validation of single-station Schumann resonance lightning location
May 1, 1998
Journal Article
Published in:
J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., Vol. 60, No. 7-9., May-June 1998, pp. 701-712.
Summary
Global measurements of large, optically bright lightning events from the Optical Transient Detector (OTD) satellite are used to validate estimates of lightning location from single-station Schumann resonance (SR) data. Bearing estimates are obtained through conventional magnetic direction-finding techniques, while source range is estimated from the range-dependent impedance spectrum of an individual SR transients. An analysis of 40 such transients suggests that single-station techniques can locate lightning globally with an accuracy of 1-2 Mm. This is confirmed by further validation at close ranges from flashes detected by the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN). Observations with both OTD and SR systems may be useful for globally locating lightning with necessary, if not sufficient, characteristics to trigger mesospheric sprites.
Summary
Global measurements of large, optically bright lightning events from the Optical Transient Detector (OTD) satellite are used to validate estimates of lightning location from single-station Schumann resonance (SR) data. Bearing estimates are obtained through conventional magnetic direction-finding techniques, while source range is estimated from the range-dependent impedance spectrum of an...
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Multilateration on Mode S and ATCRBS signals at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport
January 8, 1998
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-260
Summary
The ATC community is seeking a way to obtain aircraft ID and improved surveillance on the airport movement area. Surface radars provide good surveillance data, but do not provide ID, may not cover the whole movement area, and suffer from false reflection targets and performance degradations in rain. This report describes an evolutionary technique employing multilateration, TCAS technology, and existing ATCBI transponders to provide the desired surface surveillance information. Five multilateration receiver/transmitters (RTs) based on TCAS units, and a central multilateration computer processor were procured and installed on the highest available buildings on the perimeter of the north side of Atlanta's Hartsfield airport. The resulting coverage was such that there was a 93% probability that a multilateration position would be computed on a given Mode S short squitter emitted from a a target at a randomly selected position on the movement area. Multilateration was performed on ATCRBS targets using replies elicited by whisper shout methods originally developed for TCAS. Measurements showed that whisper shout was successful in degarbling targets that were in close proximity on the movement area. The probability of obtaining an ATCRBS multilateration position in a given one second interval depended on the number of whisper shout interrogations transmitted. The equipment required over 10 interrogations per target per second to obtain per second multilateration update rates on two typical targets of 58% and 83% respectively. This less than anticipated performance was primarily due to the inefficient whisper shout interrogation technique that was used in the test equipment. This can be corrected in next generation equipment. The multilateration accuracy was about 20 feet one sigma, as anticipated from theoretical considerations and previous experience with other equipment. By combining the multilateration data with ASDE data and tracking the results, it would be possible to obtain track reliabilities on the airport surface similar to that obtained elsewhere in the ATC system but update rates of 1Hz as required for surface surveillance and control purposes. The RTs were also capable of receiving Mode S long squitters containing GPS position information. The probability of at least one of the 5RTs receiving a given long squitter was essentially 100% on the movement area.
Summary
The ATC community is seeking a way to obtain aircraft ID and improved surveillance on the airport movement area. Surface radars provide good surveillance data, but do not provide ID, may not cover the whole movement area, and suffer from false reflection targets and performance degradations in rain. This report...
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Evaluation of Boeing 747-400 performance during ATC-directed breakouts on final approach
January 7, 1998
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-263
Summary
The effects of three different levels of pilot training on the breakout response of pilots and the Boeing 747-400 aircraft were studied. The study examined response during ATC-directed breakouts on final approach and was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 tested performance during manual and autopilot-coupled approaches given current procedures and pilot training. Phase 2 tested the effect of increased pilot situational awareness and proposed ATC breakout phraseology on breakouts during manual and autopilot-coupled approaches. Phase 3 tested the effect of two B747-400-specific breakout procedures on breakouts during autopilot-coupled approaches. Pilot preferences regarding procedures and the tested training materials were also solicited.
Summary
The effects of three different levels of pilot training on the breakout response of pilots and the Boeing 747-400 aircraft were studied. The study examined response during ATC-directed breakouts on final approach and was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 tested performance during manual and autopilot-coupled approaches given current procedures...
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The effects of compression-induced distortion of graphical weather images on pilot perception, acceptance, and performance
November 21, 1997
Project Report
Published in:
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Report ATC-243
Summary
The Graphical Weather Service (GWS) is a data link application that will provide near-real-time graphical weather information to pilots in flight. To assess the effect GWS, as well as to aid in the proper design, implementation and certification of the use of GWS in aircraft, two human factors studies have been conducted. The second study conducted (Phase Two) is the topic of this report. Phase Two was conducted to determine the maximum level of compression-induced distortion that would be acceptable for transmission of weather images to the cockpit. To make this determination the following data were collected and analyzed: pilot subjective ratings of the perceived amount of distortion of a compressed image, pilot subjective ratings of the acceptability of a compressed image for use in the flight task, and pilot route selections as a function of the amount of compression presented in an image. Results indicated that images of low to moderate compression levels were generally acceptable for transmission to the cockpit, while images that were highly compressed were generally unacceptable. In addition, computed measures of image quality have been identified to enable the establishment of a criteria for transmitting images to aircraft.
Summary
The Graphical Weather Service (GWS) is a data link application that will provide near-real-time graphical weather information to pilots in flight. To assess the effect GWS, as well as to aid in the proper design, implementation and certification of the use of GWS in aircraft, two human factors studies have...
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