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Priorities for Surface Transportation Weather Research and Development
Nelson Keeler
Director, Office of Aviation Programs
U.S. Department of Transportation
Research and Innovative Technologies Administration
Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
July 25, 2007
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Volpe Center in the U.S. DOT Organization
Administrator Research and Innovative
Technology Administration
U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Associate Administrator/
DirectorVolpe Center
Director Transportation Safety Institute
AssociateAdministrator Research,
Development and Technology
Associate Administrator/
Director Bureau of
Transportation Statistics
Associate Administrator/
Director Intelligent
Transportation Systems,
Joint Program Office
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Some Basic Weather Priorities
Acknowledge Weather as a Factor for many Transportation IssuesCongestion, safety, capacity, emergency response, bio-surveillance, environmental modeling, climate change
Think IntermodallySituation displays-geospatial overlays of freight and passenger transportation networks and weather
Develop Partnerships Innovative arrangements with UTCs, private industry, academia, state & local governments
Leverage TechnologiesDoppler radar determination of weather hazards for surface transportation (pavement wetness and visibility). Develop applications for emerging dual polarization radar
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Volpe Center Weather Activities
• Enhanced Traffic Management System
• Wake vortex research
• Analysis of weather impacts and information requirements for surface modes and aviation
• Human factors research
• Emissions modeling
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Weather Information and Human Factors
Background• Ultimate end user community must be accounted for in terms of
their needs, applications and diversity
Benefits• Benefits of weather information depend upon its timeliness,
accessibility, and interpretability for decision making
Objectives• Systematically define traditional and non-traditional end users
and their weather information needs• Develop a guidance document specifying user requirements for
various identified applications
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Global Meteorological Data for Environmental Modeling
Background• DOT environmental models (noise & air quality) need a single,
consistent meteorological database, global in scope, that can evolve over time
Objective• Identify a scalable database to support micro-level analyses and
macro-level, international policy decisionsBenefits• Support a scientific methodology for running models• Could later support broader level DOT programs
RITA/Volpe role• Supports design and development of several models (e.g., SAGE,
Integrated Noise Model & FHWA Traffic Noise Model). Work activity could later include ingestion of global meteorological data
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Objectives of Freight Weather Initiative
• Understand the impact of weather on freight movement
• Assess how Clarus and other weather products can assist freight users
• Identify additional unmet weather needs relevant to the freight sector
• Lay out a roadmap and recommendations to present a first generation white paper to industry
• Engage the freight industry with the continued development of products
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Volpe’s Otis Weather Test Facility
• Climate appropriate for aviation weather related tests– Annual averages of: 37” snow, 48” total liquid
precipitation, and 16 thunderstorms– Frequent fogs and low clouds– Frequent wind gusts, often exceeding 40 kt– Temperatures ranging typically from–10º F to +99º F
• 155 acres of flat ground and 2,600-ft² of secured building• Instrumentation towers (10-to 200-ft) to accommodate
testing of weather conditions along the near-ground aircraft landing corridor
• Weather instrumentation – Anemometers – Visibility Sensors – Ceilometers – Present Weather Sensors, – Raingauges – Pressure Sensors, – Humidity Sensors – Thermometers
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Katrina Landfall Displayed on ETMS
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Dual Polarization Radar
Our research indicates that dual polarization radar may offer improvement in several areas
1) Quantitative and qualitative rainfall measurements
2) Hail detection and other severe storm detection
3) Characterization of hydrometeor forms in clouds (e.g., light rain, moderate rain, intense rain, supercooled rain, hail, type of ice phase such as graupel, aggregates, etc.)
4) In-cloud icing conditions
5) Storm evolution, forecasting and nowcasting
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Existing Radar Technology to Manage Safety and Congestion
Traffic Flow Acceleration Contours
( - ) Values
Slowing Down
Seattle Urban Center Traffic Effect
( + ) Values
Speeding Up
Wave Couplet
Deceleration Followed by Acceleration
Taco
ma
Current Time
65-MPH
Using NEXRAD Radar to Determine Weather Hazards Along Interstate-5 in Washington
Mar
ysvi
lle
Seattl
e
Strongest Storm Cells
N
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Summary - to Evolve and Improve the Transportation System
• Make the best use of the weather information infrastructure and services
• R&D requires efforts at all phases of the development cycle• Define information and technology requirements in support
of new applications• Establish partnerships with public and private organizations• Build on expertise in weather radar for trucking, railroad,
marine transport, emergency service providers • Provide leadership in problem definition and solution
architectures, and innovative funding mechanisms.
