World Meteorological OrganizationWorking together in weather, climate and water

NextGen Update

WMO; CAeM www.wmo.int

WMO

2NextGen Update

OverviewWMO

• NextGen—Why?• NextGen—How?• NextGen Weather• Summary

3NextGen Update

NextGen—Why?WMO

• Weather accounts for 70% of all air traffic delays within the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS)– The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has

determined two thirds of this is preventable with better weather information

• "A key finding, based on an analysis of several 2005-2006 convective events, is that as much as two-thirds of the weather related delay is potentially avoidable." -Research, Engineering and Development Advisory Committee; Report of the Weather-ATM Integration Working Group; Oct3, 2007

4NextGen Update

NextGen—Why?WMO

• “The total cost of domestic air traffic delays to the U.S. economy was as much as $41 billion for 2007.”– Air-traffic delays raised airlines'

operating costs by $19 billion.– Delays cost passengers time

worth up to $12 billion.– Indirect costs of delay to other

industries added roughly $10 billion to the total burden.

– Your Flight Has Been Delayed Again; Congressional Joint Economic Committee; May 2008

5NextGen Update

NextGen—Big PictureWMO

6NextGen Update

NextGen—How?WMO

• Improvements to the U.S. air transportation system will be achieved by applying:– Space-based navigation and integrated surveillance– Digital communications– Layered adaptive security– Weather integrated into decision-making– Advanced automation of Air Traffic Management– Net-centric information access for operations

7NextGen Update

NextGen—How?WMO

8NextGen Update

WMO

NextGen Weather

9NextGen Update

The 4-D Weather DatabaseA Conceptual ModelWMO

4-D Wx Database

CustomGraphic

Generators

Integration into User Decisions

DecisionSupportSystems

CustomAlphanumeric

Generators

Observations Forecasting

4D WxSAS

Radars

Aircraft

Surface

Satellites

Soundings

Private Sector

NWSForecaster

Forecast Systems

Forecast Integration

Statistical Forecasting Systems

Numerical Modeling Systems

10NextGen Update

Single Authoritative SourceWMO

• The 4-D Weather Single Authoritative Source (SAS):– Is only a portion of the 4-D Weather Database– Provides a common weather picture for National Air Space (NAS)

participants (Airlines, Military, FAA, etc.)– Is the basis for all aviation decisions by

Air Traffic Management (ATM) in the FAA– Is formed by merger of model data,

automated gridded algorithms, climatology and observational data, and meteorologist input/data manipulation to ensure consistency and accuracy

• FAA and NWS collaboratively determine contents of SAS subject to FAA air traffic management needs

11NextGen Update

NextGen Weather TransformationWMO

Weather Now Weather Under NextGen

• Not integrated into aviation decision support systems (DSS) • Totally integrated into DSS

• Often inconsistent/conflicting information on a national scale

• Nationally consistent weather information

• Low temporal resolution for aviation decision making purposes • High temporal resolution

• Disseminated in minutes • Disseminated in seconds

• Updated by schedule • Updated by events

• Fixed product formats (graphic or text) • Flexible formats

• Forecast Process• Forecaster input to weather information to add value

– Meteorologist in/over the loop

• Global Harmonization• Discussion and collaboration with international

community

NextGen Weather Transformation

12NextGen Update

SummaryWMO

• U.S. NextGen is a Congressionally-mandated initiative to modernize the U.S. Air Transportation System in order to increase capacity and reliability; improve safety and security; and minimize the environmental impact of aviation

• Weather integration into Air Traffic Management (ATM) is a key component to the NextGen

• The 4-Dimensional Weather Database will be a virtual repository for weather information needed for pilots and air traffic managers to be aware of how the weather will impact airport and flight operations

• The Single Authoritative Source (SAS), a subset of weather information in the 4-D weather database, will provide a consistent weather picture for all official air traffic management decisions

13NextGen Update

WMO

Questions?