Sept.
10, 1998: (this is the 15th in
a series of stories covering the ongoing CAMEX mission to hunt
hurricane data in a way not done since the 50s. Other
stories are linked in below.)
With no hurricanes on the horizon, a NASA team is studying
thunderstorms and other weather effects around Florida - and
getting ready for the next big storm.
Right:
These four strip images depict a thunderstorm with a large ice
core and a cirrus anvil cloud as seen in four radio frequencies
by the Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer aboard the
ER-2. (Links to 800x800, 108KB JPG)
"We've just been flying TEFLUN missions with the ER-2
and Citation," said Robbie Hood, the mission scientist for
the Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-3). Because hurricanes
can't be scheduled, the CAMEX-3 campaign was integrated with
the Texas and Florida Underflight (TEFLUN) campaign to measure
weather conditions as the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
satellite flies overhead.
"We still have other missions," Hood said, including
water vapor around Andros Island, Bahamas, where NASA has a important
weather station, and convection development and stratiform rain
clouds over Florida and the Gulf of Mexico area.
The CAMEX-3 team - comprising scientists from NASA, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and universities - had
a dynamic opening in August with flights over and through Hurricanes
Bonnie, Danielle, and Earl.
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"We've
had three hurricanes so far, so we feel pretty good about that,"
she said.
Right:
This cross-section of a thunderstorm was produced by the ER-2
Doppler radar (EDOP) on Tuesday. (Links to 522x609-pixel,
196KB JPG).
The experiment continues through Sept. 23, and the team has
enough flight time left for two or three flights, Hood said.
How they will be used will be decided as the weather develops,
but Hood would like to give priority to moisture inflow ahead
of hurricanes.
Meanwhile, the scientists are rechecking their instruments
to be ready for the next hurricane. |
Note: More details
are available in the NASA press
release describing CAMEX-3. Check back as hurricane season
progresses. We will post science updates as the campaign develops.
PIX: High resolution scans of 35mm camera photos from
the CAMEX-3 campaign are available from Public Affairs Office
at NASA headquarters. Please call the NASA Headquarters Photo
Department at 202-358-1900, or contact Bill Ingalls at bingalls@hq.nasa.gov.
CAMEX Series Headlines
August 12:
Overview CAMEX story , describes
the program in detail.
August 13: CAMEX
maiden flight , for calibration
of TRMM satellite instruments
August 14: CAMEX
test flights , CAMEX flies over
tropical storm weather in successful calibration run
August 18: CAMEX
aircraft make second flight with TRMM
, second calibration run for TRMM
August 20: CAMEX
may get first chance at a tropical storm , later this week
August 21: Here comes Bonnie!
, CAMEX scheduled to fly over T.S. Bonnie
August 22: West by Northwest ,
CAMEX team may have to evacuate to Georgia
August 24: Eye-to-eye, and Bonnie
winks, CAMEX team makes first flight through eye
August 25: Snow in August,
Bonnie surprises the hurricane team
August 26: Camera of many colors
Hurricane hunters using advanced scanner to peer into storms
August 28: Preparing for Danielle
NASA team takes break as Bonnie fades away
August 31: Quite a Windfall
Hurricane team completes first half of unique science campaign.
Includes listing of August flights and aircraft and spacecraft
used in CAMEX-3.
September 2: Bonnie Cuts a Towering
Figure Satellite radar shows mountainous cloud chimney
September 4: Hurricane team studies
Earl Four aircraft probe storm
September 10: NASA team awaits
next hurricane (this
story)
September
16: Hurricane season passing its prime Thunderstorm
studies continue as a new hurricane candidate wends its way from
Africa.
September 18: Two new storms brewing
for hurricane research team Scientists fly 4 out of 5
days, clear air sampled over the Bahamas, oceanic convection
data collected east of Cape Canaveral
September 21:The last hurricane
- CAMEX team wrapping up campaign with flights into Georges
September 23: Hurricane Georges
puts on a light show - CAMEX team treated to purple sprites
and weird lightning
NCAR has an extensive writeup on the GPS
dropsondes used in CAMEX-3 and other atmospheric campaigns.
A new study - not related to CAMEX-3 - by
the Arizona State University suggests a
link between hurricanes in the northwest Atlantic and air pollution. |
CAMEX-3 - the third Convection and Moisture
Experiment - is an interagency project to measure hurricane dynamics
at high altitude, a method never employed before over Atlantic
storms. From this, scientists hope to understand better how hurricanes
are powered and to improve the tools they use to predict hurricane
intensity.
An overview
story (Aug. 12, 1998) describes
the program in detail. The study is part of NASA's Earth Science
enterprise to better understand the total Earth system and the
effects of natural and human-induced changes on the global environment.
A midterm story (Aug. 31, 1998) reviews the first month of
operations and the windfall of data.
Measuring distance and speed
Because meteorology and aeronautics first used modified nautical
charts, their data bases are in nautical miles and knots (nautical
miles per hour). In these stories, we use Standard International
("metric") units first, and give more familiar measurements
in English units and the original measurements in nautical units.
Because of rounding and because the wind speeds originally are
expressed in knots, km/h speeds to knots may be slightly different
from the numbers in the story.
- Standard International Units:
- km - kilometer (1 km = 0.62 smi = 0.54 nmi)
- km/h - kilometers per hour
- English (or US) units:
- mi, or smi - miles (statute miles; 1 smi =
0.87 nmi = 1.61 km)
mph - (statute) miles per hour
- Nautical units:
- nmi - nautical miles (1 nmi = 1.15 smi= 1.85 km)
- kts - knots (nautical miles per hour)
-
Web Links |
CAMEX-3 home page contains
links to daily flight operations and instrument descriptions.
Lightning
Imaging Sensor
aboard the TRMM satellite observes lightning from above the clouds
- and my lead to better warnings on the ground.
MACAWS uses the Doppler
effect (red and blue shifts) to measure wind velocity.
SPARCLE is a Space Shuttle
experiment set for 2001 to demonstrate laser wind measurement
from space. |
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