Download - UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
Mr. Samuel P. WilliamsonFederal Coordinator for Meteorology
THE ROLE OF THE
OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL COORDINATOR FOR
METEOROLOGY
• OFCM Background
• Global Earth Observing Systems
• Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference
• Potential UAS Applications
• Summary / Next Steps
Overview
Public Law 87-843 (1963)
DOC Administrative Order
OFCM formed in Jan 1964
1963
1964
• Accountable to Congress and OMB
• Coordinate agency budgets
• Report budgets and activities in annual Federal Plan
OFCM
Historical Perspective
GAO Study Revitalizes OFCM
1979
OFCM Background
OFCM BackgroundMission
To ensure the effective use of federal meteorological resources by leading the systematic coordination of
operational weather requirements, services, and supporting research, among the federal agencies
• High-level focus on:– Needs and requirements– Issues and problems – Studies, reports, plans, and handbooks– Crosscut reviews, assessments, and analyses
• Aviation Weather • Climate Analysis,
Monitoring and Services• Observing Capabilities• Space Weather• Surface Weather• Cooperative (Applied)
Research• Environmental Services
• Urban Meteorology– Homeland Security– Air & Water Quality– Climate– Severe Weather
• Information Technology and Communications
• Modeling and Prediction
OFCM BackgroundKey Focus Areas / Agency Priorities
• Homeland Security– Atmospheric Modeling of Releases from Weapons of Mass
Destruction: Response by Federal Agencies in Support of Homeland Security (Aug 2002)
– Federal Research and Development Needs and Priorities for Atmospheric Transport and Diffusion Modeling (Sep 2004)
• Transportation– National Aviation Weather Program Mid-Course Assessment
(Aug 2003)– Weather Information for Surface Transportation: National Needs
Assessment Report (Dec 2002)• Urban Meteorology
– Meeting Weather Needs in the Urban Community (Jan 2004)– Why Urban Meteorology Now? (Sep 2004)
OFCM BackgroundExamples of Completed Special Studies & Reports
• National space weather program assessment
• Multi-functional phased array radar
• Data assimilation
• National wildland fire weather needs assessment
• Interagency strategic research plan for tropical cyclones
OFCM BackgroundExamples of Ongoing Special Studies & Reports
Federal Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (FCMSSR)
Interdepartmental Committee for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (ICMSSR) National Space
Weather Program Council
National Aviation Weather Program
CouncilEnvironmental
Services, Operations, and Research Needs
Operational Processing Centers
Environmental Information Systems and Communications
Integrated Observing Systems
Climate Analysis, Monitoring and
Services
Cooperative Research
Working Group for Urban Meteorology
Program Councils
Federal Coordinator for Meteorology
Standing Committees
FCMSSR: SET POLICIES AND PRIORITIES
ICMSSR: - Implements policy decisions- Makes policy recommendations to FCMSSR- Assess adequacy of federal programs and guides implementation of new interagency programs
Standing Committees: - Document requirements, programs, and activities to provide framework for coordination and collaboration. - Perform analysis of agency programs to provide basis for National leadership to allocate funds to meet requirements
Program Councils (funded programs/projects): - Can form committees or specialized groups (JAG/WG) to work specific projects, can interact w/academia/private sector
OFCM BackgroundRoles / Responsibilities
Departments of:• Agriculture• Commerce• Defense• Energy• Homeland Security
• Science & Technology• FEMA• Coast Guard
• Interior• State• Transportation
• Environmental Protection Agency• National Aeronautics and Space
Administration• National Science Foundation• National Transportation Safety Board• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Independent agencies:
Executive Office of the President:• Office of Management and Budget• Office of Science and Technology Policy
OFCM BackgroundOFCM Partners
National Research Council (NRC)Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC)Climate Research Committee (CRC)
US Climate Change Science Program
(USCCSP)
National Center for Atmospheric Research
(NCAR)
American Meteorological Society (AMS)
US Weather Research Program (USWRP)
University Corp. for Atmospheric Research
(UCAR)
American Geophysical Union
(AGU)
OFCM BackgroundOFCM Affiliations
National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources (CENR)Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR)Subcommittee on Air Quality ResearchInteragency Working Group on Earth Observations
• Why Suborbital– Deployable: target regional / local / ephemeral phenomena – Retrievable: payload change-out, repair, augmentation, reuse – Atmosphere-based: combine in-situ and remote-sensing, multi-
scale process studies for model validation, satellite cal/val for climate-quality datasets
• Why UAS?– Endurance gap between hours-limited aircraft and years-
capable spacecraft– Repetitive monitoring / hazardous conditions– Long-range access to remote locations for in-situ observations
Global Earth Observing Systems
• The OFCM annually hosts the Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference (IHC)
• Provide forum for responsible Federal agencies and user communities to– Review Nation's hurricane forecast and warning program– Make recommendations on how to improve the program in the
future• Major objective is to plan and prepare for upcoming hurricane
season• New procedures, procedural changes, and agreements related to
tropical cyclone forecast and warning services– Documented for implementation in the National Hurricane
Operations Plan • 60th IHC will be held in Mobile, Alabama: March 20-24, 2006
Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference
• Action item from the 58th IHC (2004):– Develop an interagency document, “The Nation’s Tropical
Cyclone Forecast And Warning Program: A Vision And Framework For Improved Operational Capability”
• In response to the action item, OFCM formed a joint action group– JAG members met at OFCM in February 2005 and the group
conducted a strategic planning session during the 59th IHC– Began developing framework for the tropical cyclone research
and development plan– Over the last several weeks, JAG members compiled:
• Information from the session conducted at the 59th IHC• Countless other pertinent material
– Drafted document, “Interagency Strategic Research Plan for Tropical Cyclones: The Way Ahead”
Interagency Strategic Research Plan for Tropical Cyclones
Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference
Need to incorporate tropical cyclone UAS requirements into document
• One of the action items from the 59th IHC was:– Develop a strategic plan for Improved Tropical Cyclone
Reconnaissance System (ITCRS) (manned, unmanned, space-based…)
• On Sept. 16, 2005, a partnership between NOAA, NASA Goddard’s Wallops Flight Facility, and the Aerosonde Company led to first successful unmanned aircraft surveillance mission of a tropical storm
• Provided detailed observations of near-surface, high-wind hurricane environment, an area often too dangerous for manned aircraft surveillance
Storm Reconnaissance - Tropical Cyclones
Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference
Toth Toth et al.et al. (2000) (2000)
(Based on Data From Winters 1998-2002)
• NOAA’s Gulfstream IV aircraft and Air Force Reserve Command’s WC-130s fly missions from Honolulu and Anchorage
– Targeted upper air observations in advance of significant West Coast winter storms
• 60-80% of forecasts improved because of targeted observations
• 12-hour gain in forecast lead time
• RMS forecast errors reduced by 10-20%
• Improvement similar to that achieved in last 20 years of advances in numerical modeling and data acquisition
UAS Application?
Potential UAS Applications
• Purpose of workshop: engage climate / weather modeling communities to assess applicability of UASs in support of their work
• Other current / future UAS applications (non-military):– High-altitude imagery– Border patrol– Drug interdiction– Environmental sensing– Media and traffic reporting– Tactical law enforcement– Maritime surveillance– Stratospheric telecommunications airships– Nuclear accident appraisal– Forest and wildlife inspection
Potential UAS Applications
• Forest and wildlife inspection– NASA tested several APV-3s– Equipped with thermal
sensors– U.S. Forest Service plans to
use the UASs starting this year to patrol a dozen Western states
Potential UAS Applications
• Use of UASs by federal agencies will continue to grow
– Opportunities for collaboration and leveraging for enhanced environmental data collection
• At OFCM:
– Continue to work IHC action items
– Monitor federal agency UAS activities
• In future, may need to form OFCM Airborne Reconnaissance Working Group
Summary / Next Steps
QUESTIONS?
BACKUPS
• United States Air Force also pursuing UAS tropical cyclone surveillance capability; conducting experiments in two phases:– Phase I (September 5 – 13, 2005):
• Partnering with NASA (Wallops Flight Facility) and Aerosonde Co.• Tested sensor accuracy and aircraft endurance, maneuverability, operating ceiling, and multi-aircraft
operations
– Phase II (October 7 – November 22):
• Flew missions from Guam
• Collected meteorological data in tropical cyclone environment
• Air Force Weather Agency incorporated data into MM5
– Run model with / without UAS data
Storm ReconnaissanceTropical Cyclones