PMO-III, March 2005, Hamburg, Germany. Report by Australia Graeme Ball Manager, Marine Operations Group Australian Bureau of Meteorology

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 2 Outline  Australian PMO Program: Overview & locations; Ship-based activities in 2005; and National PMA Training Program.  Australian Voluntary Observing Fleet (AVOF): Goals & status; GTS distribution of BBXX in 2005; Observing Program & Instrumentation; Quality monitoring & data flow; Challenges & difficulties; and Awards, certificates & goodwill.

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 3 Australian PMO Network  Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney: Part-time contractors (Port Meteorological Agents); Full range of services to the VOS; Ship-greetings to the Bureau’s XBT SOOP; and Support to other Bureau marine programs.  Other capital city & provincial ports: Full-time Bureau Regional Office and Field Office staff; Limited range of VOS services, typically ‘on-request’; and Occasional support to other Bureau marine programs.

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 4 Port Meteorological Officers 26 (1) Distribution of AVOF & (XBT) ships as at 28 Feb (2) 26 (1) 1 6

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 5 PMO Ship-Based Activities in 2005 Routine AVOF inspection visits211 AVOF courtesy visits20 Courtesy visits to non-VOS or foreign-VOS45 Recruitment or de-recruitment visits (AVOF & XBT)22 XBT ‘ship-greeting’ visits63 Buoy deployment assists33 Float deployment assists0

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 6 National PMO Training  2004 PMA Training Workshop: Chair of VOSP attended as an invited presenter.  2005 Devil XBT Training Workshop.  2006 PMA Training Workshop (planned).

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 7 Goals of the AVOF  To maintain an AVOF of 100 ships, producing an average of 2 observations per day, per ship.  To provide real-time surface meteorological data of a high quality to support the Bureau’s marine services, climate analysis & research, and end-user applications.

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 8 AVOF Program Status VOS Class Ships VOSClim (with TurboWin) TurboWin (non-VOSClim) Turbo1ShipAWS SEL SUP3-1-- AUX1---- Σ89 Fleet details as at 31 December Target 48247Total No. of BBXX in 2005

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 9 AVOF Program Status VOS Class Ships VOSClim (with TurboWin) TurboWin (non-VOSClim) Turbo1ShipAWS SEL SUP3-1-- AUX1---- Σ89 Fleet details as at 31 December 

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 10 Fleet Volatility

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 11 Real-Time BBXX Locations BBXX from the AVOF distributed on the GTS in 2005

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 12 Observing Program ComponentManual ObservationShipAWS Observation Observation times 00, 06, 12 and 18 UTC.Configurable, mostly every 3 hours. Generally no report when the ship is stationary. LogbookPaper or TurboWin.Electronic. TransmissionInmarsat to a LES using SAC41 (free to the ship). Inmarsat to Perth LES in data reporting mode. Data formatBBXX.Binary subset of the BBXX. Converted to full BBXX by the Bureau. Insertion on the GTS NMS in the country of the receiving LES. Bureau.

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 13 TurboWin  Re-packaged by the Bureau to include: Bureau-prepared Installation Manual; Bureau-prepared User Guide; International PMO contact details; List of LES that accept SAC41; AU & NZ Radiofax Schedules; and AU Radiofax Brochure;  Configuration sheet left on ship.

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 14 Meteorological Instruments Instrument Standard (VOSClim compliant) ShipAWS Barometer *Mk I DA or Mk II DA.PTB220B. Barograph *7-day Marine. ScreenMarine (generally 2 per ship).DTR13 radiation shield. Thermometers2 x Mercury-in-glass (wet & dry bulb) per screen. HMP45 humidity probe. RTD temperature probe. AnemometerBeaufort Scale (preferred) or ship’s-own anemometer. WAA151 cups and WAV151 vane. Sea TempEngine intake (preferred) or bucket & sea thermometer. Engine intake. * Set to read Station Level Pressure (SLP)

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 15 ShipAWS – Vaisala Milos 500  Remotely sensed: AP, AT, RH & SST; and Apparent WS & WD.  Derived values: DP, WB & PT; and True WS & WD.  Manual input of visual elements: Cloud, weather, visibility, sea & swell.

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 16 Inbuilt GPS

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 17 ShipAWS Console: Real-Time Data

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 18 ShipAWS Console: SHIP Message

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 19 AVOF Quality Monitoring SourceFrequencyParameters Real-time feedbackOccasionalAll parameters Météo-France QM websiteWeeklyAP UK Met Office QM Report*MonthlyAP, SST, AT, RH, WS, WD VOS Suspect Ship List*MonthlyAP, SST, AT, RH, WS, WD VOSClim Suspect Ship List*MonthlyAP, SST, AT, RH, WS, WD Bureau Performance ReportMonthlyCount of BBXX * Prepared by the Real-Time Monitoring Centre (RTMC).

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 20 Suspect Ships – QM Criteria Bias Limits Pressure (hPa) Wind Spd (m/s) Wind Dir (deg) Air Temp (deg C) Rel Hum (%) SST (deg C) VOS VOSClim AVOF Based on the RTMC monthly monitoring statistics

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 21 VOS Data Flow AVOF Data Flow Quality Monitoring Feedback

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 22 Challenges & Difficulties  Language problems – non-English speaking crews.  Tighter port & ship security due to ISPS Code.  Concerns for ship safety.  Shorter stays in port – some multiple installation visits.  Volatility in the shipping industry.

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 23 Awards and Certificates Proposed re-design of plaque.

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 24 Goodwill  Bureau/AMOS Calendar.  Christmas Card.  Bureau of Meteorology Cap (Marine Observing Program).  Publications: Ocean Views newsletter; and Climate Bulletins to XBT SOOP.

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 25 Unusual Phenomena Barograph turned Seismograph Barograph chart from M.V. Northwest Sandpiper, 4 Sept The earthquake measured 7.4 on the Richter Scale with waves up to 86 cm over parts of Japan. The ship was 17 km from the epicentre and suffered minor damage but the barograph failed.

PMO-III, March 2006, Hamburg 26