Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Atmospheric Instrumentation: An Overview

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Meteorological Instrumentation: A Brief History Early Weather and Climate Observations: Early civilizations (e.g., Egypt, Maya, Vikings, Chinese, Polynesia) were known to monitor local weather/climate patterns and pass this information from one generation to the next through stories, art, religion, and architecture Influenced agricultural (food) Influenced movement and migration (nautical travel) Influenced site selection for town/cities (access / stability) Aristotle (Greek – 350 BC) is considered the “founder” of meteorology Wrote Meteorologica where he described the hydrological cycle Book served as the primary reference for centuries Pomponius Mela (Roman – 25 AD) formalized a climate zone system Varahamihira (India – 500 AD) wrote Brihatsamhita - first formal description of the seasonal cycle and the formation of clouds/rain Al-Dinawari (Muslim – 900 AD) wrote Book of Plants - first formal description of the application of meteorology to agriculture

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Meteorological Instrumentation: A Brief History Early Surface Observations: Basic instrumentation was first developed Standardized rain gauge (Korea – 1441 AD) Anemometer (Italy – 1450 AD) Thermometer (Italy – 1607 AD) Barometer (Italy – 1643 AD) Hygrometer (France – 1783 AD) Regular meteorological surface observation networks were developed Italy – 1654 AD United States – 1849 AD England – 1854 AD India – 1875 AD Scandinavia – 1881 AD Japan – 1883 AD Standardization was introduced → could share observations from multiple networks Temperature → Fahrenheit vs. Celcius Pressure → millibar vs. pascal Surface station design and sheltering

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Meteorological Instrumentation: A Brief History Early Surface Observations: Weather instruments were expensive → Owned by a select few → Wealthy organizations (government / religious) → Wealthy individuals (ship captains / doctors)

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Meteorological Instrumentation: A Brief History Early Surface Observations and the Current Climate Record: A few weather observers kept good records → Recorded observations regularly (daily) → Noted any changes in instrumentation → Observation logs survived the years → Basis of current long-term climate record

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Meteorological Instrumentation: A Brief History Early Upper Air Observations: Beginning in the mid-1700’s scientists began using a number of techniques to acquire meteorological observations above the surface → Kites (1749) → Manned hot air balloons (1783) → Unmanned instrumented balloons (1902) → Radiosonde (1930)

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Meteorological Instrumentation: A Brief History Early Radar Observations: 1904Christian Hulsmeyer developed a device that could remotely detect ships beyond the human visual range – the first “radar” device 1917Nikola Tesla outlined how a “radar” device could be used for tracking ships by transmitting pulses at regular intervals 1930sPulsing “radar” developed by British, German, French, and U.S. militaries for defense – the Allies thought the Germans were developing “death rays” 1940sScience of radar meteorology was born during World War II 1940 A “radio detection and ranging” (radar) device was developed by the U.S. Navy 1941A 10-cm (S-Band) defense radar along the southern coast of England – the same radar used to track German fighters / bombers – was used to track a thunderstorm with large hail over a distance of 7 miles. 1943First operational weather radar – Panama Canal Zone 1957First operational weather radar network in U.S. (66 WSR-57 radars)

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Meteorological Instrumentation: A Brief History Early Satellite Observations: 1957Soviet Union launches Sputnik-1 into low-Earth orbit – first man-made satellite 1960Unites States launches TIROS-1 – the first weather satellite - collected visible (daytime only) imagery of clouds and tested basic instrumentation techniques 1964Nimbus-1 launched – first satellite to collect infrared (IR) imagery (nighttime) 1965TIROS-9 launched – first sun-synchronous near polar-orbiting satellite that could provide complete global coverage over the course of one day. 1966ATS-1 launched – first geostationary satellite that could provide full-disc visible images every 20 minutes 1969Nimbus-3 launched – first satellite to have an IR spectrometer (24-hr temperature profiles / soundings) and solar/infrared interferometers (Earth’s radiation budget) 1970NOAA-1 launched – first “modern” polar-orbiting satellite (19 total) 1975GOES-1 launched – first “modern” geostationary satellite (15 total)

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Observed ParameterSurface Upper-AirRadar Satellite Pressure X X Temperature X X X Humidity X X X Clouds X X X X Precipitation X X X Wind Speed / Direction X X X X Radiation X X Severe Weather X X X X Tornadoes X X X X Hurricanes X X X X Air Quality X X X X Aircraft Safety X X X X Winter Weather X X X X Climate Change X X X X Data assimilation into X X X X numerical weather and climate models Meteorological Instrumentation: Current Uses

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Example of a Modern Surface System NOAA ASOS Station (operational) Precipitation Amount (heated) (tipping bucket) Wind Speed / Direction (cup anemometer) (wind vane) Temperature Humidity (aspirated) Cloud Height (ceilometer) Visibility Precipitation Type Lightning Pressure Electronics (Transmitter)

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Example of a Modern Surface System Davis Vantage Pro-2 Station (research) Precipitation Amount (tipping bucket) Wind Speed / Direction (cup anemometer) (wind vane) Temperature Humidity (aspirated) Solar and UV Radiation (radiometers) Electronics (Transmitter)

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Example of a Modern Upper-Air System Receiving Antenna Balloon Inflation Area Helium Tanks GPS Antenna Temperature Sensor Humidity Sensor Pressure Sensor (inside case) Transmitting Antenna Vaisala Sounding System and RS-92 Sonde

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Examples of Modern Radar Systems NOAA NEXRAD S-band 10.5 cm Doppler NCAR Doppler on Wheels X-band 3.2 cm Doppler NOAA-WP3D X-band / 3.2 cm Doppler

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin Examples of Modern Satellite Systems

Atmospheric InstrumentationM. D. Eastin How Do These Instruments Work? Starting next time… 1.Principles of Measurement and Instruments 2.Surface Measurement Systems 3.Sounding Measurement Systems 4.Precipitation Radar Systems 5.Satellite Systems