1. ‘Drifting’ buoy data - their effect on ‘Weather’ Analysis and Forecasting Ian Hunter S A Weather Service 29/7/2002
Louis Vermaak – DBCP XVIII – Martinique October 2002

2. South African Weather Service (SAWS) METAREA VII
Our marine environment
‘Fixed platform’ in situ observation sites
Remotely-sensed marine data
SAWS marine products/ activities
Drifters and some case studies
Comments

3. SAWS – our Marine Environment

5. Tropical cyclone ‘Eline’ 22 February 2000

6. ‘Magdalena Oldendorff’ – icebound in METAREA VII

7. Explosive cyclogenesis south-west of Cape Town

8. Cut-off low generating heavy SE’ly swell

9. Heavy SW’ly swell arrives at ‘The Dungeon’ south of Cape Town

10. Warm Agulhas Current water penetrating the South Atlantic
Courtesy OSIS Cape Town

11. 10% + of world’s seaborne oil traffic rounds the Cape….
Courtesy : MRG Munich

12. SAWS – our “Fixed Platforms”

14. cf FA Platform central Agulhas Bank
Courtesy MRG Munich

15. A visitor to Marion Is (48° S) – March 2002

16. Bouvet Is. Norwegian AWS v. important for wave forecast models

17. SAWS AWS on South Thule, South Sandwich Islands
- see ‘ship wave’ clouds, top left.

18. Remotely-sensed Marine Data

19. NOAA AVHRR data – Agulhas Current – 5 knots +

20. MODUS – Terra – Gulf Stream
even higher resolution ...

21. Scatterometer winds ex QUICKSCAT – not always available

22. QUICKSCAT sees the pack ice – June 2002

23. SAWS – our Marine Products/ Activities

24. SAWS Global Spectral Model (GSM)

25. SAWS regional Eta model

26. A few Marine Case Studies in METAREA VII

28. Heavy, very long-period SW’ly swell to Agulhas Bank
- semi-submersibles unprepared, go into resonance. Damage several $m.

29. Tropical Cyclone Domoina visits the KwaZulu Natal Coast

30. Meteosat 7 – 4 September 2001 HmO 10m + off Cape Town widespread coastal damage

31. Explosive cyclogenesis 24 May 2002
Explosive cyclogenesis 24 May Heavy swell -> coastal damage/ flooding

32. Drifting buoy 17513, south-west of Cape Town

33. August 2002

34. Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System model - AMPS

35. Drifting buoy 71566 – important input for AMPS – wakes up !

36. NOAA WAVEWATCH model – buoy data please !

37. Concluding Comments : Marine DATA Life blood – Bread & butter !

38. Bouvet AWS data – received 8 hours later ...

39. International cooperation versus NMS commercialisation

40. SA Agulhas returning from Marion Is – August 1999
Photo : Brent Appel - SAWB