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191001-363513-1A
17-NGI3-32
16-NGI3-01
10/1/2016
2019-9-30 0:0:0
Completed
$223,736.00
Further Refinements to Stepped-Frequency Microwave Radiometer Surface Wind Measurements in Hurricanes
Bourassa
Mark
FSU
CH-CE
OAR
The Stepped-Frequency Microwave Radiometer Surface (SFMR) is the primary tool used for collecting aircraft-based estimates of the surface wind speed in tropical cyclones (TCs), which are used as input to numerical models and by National Hurricane Center TC forecasts. To further improve the accuracy of the SFMR algorithm, researchers collected additional measurements from hurricane reconnaissance flights and looked at variables that the algorithm was dependent upon to identify error sources. They identified a dependency of the SFMR algorithm accuracy on environmental (mid-latitude vs tropical) characteristics (SST, ambient air temperature). Analysis of thousands of dropsondes showed that the WL150 surface reduction factor for eyewall dropsondes and outer vortex dropsondes are different and that the relationships between upper-level winds and surface winds needed to be updated. They collected SFMR data during the 2018 hurricane season to begin analyzing the pitch dependency of the SFMR and found that significantly more data needs to be collected to quantify the relationship. The results of this study will be implemented in the 2020 operational SFMR algorithm update.
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