ECMWF Virtual Science and technology seminar on Aircraft data, Covid-19 and global weather forecasting will take place on Wednesday 20th January 2021.
For further details, please see the link below:
ECMWF Virtual Science and technology seminar on Aircraft data, Covid-19 and global weather forecasting will take place on Wednesday 20th January 2021.
For further details, please see the link below:
AVIATION SUPPORT – SCOPE & PURPOSE
EUMETNET’s aviation programme exists to support our members in improving the value and efficiency of meteorological services to the European aviation industry through cooperation, innovation and investment for the future. In addition, we also aim to ensure a consistent and coordinated approach towards future transformation of aviation meteorology in Europe by building on our positive relationships with industry stakeholders, governing bodies and the European Commission. By collaborating, we aim to enhance our understanding of the weather impacts on the ATM system and its users, and thereby tailoring future solutions to meet evolving industry needs.
The Aviation Implementation Strategy for future MET service provision to the aviation sector can be summarised in the following vision statement:
“Operations of every European Airspace User will be made safer and more efficient through better use of MET information by all aviation stakeholders”
To achieve the vision statement there are 5 primary objectives for the Aviation MET community to focus on:
These objectives can be achieved through a number of developments on both a global and a European level which are on-going and are changing the way MET Service Provision to Air Navigation will be organized in the near-future. On a global level, there are the ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP – Doc 9750) and the Global ATM Operational Concept (Doc 9854). These address the current and future air navigation needs and exploit new scientific and technological capabilities. The modernization process will be carried out by implementing the so-called Aviation System Block Upgrade (ASBU) concept.
On a European level, the regulation (EU) 2017/373 https://www.easa.europa.eu/acceptable-means-compliance-and-guidance-material-group/part-met referred to as Part-MET brings into legislation the requirements of regulated MET provision in Europe and ensures consistency across the continent. In addition, the European Union “Single European Sky” (SES) initiative has the aim to solve some of the many problems of air navigation caused by, amongst others, airspace fragmentation in Europe. SES is led by the European Commission (EC) and focuses on the achievement of some key goals: increasing safety and capacity, more cost effective air navigation services and lowering the environmental impact of aviation. The modernization process will be carried out by implementing the European ATM Master Plan through, for example, the deployment of new procedures and tools developed in the SES ATM Research (SESAR) programme, to which EUMETNET is a committed implementing partner. The European Master Plan can be seen as the European contribution to the ICAO GANP.
EUMETNET has an important role in helping its Members influence these changes and also to assist its Members in adapting to them and to ensure that their impact is managed. EUMETNET will publish a Vision Paper on Future MET Service Provision to Air Navigation in Europe in the near future.
Some of the key tasks of the Aviation Support Programme are:
The Aviation Support Programme works under the advisement of WG AVIMET Chairmanship, AVAC guidance and the EUMETNET Executive Director and governing bodies. It is managed as part of the EUMETNET Secretariat.
The EUMETNET Aviation Coordinator is Ms Lauren Donohue from the UK Met Office and the Aviation MET Expert is Tor Ivar Mathisen from MET Norway.
OPERA Data production
During the previous OPERA phase (2019-2023), the data centre (ODYSSEY) was gradually replaced with three new production lines (CUMULUS/STRATUS CIRRUS, and NIMBUS).
New production lines
• CUMULUS/STRATUS, a real-time data hub providing the incoming data back to members in approximately real-time for their own processing (e.g. regional composites or NWP assimilation) and to the other two production lines (CIRRUS and NIMBUS). The production line has been operational since Q2/2021.
• CIRRUS producing 5-minute instantaneous maximum reflectivity composite (dBZ) for current weather, severe weather alerts and aviation needs. It is replacing the ODYSSEY maximum reflectivity composite with improved spatial (now with 1 km gridding) and temporal resolution (from 15 – minutes to 5- minutes). The production has been operational since Q1/2024. Documentation regarding the CIRRUS maximum reflectivity product and its differences compared to the ODYSSEY maximum reflectivity product can be found here.
OPERA_Max Reflectivity_Product Sheet_Ed-2.0.pdf
OPERA5_Report_Cirrus-vs-Odyssey_Ed-2.0.pdf
• NIMBUS produces centrally the quality-controlled products; instantaneous rain rate (mm/h) and 1 – hour accumulation (mm) composites, and wind profiles (TBD Q4/2024), and additionally the quality-controlled volume data for NWP assimilation. It replaces the ODYSSEY production for the above-mentioned products. The NIMBUS production has been operational since Q2/2024. Documentation regarding the NIMBUS composites and their differences compared to the corresponding ODYSSEY can be found here:
NIMBUS_datasheet_composites_1.0_13062024.pdf
NIMBUS_composite_vs_ODYSSEY_1.0_19062024.pdf
OPERA support can be reached through email to support.opera[at]eumetnet.eu. Responses from the service desk are provided on a best-effort basis.
Access to data
The members of OPERA and EUMETNET may use the composites for their official duties without a separate license. The Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) modelers obtain the quality-controlled volume data directly from the NIMBUS production line.
The OPERA products are also available under license to 3rd parties:
For national weather services not participating in OPERA which want to use the products to support their public weather service, contact info[at]eumetnet.eu
For a research and education licence, contact info[at]eumetnet.eu.
For a license to exploit the products commercially, contact one of the EUMETNET members contact points (https://www.ecomet.eu/contact/members) or send an email to eumetdaps_secretariat[at]eumetnet.eu.
EUMETNET AMDAR coverage
The coverage for the EUMETNET AMDAR network for a typical day is shown on the map below. Yellow plots indicate observations taken enroute with red and green plots representing aircraft ascent and descent profiles.
OBSERVATIONS – OPERA OPERA is the Radar Programme of EUMETNET The objectives of OPERA : The key achievements of OPERA: OPERA has been coordinating radar data exchange in Europe for 20 years, and its data centres have been operational for almost a decade. In the previous programme phase (2019-2023) the data centre (ODYSSEY) operated since 2011, was gradually replaced with three new production lines. The three production lines, CUMULUS/STRATUS, NIMBUS, and CIRRUS, are responsible for gathering the data, and producing European-wide radar products for EUMETNET members as well as third-party users.
During the previous OPERA phase (2019-2023), the data centre (ODYSSEY) was gradually replaced with three new production lines (CUMULUS/STRATUS CIRRUS, and NIMBUS).
Figure: The schematic structure of the new OPERA data production.
The three new production lines are:
• CUMULUS/STRATUS, a real-time data hub providing the incoming data back to members in approximately real-time for their own processing (e.g. regional composites or NWP assimilation) and to the other two production lines (CIRRUS and NIMBUS). The production line has been operational since Q2/2021.
• CIRRUS producing 5-minute instantaneous maximum reflectivity composite (dBZ) for current weather, severe weather alerts and aviation needs. It is replacing the ODYSSEY maximum reflectivity composite with improved spatial (now with 1 km gridding) and temporal resolution (from 15 – minutes to 5- minutes). The production has been operational in Q1/2024. Documentation regarding the CIRRUS maximum reflectivity product and its differences compared to the ODYSSEY maximum reflectivity product can be found here.
– OPERA_Max Reflectivity_Product Sheet_Ed-2.0.pdf
– OPERA5_Report_Cirrus-vs-Odyssey_Ed-2.0.pdf
• NIMBUS producing centrally the quality-controlled products; instantaneous rain rate (mm/h) and 1 – hour accumulation (mm) composites, and wind profiles (TBD Q4/2024), and additionally the quality-controlled volume data for NWP assimilation. It is replacing the ODYSSEY production for the above-mentioned products. The NIMBUS production has been operational in Q2/2024. Documentation regarding the NIMBUS composites and their differences compared to the corresponding ODYSSEY can be found here:
– NIMBUS_datasheet_composites_1.0_13062024.pdf
– NIMBUS_composite_vs_ODYSSEY_1.0_19062024.pdf
OPERA support can be reached through email to support.opera@emetnet.com. Responses from the service desk are provided on a best-effort basis.
Access to data
The members of OPERA and EUMETNET may use the composites for their official duties without a separate license. The Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) modelers obtain the quality-controlled volume data directly from NIMBUS production line.
The OPERA products are also available under license to 3rd parties:
· For national weather services not participating in OPERA which want to use the products to support their public weather service, contact info@emetnet.com
· For a research and education licence, contact info@emetnet.com.
· For a license to exploit the products commercially, contact one of the EUMETNET members contact points(https://www.ecomet.eu/contact/members) or send a mail eumetdaps_secretariat@emetnet.com.
WG AVIMET: The Working Group for Aviation Objectives Aviation, consisting of a wide spectrum of aeronautical stakeholders, is a high priority customer group for most EUMETNET Members. Via co-operation, EUMETNET Members strive to improve the value and efficiency of aeronautical meteorological services to ensure performance benefits for the aviation industry as well as to reduce the negative impact of adverse weather conditions on the daily operations. AVIMET is a Working Group of EUMETNET that was created to address issues of common interest within the aeronautical meteorological (MET) domain, especially in relation to the ongoing development of the political, technical and regulatory landscape under a Single European Sky (SES). In addition to this, the WG AVIMET aims to facilitate the exchange of information between members on aviation meteorological issues whilst developing common position statements of EUMETNET on aviation-related issues. Focus Areas AVIMET has identified three main focus areas: Membership & Organisation Membership is open to all EUMETNET Members who may nominate one representative to the Working Group. In general, the representative should belong to an authorized and certified MET Service Provider which may be either the EUMETNET Member itself or another agency in that country. On 1st of January 2017 AVIMET has 33 members. The Working Group tasks are coordinated by an elected WG Chairperson whose main roles are to: The AVIMET Chair is assisted by 2 elected Vice-Chairs.