Addressing the Cold Air Aloft Aviation Challenge with Satellite Sounding Observations

Abstract

At high latitudes in winter, the atmosphere at flight levels used by passenger and cargo aircraft can reach temperatures cold enough to restrict the flow of jet fuel from the fuel tanks to the engine, due either to water freezing in the fuel or the fuel itself freezing. Currently, aviation forecasters rely on a combination of aircraft reports, pilot reports, a sparse network of radiosondes, and global model fieldsfor identifying and characterizing Cold Air Aloft (CAA) events. More atmospheric data are needed to improve forecasts of CAA placement and timing, and satellite observations can help fill the gap. In particular, products derived from the NOAA-Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) can be utilized by National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters to assist in the production of aviation hazard products. NUCAPS combines measurements from infrared and microwave sounding instruments on polar-orbiting satellites to retrieve atmospheric profiles of temperature and moisture in the high latitudes. NWS forecasters have real-time access to NUCAPS soundings via the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System-II (AWIPS-II). The Joint Polar Satellite System Sounding Applications Initiative created Gridded NUCAPS in order to view soundings as isobaric surfaces or vertical cross sections in AWIPS-II. The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) developed a web-based product for displaying satellite-derived CAA information. This paper describes how the AWIPS-II and CIRA displays of satellite sounding observations augment aviation forecasting activities in Alaska using two specific CAA cases from the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 winter seasons.