Operational Measurements of Hurricane Surface Waves

1. Instrument: Scanning Radar Altimeter Mapping of the ocean wave height (topography) throughout the inner core of hurricanes Measurements of the directional ocean wave spectra in hurricanes Who benefits Fulfilling operational requirement of the Tropical Prediction Center / National Hurricane Center: Forecast of the wave height over the succeeding 48 hours Reporting of extent of seas of at least 12 foot height from the center of a tropical cyclone Development of comprehensive Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) model SRA data used for accurate modeling of the wave filed and surface roughness Baseline Technology Development of prototype SRA was funded through NASA’s Applications Flight Experiments (AAFE) since 1973 SRA prototype has flown in every hurricane season since 1998 During the 30 year system development beside the SRA instrument NASA has developed a comprehensive analisys software Operational SRA Features, Advantages Phased array antenna, Operational Frequency, Solid state Transmitter, Digital Receiver Available for preliminary flights during the 2007 hurricane season Operational Measurements of Hurricane Surface Waves Ivan PopStefanija popstefanija@prosensing.com ProSensing Inc. Amherst, MA 01002 Phone:+1(413)549-4402 Peter Black Peter.black@noaa.gov AOML Hurricane Research Division NOAA Miami, FL