Observations of Small-scale Atmospheric Variability and the Importance of Accurate Weather Information in Deterministic and Probabilistic Fast-time Wake Vortex Modeling

摘要

NASA has an on-going field experiment at Memphis International Airport to measure wake turbulence generated by aircraft in the near-ground effect region. This new data will be used in the validation and improvement of fast-time numerical wake vortex models, and provide an important data set to be used in the further development of probabilistic wake vortex estimation algorithms. An important component of this field program is to obtain high-quality estimates of important weather conditions in, or near, the region where the wake vortices are generated and tracked, and at a frequency such that the scales of variability important to the evolution of wake vortices is observed. In this paper we will describe the intercomparisons of the estimates derived from multiple sensors for the important weather parameters of atmospheric turbulence and wind speed and direction. Using the results of this intercomparison, we will provide some guidance on what uncertainties may be applicable and useful when utilizing different sources for the estimation of the meteorological condition in probabilistic fast-time wake vortex simulations.