Session 2 Micro-Weather Information (Observations, Forecasts, and Communications) for Advanced Air Mobility Operations

Monday, 29 January 2024: 10:45 AM-12:00 PM
317 (The Baltimore Convention Center)
Host: 24th Conference on Aviation, Range, and Aerospace Meteorology
Submitters:
Mounir Chrit and Marwa Majdi, University of North Dakota (UND), GRAND FORKS, ND
Chair:
Jamey Jacob, Oklahoma State University, Unmanned Systems Research Institute, Stillwater, OK
CoChair:
Timothy Bonin, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, 43, Lexington, MA

The commercial application of small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), which have much different weather sensitivities than traditional aircraft, has shown exponential growth in recent years, leading to the need for new weather information tailored to meet their still emerging needs. At the same time, plans for developing Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has brought new challenges for the analysis and prediction of aviation weather in the urban landscapes. Similarly, other forms of aviation that conduct flight outside of traditional airport settings such as helicopters and hot air balloons still face challenges in obtaining weather information for their flights. Numerous gaps in low-altitude weather sensing and multiple barriers to weather forecasting tailored for UAS/UAM operations must be overcome. Moreover, weather models, traditional sensing paradigms, and fusion systems cannot support the requirements of these latency-sensitive operations. The concept of "Digital Twins" is gaining popularity among the aviation weather community. A weather digital twin refers to a virtual replica of current and future weather, which enables testing different scenarios and assessing the outcomes of different decisions. By leveraging big data, it is possible to simulate and predict the behavior of a UAS/UAM in different weather conditions.

Papers:
10:45 AM
2.1
Wind Mapping with Doppler Lidar Using a New Approach for Increased Measurement Range*
Timothy Bonin, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA; and M. F. Donovan

Handout (1.6 MB)

11:00 AM
2.2
Virtual Observations to Bridge Meteorological Data Gaps for Airline Operations in the Caribbean Islands
Prakash Pithani Rama Durga Surya, Tomorrow.io, Boston, MA; Tomorrow.io, Boston, MA; and A. Pattantyus, M. R. Marchand, S. Davis, S. Flampouris, and L. Peffers

11:15 AM
2.3
Urban-Suburban Microscale Weather Simulation and Hazard Translation for UAS and AAM: Refinements and Advancements using Real-World Operational Scenarios
Michael Robinson, The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA; and B. Pettegrew, V. Klimenko, L. Hobbs, W. Bauman III, C. Floerchinger, P. E. Bieringer, S. Runyon, and P. Murphy

11:30 AM
2.4
Automated surface models from light detection and ranging data for low-altitude microscale weather simulations
Marco G Giometto, Columbia Univ., New York, NY; Amazon Prime Air, Seattle, WA; and M. Schmid and J. Massey

11:45 AM
2.5
Fire Detection and Meteorology from MALE and HALE Ultralight UAVs
NARAYANAN M KOMERATH, Taksha Institute, Hampton, VA; Taksha Institute, Hampton, VA; Taksha Institute, Hampton, VA; and S. Meti, R. Ramachandran, N. Hiremath, and R. Deepak

- Indicates paper has been withdrawn from meeting
- Indicates an Award Winner