Automated Aircraft Meteorological Data Reporting

The World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) AMDAR (Aircraft Meteorological Data Reporting) Panel, formed in March of 1998, has undertaken a work program with a view to enhancing the upper air component of WMO's World Weather Watch (WWW) Composite Observing System. The Panel's goal is to coordinate and promote global AMDAR development. This is being accomplished through the coordination of national and regional AMDAR programs, the improvement of data exchange and quality control, and through the implementation of a small number of pilot projects. This paper will review the history and development of the AMDAR Panel and its work program which has led to an increase of about 22 percent in the availability of AMDAR data globally with about 55,000 reports daily since its establishment. A number of issues have been addressed including, among others, the requirements for AMDAR data, the determination of data sparse areas, data management and the development of appropriate code forms for messages. The future work program of the Panel will be discussed along with the interaction of various parts of the aviation community that would be advantageous to the advancements of its goals. Increased global data coverage will lead to improved Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) products which will,in turn, benefit the aviation industry and global economics.