Monday, 30 July 2001
Uses Of High-resolution Mesoscale Modeling To Support Army Research and Development, Testing, and Evaluation
The U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) Four-Dimensional
Weather (4DWX) System is a next-generation meteorological and modeling
support system that was developed to support Army research, development,
test and evaluation in general and ATEC developmental and operational
tests in particular. A key component of the 4DWX systems at Aberdeen
Proving Ground's Aberdeen Test Center (ATC), Dugway Proving Ground's
West Desert Test Center (WDTC), White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), and
Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) is the Penn State/National Center for
Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Mesoscale Model Version 5 (MM5). Depending
on the range, MM5 is used with three or four nested computational
domains to achieve the high resolution needed to resolve the local
effects of complex terrain and other variations in land-surface
characteristics. The 4DWX systems use MM5 in both analysis and forecast
modes. Depending on the typical operational needs of the test center,
MM5 is executed once or twice per day to generate 24- to 36-hour
forecasts to assist in test planning and conduct. Following each
24-hour period, MM5 is run in an analysis mode in which the model
solution is nudged toward the observed conditions. The result is a
physics-based analysis of the three-dimensional structure of the
atmosphere as it evolved throughout the period, which is archived for
climatological and forensic purposes. The most recent 4DWX analysis
capability is an MM5 analysis of existing conditions every 3 hours
coupled with a short-term forecast, which supports real-time test
go/no-go decisions. Whether used in the forecast or analysis mode, MM5
output is used to drive applications models such as a noise propagation
model for ATC artillery tests, a dispersion model for WDTC
smoke/obscurants and chemical/biological agent simulant tests, and an
air drop model which predicts the impact point for an object released at
an arbitrary time and location from an airplane. MM5 output also
provides realistic synthetic atmospheres to support ATEC Virtual Proving
Ground (VPG) modeling and simulation.
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