GPS receivers help plot Katrina's course

The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is using u-blox GPS technology to determine the strength, direction and speed of hurricanes.

The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is using u-blox GPS technology to determine the strength, direction and speed of hurricanes.

Most recently, close to 40 sondes have been employed to measure the characteristics of hurricane Katrina to study and predict its behaviour.

NCAR, which works closely with the US Government's National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has designed a highly sophisticated GPS dropsonde that is used by the 53rd Air Force Reserve Weather Squadron (AFRES).

Dubbed "Hurricane Hunters", the squadron's job is to fly aeroplanes directly into hurricanes, and drop GPS dropsondes attached to parachutes above the hurricane.

During the free fall, the sondes take measurements relative to the behaviour of the hurricane every half-second.

The data are transmitted to the aircraft where they are recorded for later analysis.

The GPS dropsondes provide high-resolution vertical profiles of temperature, pressure, humidity and winds.

These data are then used to predict hurricane intensity, severity and direction changes.

The idea is that, by dropping small sensors contained in the GPS sonde into hurricanes, scientists can acquire data at high altitudes that will help them better understand the structure and dynamics of hurricanes.

The sondes are also employed to observe and measure other equally challenging atmospheric phenomena such as severe thunderstorms and winter storm systems.

"u-blox GPS technology proved superior to any other commercial GPS solution we looked at for our dropsonde", said Terence Hock, Head of RF Engineering at the Atmospheric Technology Division of NCAR.

"The true 4Hz update rate and the high position and speed accuracy are vital for our measurements".

"The more accurate the data we can collect during the fall of the sonde, the better our predictions can be".

"u-blox GPS technology's superiority was once more demonstrated last weekend, when we used almost 40 dropsondes to measure hurricane Katrina's strength and predict its path".

Accurate prediction of hurricane path and intensity can avoid human casualties and help save billions in damages".

"We at u-blox are proud that NCAR has chosen our GPS technology for an application which helps save people's lives and advance meteorological knowledge on severe weather phenomena", said Nikolaos Papadopoulos, President of u-blox America.

Adds NCAR's Terence Hock: "And since our dropsondes are disposable, u-blox GPS receivers' low cost is just what we need".

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