Case of June 2930, 1999

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Case of June 29-30, 1999
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Dropsonde Jet
Lear Jet (model 35A?) Ceiling 43,000 Feet
(roughly 30 min to 37,000 ft.) Duration 6 hours
option to refuel at alternate airport Air Speed
450 knots (could be less if desired) 4 seats on
the plane
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Dropsondes

• 450 total
• Drops up to 8 per hour (80 km)
• 40,000 feet downward
• 30 drops per mission
• 4 in the air at once
• No drops over population centers
• Drops on straight tracks

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Scalable tracks
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Jet Flight Tracks
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BAMEX Deployment Strategies
11-12 June, 2001 MCS
19 June, 2002 MCV
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Planning for dropsonde aircraft
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Science Staffing

• Dropsonde operator (on jet)
• Operator assistant (on jet)
• Dropsonde coordinator (Ops Center)
• monitor weather
• derive and communicate end points
• drops at regular intervals subject to
• FAA restrictions
• Population Centers
• Optimizing dropsonde spacing
• Backups of all positions (assuming double-crew)

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1200 UTC
1500 UTC
2000 UTC
Developing MCV
MCV
x
19 June, 2002