5 Things to Know About a Pair of Small But Mighty Weather Instruments – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

From 2003 to 2020, these types of measurements were acquired by the 990-pound (450-kilogram) Windsat instrument aboard the U.S. Department of Defenses Coriolis satellite. Windsat lasted well beyond its anticipated lifespan. If COWVR and TEMPEST prove theyre up to the task, they (and small instruments like them) will be able to take the place of larger, aging satellites without compromising on data quality.

They have the potential to improve storm forecasts.

COWVR and TEMPEST will be attached to the space station, which circles our planet in low-Earth orbit from west to east about 16 times per day. Because of the stations unique orbit, the two instruments will spend most of their time over the mid-latitudes and tropics areas prone to storms and revisit them more frequently than sensors in other orbits. The additional data will help scientists better understand storm formation and better track developing storm systems.

COWVR and TEMPEST will also be able to send the data back to Earth faster than some other instruments currently in use, enabling scientists and forecasters to monitor the rapid intensification many storms undergo in near real time. Most satellites communicate with just a few ground stations around the world, and that takes time, said Shannon Brown, principal investigator for COWVR based at JPL. The data could be a couple of hours old before its even on the ground, and then it still needs to be processed.

COWVR and TEMPEST will instead send their data back to Earth via NASAs tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) constellation. TDRS essentially provides a direct data stream. So, once the sensors pass over a big hurricane or cyclone, youre going to get that data instantly, Brown said. Itll be up-to-the-minute observations, which is something not usually available with the traditional approach and something that could save lives.

Their comprehensive data may improve weather and climate model predictions.

The frequency with which COWVR and TEMPEST will take measurements over areas within their orbit will allow them to collect more comprehensive data than other instruments data that is expected to reduce uncertainties in weather and climate models.

The current satellite sensors that measure wind speed and direction at the ocean surface are in Sun-synchronous orbits, meaning that they provide measurements at a given location only in the morning and in the evening, leaving gaps in between, said JPLs Tony Lee, co-lead of the missions science working group. The space stations orbit will allow COWVR and TEMPEST to take measurements across different times of day, reducing those gaps.

Weather and climate models use this type of data to make predictions. The more data that is available, the more accurate the models and the predictions based on them will be.

Theyll shed light on how air-sea interactions affect weather and climate.

The amount of heat and moisture released by the ocean influences atmospheric conditions; likewise, atmospheric conditions, such as wind, influence ocean currents and heat distribution. The more scientists learn about these interactions, the better theyll understand how they affect weather in the short term and climate in the long term.

Getting suitable data to study these interactions can be tricky, though.

The traditional way to study these interactions is by combining measurements from different satellites that have different sampling times of the ocean and the atmosphere, Lee said. This mismatch makes it more difficult for scientists to understand these interactions because we may be looking at wind in one part of the day and looking at rain and atmospheric water vapor at a different time of day.

If successful, COWVR and TEMPEST could change that. COWVRs main purpose is to measure the speed and direction of wind at the ocean surface, and TEMPESTs is to provide the atmospheric water vapor measurements. Since theyre flying together and taking measurements over the same areas, theyll be able to acquire this complementary data at the same time.

Simultaneous measurements of the different variables alleviate the difficulty associated with sampling time differences that come from mixing measurements from different satellites at different times, Lee said. It will also enable them to account for interactions that happen at shorter time scales wind gusts stirring up the ocean and causing it to lose heat to the atmosphere, for example.

Theyll pave the way for future satellite constellations.

If COWVR and TEMPEST perform well, theyll prove that comprehensive data vital to weather forecasting and a better understanding of climate can be obtained in a much smaller package with a much smaller price tag than previously thought.

Because the instruments are smaller and cheaper, organizations could launch three or four small satellites for the same cost as one of the larger variations. A constellation of these small satellites would be able to take measurements of a given area such as over a developing storm far more frequently than a corresponding single satellite could, resulting in even further refinement of weather models and forecasts.

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5 Things to Know About a Pair of Small But Mighty Weather Instruments - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory