11:30 AM - 11:45 AM
[AAS03-10] WindBorne Global Sounding Balloon Observations and Forecast Impact
Keywords:rawinsonde, balloon, GFS
WindBorne Systems has developed a novel balloon-based observation system, enabling constellations of balloons to be flown throughout the troposphere for extended periods of time. Each balloon, known as a Global Sounding Balloon (GSB), can fly for weeks at a time while being remotely directed to ascend and descend from a few hundred meters above the earth surface to the lower stratosphere, collecting up to 50 vertical profiles of wind speed and direction, pressure, temperature, and humidity per flight. GSBs travel with the winds, providing a unique capability to reach remote locations often tens of thousands of kilometers away from launch locations. Data collected by GSBs is available in real-time and can be used as a data source for numerical weather prediction initialization and verification, validation of parameterizations, and climate reanalyses.
Over the past 5 years, over 2200 GSBs have been flown to collect atmospheric data. During the first 4 years of operations, the GSB was developed, demonstrated and refined during large-scale intermittent field campaigns. GSBs were flown throughout much of the world, including the remote locations of the Arctic, the northern Pacific and Atlantic oceans and northern Africa. In early 2023 WindBorne began operating a persistent constellation of GSBs. By late 2024, the constellation averaged 28 GSBs aloft at any given time with plans to average 100 GSBs aloft by the end of 2025, supporting collection of over 300 vertical profiles of data per day.
WindBorne has partnered with the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to retrospectively assimilate GSB observations to assess the impact of the observations on numerical forecasts. Using data from 169 GSBs flown during summer and autumn of 2022, forecast errors were reduced by 2-3% for geopotential height fields and up to 18% for tropical cyclone tracks. Results from these studies will be presented.
Over the past 5 years, over 2200 GSBs have been flown to collect atmospheric data. During the first 4 years of operations, the GSB was developed, demonstrated and refined during large-scale intermittent field campaigns. GSBs were flown throughout much of the world, including the remote locations of the Arctic, the northern Pacific and Atlantic oceans and northern Africa. In early 2023 WindBorne began operating a persistent constellation of GSBs. By late 2024, the constellation averaged 28 GSBs aloft at any given time with plans to average 100 GSBs aloft by the end of 2025, supporting collection of over 300 vertical profiles of data per day.
WindBorne has partnered with the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to retrospectively assimilate GSB observations to assess the impact of the observations on numerical forecasts. Using data from 169 GSBs flown during summer and autumn of 2022, forecast errors were reduced by 2-3% for geopotential height fields and up to 18% for tropical cyclone tracks. Results from these studies will be presented.