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Hobby, M, Gascoyne, M, Marsham, JH et al. (17 more authors) (2013) The fennec automatic weather station (AWS) network: Monitoring the Saharan climate system. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 30 (4). 709 - 724. ISSN 0739-0572
Abstract
The Fennec automatic weather station (AWS) network consists of eight stations installed across the Sahara, with four in remote locations in the central desert, where no previous meteorological observations have existed. The AWS measures temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, wind direction, shortwave and longwave radiation (upwelling and downwelling), ground heat flux, and ground temperature. Data are recorded every 3 min 20 s, that is, at 3 times the temporal resolution of the World Meteorological Organization's standard 10-min reporting for winds and wind gusts. Variations in wind speeds on shorter time scales are recorded through the use of second- and third-order moments of 1-Hz data. Using the Iridium Router- Based Unrestricted Digital Internetworking Connectivity Solutions (RUDICS) service, data are transmitted in near-real time (1-h lag) to the United Kingdom, where calibrations are applied and data are uploaded to the Global Telecommunications System (GTS), for assimilation into forecast models. This paper describes the instrumentation used and the data available from the network. Particular focus is given to the engineering applied to the task of making measurements in this remote region and challenging climate. The communications protocol developed to operate over the Iridium RUDICS satellite service is described. Transmitting the second moment of the wind speed distribution is shown to improve estimates of the dust-generating potential of observed winds, especially for winds close to the threshold speed for dust emission of the wind speed distribution. Sources of error are discussed and some preliminary results are presented, demonstrating the system's potential to record key features of this region.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Copyright 2013 American Meteorological Society (AMS). Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act September 2010 Page 2 or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108, as revised by P.L. 94-553) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a web site or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy, available on the AMS Web site located at (http://www.ametsoc.org/) or from the AMS at 617-227-2425 or copyrights@ametsoc.org. |
Keywords: | Africa; tropics; automatic weather stations; surface observations; desert meteorology; field experiments |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 06 Jun 2014 08:26 |
Last Modified: | 18 Apr 2017 02:20 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-12-00037.1 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Meteorological Society |
Identification Number: | 10.1175/JTECH-D-12-00037.1 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:79055 |
Available Versions of this Item
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The fennec automatic weather station (AWS) network: Monitoring the Saharan climate system. (deposited 14 May 2014 14:55)
- The fennec automatic weather station (AWS) network: Monitoring the Saharan climate system. (deposited 06 Jun 2014 08:26) [Currently Displayed]