The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

The accuracy of voluntary observing ship's meteorological observations - results of the VSOP-NA

The accuracy of voluntary observing ship's meteorological observations - results of the VSOP-NA
The accuracy of voluntary observing ship's meteorological observations - results of the VSOP-NA
For the Voluntary Observing Ships Special Observing Project for the North Atlantic (VSOP-NA), the layout, meteorological instrumentation, and observing practices of 45 voluntary observing ships (VOS) operating in the North Atlantic were cataloged. Over a two-year period these ships provided extra information with each observation, and the effect of different observing practices has been quantified by using analysis fields from an atmospheric forecast model as a comparison standard. Biases of order several tenths of a degree Celsius were detected in sea surface temperature data from engine intake thermometers, in dewpoint temperatures from screens (and to a lesser extent, psychrometers), and in air temperatures due to solar heating. Wind speeds from anemometers were high compared to visual winds by about 2 kt for winds up to about 25 kt. The VSOP-NA data do not, however, indicate which is the more accurate. Correction for anemometer height and use of the WMO Commission for Marine Meteorology version of the Beaufort scale reduced this difference significantly. The result of these corrections on mean heat flux estimates was only a few watts per square meter but much greater changes resulted for particular areas and seasons. The project identified observing methods that are to be preferred for future use on the VOS, and demonstrated that the combined use of VOS data and a forecasting model allowed the detection of biases both in the observations and in the model analyses.
vos, ship, marine meteorological, bias, adjustment
0739-0572
591-608
Kent, E.C.
ea23f6f0-ccf6-4702-a5c9-184e9c5d4427
Taylor, P.K.
3ef27388-c14e-4f4b-85fc-97bb17d089d2
Truscott, B.S.
84e28796-5eef-48ba-b32c-a08b2afde346
Hopkins, J.S.
6f127b10-e8c3-400b-adae-9653f3001066
Kent, E.C.
ea23f6f0-ccf6-4702-a5c9-184e9c5d4427
Taylor, P.K.
3ef27388-c14e-4f4b-85fc-97bb17d089d2
Truscott, B.S.
84e28796-5eef-48ba-b32c-a08b2afde346
Hopkins, J.S.
6f127b10-e8c3-400b-adae-9653f3001066

Kent, E.C., Taylor, P.K., Truscott, B.S. and Hopkins, J.S. (1993) The accuracy of voluntary observing ship's meteorological observations - results of the VSOP-NA. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 10 (4), 591-608. (doi:10.1175/1520-0426(1993)010<0591:TAOVOS>2.0.CO;2).

Record type: Article

Abstract

For the Voluntary Observing Ships Special Observing Project for the North Atlantic (VSOP-NA), the layout, meteorological instrumentation, and observing practices of 45 voluntary observing ships (VOS) operating in the North Atlantic were cataloged. Over a two-year period these ships provided extra information with each observation, and the effect of different observing practices has been quantified by using analysis fields from an atmospheric forecast model as a comparison standard. Biases of order several tenths of a degree Celsius were detected in sea surface temperature data from engine intake thermometers, in dewpoint temperatures from screens (and to a lesser extent, psychrometers), and in air temperatures due to solar heating. Wind speeds from anemometers were high compared to visual winds by about 2 kt for winds up to about 25 kt. The VSOP-NA data do not, however, indicate which is the more accurate. Correction for anemometer height and use of the WMO Commission for Marine Meteorology version of the Beaufort scale reduced this difference significantly. The result of these corrections on mean heat flux estimates was only a few watts per square meter but much greater changes resulted for particular areas and seasons. The project identified observing methods that are to be preferred for future use on the VOS, and demonstrated that the combined use of VOS data and a forecasting model allowed the detection of biases both in the observations and in the model analyses.

Text
KentTaylorTruscottHopkins_jtech93.pdf - Version of Record
Download (2MB)

More information

Published date: August 1993
Keywords: vos, ship, marine meteorological, bias, adjustment

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 55837
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/55837
ISSN: 0739-0572
PURE UUID: 8c439a18-179f-4e41-a49a-db24996d9f49

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 08 Aug 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 10:58

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: E.C. Kent
Author: P.K. Taylor
Author: B.S. Truscott
Author: J.S. Hopkins

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×