W O R L D M E T E O R O L O G I C A L O R G A N I Z A T I O N
INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE AMDAR PANEL
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
17-20 March 1998
FINAL REPORT
GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE SESSION
1. OPENING OF THE SESSION
1.1 The Inaugural Meeting of the Automated Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) Panel was opened at 10:00 hours on 17 March 1998 in the WMO Secretariat, Geneva by Mr C. Sprinkle (USA), Interim Chairman of the Panel. Mr Sprinkle asked the Director of the World Weather Watch Department of WMO, Mr R.C. Landis, to address the meeting. In welcoming the participants, MrLandis said how pleased and encouraged he was to see so many Members present which he felt was a reflection of the importance of the activity. He said that the meteorological community had had a very close relationship with aviation since the very early days of this century, and indeed many of the national Meteorological Services in WMO had been founded to meet the requirements of the fledgling aviation industry following the First World War. He gave a special welcome to the representatives of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
1.2 Mr Landis sketched out the history of meteorological reports from aircraft and the reasons that automated reports had acquired their significance. He said that as numerical weather prediction had begun to mature and higher resolution models developed, the demand for data had grown, as had its timely availability. The meteorological community was now in a position to help satisfy that demand with the advent of automated meteorological reporting from aircraft. He said that before the advent of such automated reporting, only some 3,500 manual reports were received daily, now eclipsed by the ever-growing number from various systems. Currently, he said, over 45,000 automated aircraft reports were being received daily.
1.3 However, Mr Landis pointed out, that unlike the manual AIREP, there were costs involved with obtaining automated meteorological reports from aircraft. He said that this was one of the main reasons for the establishment of the Panel. He recalled that the preparatory meeting to establish the AMDAR Panel, De Bilt, November 1997 had concluded that the potential for the expansion of AMDAR programmes was enormous but without coordination of individual programmes there would, inevitably, be much duplication of effort. In addition, he said that the possibility existed of excessive observational coverage in some regions whilst neglecting others, many of which were poorly covered by current observing systems. According to Mr Landis an effective coordinated international AMDAR programme was no longer a luxury; it had become a pressing necessity.
1.4 Mr Landis reminded the meeting that the Executive Council of WMO, at its forty-ninth session, had agreed that an international coordination body (the AMDAR Panel) should be established, structured along the lines of the highly successful Data Buoy Cooperation Panel. This had suggested that the Panel be composed of Members of WMO that operated, or intended to operate, national AMDAR Programmes. Further the Executive Council had agreed that the Panel be set up with all possible speed to coordinate and promote global AMDAR development. He recalled that this decision of the Executive Council had been taken particularly in view of the expected development of a new composite upper-air observing system. The important roles that both the Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology (CAeM) and the Commission for Basic Systems (CBS) would have in the functioning of the Panel had also been recognized by the Executive Council and Mr Landis expressed his pleasure at the presence of representatives of these two Commissions, the CBS President, MrS.Mildner (Germany), and the CAeM Vicepresident, DrN.D.Gordon (New Zealand).
C:\DOCUMENT\REPORT\PANAM98.REP
- 19 -
1.5 Mr Landis closed by wishing the meeting every success in its deliberations, a rewarding and enjoyable stay in Geneva and a safe and pleasant journey home. The list of participants is given in Annex I.
1.6 Mr Sprinkle, the Interim Chairman of the meeting, thanked Mr Landis for the SecretaryGeneral’s support for this vital meeting and requested that the meeting’s appreciation be conveyed to ProfessorObasi. MrSprinkle thanked the participants for taking time out of their busy schedules to send their experts to these formative deliberations and also asked the participants to convey his appreciation to their organizations for supporting this endeavour.
1.7 Mr Sprinkle noted the criticality of the AMDAR Panel’s efforts in the enhancement of the Composite Observing System. Meteorological reports from aircraft had played an increasingly important role in global observations. They had expanded since the early efforts of ASDAR (Aircraft to Satellite DAta Relay) in the 1970s to the tremendous and increasing number of observations in the 1990s. An international focus had become readily apparent.
1.8 The presence of MrK.Essendi (Kenya), the representative of the Chairman of the Working Group on Planning and Implementation of WWW in RAI, was noted with pleasure and it was regretted that MrK.Prasad (India) the Chairman of the Working Group on Planning and Implementation of WWW in RAII, had been unable to attend.
2. ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION
2.1 Election of chairman
The meeting was initially chaired by Mr Sprinkle, the interim chairman elected at the Preparatory Meeting for the Establishment of an AMDAR Panel, De Bilt, the Netherlands, 4 to 6November 1997. Mr Sprinkle relinquished the chairmanship following agenda item4.1 - Election of officers. At that point, MrC.H. Sprinkle (USA) and MrM. Edwards (South Africa) were unanimously elected Chairman and Vice-chairman of the AMDAR Panel.
2.2 Adoption of the agenda
The provisional agenda was adopted by the meeting. The agenda is shown in AnnexII.
2.3 Working arrangements and other organizational matters
The meeting approved working arrangements and various organizational aspects necessary for the efficient conduct of the session.
C:\DOCUMENT\REPORT\PANAM98.REP
- 19 -
3. CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORT OF THE PREPARATORY MEETING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AMDAR PANEL, DE BILT, 4-6 NOVEMBER 1997
3.1 Goal of, and Terms of Reference for, the Panel on Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR Panel)
3.1.1 The Goal of, and Terms of Reference for, the Panel on Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR Panel) as agreed by the Preparatory Meeting for the Establishment of an AMDAR Panel, De Bilt, 4-6 November 1997, were reviewed, amended and approved by the meeting. These are attached as Annex III.
3.1.2 The meeting recognised that the AMDAR Programme was designed to enhance the upperair component of the Composite Observing System. The characteristics of automated aircraft reports were such that, of themselves, they could not fully replace conventional radiosonde soundings.
3.1.3 In discussing the relationship between the Operating Consortium of ASDAR (Aircraft to Satellite Data Relay) (OCAP) participants and the AMDAR Panel it was agreed that, should the OCAP Programme Board so decide, it would be both appropriate and desirable for the AMDAR Panel to assume the residual coordination functions of OCAP upon its demise. It was pointed out that, after the OCAP was wound up, with the possible exception of three units in common ownership, the operation, maintenance and ultimate removal of the ASDAR units would be the responsibility of the owner countries (see para. 5.3).
3.2 Membership and Operating Procedures for the AMDAR Panel
Membership and Operating Procedures for the AMDAR Panel as agreed by the Preparatory Meeting for the Establishment of an AMDAR Panel, De Bilt, 4-6 November 1997, were reviewed, amended and approved by the meeting. These are attached as Annex IV.
3.3 Establishment of an AMDAR Operational Trust Fund (AMDAR Fund)
3.3.1 The meeting then considered, amended and approved Terms of Reference for the AMDAR Trust Fund as agreed by the Preparatory Meeting for the Establishment of an AMDAR Panel, De Bilt, 46November 1997. These are attached as Annex V.
3.3.2 In the discussion of this item, it was noted that a Letter of Agreement would have to be drafted between the Chairman of the AMDAR Panel and the Secretary-General of WMO to specify the level of general administrative support that would be provided by the WMO Secretariat and precisely what, if any, costs would be charged to the Panel.
3.4 Technical Support for the AMDAR Panel
Terms of Reference for a Technical Coordinator of the Panel as agreed by the Preparatory Meeting for the Establishment of an AMDAR Panel, De Bilt, 4-6 November 1997, were reviewed, amended and approved by the meeting. These are attached as Annex VI.
C:\DOCUMENT\REPORT\PANAM98.REP
- 19 -
4. ESTABLISHMENT OF AMDAR PANEL
4.1 The formal establishment of the Panel on Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (the AMDAR Panel) was proposed by the member from New Zealand and seconded by the member from the USA. This was met with unanimous approval. Representatives of Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Kenya, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA all agreed that their countries, subject to formal confirmation from their Permanent Representative with WMO, would be Panel members.
4.2 The following Panel members indicated that they expected to be able to provide support to the AMDAR Trust Fund as shown in the indicative figures below:
Member / Time / Amount / RemarksAustralia / Annual for 3 years / AUS $ 15,000
Canada / Annual / CHF 10,000
Germany / Annual / DM 50,000 / Probably beginning next year.
New Zealand / Annual / CHF 2,500 / Contributed by MetService.
Spain / Annual for 2 years / CHF 50,000 / For activities related to development.
UK / Annual;
Further one-off funds / GBP 10,000
GBP 50,000 / For administration;
For AMDAR reports.
USA / Annual / US $ 50,000
Probability of further $50,000 to $75,000
Note 1: It was noted that Switzerland would continue to pay, on an annual basis, CHF 50,000 for the maintenance and carriage of three ASDAR units, in support of the AMDAR programme.
Note 2: Representatives of other Members indicated that they would seek funding from their national administrations for the AMDAR Trust Fund.
4.3 It was agreed that formal confirmation of Panel membership and a firm commitment to Trust Fund contributions would expeditiously be sought by the WMO Secretary-General.
4.1 Election of AMDAR Panel officers
MrC.H. Sprinkle (USA) and MrM. Edwards (South Africa) were unanimously elected Chairman and Vice-chairman of the AMDAR Panel.
C:\DOCUMENT\REPORT\PANAM98.REP
- 19 -
5. EXISTING AND CURRENTLY PLANNED PROGRAMMES FOR AUTOMATED METEOROLOGICAL REPORTS FROM AIRCRAFT
5.1 The meeting was informed of the existing and currently planned programmes for automated meteorological reports from aircraft. The meeting noted that there were two quite separate approaches using civil aircraft, namely ASDAR which uses a dedicated onboard processor connected to the aircraft avionics system and transmits observations automatically via the meteorological geosynchronous satellites of the IDCS (International Data Collection System), and ACARS (Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System). These were collectively named AMDAR. ACARS was the standard aircraft datalink system in the USA and compatible systems were used worldwide. The meeting noted the clear differences between the ASDAR and ACARS systems. ASDAR was a system using hardware which had been developed in the 1980's and was fitted to the aircraft, entailing relatively expensive and timeconsuming certification and installation. It had the important advantage of using the meteorological satellite communications facility which was free for this type of message. On the other hand, ACARS used the plane’s own avionics system thus requiring no certification or alteration to the airframe. It did, however, use the airlines’ communications system which could entail considerable communication costs.
5.2 In the ASDAR programme, which was under the guidance of OCAP, 20 of the 23 ASDAR systems originally purchased had been fitted on aircraft, were operational and were reporting. Ten units were operational on aircraft of British Airways, three on KLM, two each on aircraft of Air Mauritius and South African Airways, and one each on aircraft of SAUDIA, Lufthansa and Aerolineas Argentinas. A further unit was being installed on an aircraft of SAUDIA and it was expected that the final ASDAR installation would be on a second Boeing 747 of Aerolineas Argentinas in September 1998. The status of all 23 ASDAR units is shown in tabular form in AnnexVII. There was one observation every seven minutes in level flight and observations were also made at selected pressure levels in ascent and descent. The number of observations per day received from any one unit depended on how long the particular aircraft was in the air: It could be as high as 280 but on average the number per day was about 150. For the total ASDAR-equipped fleet, the average number of reports received was about 1,400 daily, because of routine maintenance when the aircraft was not flying and thus the ASDARs were inoperative. With regard to data coverage, about 50% of the ASDAR-equipped aircraft flew between Europe and North America, and the others to destinations in Asia, Africa, Australasia and South America. More than 85% of reports were received at Bracknell (UK) within one hour and 99% within two hours. ASDAR data quality was high, with a typical rate of rejected reports of less than 1% of all reports.
5.3 The meeting noted that the OCAP Programme Board had planned to support the ASDAR programme up to the end of 1999, by which time the funds available in the ASDAR Trust Fund were expected to be exhausted. However, financial provision had been made to ensure that the three ASDAR units in common OCAP ownership could be decommissioned if no future operational funding could be obtained. Should sufficient funds become available, the AMDAR Panel would be invited to consider sponsoring the continued operation of these units together with assuming the responsibility for maintaining a minimal level of support from the ASDAR equipment supplier, principally to secure the availability of maintenance and spares support and for the upkeep of the certification status. Other routine tasks associated with liaison with the satellite authorities and day-to-day technical activities would need to be addressed by the Panel.
C:\DOCUMENT\REPORT\PANAM98.REP
- 19 -
5.4 The Panel further noted that, following the winding up of the OCAP, continued operation of ASDAR units in individual country ownership would be the responsibility of the countries concerned and no further support for these units would be expected from the Panel. However, these ASDARs were expected to provide valuable data for the foreseeable future and until such time that equipment obsolescence rendered them uneconomical for operational service.