Title: TeraScan operations onboard US Coast Guard Icebreakers
1TeraScan operations onboard US Coast Guard
Icebreakers
- Polar class icebreakers using Polar orbiting
satellites
A presentation for the 11th Annual TeraScan
conferenceby Sean McPhilamy, Chief Petty
Officer, US Coast Guard
2Just back from Deep Freeze 2002
- POLAR SEA and POLAR STAR have 1.2 meter dish
systems which receive both NOAA and DMSP polar
orbiting satellites, along with reception of
geostationary wefax information.
3Photo by embarked Aviation Detachment
4The 1.2 meter dish
Our antennas mount juststarboard of centerline,
on the flying bridge. This offers fairly good
passreception, with the exceptionof some mast
blockage bythe aloft conning tower, andforward
stack.
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6Primary uses while underway
- Ship navigation assistance, through using the
system as an assist to weather charts and
forecast info. - Sea ice navigation in Polar regions including
visible, infrared and the DMSPs special
sensor microwave/imager (ssm/i) data.
7Often there is tremendous interest inhow weather
may affect the ship
Photo from Seattle PI website
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12Additionally, data collection
- Consistent data collection through large open
water regions and areas where few reception
stations exist. - Data is collected, catalogued, and archived to
4mm tapes for transfer to the Arctic and
Antarctic Research Center (AARC).
13 14Site specific uses include
- Worldwide, NOAA satellites allow DCS collection
and info access. - This allows simple deployment confirmation and
initial tracking of deployed drogue/drift buoys
and PALACE floats. - (more)
15NOAAs deployed buoys allow tracking of measured
data through large areas over time.
Photo from Seattle PI website
16Tracking of released NOAA drfter buoysduring
transit from eastern Ross Sea to the southern
tip of Chile.
17PALACE floats Profiling Autonomous Lagrangian
Circulation Explorer Submersible CTDs which
transmitto NOAA polar orbitersduring average
of 6 hours surfacetime daily.
Photo from SeaBird website
18Site specific uses also include
- Antarctic Automated Weather Stations (AWS)
- Using DCS processes, including McMegu (the
McMurdo Station engineering units standard) and
weather as an overlay, we obtain a fairly quick
picture of the local area of the Antarctic
continent.
19Antarctic Automated Weather Station (AWS) The
easy example
Photo from British Antarctic Survey website
20Antarctic Automated Weather Station (AWS) The
harder example
Photo from Seattle PI website
21Allows theweather datacollected tobe
graphicallypresented forthe area of interest,
inthis case the ice runwaysfor
McMurdoStation
22Near Future capabilities include
- Polar area collection of using SeaWIFs this
usage helps out with on-site collection of
this information, an example is the Southern
Ocean Iron Experiment (SOFeX) which POLAR STAR
just assisted in. Plankton blooms were tracked
by SeaWIFs.
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24TeraScan operations continue
- POLAR STAR and POLAR SEA continue to collect data
with onboard TeraScan systems for trips near both
poles. - This data collection is used near real time
onboard, and archived for use as identified by
science need. - These operations will continue to augment HEALYs
work, especially with planned summer trips into
the Arctic.