A 44 case study analysis of the large-scale atmospheric structure associated with development of accident-producing aircraft turbulence is described. Categorization is a function of the accident location, altitude, time of year, time of day, and the turbulence category, which classifies disturbances. National Centers for Environmental Prediction Reanalyses data sets and satellite imagery are employed to diagnose synoptic scale predictor fields associated with the large-scale environment preceding severe turbulence. These analyses indicate a predominance of severe accident-producing turbulence within the entrance region of a jet stream at the synoptic scale. Typically, a flow curvature region is just upstream within the jet entrance region, convection is within 100 km of the accident, vertical motion is upward, absolute vorticity is low, vertical wind shear is increasing, and horizontal cold advection is substantial. The most consistent predictor is upstream flow curvature and nearby convection is the second most frequent predictor.Kaplan, Michael L. and Huffman, Allan W. and Lux, Kevin M. and Charney, Joseph J. and Riordan, Allan J. and Lin, Yuh-Lang and Proctor, Fred H. (Technical Monitor)Langley Research CenterTURBULENCE EFFECTS; AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS; AIRCRAFT STABILITY; CURVATURE; VORTICITY; ADVECTION; AIRLINE OPERATIONS; COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT; CONVECTION; POSITION (LOCATION); SATELLITE IMAGERY; UPSTREAM; VERTICAL MOTION; WIND SHEAR
A 44 case study analysis of the large-scale atmospheric structure associated with development of accident-producing aircraft turbulence is described. Categorization is a function of the accident location, altitude, time of year, time of day, and the turbulence category, which classifies disturbances. National Centers for Environmental Prediction Reanalyses data sets and satellite imagery are employed to dang- nose synoptic scale predictor fields associated with the large-scale environment preceding severe turbulence. These analyses indicate a predominance of severe accident-producing turbulence within the entrance region of ajet stream at the synoptic scale. Typically, a flow curvature region is just upstream within the jet entrance region, convection is within 100 krn of the accident, vertical motion is upward, absolute vorticity is low, vertical wind shear is increasing, and horizontal cold advection is substantial.
Anyone who has experienced turbulence in flight knows that it is usually not pleasant, and may wonder why this is so difficult to avoid. The book includes papers by various aviation turbulence researchers and provides background into the nature and causes of atmospheric turbulence that affect aircraft motion, and contains surveys of the latest techniques for remote and in situ sensing and forecasting of the turbulence phenomenon. It provides updates on the state-of-the-art research since earlier studies in the 1960s on clear-air turbulence, explains recent new understanding into turbulence generation by thunderstorms, and summarizes future challenges in turbulence prediction and avoidance.
This book is an attempt to present under one cover the current state of knowledge concerning the potential lightning effects on aircraft and that means that are available to designers and operators to protect against these effects. The impetus for writing this book springs from two sources- the increased use of nonmetallic materials in the structure of aircraft and the constant trend toward using electronic equipment to handle flight-critical control and navigation function.
Simulation experiments reveal key processes that organize a hydrostatic environment conducive to severe turbulence. The paradigm requires juxtaposition of the entrance region of a curved jet stream, which is highly subgeostrophic, with the entrance region of a straight jet stream, which is highly supergeostrophic. The wind and mass fields become misphased as the entrance regions converge resulting in the significant spatial variation of inertial forcing, centripetal forcing, and along- and cross-stream pressure gradient forcing over a mesobeta scale region. This results in frontogenesis and the along-stream divergence of cyclonic and convergence of cyclonic ageostrophic vertical vorticity. The centripetally forced mesoscale front becomes the locus of large gradients of ageostrophic vertical vorticity along an overturning isentrope. This region becomes favorable for streamwise vorticity gradient formation enhancing the environment for organization of horizontal vortex tubes in the presence of buoyant forcing.Kaplan, Michael L. and Huffman, Allan W. and Lux, Kevin M. and Cetola, Jeffrey D. and Charney, Joseph J. and Riordan, Allen J. and Lin, Yuh-Lang and Waight, Kenneth T., III and Proctor, Fred (Technical Monitor)Langley Research CenterSIMULATION; HYDROSTATICS; TURBULENCE; GEOSTROPHIC WIND; CIVIL AVIATION; COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT; AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS; JET STREAMS (METEOROLOGY); CENTRIPETAL FORCE; PRESSURE GRADIENTS; VORTICITY; FRONTS (METEOROLOGY)...
As global climate change proliferates, so too do the health risks associated with the changing world around us. Called for in the President’s Climate Action Plan and put together by experts from eight different Federal agencies, The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health: A Scientific Assessment is a comprehensive report on these evolving health risks, including: Temperature-related death and illness Air quality deterioration Impacts of extreme events on human health Vector-borne diseases Climate impacts on water-related Illness Food safety, nutrition, and distribution Mental health and well-being This report summarizes scientific data in a concise and accessible fashion for the general public, providing executive summaries, key takeaways, and full-color diagrams and charts. Learn what health risks face you and your family as a result of global climate change and start preparing now with The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health.