Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Commander Andrew McCrindellDirector Oceanography and Meteorology

12 March 2007

The Importance of Altimetry to the RAN

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

SCOPE

Why Navies need altimetry data; Climatological applications; Ocean modelling.

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Mission

To enable the ADF maritime community to exploit the above and below water physical operating

environments for strategic, operational and tactical advantage and for safety purposes, and to support the collection and effective management of marine

data in the national interest.

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Rapid Environmental Assessment

Directorate of Oceanography and MeteorologyCEMG METOC Impacts

SafetyLand

DARWIN

Land

Air Ops (RW/FW)

TOWNSVILLE

SafetySWBTA

Maritime

Safety

Land

Timeline (Hrs)

MaritimeAir Ops (RW/FW)

Air Ops (RW/FW)Maritime

No Impacts Marginal Impacts Significant Impacts

29 AUG

24 Hour

6 12 18 246 12 18 24

48 Hour 72 Hour 96 Hour

26 AUG 27 AUG 28 AUG

6 12 18 24 6 12 18 24

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

REA METOC PERSPECTIVE

Generate forecasts in the littoral from T-7days. Make measurements to improve forecasts. Reliant on modelling capability and remote

sensing.

                              

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

WWW.METOC.GOV.AU

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Satellite Data - Wind SpeedQuikscat microwave scatterometer on Quikbird (NASA) and Midori II (JSA)

+ Lat= 15.50 Long=115.50

Beaufort Direction

Scale N NE E SE S SW W NW Total

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 5

2 1 4 3 3 2 2 1 0 16

3 4 13 9 4 6 3 1 1 41

4 1 8 1 1 5 10 2 0 28

5 0 2 0 1 2 5 0 0 10

6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 6 28 14 10 15 21 5 2

Mean Speed = 10.7

Maximum Speed = 25.0

Direction of Maximum Speed 238

Number of records 2826

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Satellite Data – Sig. Wave HeightVarious altimeters: ERS1, ERS2, ENVISAT (ESA), GEOSAT, GFO (USN), TOPEX

POSEIDON, JASON (NOAA)

Lat , Long , Mean ,Max , Nobs,0-1m,1-2m,2-3m,3-4m,4-5m,>5m

15.50,115.50,1.15, 4.60, 1058, 48, 43, 7, 2, 0, 0

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Wave Modelling

• Uses

•global wave models

• a GIS application

• Coastal applications using altimetry could improve these forecasts.

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

SONAR Prediction

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Project BLUE LINK - Oceanic & Atmospheric Modelling

$15 Million Project with 3 Partners:– Defence– CSIRO– Commonwealth Bureau of

Meteorology BLUElink> will deliver oceanic

forecasts for the Australian Region for:– Defence Applications– Climate Studies– Operational Weather Forecasting– Ecological Applications– Commercial Applications

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

10km resolution in this area

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

ROAM Oceanic Forecast Example

Example shows ROAM oceanic model over NW Shelf

Diagram shows 10km resolution, but will have 2km resolution

Output shows sea surface temperature and currents

Other outputs include 3-dimensional Temperature and Salinity structure

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

A Slice of the Tasman Sea

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

GIS Visualisation – 3D View of Eddy

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology

Concluding Remarks

Operational oceanography requires greater coverage Operational oceanography requires greater coverage and reliability of altimetry data.and reliability of altimetry data.

We need to use altimeters to derive oceanic structures We need to use altimeters to derive oceanic structures on the continental shelf and in coastal regions.on the continental shelf and in coastal regions.

The users do not always realise the importance of The users do not always realise the importance of altimetry because they are often using derived altimetry because they are often using derived products.products.

Thank you for all of the activities and research that Thank you for all of the activities and research that have contributed to our understanding of the world’s have contributed to our understanding of the world’s oceans.oceans.