Estimating the Tops, Bases, and Amount of Cloudiness from in situ Sampling.
Abstract
How accurately can the bases, tops, and amounts of the cloud layers over a tactical target area be determined from measurements made with an airborne sensor capable only of detecting cloud presence in situ? Various sampling patterns are evaluated in terms of accuracy of cloud inferrence as well as cost in fuel and time. Surprisingly, it is found that the best strategy is to sample the volume in alternate ascents and descents in tight spirals, thereby producing a regular pattern of widely separated point measurements in each horizontal plane over the target area. The inherent redundancy of closely spaced samples of cloudiness results in a wastage of fuel in horizontal flight that more than compensates for the higher rate of fuel consumed in multiple ascents. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 17, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA113107
Entities
People
- C. N. Touart
- Peter J. Mansfield
- Ralph Shapiro
- Randy Schechter