Development of Balloon System for Continuous Measurement of Hurricane Eye Properties

为了获得非常需要的关于飓风特性的现场连续信息，将开发一种气球测量系统，该系统可以从飞机上部署到飓风的眼睛中。混合系统包括一个自然形状的气球来携带测量设备，以及一个靠近表面的附连的液管，以保持气球的高度。假设是，流入飓风中心的气球系统将在水面上的风暴期间保持在或非常接近眼睛的位置。目标是在风暴中心获得连续的测量，那里发生了风暴强度的主要波动。此外，这些测量结果将成为基于卫星的风暴强度估计技术的“地面真相”。该项目是一个更广泛的努力的第一阶段。在这一阶段，气球系统将在受控环境、数值模拟和有限程度上的实地开发和测试。如果成功，将提交第二阶段提案，以便在真正的飓风中进行更广泛的实地测试，并可能实施业务。分包商Modelsym，Inc.将进行气球系统的制造。计划中的工作如果被证明是成功的，将具有巨大的价值，因为它提供了一种廉价的方法来获取飓风的有价值的数据。

In order to obtain the greatly needed in-situ, continuous information on hurricane properties, a balloon measuring system will be developed that can be deployed from aircraft into the eyes of hurricanes. The hybrid system includes a natural shaped balloon to carry the measurement equipment and an attached drogue near the surface to maintain the balloon altitude. The hypothesis is that the inflow into the center of a hurricane will keep the balloon system in or very near the eye for the life of the storm over water. The goal is to obtain continuous measurements in the storm center where major fluctuations of storm intensity occur. Furthermore, the measurements will serve as "ground truth" for satellite-based techniques for estimating storm intensity. The project is the Phase I of a broader-scale effort. In this phase, the balloon system will be developed and tested in controlled environments, in numerical simulations and, to a limited extent, in the field. If successful, a Phase II proposal will be submitted for more extensive field-testing in real hurricanes, and possible operational implementation. A subcontractor, Modelsym, Inc, will carry out the fabrication of the balloon system. The planned work, if proven to be successful, would be of tremendous value in providing an inexpensive approach to obtaining valuable data for hurricanes.