Advanced Operational Aviation Weather System (AOAWS) in Taiwan           

      AOAWS System Overview

The AOAWS system capabilities cover the terminal aerodrome and FIR domains. This scope was chosen as an attempt to provide advanced aviation weather capabilities to the broadest user base possible within the bounds of available resources. The system will include low-level windshear protection at three major airports (Kaohsiung, CKS, and Sungshan), advanced product displays at the Taipei Aeronautical Meteorological Center (TAMC), Taipei Flight Information Service (FIS), Sungshan Weather Station, CKS Weather Station and FIS, Kaohsiung Weather Station and FIS, and theTaipei Area Control Center (TACC). The AOAWS will also include a Web system that will allow airlines, pilots and other aviation system users to gain access to AOAWS products. The AOAWS will also have the capability to add other user sites in the future through local networks.

The system will utilize four primary display systems: 1) a Geographical Situation Display (GSD) for graphical windshear detection information, 2) an Alphanumeric Alarm Display (AAD) for textual windshear alerts, 3) a graphical Multi-dimensional Display System (MDS) that will provide both 2- and 3-dimensional analyses and forecast products to end users, and 4) a Model display for displaying the numerical weather prediction guidance products generated by the MM5 weather prediction model.

The system diagram figure above illustrates how the meteorological data from the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) and CAA are used by the MM5 to generate high-resolution forecasts. The model output and basic meteorological data from the CAA and CWB such as surface observations, satellite imagery, and lightning strike data are ingested by an AOAWS data server at the TAMC. The data server integrates the weather data, which are then used by algorithms to generate aviation impact variables. These variables, which include wind, temperature, turbulence, and freezing level are then formulated into graphical products tailored for aviation. These products will appear on the MDS displays. The MM5 model data will also be provided to the TAMC on the model display and include standard numerical weather prediction guidance products generated by MM5.