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VXS-1 squadron continues mission while tracking potential tropical cyclone

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Science Development Squadron ONE (VXS) 1 takes to the skies Tuesday, Sept. 24, to deploy observation buoys in advance of Hurricane Helen’s predicted path to the National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP). Provided real-time predictions. Hurricane Coastal Impact (NHCI) team for timely forecasting and operational preparedness. The planned deployment site pictured above is where the team dropped 29 buoys this week into the Gulf of Mexico along the Florida and Alabama coastlines ahead of Hurricane Helen. Credit: U.S. Navy Photo Credit: AWF1 Gapinski

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Science Development Squadron ONE (VXS) 1 takes to the skies Tuesday, Sept. 24, to deploy observation buoys in advance of Hurricane Helen’s predicted path to the National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP). Provided real-time predictions. Hurricane Coastal Impact (NHCI) team for timely forecasting and operational preparedness.

“This is the second Gulf Hurricane Warlock has flown in the past two weeks, and the highest number of buoys we have ever dropped on an NHCI mission,” said a member of Science and Development Squadron ONE (VXS) 1. the commander said. Aaron Roberts.

“We just finished demonstrating our mission at the Oceana Air Show before flying in Helen, and we are impressed with the team’s ability to adapt to this year’s unpredictable and rapidly developing hurricanes.”

During the 7.8-hour flight, the team dropped 29 buoys into the Gulf of Mexico along the coastlines of Florida and Alabama. Four different variations of buoys were used for data collection, including four submersibles, six spotters, three directional wave spectral drifters, and three surface wave instrument floats with tracking capabilities.

“A series of air-deployed drifting buoys and underwater instruments were used by the NHCI team, including scientists from the Marine and Meteorological Division, who provided real-time forecasts from NRL’s Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System for Tropical Cyclones (COAMPS-TC). It also provides insight into observation strategies for Hurricane Helen,” said Dr. James Doyle, Senior Research Scientist in Mesoscale Meteorology in the Division of Marine Meteorology.

COAMPS-TC is a specialized version of the Navy’s medium-scale numerical weather prediction model designed to predict the track, intensity, and structure of tropical cyclones. COAMPS-TC was recognized by Dr. Jeff Masters in Yale University’s August 2020 Climate Connections as the world’s most accurate predictor of hurricane strength during the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season.

Drifting buoys record wave height and wave direction, and how these wave characteristics change as Hurricane Helen moves through the array. Underwater instruments sense water depth and measure the height of the storm surge caused by Helen.

VXS-1 Squadron continues mission while tracking potential tropical cyclone

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Science Development Squadron ONE (VXS) 1 “Warlock” deploys environmental observation buoys in advance of hurricanes along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico during the June-November hurricane season. I’m waiting for you. From left to right: Commander Cmdr. Aaron Roberts, Jacob Davis, Eric Stackpole, Maintenance Officer Lt. John Leyva, Quality Assurance Officer Lt. Sean Carpenter, Petty Officer 1st Class (AWF1) Gapinski, 1st Class. Petty Officer (AWF1) Gavin Norton, Operations Officer Lieutenant Ben Cumberland and Senior Petty Officer Chief Petty Officer (AWFC) Fred Lewis stand on the steps. Credit: U.S. Navy Photo Credit: AWF1 Gapinski

VXS-1 squadron continues mission while tracking potential tropical cyclone

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Science Development Squadron ONE (VXS) 1 takes to the skies Tuesday, Sept. 24, to deploy observation buoys in advance of Hurricane Helen’s predicted path to the National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP). Provided real-time predictions. Hurricane Coastal Impact (NHCI) team for timely forecasting and operational preparedness. A view from the cockpit of the NP-3C Orion, an all-weather, medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft, as the team heads into the Gulf of Mexico to deploy an information buoy. From left to right: operations officer Lt. Ben Cumberland, senior enlisted chief petty officer (AWFC) Fred Lewis, and maintenance officer Lt. John Leyva. Credit: U.S. Navy Photo Credit: AWF1 Gapinski

VXS-1 squadron continues mission while tracking potential tropical cyclone

From left to right, Petty Officer 1st Class (AWF1) Gavin Norton, Cmdr. Aaron Roberts and Lt. Sean Carpenter, Quality Assurance Officer, Science Development Squadron ONE (VXS), U.S. Naval Research Laboratory 1. We deployed 29 buoys, including buoys of different variations. 6 spotters, 3 directional wave spectra drifters, and 3 surface wave instrumentation floats with tracking capabilities. Credit: U.S. Navy Photo Credit: AWF1 Gapinski

“Understanding how hurricanes interact with the ocean to generate waves and swells is key to understanding and predicting the coastal impacts of hurricanes that fall on land.”

“Sea surface waves generated by hurricanes exert drag on the storm’s lower-level winds, which is an important feedback for simulation in specialized hurricane forecasting models, such as the Navy’s COAMPS model. The extreme environment of a hurricane’s inner core Observations of Waves in COAMPS-TC provides unique insight into how surface resistance is considered in COAMPS-TC. ”

VXS-1’s “Warlock” is on standby to deploy environmental observation buoys in advance of hurricanes along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico during the June-November hurricane season. The squadron quickly responded to Helen’s rapidly evolving storm conditions Tuesday morning.

The air crew consists of Commander Cmdr. Aaron Roberts, Maintenance Officer Lt. John Leyva, Senior Chief Petty Officer (AWFC) Fred Lewis, Petty Officer 1st Class (AWF1) Cassandra Gapinski, Petty Officer 1st Class (AWF1) Gavin Norton, Operations Officer Lieutenant Ben Cumberland , Quality Assurance Lt. Sean Carpenter, Project Specialist Jacob Davis, and Project Specialist Eric Stackpole.

Provided by Naval Research Institute

Citation: VXS-1 Squadron Continues Mission Tracking Potential Tropical Cyclone (September 27, 2024) https://phys.org/news/2024-09-vxs-squadron-mission-tracking Retrieved September 29, 2024 from -potential.html

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