Cooperative Satellite navigation for Meteo-marine Modelling and Services
Project Details
An important constraining factor for meteorological modelling and forecasting capabilities is the availability of accurate and “certified” data sets. This problem is critical over the sea because there are only a few sensors available, and they are very expensive. However, there are thousands of meteorological sensors crossing the seas every day - installed on commercial and private vessels.
Why this project is important for EGNOS/GSA/SatNav?
A GNSS signal can be a valuable source of meteorological information. Cosmemos is developing two sets of innovative GNSS-based measurements: one for waves (GNSS-R) the second for the atmosphere (METEO GNSS).
Objectives
The main specific objective of the project can be defined as the assessment of the benefits of implementing cooperative meteo-marine geo-referenced data collection schemas, coupled with innovative on board sensor architectures based on current and future GNSS receivers, and data processing/fusion techniques (to be developed), for the sake of:
- improving meteo-marine modelling and forecasting capabilities towards precise high resolution simulations and forecasts;
- experimenting with highly innovative meteo-maritime navigation support products / applications / services, targeted at the maritime leisure and commercial market, thanks to the improved models and the new cooperatively collected data (i.e. high precision weather forecasting and weather routing).
How does it work?
The idea is to use ships as distributed meteorological sensors in order to retrieve, via satellite and/or off-line, data on the sea surface, which provide fundamental added value for the weather community, to improve the quality of local forecasting and nowcasting products. Innovative on board meteorological sensor concepts based on the processing of GNSS signals are tested within the context of COSMEMOS, in order to assess their potential contribution to the cooperative schema.
Next Steps
On the basis of improved local meteo-marine forecasting products, define, specify and develop experimental tests for a commercial “weather routing” service.