Ship based weather routeing (using dynamical meteorology)

Abstract

The relevance of ship based routeing is discussed. Data collected at sea are analysed to produce vessel response characteristics Meteorological data are analysed in a conventional manner to establish effective steering criteria with respect to 500 mb flow. For the first time a routeing model is formulated which recognises the three spatial dimensions of a middle latitude storm. A theoretical analysis of relative flow in a growing baroclinic wave is undertaken. Reference to displacement of the wave trough affords a measure of both storm development and steering effectiveness. Short, medium and long term planning elements are combined in a model. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated by actually "weather routeing" a vessel, whilst comparing progress of a sister ship navigated conventionally. Sources of error and limitations of the model are discussed.

Date of Award	1981
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Plymouth