Velocity

2014

NovAtel's Annual Journal of GNSS Technology Solutions and Innovation

Issue link: http://velocitymagazine.epubxp.com/i/380251

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global hawk 2014 For more Solutions visit http://www.novatel.com velocity 7 WHEN A HURRICANE makes its way to shore, the damage it brings can be devastating. People in the storm's path may lose their homes, or those homes may sustain severe dam- age that could take weeks or even months to re- pair. Towns may be destroyed and, in the worst cases, lives may be lost. In the United States, 100 million people live within 50 miles of the coast and that means they're vulnerable to experiencing what a hur- ricane can do. And while these Americans may have plenty of warning when a hurricane is on the way, it's much more difficult to predict how intense the storm will be once it arrives. The team behind the NASA Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or H3 mission, hopes to change that by using two NASA Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft Systems to help study storm intensity. One Global Hawk is equipped with NovAtel's Synchronized Position Atti- tude Navigation (SPAN®) technology to ensure researchers obtain accurate navigation data along with accurate Doppler radar data, says Gerry Heymsfield, the principal investigator for NASA's HIWRAP radar and research meteo- rologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. This data helps scientists better predict how in- tense a hurricane will be once it makes landfall, and what factors cause it to intensify. HIWRAP, which stands for High-altitude Im- aging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler, maps 3D winds and precipitation within hurricanes and other severe weather events. A NovAtel SPAN- SE™ receiver is located near the HIWRAP instrument to help researchers improve mea- surement accuracy and easily obtain the most accurate attitude and positioning data possible. Knowing what causes hurricanes to inten- sify will eventually help improve hurricane forecasts, potentially reducing the damage they bring and the lives they take. There's a big difference between a Category 1 and a Category 3 hurricane, and knowing which to expect can help people properly prepare for a THE HUNT

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