New research points to gravity waves, which ripple unseen through the atmosphere, as the culprit in many cases of clear-air turbulence. If those waves can be forecast, the research suggests that planes in many cases could be rerouted around them.
A new NCAR turbulence avoidance system has been approved at Juneau International Airport and can be adapted for additional airports in rugged settings.
Thanks to deicing treatment and careful route selection, commercial pilots now avoid most of the threat that ice will encase critical parts of a plane. But another, more mysterious kind of in-flight icing hazard is now gaining attention.
Taking aim at a sometimes deadly aviation hazard, NCAR has developed high-precision maps to warn pilots away from clouds harboring the potential to ice up their wings
Many facets of everyday life, from boarding a plane to turning on the lights or driving down the highway, are becoming safer and more cost-effective with the help of technologies rooted in atmospheric science.
A team of NCAR scientists is studying how advanced satellite technology that measures lightning could help protect aircraft from turbulence caused by severe weather.
On December 20, 2008, a Boeing 737 with Continental Airlines encountered a crosswind gust during takeoff at Denver International Airport, causing it to veer off the runway. Simulations done at NCAR indicate that a mountain lee wave amplified over DIA within minutes of the accident.
A turbulence warning system alerting pilots landing at and departing from Juneau International Airport in southeast Alaska has taken a significant step toward completion with the integration of Federal Aviation Administration radio communications into the system.
NCAR and university researchers are collaborating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Federal Aviation Administration to study how bird-detecting radar at airports could help prevent dangerous airplane bird strikes.
The system tested recently in the Detroit area will ultimately help protect drivers from surprises such as black ice, fog, and other hazardous weather conditions ahead.
Several red-eye commercial flights were rocked by moderate to severe turbulence as they flew across northeast Kansas early on June 17, 2005. A new study by NCAR scientists Stan Trier and Bob Sharman uses modeling to connect storms in Oklahoma with the Kansas turbulence.
Cory Morse, NCAR's Research Applications Laboratory • Morse trained in science, but has the soul of an engineer, which makes her job as a software engineer in NCAR's applied research group a perfect fit.
