Enhanced satellite imagery showing Mt. Augustine eruption (January 28,2006)

The Aviation Systems: Development And Deployment team work with other sections within the Global Systems Division (GSD) and outside agencies to rapidly develop aviation weather products, displays, and tools on prototype or existing meteorological information systems for use by the aviation community.

Goals of the ASDAD section are:

• Deliver more accurate, consistent, and relevant aviation weather products to air traffic decision makers, airline dispatchers, and pilots in easily understood formats.

• Create temporally and spatially seamless aviation weather products through automated processes and forecaster value-added techniques.

• Develop improved tools for use by aviation forecasters.

• Develop a framework for shared situational awareness between forecasters and their customers to reduce societal impacts caused by weather and other types of disasters such as volcanic ash, tsunamis, and hurricanes.

The ASDAD team has successfully transferred products, applications, services, and systems to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Weather Service (NWS), Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (VNTSC), and the private sector.

Current Projects:

• Aviation Initiative Demonstration (AID) - National Weather Service demonstration to show standardization of weather services and improved aviation weather products from the Center Weather Service Unit (CWSU) forecasters to Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) traffic managers.

• Traffic Management Unit (TMU) - Tactical and strategic weather displays of convection, icing, turbulence, and visibility to aid in air traffic decision support for the ARTCC, TRACON, and Terminal areas.

• Volcanic Ash Coordination Tool (VACT) - Interagency collaboration tool for creating more consistent and accurate forecasts of volcanic ash dispersion.