气象监测系统
Meteorologic conditions at field level in Olympic Stadium weremeasured by the National Weather Service in preparation for the1996 Summer Olympic Games, Atlanta, Georgia.
气象监测系统
In the summer of 1996,millions of visitors arrived in Atlanta towatch the world’s finest athletes compete for the covetedgold. Spectators watched as highly skilled men and womencompeted in strenuous sports such as track and field, mountainbiking, rowing, and soccer. Conditioning and the ability toadjust to the weather conditions determined who was the best in hisor her event. However, spectators were sometimes oblivious tothe environment and the dangers posed to the athletes by inclementweather conditions. And, the 1996 Summer Olympic Games wereheld during the hottest time of the year.
气象监测系统
To ensure the success of these Games, the National WeatherService(NWS),an arm of the Department of Commerce’s NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration, provided weather support tothe Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games(ACOG),and to athletes,spectators, and media. Weather conditions were monitoredusing an array of sophisticated equipment. In addition to thelatest satellites and Doppler radars, a net work of monitoringstations report-ed current surface conditions to two NWS Olympicweather support offices in Georgia. The backbone of thisdense monitoring network was formed by Campbell ScientificCR10-basedweather stations that made up the University of Georgia’sAutomated Environmental Monitoring Network(AEMN). The AEMNwas supplemented by additional stations installed by NWS indata-void areas to generate the data needed to supporthigh-resolution numerical models.
气象监测
Rowing, canoeing, and kayaking venue, Lake Lanier, Georgia(left). A mobile station was used to monitor meteorologicconditions at field level (below).
AEMN was established in 1991 by the College of Agricultural andEnvironmental Sciences at the University Georgia. The mainobjective of the AEMN is to collect detailed weather data atagricultural research sites. In addition to supplying datafor physical, chemical, and biological studies, the detailedweather information is input to the latest computerizedagricultural simulation models and decision-support systems.
AEMN began with four CR10-basedstations and currently consistsof 31 stations. Each station is accessed by a modem anddedicated telephone line. A personal computer in Griffincalls each station at least once a day to download the previousday’s data. After downloading, the data are processed forapplications and archival.
The retrieved weather data has become an invaluable andimportant resource form any entities. Daily summary reportsare automatically faxed to local newspapers, television stations,utility companies, and various agricultural enterprises. Monthly summary reports are distributed to a range of clients inagriculture and other industries. Three stations have VS1Voice Synthesized Telephone Modems that pro-vide verbal reports ofcurrent weather conditions.
气象监测系统
The value of AEMN to the NWS in supporting the Atlanta Games wasrecognized as early as 1991. At that time, ACOG requestedthat the NWS collect weather data at six potential sites for theequestrian venue. Due to the high temperature and humidityconditions during Georgian summers, an alternate site was beingsought. During July and August of1991,CR10 dataloggersoperated by AEMN recorded detailed temperature, relative humidity,wind speed, and wind direction data. This information waspro-vided to ACOG, and the Georgia International Horse Park inConyers was selected as the final venue.
In response to a subsequent request from the NWS, the Universityof Georgia bought and installed eight additional weather stationsto support the Games. These units recorded data at the GeorgiaInternational Horse Park in Conyers(equestrian, modern pentathlon,and mountain bike racing); Lake Lanier in Gainesville (kayaksprint, rowing, and canoeing); the Ocoee River in Tennessee(canoeand kayak slalom); Williamson Island in the Was saw Sound nearSavannah (yachting); and Atlanta Beach in Jonesboro (beachvolleyball). The remainder of the stations were installed atcritical sites where additional climatological information wasneeded.
The NWS has numerous offices and associated Automated SurfaceObservation Systems (ASOS) that provided weather information duringthe Games. Despite the availability of the ASOS and AEMN stations,gaps remained in the net-work. To remedy this, the NWSpurchased an additional 14 CR10-basedweather stations in 1995.Stations were installed at venues including Wolf Creek(shooting);Clark Atlanta University (field hockey); Georgia Institute ofTechnology(swimming, diving, and water polo); and Stone MountainPark (tennis, archery, and track cycling). The remainder ofthe stations were installed in critical climate regions of Georgiaand Alabama. Additionally, two temporary stations weremounted on wheels to monitor weather conditions inside the newOlympic Stadium.
All the CR10-based stations monitored air temperature, relativehumidity, wind speed, wind direction ,and rainfall. The AEMNstations also monitored solar radiation and soil temperature, sotheir pro-grams were modified to accommodate the data requirementsof the sophisticated NWS models. All sensors were scanned atone-second intervals and the data were averaged every 15minutes. Daily sum-maries and extremes were calculated atmidnight.
气象监测
Other networks supplying weather data included the AlabamaMesonet managed by Auburn University, the fire weather stationnetwork of the Georgia Forestry Commission, and various automatedstations located in Tennessee and the Carolinas.
气象监测
The NWS operated two weather offices during the Games; one inPeachtree City and the other near Savannah, Georgia. Both officesinterrogated each station at15-minute intervals. Multiplecomputers handled this task, as each interrogation session lastedabout 60 seconds. The data was then fed into high-resolutionmodels that handled large amounts of input data. The models wererun on super computers every 15 minutes to provide weatherfore-casts for each venue. The data was then processed andtransmitted through ACOG’s information system to venue managementofficials, sports officials, coaches, and athletes.
The legacy of this effort to support the1996 Olympic Games willbe the tremendous amount of data being archived on CD-ROMs. These data will be available for studies involving localizedclimate, spatial weather variability, thunderstorms, sea breezeconditions, convection, and other meteorological phenomena. The weather data may also provide an impetus in convincing othersto develop similar net works that will improve weather ser-vices totheir communities.
气象监测系统