# Presentation: 264318

## The Hurricane Data Rescue Project :What Once was Lost Now is Found.

- Neal Dorst
- Atlantic Oceanographic and
- Meteorological Laboratory
- June 30, 2005

## Outline

- Introduction
- Advertisement
- A Brief History
- NHRP (1956-1959)
- NHRL (1960-1975)
- HRD (1976-today)
- The data formats
- Punch cards
- Microfilms
- 16mm/35mm films
- Videotape
- Administrative microfilms
- The rescue so far
- What’s in the old data ?
- Is it worth it ?

## First a word from our sponsor

- This work is supported by a Climate Database Modernization Program (CDMP) grant from the National Climatic Data Center.
- CDMP was started five years ago to assist other NOAA agencies preserve paper and film records in digital formats.

## First a word from our sponsor

- CDMP currently assists 20 non-NCDC NOAA agencies.  These agencies are partnered with private contractors to handle the digitizing and hosting of the data.
- NOAA agencies are limited to 10% of the grant funds, 90% to the contractor.

## First a word from our sponsor

- Funding for the first two years of the hurricane data project
- 		Grant         AOML
- FY04	$200,000   $20,000
- FY05	$255,000   $25,500

## First a word from our sponsor

- 	HRD’s data rescue project is partnered with Information Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) of Rocket Center, West Virginia.

## A Brief History

## A Brief History

- In 1955 Congress authorized Weather Bureau funds  for the National Hurricane Research Project.

## National Hurricane Research Project(1956-1958)

- On loan from  USAF 55th WRS :
- Two WB-50 “A”,”B”
- One WB-47 “C”
- Both air crews and maintenance personnel

## National Hurricane Research Project(1956-1958)

- WB-50
- Long range bomber
- Flight level data
- Temperature
- Wind Speed and Dir
- Pressure
- Radar film
- Photo Panel film
- Hand-held 16mm film

## National Hurricane Research Project(1956-1958)

- WB-47
- High altitude jet
- Flight level data
- Temperature
- Wind Speed and Dir.
- Pressure
- Radar film
- Photo Panel film

## National Hurricane Research Laboratory(1960-1975)

- Two DC6 aircraft
- 39 Charlie “A”
- 40 Charlie “B”
- One B57 jet “C”
- One DC4 aircraft “D”
- One B26 aircraft “E”
- One WC130 aircraft 		“F”

## National Hurricane Research Laboratory(1960-1975)

- DC6 aircraft
- Flight level data
- Temperature
- Dew point
- Wind speed and dir.
- Pressure
- Liquid water content
- Radar film
- Belly
- Cross section
- Fixed camera film
- Photo Panel film
- Foil impact

## Hurricane Research Division/AOML(1976- Now)

- One C130 aircraft 			”F”
- Two P3 aircraft
- “Kermit”		“H”
- “Miss Piggy”	”I”
- One G-IV jet
- “Gonzo”	“N”

## Hurricane Research Division/AOML(1976- Now)

- P3 aircraft
- Flight level data
- Radar
- Nose
- Belly
- Tail (Doppler)
- Cloud Physics
- 2D-C
- 2D-P
- FSSP
- Remote sensors
- SFMR
- WARDS
- Etc.
- Fixed camera film and video

## Hurricane Research Division/AOML(1976- Now)

- G-IV jet
- Flight level data  (?)
- Dropsondes
- In the future :
- Radar

## Data formats

- Digital flight level data
- Time
- Position
- Temperature
- Pressure
- Wind
- Humidity
- Liquid water

## Data formats

- Digital flight level data
- Time
- Position
- Temperature
- Pressure
- Wind
- Humidity
- Liquid water

## Data formats

- 	For 10 second data a typical flight will require 3000 to 3600 cards.
- 	Not sure if all the cards still exist. They were sent to archive in Atlanta.

## Data formats

- Administrative file microfilms contain letters, notes, experiment plans.  Of historical interest and offers context for earlier work.

## Data formats

- Also contained among the administrative files are the data printouts of most of the flights from this period.  This represents the QC’ed flight level data.

## Data formats

- Photo Panel and Radar are recorded on 35mm film.

## Before there was Y2k :

- 	For the first ten years of the Project only one digit was used to designate the year in the Flight Identification number.  This now causes some confusion in handling the data.

## Data formats

- Photo Panel film is 35mm images of an instrument panel which contains both digital and analog readouts of:
- Time
- Position
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Pressure

## Data formats

- Radar film is 35mm images of radar display scope.
- It comes in two flavors
- PPI
- RHI

## Data formats

- 	Fixed camera and hand-held film are mostly 16mm movie film. Limited quantities of 35mm fixed camera films exist here at the Lab.  Many were sent to the archive in Atlanta and may or may not be retrievable.

## Data formats

- 	Super VHS tapes from the fixed cameras have been recorded since 1994.

## What’s been done so far ?

- All administrative microfilms including all the flight level data printouts.     			250+ DVDs.
- All Super VHS videos from 1994-1996 and 2004. 								58 of 181 DVDs

## What needs to be done?

- Digitize the printouts of flight level data.
- ~2000 rolls of Radar film.
- ~1600 rolls of 16mm and 35mm flight film
- 1500+ rolls of Photo Panel film.
- ~100 rolls of land based radar film.

## What’s in the old data ?

-    More total flights in the earlier period (1127 versus 763). However this is due to a larger number of Non-TC flights.

## What’s in the old data ?

- Large number of Non-TC flights in earlier period includes many cloud physics and seeding flights, and may also include many TC flights not properly classified.

## What’s in the old data ?

- Few flights into developing systems in either period.

## What’s in the old data ?

- Slightly more even distribution of hurricanes by category in recent period.

## What’s in the old data ?

- 	100 % of all hurricane seeding experiments were carried out prior to the P3 era.

## Is it Worth it ?

## Is it Worth it ?

- That’s up to You !