Higher resolution models provide critical severe weather intelligence

16/11/2012

Two major advanced to the Bureau of Meteorology's Numerical Weather Prediction system by linking satellite data with GPS data, providing six times the current observations.

Dr Peter Steinle, who leads the Bureau's research, said the updates enable satellites to tap into local radars, providing rainfall and wind observations that aren't currently available. Ten years ago, seasonal forecasting in Australia was done with a fraction of the data and computer resources scientists have now.

"The upgrade is like moving from black and white television to high definition colour television.

"Another result we weren't sure would be possible is the ability to track the wind, the increase in resolution enables us to track swarms of insects.

"This is exciting; it increases the intelligence of our models and will enable us to provide increasingly localized observation. This technology could save lives, during extreme weather events such as Tropical Cyclones and Bushfire where wind patterns can change dramatically," said Dr Steine.