Aviation-Hazarding Micro-Scale Phenomena in the Planetary Boundary Layer Measurement Datasets of Szeged, 2015

Abstract

During the PABLS-2015, at the Airport of Szeged (ICAO: LHUD), Hungary, in the summer of 2015, micrometeorological measurements of the planetary boundary layer were made. Surface energy budget measurements were also carried out. Two high frequency sonic anemometers were used with 10 Hz frequency. The turbulent fluxes were calculated with TK3 and EddyPro (Li-Cor) software using eddy-covariance method with 5 and 30-minute averaging intervals. The quality assurance and control system was also applied. We are presenting two case studies, when some micrometeorological phenomena (e.g. gust fronts, dust storms) – which could be invisible using usual airport measurements – can cause sudden and potentially dangerous aviation situations. This study aims to illustrate the importance of using short response-time equipment together with traditional sensors, and the importance of calculating variances and turbulent fluxes beyond averages.