A. Rossa, MeteoSwiss, 8044 Zürich, Switzerland
The MAP meeting 1995 in Bad Tölz offered the platform for the first committee meetings of the three bodies of MAP, that is the Coordination and Implementation Group (CIG), the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), and the Intergovernmental Panel (IGP). The outcome of the three sessions on scientific and administrative questions is synthesized in the following.
As a first task, the organisational structure of MAP, described in some detail in the following article `Organisational Structure of MAP', had to be officially constituted. A foundation for the Program and its officials has been laid in the `Terms of Reference'. Along with this, the basis for the scientific and strategic definition of MAP as presented in the Design Proposal has been thoroughly discussed. The SSC and the IGP approved the first edition of the MAP Design Proposal subject to minor modifications. Particularly, the timing of the Special Observing Period (SOP) is now confirmed to be from mid August to mid November, probably in 1998. A definition of the General Observing Period (GOP) has been formulated to read: `a 13 month period where the MAP Data Center devotes maximum effort to collect data in near realtime without additional measurements'. The SSC agreed that no `mini-SOPs' during the GOP should be encouraged to prevent activities at the expense of the SOP. Concerning updates of the Design Proposal, Christoph Schär (CIG) collects comments, suggestions, and alterations which then will be integrated into a new edition in due course, but at least once before the field phase. Phase I activities constitute an essential part of MAP in the prefield phase.
Operation of the Program Office and the Data Center, the potential involvement of the national weather services in EUMETNET, and EU proposals such as HERA (see Newsletter 2) are some of them. Several progress reports served to inform the committees about the status quo. At present, the MDC is run by one full time data manager who is currently setting up a system which allows for flexible, transparent and secure access. Any security policy, as imposed by the IGP, can be implemented. As a first guess, the SSC recommends that a list of MAP members with free access to all data in the MDC be established, while non-members could access the data with a time lag yet to be discussed. Furthermore, in order to define the activities of the MDC, the SSC and the CIG will establish a data priority policy. The link of MAP to the European National Weather Services (NWS) is planned as an optional EUMETNET program, embracing two categories of commitments. One is to fund the operational facilities of MAP on a contractual basis, i.e. the Program Office and the Data Center; and the other is to contribute scientifically and/or in kind (e.g. data supply) on a non-contractual basis. The CIG committed further action for Phase I in the form of working groups which are devoted to specific issues. Reinhold Steinacker heads the working group on observational net works in the Alpine region, whereas Evelyne Richard is in charge to initiate a working group on numerical modeling.
MAP has already triggered national activities in several participating countries which have attained some considerable momentum in a relatively short period of time. National working groups have been established in Austria and Italy. In Austria an informal steering group for MAP, based on the interest of all meteorological organizations and university departments, has been formed. This committee aims at promoting MAP within Austria, and to initiate projects in the context of MAP. Italy, on the other hand, has seen four national MAP meetings since the Zurich workshop with the outcome of five working groups. Impressive maps of high-density observational networks covering most of northern Italy have been presented, which were used to update the diagrams shown earlier in the MAP Design Proposal (see Fig.1). In response to a presentation of the Design Proposal in Germany, the Commission for Atmospheric Sciences of the German Research Council (DFG) has given promising notes for MAP. Also, MAP has been presented at the `Deutsche Meteorologentagung' in Munich (Germany) in September, and at the CNRS meeting in October 1995 in Nantes (France).
FIGURE 1 Operational observational networks in the Alps as updated with Italian stations (compiled by C. Cacciamani and S. Micheletti). Upper panel shows automatic stations, with some non-automatic stations depicted by small dots. Lower panel shows the coverage by radiosonde stations (stars) and weather radar (circles and open triangles at radar site). Most radars will be Doppler-equipped in 1998.
The SSC had to deal with a pivotal question concerning the future development of MAP: In May of this year, H. Grassl, director of WCRP, suggested the possibility to incorporate MAP in GEWEX. MAP constitutes a perfect extension to mountainous regions of some GEWEX projects such as BALTEX. The SSC feels that GEWEX will considerably enlarge MAP by a hydrological part, which then would provoke a partial restructuring and redesign of MAP. In this context, MAP is interested in short term (1d - 1y) hydrology whereas some of GEWEX in longer term (>10 y) processes. Hydrologists will be contacted on a national basis in order to seek their interest in MAP. This effort is believed to be well invested since short-term hydrology is anyway interesting for MAP. A decision on this issue will be taken in the next SSC meeting.
A specific responsibility of the IGP is to foster and monitor
the allocation of financial and technical support for MAP, and
to make government agencies aware of the Program. Consequently,
MAP will have to be presented to governmental agencies in the
various countries, and important funding agencies and sponsors
have to be contacted. Generally, the meetings were characterized
by a very constructive atmosphere and substantial progress was
achieved for MAP. Further planning steps will be taken in a series
of meetings in the following year, as listed in the agenda on
page13.
P. Binder, MeteoSwiss, 8044 Zürich, Switzerland
There are three principal ideas behind the organizational structure of MAP :
The responsibilities, membership and procedures of the three official MAP bodies are defined in the terms of reference. A few key paragraphs therefrom are given below. A list of the members of each committee is provided at the end of this article.
IGP (Intergovernmental Panel)
The IGP "...carries the final responsibility for the implementation of the overall Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP)" and has the responsibility "... to approve the recommendation on the structure and implementation of MAP, particularly with respect to the necessary financial and technical support".
IGP members are representatives of the participating National Meteorological Services (NMS) and of Science Funding Institutions. It is obvious that MAP needs the support of the NWS because of their observational systems, communication means and forecasters' know-how. Unless science funding institutions grant financial support to MAP, a major field campaign cannot be carried out.
The IGP has also to decide on important political questions, e.g. the access policy to the MAP Data Center.
SSC (Scientific Steering Committee)
The SSC "...will ensure the integrity and consistency of the scientific objectives of MAP" and it is its responsibility "...to provide links to other relevant programs and projects". CIG (Coordination and Implementation Group) The responsibilities of the CIG are "... to undertake the overall planning and coordination of MAP..." and "... to initiate, support and coordinate working groups on specific parts of MAP".
The committees hold regular meetings where decisions are taken and planning steps are discussed. Two associated functional units support the overall program :
Funding
MAP funding rests upon two pillars: Research Institutions and the National Meteorological Services (NMS). From the NMSs financial support is sought for to run the PO and the MDC. Several commitments have already been made for 1995 and 1996. Furthermore the NMSs can also make non-financial contributions by carrying out their own scientific research projects, by providing data and know-how as well as operational support for the future MAP Operations Center during the field phase.
The focus of the research institutions are naturally the scientific research projects. Funding has to be sought for from their own internal and/ or external sources. But they can also provide support for the basic MAP activities, e.g. by hosting the MDC (ETH) or running parts of the future MAP Operations Center.
Time Table
FIGURE 1.Timing of the phases of MAP
MAP is structured in three phases. Phase I of the program is dedicated to modeling activities, theoretical studies, improvement of existing Alpine climatologies, and to the preparation of the field phase. A distinctive feature of the program is that a number of these activities will continue throughout its duration. Phase II is termed the General Observing Period (GOP), a 13months period where the MAP Data Center devotes maxi mum effort to collect data in near real time without additional measurements. During an embedded 3-month Special Observing Period (SOP), dedicated observing systems such as research aircraft and temporarily installed observational platforms will be deployed, and activated during a number of Intensive Observing Periods (IOPs). In Phase III of the program the field phase results will be analysed and used for modeling studies.
Current list of MAP committee members (updated from the MAP Design Proposal)
Intergovernmental Panel (IGP)
Dr. Thomas Gutermann (chairman ), Director, Swiss Meteorological
Institute, Zurich, CH
Dr. Roberto Sorani (vice-chairman ), Servizio Meteorologico dell'
Aeronautica, Roma, I
Dr. Joachim P. Kuettner, UCAR, Boulder, USA has been nominated
honorary member of the MAP IGP. We also congratulate
Dr. Kuettner to whom the Distinguished Chair for Atmospheric Science
and International Research has been appointed to by the University
Corporation for Atmospheric Research in the US.
Dr. Philippe Bougeault, Météo France, Toulouse,
F
Dr. Frederic Delsol, Director AREP, WMO, Geneva, CH
Prof. Eberhard Müller, Head of Research, Deutscher Wetterdienst,
Offenbach, D
Prof. Peter Steinhauser, Director of the Austrian Weather Service
and President of RA VI of WMO, Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie
und Geodynamik, Vienna, A
Further institutions have been invited to participate in the IGP.
Scientific Steering Committee (SSC)
Dr. Philippe Bougeault, Météo France, Toulouse,
F (chariman)
Dr. Reinhard Böhm, Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und
Geodynamik, Vienna, A
Dr. Andrea Buzzi, ISAO-CNR, Bologna, I
Prof. Huw C. Davies, Atmospheric Science ETH, Zurich, CH
Prof. Josef Egger, Universität München, Munich, D
Dr. Klaus P. oinka, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre,
DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, D
Dr. Joachim P. Kuettner, UCAR, Boulder, USA
Prof. Hans Richner, Atmospheric Science ETH, Zurich, CH The title
of a professor has recently been appointed to Hans Richner by
the ETH Zurich. We cordially congratulate him on this honour.
Prof. Roger K. Smith, Universität München, Munich, D
Prof. Ronald B. Smith, Yale University, New Haven, USA
Prof. Reinhold Steinacker, Universität Wien, Vienna, A
Prof. Alan J. Thorpe, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Coordination and Implementation Group (CIG)
Dr. Peter Binder, MeteoSwiss, Zurich, CH (chairman)
Dr. Massimo Crespi, Dipartimento per l'Agrometeorologia, C. S.I. M., Teolo (PD), I
Dipl.-Met. Detlev Majewski, DWD, Offenbach, D
Dr. Georg Mayr, Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, A
Dr. Francesco Nucciotti, Servizio Meteorologico Regionale, Bologna, I
Dr. Evelyne Richard, Lab. d'Ae'rologie, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, F
Prof. Hans Richner, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science ETH, Zurich, CH
Prof. Christoph Schär, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science ETH, Zurich, CH
Prof. Reinhold Steinacker, Universität Wien, Vienna, A
Dr. Hans Volkert, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, D
Mayr, Institut für Meteorologie und Geodynamik, 6020 Innsbruck,
Austria
A. Rossa, MeteoSwiss, 8044 Zürich, Switzerland
The MAP working group on aircraft met for the first time in Bad Tölz. R. Dirks (UCAR), G. Emmanuel (NOAA), H. Fimpel (DLR), J. Kuettner (NCAR), N. Price (UKMO), H. Richner (IACETH, chair), and R. Stäger (DLR) made an inventory of the availability and instrumentation of aircraft listed in Table 1 for the special observation period of MAP (from mid-August through mid-November , probably in 1998). A detailed list with the technical specification of each aircraft is available upon request from the MAP Programme Office.
The following availability restrictions were mentioned:
Reservations for all planes will have to be made by the middle of 1996 at the latest. Re quests for the U.S. planes will have to be made by U.S. scientists.
Measurement capabilities other than wind, pressure, temperature, humidity, water content, turbulence and radiation, are listed in Table 2. The DIAL/LIDAR systems were discussed with reference to the outstanding task of the detection of gravity wave breaking. However, the question was raised whether the wave dynamics would be detectable
| Acronym | Aircraft | Institution | Expert |
| S2 | Strato 2C | DLR | H. Fimpel/R.Stäger |
| B57 | WB57 | NCAR | R. Dirks |
| GIV | Gulfstream | NOAA | G. Emmanuel |
| FA | Falcon | DLR | H. Fimpel/R.Stäger |
| C130 | - | UKMO | N.Price |
| C130 | - | NCAR | G. Emmanuel |
| E | Electra | NCAR | R. Dirks |
| ME | Merlin | Météo France | B. Benech/A.Duilhet |
| P3 | - | NOAA | G. Emmanuel |
| FO | Fokker | Météo France | B. Benech/A.Duilhet |
| DO | Dornier 228 | DLR | H. Fimpel/R.Stäger |
TABLE 1. List of aircraft discussed at the first MAP aircraft
meeting.
| Instrument/Aircraft | S2 | B57 | G IV | FA | C130 | E | ME | DO | P3 | FO |
| Dropsondes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | yes | no |
| Radar | no | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | no | no | yes | yes |
| Doppler Radar | no | no | t.b.d. | no | no | Eldora | no | no | yes | no |
| Lidar | yes | no | yes | yes | no | t.b.d. | no | no | no | yes |
| Doppler Lidar | no | no | t.b.d. | yes | no | t.b.d. | no | no | t.b.d. | no |
| Microphysics | no | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | yes |
| Chemistry | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | no | no |
| DIAL | yes | no | no | yes | no | no | no | no | no | no |
TABLE 2. Standard equipment for special instruments.
by this device given the low-humidity content at high altitudes, so that further investigation is needed. ELDORA (doppler radar mounted on Electra) was acknowledged to be a powerful and highly desirable tool to study convective systems.
The dropsonde systems will be of the same type for all airplanes, and uses sondes that weigh only approximately as much as regular radiosondes. For technical reasons, no more than 4-5 dropsondes can be operated simultaneously. This results in a possible spatial resolution in the order of 40km. The issue of clearance for dropsonde usage has to be pursued, since presently there seem to be quite different policies in the Alpine countries.
The location of the operational base was extensively discussed. Requirements are:
With respect to the main operational base, a potential secondary base should be located on the other side of the Alps. However, from his vast experience J. Kuettner ex pressed his opinion that `split operational bases have always been such a headache'.
Interest was articulated that Innsbruck and Oberpfaffenhofen become the operational base for MAP. H. Finkenzeller from DLR has been asked to compile and evaluate a list of potential locations for the operation base. He kindly agreed and has already started this work in September.
The aircraft working group will meet again in Oberpfaffenhofen
January 17-18, 1996.
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