Weather Radar Networking: Cost 73 Project / Final Report - Softcover

Over the past twenty years, there has been a rapid expansion in the number of opera­ tional, digital weather radars in Europe. Work within COST 73 stimulated the use of data from these radars and also demonstrated the potential of the international exchange of weather radar data in near real-time. The Management Committee of the COST 73 Project have laid the foun­ dations upon which future international operational radar networking may be built in Europe, and has indicated the directions that future weather radar technological developments might take. Throughout this five year Project, it has been possible to achieve success o~ through the goodwill of the participants. The considerable international co-operation is, in no smaIl measure, the underpinning reason why the Management Committee of COST 73 have been able to address such a wide range of topics within the general category of international weather radar networking. It has been an honour to have had the opportunity to act as Chairman of a group of meteorolo­ gists, engineers and managers possessing such a wide variety of talents and experience. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their many and varied contributions.

This five-year project started on 25th September 1986. Eventually, sixteen countries and the European Commission itself signed the Memorandum of Understanding. The principal objectives of the Project were to further the establishment of national operational weather radar networks, harmonise operations, data handling and processing to minimise the difficulties of, and maximise the benefits of international weather radar data exchange. To transmit the data efficiently, standardised formats and protocols were essential. These were formulated by a working group whose efforts were rewarded when WMO accepted their proposal for worldwide use. A multi-national pilot project area was established and streams of data from each of the countries involved were merged and integrated with data from the satellite METEOSAT. The composite image, known as 'the COST image' was regularly distributed via the global telecommunication system of WMO, the public telephone switched network and the Olympus satellite. The utility of the COST image was assessed for, inter alia, short-period forecasting, aviation flight assistance, maritime forecasting and the initialisation of numerical weather prediction models. In all cases, the COST image was found to be beneficial. A report containing proposed curricula for the training of meteorologists, hydrologists and other major users of weather radar data was sent to WMO for possible adoption as one of their standard training manuals. As a report of international scientific cooperation, this is a success story. All the principal objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding were achieved both within time and budget. It is a tale of international cooperation at its best.