NAWDIC-in-the-air

The NAWDIC–in-the-air project extends the North Atlantic Waveguide, Dry Intrusion and Downstream Impact Campaign (NAWDIC) by adding mid- to high-altitude in-situ observations with drones. Its goal is to provide vertical atmospheric profiles up to the tropopause during dry- and warm-air intrusion events at the European Atlantic coast. Using the fixed-wing research drones developed at TU Braunschweig, reusable and environmentally friendly drone soundings complement conventional radiosonde and remote-sensing observations near the KITcube site at Porspoder (France). The measurements will improve the description of mesoscale structures such as atmospheric and dry intrusions, assess their representation in numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, and evaluate the impact of assimilating drone data into high-resolution forecasts. By minimizing radiosonde waste and providing near-real-time, high-quality meteorological data to the global observing system, NAWDIC–in-the-air additionally demonstrates the potential of fixed-wing drone-based soundings in extreme weather for sustainable atmospheric research and operational meteorology.

Contact: Konrad Bärfuss (TU Braunschweig)