Improving Meteorological Models Using Ships’ Weather Data Communicated via AIS

Gregory Johnson, Kenneth Dykstra, Sophie Ordell, Brian Tetreault, and Kevin Kohlmann

Abstract:	In the aftermath of the sinking of the container ship El Faro in October 2015, one of the NTSB recommendations was for NOAA to explore increasing the reception of weather data from ships in order to improve the weather forecast products that they distribute. Currently NOAA runs the Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) program, where ships voluntarily submit weather observations to NOAA; these observations are used in weather forecast models and shared with the international meteorological community. However, this data is submitted infrequently, typically four times per day and is a manual process. One method being explored to automate and increase the frequency of data submittal is by using the Automatic identification System (AIS). Most commercial ships (e.g., SOLAS-class) have a Class A AIS transceiver installed due to mandatory carriage requirements. Many vessels that are not required, such as recreational vessels, also have AIS transceivers (either a Class A or B). All of these AIS devices can be used to transmit AIS message 8 (broadcast binary message) simply by sending the transponder the appropriate NMEA sentence (BBM). Weather data, collected automatically on the vessel, can be embedded in an AIS message 8 and transmitted by the ship automatically. This transmission will be received by terrestrial receivers (when in range) or by satellite AIS receivers. The AIS weather data can then be converted into the appropriate format and forwarded automatically to NOAA and the Global Telecommunications System (GTS) for use in weather forecast models. The GTS is the international distribution network for weather observations. By leveraging this installed base of AIS transmitters, the volume of weather data being provided for use in weather forecast models could be greatly increased, improving the forecast products from these models. The USACE, MARAD, and NOAA have been exploring the feasibility of this concept. An initial proof-of-concept was tested on the MARAD vessel CAPE WRATH in Baltimore in October 2018. Following this successful demonstration, a prototype was installed on the Training Ship KENNEDY during her training cruise Jan-Feb 2019. During 2019, three systems were installed on commercial vessels operating in the Pacific Ocean, two commercial vessels operating in the Atlantic, two commercial vessels operating in the Caribbean, four commercial vessels operating in the Great lakes, and one government vessel. All of the reports are received using the USCG Nationwide AIS network when in range of the US coast and via satellite under a partnership with a commercial satellite AIS data provider. Once received, the reports are reformatted into the appropriate format and then sent into the GTS for broad availability. This report discusses the concept, the equipment and processes, and the results to date including the efficacy of the various ASM formats in different ocean regions.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 34th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2021) September 20 - 24, 2021 Union Station Hotel St. Louis, Missouri
Pages:	485 - 501
Cite this article:	Johnson, Gregory, Dykstra, Kenneth, Ordell, Sophie, Tetreault, Brian, Kohlmann, Kevin, "Improving Meteorological Models Using Ships’ Weather Data Communicated via AIS," Proceedings of the 34th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS+ 2021), St. Louis, Missouri, September 2021, pp. 485-501. https://doi.org/10.33012/2021.18141
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