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QUARTERLY FOCUS
July 2008
Bureau of Meteorology staff member Jack Maher prepares to release a weather balloon as Jack Nance readies the theodolite to track the balloon flight at Essendon airport, Melbourne, Victoria, March 1938.
ORVILLE Wright’s aircraft flew into the lower atmosphere and into history in 1903 just five years before the Bureau issued its first forecast.
But it was another few decades before the fledgeling aviation industry and the bureau formed their enduring partnership.
The bureau’s aviation services received a massive boost during WWII with the construction of Weather Service Offices and observing stations on scores of airports to serve RAAF training and operational needs. Their observations transformed national atmospheric monitoring, and many wartime stations survive as the core of today’s network of 55 Field Offices.
The boom in civil aviation from the 1950s saw the bureau focussed on meeting the standardised world services required by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Generations of new forecasters would start their careers at an airport weather office, sometimes being invited on familiarisation flights to take the leap from theory to a turbulent reality.
Many people might be surprised to find that nearly half of Australia’s operational forecasters work on providing a range of aviation forecasts, issuing more than 370,000 forecasts annually for 256 airports. Forecasts cover both aerodromes and conditions en route.
Notwithstanding the refinements of half a century of numerical weather modelling-and radar, satellite and other forecasting aids-the chaotic nature of the atmosphere guarantees that the bureau can’t always deliver the perfect forecast for an industry that relies on precision.
Regular pilot feedback on forecasts (part of continuing consultation with the industry) ensures that both parties collaborate to protect Australia’s impressive aviation safety record.
Bureau staff use the latest satellite and upper atmosphere information to give the best advice possible for safety, reduced cost to airlines and a reduction of environmental impacts.
The bureau’s aviation services were officially awarded ISO9001:2000 Quality Management Standard Certification from Lloyds Register of Quality Assurance in 2008.
- Mike Rosel, Public Affairs Group
Quarterly focus is updated on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October.
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