Low-level turbulence is a serious aviation hazard, in particular during landing approach when the aircraft is relatively slow and the engine power is low. The goal of our research is to characterize such turbulence near two Norwegian airports with the final approach over
complex terrain. In the first stage, simulations from two different LES models (PALM and SIMRA) will be conducted and an inter-model comparison will be performed. In particular, the PALM simulations will also be used to investigate the sensitivity of the model simulations with respect to the grid resolution and the underlying topography. Then, those model simulations will be compared with existing measurements from a multi-lidar system setup. A measurement campaign is also planned that will be used for an online validation of SIMRA and PALM simulations, potentially accompanied by acceleration measurements from landing aircraft.
We expect our research to contribute to improve the aviation safety under different perspectives:
1) the improvement of low-level turbulence forecast;
2) the development of a real-time alert system at the airport;
and 3) as a reference to the design and construction of potential new airports.
Our project will closely collaborate with operational meteorological service departments (Norwegian Meteorological
Institute, secondment partner 1), the Lidar manufacturer (Leosphere, secondment partner 2) and the operator of most of the Norwegian airports, (Avinor).