Aviation Turbulence

Anyone who has experienced turbulence in flight knows that it is usually not pleasant, and may wonder why this is so difficult to avoid. The book includes papers by various aviation turbulence researchers and provides background into the nature and causes of atmospheric turbulence that affect aircraft motion, and contains surveys of the latest techniques for remote and in situ sensing and forecasting of the turbulence phenomenon. It provides updates on the state-of-the-art research since earlier studies in the 1960s on clear-air turbulence, explains recent new understanding into turbulence generation by thunderstorms, and summarizes future challenges in turbulence prediction and avoidance.

A 44 case study analysis of the large-scale atmospheric structure associated with development of accident-producing aircraft turbulence is described. Categorization is a function of the accident location, altitude, time of year, time of day, and the turbulence category, which classifies disturbances. National Centers for Environmental Prediction Reanalyses data sets and satellite imagery are employed to dang- nose synoptic scale predictor fields associated with the large-scale environment preceding severe turbulence. These analyses indicate a predominance of severe accident-producing turbulence within the entrance region of ajet stream at the synoptic scale. Typically, a flow curvature region is just upstream within the jet entrance region, convection is within 100 krn of the accident, vertical motion is upward, absolute vorticity is low, vertical wind shear is increasing, and horizontal cold advection is substantial.

The book is a concise guide dealing with the subject of air turbulence and its methods of detection with particular applications to aviation turbulence. It begins with a general description of turbulence and provides a background into the nature and causes of atmospheric turbulence that affect aircraft motion, giving updates on the state-of-the-art research on clear air turbulence (CAT). Important physical processes leading to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, a primary producer of CAT, are also explained. The several categories of CAT along with its impact on commercial aviation are also presented in a separate chapter, with particular emphasis on the structural damages to planes and injuries. The central theme of the book deals with both the earlier and the latest CAT detecting methods and techniques for remote and in situ sensing and forecasting. A concise presentation of new technologies for reducing aviation weather-related accidents is also offered. A chapter on the weather accident prevention project of the NASA aviation safety program is also included. Additionally, the book ends with a full description of the recent research activities on CAT and future challenges in turbulence detection, prediction and avoidance.

Clear air turbulence encounters can occur unexpectedly without any visual evidence or warning. As operations of higher altitude aircraft increase, the phenomenon is encountered more often. Clear air turbulence is defined as 'all turbulence in the free atmosphere of interest in aerospace operations that is not in or adjacent to visible convective activity (this includes turbulence found in cirrus clouds not in or adjacent to visible convective activity).' This bibliography consists of 578 references to technical reports, articles in periodicals, and books published during the past 17 years. References about other forms of turbulence such as that occurring with storms and airplane wake vortices are not included. (Author).

Turbulence, by Peter F. Lester, is the most comprehensive, understandable book available on turbulence as it pertains to aviation. It will help you recognize the conditions that cause turbulence, so the effects can be avoided or minimized. This book provides answers to questions such as: What is turbulence? What does it look like? How long does it last? What causes it? Where is it found? What are its indicators? What are its typical dimensions and intensities?