WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- A global positioning site that is now
operating is providing advance information on weather patterns and will help
Olympics officials prepare for adverse weather. The system was installed as a
result of a cooperative agreement between the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"These sensors are used in conjunction with the GPS to help accurately
predict weather patterns for the Olympics and represent the same technology
used by state highway departments to accurately position their snow removing
equipment," FHWA Administrator Mary Peters said. "This technology represents
another method of making our nations roads safer, especially during adverse
weather conditions."
The site is part of the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System
(NDGPS), a further refinement of the Standard Positioning Service, which
provides positioning information for civilian hikers, boaters, users on in-
vehicle positioning devices and other users. Across the nation, DGPS sites
are constantly monitoring signals from Global Positioning System satellites to
help transportation users navigate safely.
The NDGPS measures the total amount of precipitation in the atmosphere
with very high accuracy under all weather conditions. Other methods of
measurement of water vapor cannot function accurately during severe weather
conditions, a condition experienced frequently in the greater Salt Lake City
area because of lake-effect snowstorms from the Great Salt Lake. Data
obtained from the NDGPS site in Myton, Utah is being sent to the National
Weather Service Forecast Systems Laboratory to enable highly accurate weather
forecasts for the Olympics.
The NDGPS network also can be used for other tasks. For example,
transportation planners can conduct surveys more efficiently as well as
accurately map environmentally sensitive areas near construction sites.
Transit systems can use the system for real-time vehicle tracking as can
police fire and ambulance coordinators to quickly dispatch emergency vehicles
where they are needed. In addition, NDGPS can be used to pinpoint fire
hydrant locations and other infrastructure components in spite of inclement
weather or obstructions.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Transportation
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Related links:
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/briefing.htm
CONTACT:
Ron Zeitz of the U.S. Department of
Transportation, +1-202-366-0660
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