Possible enhancements of airport operations based on runway visual range visibility measurements

Abstract

The widespread placement of Runway Visual Range (RVR) visibility sensors over an airport domain provides an opportunity to expand their utility to other airport applications. These include determining visibility and inferring equivalent liquid water content snowfall rates anywhere on the airport surface. The interpolation of extinction coefficient measurements is demonstrated at Denver International Airport (DEN) and Portland International Airport (PDX). The snowfall rate determination is demonstrated at DEN, using calibration of visibility sensor extinction coefficient measurements based on an equivalent snowfall water content gauge located nearby one of the RVR visibility sensors. The snowfall rate data are shown to be useful for tracking equivalent liquid water snowfall amounts that can accumulate on an aircraft during taxiing from a deicing station to a takeoff position on a runway. This tracking of snowfall impinging on an aircraft along its designated surface route should help ensure safer deicing decision making. Furthermore, ongoing evaluation of aircraft tracks for takeoff on different runways can provide controllers with options on runway selection to enhance capacity. The time portrayal of interpolated images of visibility at DEN and PDX demonstrates how visibility can differ significantly over an airport surface and how this visibility can drift in time. Similar to the snowfall application, the interpolated visibility along surface routes to and from runways can help controllers improve estimates of times required for safe transit of aircraft during taxiing.