A data buoy system developed by National Taiwan University’s Institute of Oceanography stands to assist in boosting typhoon preparedness and mitigation, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology April 25.
Supported by the MOST and Central Weather Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the system comprises two data buoys enhanced using elements of the ATLAS, or Autonomous Temperature Line Acquisition System, to transmit real-time weather conditions and data via satellite to ground station.
The system was put through its sternest test during Typhoon Nepartak. The Category 5 tropical storm lashed eastern Taiwan in July 2016, killing three, injuring more than 300 and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
According to the MOST, the system recorded crucial air and sea variables within a few kilometers from the center of Nepartak. The dataset was later used to learn more about air-sea interaction and how the strength of typhoons evolves.
This information, which was included in an NTUIO study published by peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Communications in April, is expected to improve typhoon forecasting, save lives and minimize property damage. Typhoons are an annual occurrence in the Western Pacific, affecting nearly 1 billion people in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and China.
The MOST said plans are in the pipeline to deploy the system in the Northwest Pacific in June so as to capture a broader range of typhoon data. (HC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw