TimeStep Thermal Maps
For the winter service highway engineer, Thermal Mapping is
an integral part of the Ice Prediction System. By understanding the pattern of
minimum road surface temperatures across the entire network, we can better
identify IF ice is likely to form, WHEN it is
likely to form and WHERE it is likely to form. By having
the answers to these three questions, the engineer is better equipped to ensure
safer winter highways.
On a typical Winter’s night, the difference in minimum road surface
temperatures across a network, may vary by up to 10°C / 18°F.
Vaisala Forecast Thermal Maps have now been used for more than
15 years to identify this temperature variation as a colour-coded network.
Instantly, the winter service engineer is able to identify those sections of the
network that are forecast to reach minimum temperatures close to or below
freezing.
For the winter maintenance industry ‘knowledge means safety’ and two Thermal
Mapping features TimeStep and Real Time Thermal
Map offer better forecasting of a road’s condition for decision
makers. The latest TimeStep Thermal Map software is a new addition to the
IceCast Suite, and is designed to further enhance the use of Thermal Map data.
The TimeStep Thermal Map offers an hour-by-hour
representation, from 10PM to 8AM of the Forecast Thermal Map, and identifies
expected changing temperature patterns of a road. TimeStep expands on
traditional Thermal Maps to display at what time individual roads will reach a
critical state. TimeStep enables the user to step through the forecast for the
forthcoming night and to observe the development of the highway surface
temperature profile map across the entire network, climatic domain, and salting
route.
The individual TimeStep Thermal Maps
clearly identify the forecast rate at which sections of the network are expected
to experience falling temperatures, and at what time they are likely to fall
below freezing. By knowing which sections of the network are forecast to freeze
first, the opportunity arises to further optimize treatment schedules.
Winter service engineers now have the knowledge as to where and when freezing
will occur first, and those highways forecast to become dangerous to users may
be treated as a priority.
The Real Time Thermal Map is an up-to-the-minute, 'real
time' mapping of road temperature information from 10PM to 8AM.
Complementing the Forecast element of TimeStep Thermal Map, updated Real Time
Thermal Maps displayed observational data as it is received into the IceCast
system.
Given a situation where the forecast and observed data deviate from one
another, Real Time Thermal Maps allows the Decision-Maker to
easily identify those areas of the network that may require treatment ahead of
the original schedule. Real Time Thermal Maps may also be used for
retrospective analysis of the season’s forecast and treatment procedures.
An up-to-date and comprehensive Thermal Map database will ensure that the
maximum benefit is realized from TimeStep Thermal Map.
The below images shows a TimeStep Thermal Map at
various stages throughout a winters night. The variance of colour shows
changes in temperature at different stages through the evening, thus
indicating IF, WHEN &
WHERE ice is likely to form.