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St. Louis Business & Technology News
"When you think Saint Louis, think Saint Louis Front Page," a weekly publication covering the news and events in the greater St. Louis area. 
How To Reach Us:St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com |
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by Bob Moore, SLFP.com ST. LOUIS, MO (SLFP.com), November 16, 2008 - AmerenUE and Saint Louis University's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences unveiled Quantum Weather(TM) during a special demonstration, November 13, at UE downtown headquarters. Current weather tracking systems are unable to distinguish what's happening in individual neighborhoods because monitors are often more than 100 miles apart and provide information only on an hour-by-hour basis. As part of UE's Project Power On reliability initiative, the highly precise weather monitoring, forecasting, and response system can pinpoint severe weather activity on a neighborhood-by- neighborhood basis. Quantum Weather feeds detailed, near real-time information over UE radio communications systems to central computers in Saint Louis University's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Using computer models and analytical tools created by SLU researchers, the system produces highly detailed maps of weather activity that may affect neighborhoods across UE's service territory. In an interview following the introduction of the new weather system, Professor and Department Chair William P. Dannevik, Ph.D., of the SLU Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, explained how the university developed the Quantum Weather system. "It was actually developed in the 'dark' in the sense that when we had the storm outages in the summer 2006, myself and some of my colleagues at the university began thinking about whether we could combine our expertise with some new technology to come up with a system that would give AmerenUE more information that would allow them to make faster decisions on restoration strategies," stated Dr. Dannevik.
The system, which is the first of its kind, has been in the experimental operation for the past ten months. From numerous tests, the university has been able to document instances and verify that the system performs well and does serve the purpose for which it was intended. Dr. Dannevik said that Quantum Weather is a system for measuring meteorological variables. "One of the things about radar systems is that they are designed to track rainfall rates. So when you are looking at that image on your TV, you are actually looking at rainfall." He said that the new system has very specifically wind measurements, along with the other meteorological variables including wind gusts. "We sample these stations once per minute. It's information of a different type that will compliment Doplar Radar," said Dr. Dannevik. "It's been fascinating to see the students get experience with a real world practical forecast operation right on campus," Dr. Dannevik continued. "This is an opportunity for the entire class of meteorology majors to see what it is like to do real-time forecasting for a very specialized application. It's also important for our graduate students because it represents opportunities for them to perform research about improving the system and understanding how it is performing. This will also become the topic of several masters and diserations." Quantum Weather's more detailed information will help UE managers decide whether additional crews should be called in or held over. It can show the company where crews should be concentrated based on the severity and detailed location of damage -- speeding up power restoration. Quantum Weather also helps the company better predict restoration times and identify facilities that are most vulnerable to outages so that those facilities might be considered for the improvement projects under the company's aggressive Power On Project. "It's a big advantage for us because in the past the reports that we received were so general, we didn't have the ability to schedule crews and get people to where the storm is," stated Richard J. Mark, UE senior vice president, Missouri Energy Delivery. "With this information, we will be able to pinpoint where the storms will be." AmerenUE is sponsoring two internships with the program for students at SLU who are studying Meteorology. "We are the only company in the country that is doing this project. It's not often you can bring corporations together with higher education and really benefit everyone in the region." Quantum Weather will eventually include a network of up to 100 weather stations mounted on existing UE poles, seven miles apart, and deployed in key locations throughout the region to measure temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, and rainfall rates. UE has already erected 50 of these stations -- primarily in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Quantum Weather stations are also energy-efficient. Scientifically placed throughout the state, the weather stations are solar-powered with a battery that stores power during the day and keeps them operating at night and on cloudy days. Each monitor is adjusted for specific local conditions, like nearby buildings that can affect monitoring of wind speeds.  
The Saint Louis Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group. |
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