THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1978
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WINTER MONSOON EXPERIMENT
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THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY HONG KONG WILL PARTICIPATE IN AN INTERNATIONAL WEATHER EXPERIMENT CALLED THE WINTER MONSOON EXPERIMENT (OR MONEX) WHICH IS DUE TO BEGIN TOMORROW (FRIDAY). THIS EXPERIMENT IS ORGANISED BY THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANISATION UNDER ITS GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH PROGRAMME AND IS A MAJOR PART OF A LARGER GLOBAL EXPERIMENT.
THE TWO PRIME OBJECTIVES OF THE WINTER MONSOON EXPERIMENT ARE TO OBTAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WINTER MONSOON DYNAMICS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE REALISTIC MODELS FOR WEATHER PREDICTION AND TO ASSESS THE ULTIMATE LIMIT OF PREDICTABILITY OF WEATHER SYSTEMS.
PARTICIPATING MEMBERS OF THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANISATION WILL INCLUDE AUSTRALIA, BURMA, CHINA, HONG KONG, INDONESIA, JAPAN, MALAYSIA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, PHILIPPINES, SINGAPORE, THAILAND, U.S.A. AND U.S.S.R.
MR. GORDON BELL, DIRECTOR OF THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY SAID TODAY (THURSDAY) THAT HONG KONG WILL BE MAKING A NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WINTER MONSOON EXPERIMENT, THE FIELD PHASE OF WHICH WILL LAST TILL MARCH 5, 1979.
THE ROYAL NAVY WILL OPERATE A SHIP IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA TO MAKE UPPER-A IR OBSERVATIONS WITH A NAVAID SOUNDING SYSTEM. THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY'S NAVAL LIAISON OFFICER, LIEUTENANT- COMMANDER D.C. MURRAY WILL BE THE CHIEF SCIENTIST ON BOARD.
THE ROYAL HONG KONG AUXILIARY AIR FORCE WILL CONDUCT RECONNAISSANCE RESEARCH FLIGHTS USING AN ISLANDER TO EXAMINE SURGES OF COLD AIR OVER THE NORTHERN PART OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA. THESE FLIGHTS WILL BE CO-ORDINATED BY THE OBSERVATORY WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE CIVIL AVIATION DEPARTMENT.
DR. P.C. CHIN FROM THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY IS SERVING AS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR (OPERATIONS) IN THE EXPERIMENT'S OPERATIONS CENTRE IN KUALA LUMPUR.
MR. PETER LI, SENIOR SCIENTIFIC OFFICER OF THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, HAS BEEN APPOINTED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANISATION TO HELP INSTALL NAVAID SOUNDING SYSTEMS IN JAKARTA AND SINGAPORE.
TWO SCIENTIFIC OFFICERS FROM THE MALAYSIAN METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE HAVE BEEN GIVEN TRAINING AT THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY HONG KONG ON DATA PROCESSING TECHNIQUES, MR. SAMUEL CHENG, CHIEF EXPERIMENTAL OFFICER OF THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, IS NOW IN KUALA LUMPUR FOR TWO WEEKS AT THE INVITATION OF THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANISATION AS A CONSULTANT IN DATA MANAGEMENT.
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