Maersk has announced that it will install automated weather stations on 50 of its ssels to transmit live data in help of meteorologists to forecast weather and climate as part of a partnership with the National Meteorological Service of Germany (Deutscher Wetterdienst).
In the largest project of its kind, A.P. Moller – Maersk has installed automated weather stations (AWS) on 50 of its vessels creating a pulsating oceanic web of weather and climate observations. All collected data is transmitted live to the National Meteorological Service of Germany, DWD, supporting their weather forecasts and climate science.
Maersk and DWD have collaborated on the project since 2019 with the German service providing the 50 systems being installed on the vessels.
As a part of Maersk’s ESG strategy, the company has committed itself to contribute to climate science. Maersk vessels have also for years been operating within the global Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) Scheme under the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) providing regular weather observations, but it has been done manually resulting in a slow process of data sharing.
By implementing AWS, the vessels can deliver precise high-quality and standardized data in real-time giving DWD useful insights about the current meteorological situation at sea. The data provided is shared globally with all members of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Even today, where much of the meteorological data is acquired by satellites, the real-time data from the world’s oceans provides essential input to all weather models used for forecasts and warnings. Especially the surface atmospheric pressure is of high importance since it cannot be measured by satellites. AWS on ships provides a constant feed of high-quality data at sea and serves as the backbone for all numerical weather models.
Approximately 300 fully owned Maersk vessels are gathering and sharing their weather and sea-state observations with the VOS. ■