Glossary
This page includes definitions of general terms and acronyms used in the meteorological and aeronautical industries, as well as definitions of several Mesotech products and terms.
Airport Weather Advisor® (AWA) – Mesotech’s signature software; a comprehensive aviation meteorological system designed to collect and report aerodrome weather conditions.
Anemometer – A device for measuring wind speed.
Automated Weather Station – An organized collection of equipment (such as a tower, DCP, sensors, and software) that measures and reports weather-related phenomena.
Automated Weather Station Network – A system designed to compile and report data from multiple Automated Weather Stations.
Barometer – A device for measuring atmospheric pressure.
Ceilometer – A device that uses a laser or other light source to determine the height of a cloud base.
Central Processing Station – A computer that collects, processes, and disseminates data from one or more Data Collection Platforms.
Data Logger – See Data Collection Platform (DCP).
Data Collection Platform (DCP) – A device for collecting meteorological and hydrological data. The DCP collects data directly from the sensors then either logs the data or transmits it to a Central Processing Station for reporting and dissemination.
Evapotranspiration (ETo) – The sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the Earth’s land surface to atmosphere
MicroDCP™ – Mesotech’s compact and affordable data acquisition and control device for collecting meteorological and hydrological data.
Plug & Measure™ – Mesotech’s exclusive technology, used with the Weather Pro™ system. “Plug & Measure” is a true indicator of equipment and software that is quick to set up and easy to use.
Pyranometer – A device for measuring solar radiation.
Runway Light Intensity Monitor (RLIM) – A device that detects active runway heading and runway light intensity.
Runway Visual Range (RVR) – The distance over which a pilot of an aircraft on the centerline of the runway can see the runway surface markings delineating the runway or identifying its centerline.
Sensor – A specialized piece of equipment for measuring weather-related phenomena. Different sensors measure specific conditions, such as precipitation, wind direction, or barometric pressure.
Weather Advisor Pro™ – Mesotech’s easy-to-use program for weather observation and reporting in most any environment. This software is available in single user and network versions.
Weather Pro™ – Mesotech’s compact, portable weather station suitable for a wide range of applications.
Acronyms
The following acronyms are common in the meteorological and aeronautical industries.
| %RH | Percent Relative Humidity |
| ATC | Air Traffic Controller |
| ATIS | Automatic Terminal Information Service |
| AWA | Airport Weather Advisor® |
| AWOS | Automated Weather Observing System |
| CBT | Computer Based Training |
| CM | Configuration Management |
| COTS | Commercial Off-the-Shelf |
| DCP | Data Collection Platform |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Administration |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocol |
| GSM | Global System for Mobile Communications |
| GUI | Graphical User Interface |
| hPa | Hectopascals |
| HTML | Hypertext Markup Language |
| HTTP | Hypertext Transfer Protocol |
| HTTPS | Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol |
| ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization |
| inHg | Inches of Mercury |
| LAN | Local Area Network |
| MIL-STD | Military Standard |
| mm/hr | Millimeters per hour |
| ms | Millisecond |
| MTBCF | Mean Time Before Critical Failure |
| nm | Nautical Miles |
| NWS | National Weather Service |
| OEM | Original Equipment Manufacturer |
| ohms | Ohms – Measure of electrical resistance |
| PE | Professional Engineer |
| PMI | Preventive Maintenance Inspection |
| POC | Point of Contact |
| RLIM | Runway Light Intensity Monitor |
| RMM | Remote Maintenance Monitoring |
| RVR | Runway Visual Range |
| SCADA | Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition |
| SCORM | Shareable Content Object Reference Model |
| SYNOP | Surface Synoptic Observations |
| TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol |
| UPS | Uninterruptible Power Supply or United Parcel Service |
| UTC | Universal Coordinated Time |
| VST | Virtual Station Technology™ |
| WSDL | Web Service Description Language |
| XML | Extensible Markup Language |