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New centres use satellites to study melting ice sheets and predict climate change

24 July 2000

Two new centres which will use satellites and models to help forecast environmental change are announced today by the Natural Environment Research Council.

The Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) will use satellites to measure changes in polar ice which could cause rising sea levels and changes in ocean circulation. The Data Assimilation Research Centre (DARC) will blend together satellite observations and environmental models to forecast changes in the Earth's systems.

£5m over five years is being invested by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in these two Centres of Excellence. The Polar Observation and Modelling centre is based at University College London and the University of Bristol, while the Data Assimilation centre is a 'virtual' centre, including effort from Oxford, Reading, Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities, the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and a strong partnership with The Met. Office.

The Directors of the two new centres warmly welcomed the announcement.

"Changes in the polar ice fields are thought to influence climate throughout the world", said CPOM's Director, Professor Duncan Wingham, of University College London, "but the details of how these changes are transmitted through the atmosphere and ocean to the rest of the globe remain obscure. We shall use our experimental and theoretical expertise to unravel the connections".

CPOM will receive about £2m. A central feature of their work will be the use of satellites to determine changes in the polar ice fields. "The poles are not the easiest places to work in", said Prof. Wingham, " and getting the big picture of what is going on has been very difficult."

CPOM will use new satellite data to study one of the most pressing issues for climate change science - the effect of global warming on the 'conveyor belt' that carries warm water to the North Atlantic and keeps NW Europe warm. New satellite observations of Arctic ice will allow CPOM scientists to measure for the first time changes in ice cover over large areas and timescales.

Professor Alan O'Neill of DARC is delighted that we can now make the best possible use of the information we have about the state of our planet and how it is changing.

"Information about our environment", he says, " comes from a variety of sources including satellites. In the past it has been difficult to piece together all the different bits of information to get a coherent picture. But now we'll be able to combine this information into a consistent, global picture of the Earth. We shall then be better able to understand and monitor the many threats to our fragile environment."

Professor O'Neill's group, in which NERC is investing about £3m, will tackle observations of the atmosphere, oceans and eventually land surfaces to improve our ability to forecast environmental change and understand the complex interactions in our environment.

Further information

Dr Steven Wilson
NERC Head of Earth Observation
British National Space Centre,
151 Buckingham Palace Road,
London, SW1W 9SS
Tel: 020 7215 1422
Fax: 020 7215 3767
Mob: 07771 975 475

CPOM
Professor Duncan Wingham
University College, London
Tel: 0207 679 3677

DARC
Professor Alan O'Neill
Department of Meteorology,
University of Reading,
Reading, RG6 6BB
Tel: 0118 931 8317
Fax: 0118 931 8316

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Notes

1 The Natural Environment Research Council leads in the UK in providing impartial scientific research on environmental issues. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists.

2. Satellites provide unique global measurements of physical, chemical and biological processes in the atmosphere, ice, ocean, land surface and the solid Earth. NERC has recently started to implement a new programme in support of earth observation which aims to:

  • allow NERC scientists to take advantage of new observations throughout the world
  • open up new science by developing techniques and designs for novel measurement systems
  • strengthen the NERC community to do both of these effectively

An important component of the new programme is the creation of Centres of Excellence for Earth observation in support of environmental science. These Centres must build on the existing strengths in the NERC science community, maintain and enhance connections to the wider community, particularly in the mathematical and physical sciences, provide skills for the detailed understanding of measurement errors and provide support for specialist instrument teams. Centres must therefore provide:

  • a basic capacity to undertake excellent science
  • a demonstrable capability to function as a UK focus
  • international competitiveness
  • potential to build on core NERC funding
  • strong leadership and science management
  • training
  • an ability to establish links with NERC science and wider UK interests (including the private sector).

Press release: 13/00

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