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National Centre for Earth Observation

NERC created a national centre on 1 April 2008, which will have an overall responsibility for our suite of Earth Observation Centres of Excellence.

This new initiative is a response by NERC to:

  • The Earth Observation Sector review 
  • The Science Management Audits of the individual Earth Observation Centres of Excellence

The National Centre will build on the considerable expertise of the Centres of Excellence – which use data from earth observation satellites to monitor global and regional changes in the environment, developing a detailed understanding so that we might predict future environmental conditions. We have already highlighted significant environmental changes - for instance ozone depletion, atmospheric pollution, and melting sea ice.

NCEO will include wider, national earth observation activities such as technology development and mission support. It will also take into account NERC's considerable international investments.  For example, NERC is responsible for the UK's subscription to a number of European Space Agency programmes, including the Earth Observation Envelope Programme.

The NCEO was announced in August 2006 together with the appointment of the new Science Director of NCEO, Alan O'Neill from the University of Reading, who took up his post on 1 September 2006.

NCEO Moderating Panel

The NCEO Moderating Panel met on 29 and 30 August to assess the NCEO proposal. The recommendations of this panel were then considered by NERC's Science & Innovation Strategy Board (SISB) and NERC Council.

Panel Membership

Dr Ghassem Asrar - US Dept of Agriculture (Chairman)
Prof Chris Collier - University of Salford
Prof Jeff Dozier - University of California
Prof Hartmut Grassl - Max-Planck Institut Fur Meteorologie
Prof Berrien Moore - University of New Hampshire
Mr Tony Rachwal - independent consultant and member of NERC Science & Innovation Strategy Board
Dr Michael Rast - GEO Secretariat
Dr Nick Veck - Infoterra Ltd.
Dr David Williams - British National Space Centre
Prof Jochen Zschau - GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam
Dr Jay Zwally - NASA

Further information

Prof Alan O'Neill
Science Director
National Centre for Earth Observation
Tel: 0118 378 6728

Ruth Kelman
Science Programme Officer
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411558