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e-Science

Saving lives at seas and at home

Many industries and services need accurate forecasts of the weather and the oceans to make decisions. For example, when a yachtsman falls overboard, coastguards use forecasts of the winds and ocean currents to predict the drift patterns of both the stricken sailor and the yacht, enabling a quick rescue.

The DEWS project (Delivering Environmental Web Services) brought together the Met Office, NERC e-Scientists and software developers to produce a system that delivers forecasts to the maritime and the healthcare sectors.

This is particularly useful for mitigating the effects of medical conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. The condition accounts for five percent of all deaths globally (as many as Aids) and is worsened by specific weather conditions.

The DEWS project allows forecasters to provide adequate warnings of approaching conditions that could be deleterious to health. Scientists can apply the same technology to other cases such as flood prediction and oil-spill mitigation.

In 2007, the Reading e-Science Centre set up a partnership with Schlumberger to enable two-way knowledge exchange in the fields of environmental data management, visualisation and the prediction of hazards due to storms.