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Next Generation Weather & Climate Prediction

Announcement of Opportunity

Use of Observations to Initialise Climate Predictions

Closing date: 16:00 on 6 April 2011

Applications are invited for research grants that will develop and evaluate methods for the initialization of climate predictions. These must be capable of being implemented to deliver improved risk-based climate predictions, on extended range numerical weather prediction to decadal timescales. This forms Goal B of the NERC Next Generation Weather and Climate Prediction Systems (NGWCP) Research Programme.

Two types of proposals are invited; research proposals exploring a diversity of approaches to coupled initialisation and the appropriate design of ensembles and integrating proposals that will undertake research assessing the likely impact of a range of initialisation and ensemble generation approaches in the context of operational prediction and draw together the results from the programme and facilitate pull through to improved operational climate prediction.

Proposals must focus on three key challenge areas:

1. Coupled initialisation in the context of diverse observational data and model biases.
2. Determining the appropriate design of ensembles, required to sample and quantify the uncertainty in initialised climate predictions.
3. Integrative research with the potential to improve operational prediction.

Research proposals may address challenges 1 or 2 or both, integrating proposals must focus on challenge 3. It is anticipated that at least four research projects will be funded and a single integrating project. Capacity building and collaboration with UK and international partners should be a component if all projects. The integrating project will be expected to deliver coordination and knowledge exchange activities for Goal B of the NGWCP programme and work in partnership with operational agencies.

Individuals may be involved in no more than two applications to this call; only one of these may be as the lead Principal Investigator (PI).

Research proposals may request a total NERC contribution of up to £400k and integrating proposals may request a NERC contribution of up to £600k (up to £400k for research plus up to £200k for coordination and knowledge exchange activities).

Research proposals may be up to four years in duration and integrating proposals may be up to five years in duration. The project start date should be in the period September 2011 - December 2011.

The closing date for proposals is 16:00 on Wednesday 6 April 2011.

Potential applicants must refer to the Announcement of Opportunity document below for full details.

Announcement of Opportunity (54KB)

For further information about this announcement of opportunity please contact:

Nicola Lewis
Tel: 01793 411739

Dr Sarah Collinge
Tel: 01793 411936