NCEO - National Centre for Earth Observation

Climate

This part of the programme is focused on exploiting EO to improve national capability for climate prediction over timescales from months to decades. Current research includes:

  • Intercomparisons between HIRS radiances from the HadIR project and equivalent simulations from Hadley Centre model.
  • Processing CloudSat-CALIPSO data with variational ice cloud retrieval and evaluation with the Met Office and ECMWF
  • Development of new cloud simulator code (COSP) for running with HiGEM output ready for CFMIP (Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project) runs.
  • Baseline ocean reanalyses at 1 and ¼ resolution complete up to 2007
  • Development of a new ocean reanalysis based on ERA-Interim forcing
  • Development of a defined set of Arctic diagnostics, including ice, for comparison and assessment with IPY (International Polar Year) observations and first assessments of modelling 2007 ice minimum
  • Analysis of satellite based air-sea flux products
  • Setting up a UK GOCE working group to exploit data post launch
  • Improved estimation of the size of ocean dynamic effects in geodetic fingerprint determination of the causes of sea level change.
  • Testing melt pond physics in sea ice-ocean modelling
  • Installation and testing of coupled versions of Hadley Centre models (FAMOUS and HadCM3) with ice sheet model (GLIMMER), including extensions to include exchange of ocean variables
  • Quantification of time and space scales of land surface response to precipitation in semi-arid Africa"

 

Development of a new ocean reanalysis for the reconstruction of water mass variability and climate signals

  • NEMO modelling framework:
    • OPA9 ocean model
    • LIM2 ice model
    • Collaboration with DRAKKAR consortium
  • Current status of Re-analyses
    • ORCA1: Global 1° resolution (1958-2007 reanalysis)
    • ORCA025: Global 1/4° resolution (1987-2004)

  • Assimilation of T(z), S(T) using EN3 data Haines et al (2006), Smith and Haines(2008)

  • Bulk forcing (DFS3) from :

    • T,Q,U,V: ERA40/ECMWF Operational Analyses

    • Qlw, Qsw, Precip, Snow : CORE (ISCCP)

    • Next step to try ERA-Interim forcing

 Water mass variability