Harriett | AMOF https://amof.ac.uk Atmospheric Measurement and Observation Facility Fri, 09 Oct 2020 12:12:24 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://amof.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/cropped-AMOF-Icon-Colour@4x-32x32.png Harriett | AMOF https://amof.ac.uk 32 32 AMOF launches April 2020 https://amof.ac.uk/amof-launches-april-2020/ Fri, 28 Feb 2020 14:20:23 +0000 https://amof.ac.uk/?p=2594 AMOF will be offering scientists access to mobile instrumentation, laboratories and observatories across the world, from the 1st April 2020. 

Through a £2.9m investment from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) spread over the next three years, the Atmospheric Measurement & Observation Facility (AMOF) will enable world-class measurements of the atmosphere.

As part of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), we will provide a joined-up service for the UK’s atmospheric science community, with experts on hand to plan and make world-class measurements, offer advanced data quality assessments and provide facilities for archiving open-access data.

Supporting atmospheric science

Our expertise in measuring the atmosphere will underpin the latest weather, climate and air pollution research, spanning a range of research disciplines, applications and collaborations. 

Our facility is led by Professor Geraint Vaughan, and managed by Dr Barbara Brooks, Dr Chris Walden and Dr David Hooper. 

They said: “Through AMOF we have a fantastic opportunity to work collaboratively with the atmospheric science community to achieve bespoke measurement solutions.

“We support UK scientists to collect data that will help to address environmental challenges – from forecasting droughts and periods of poor air quality, to modelling robust projections of climate change and measuring vehicle exhaust emissions.

“We are committed to providing support to not only researchers, but industry professionals too, and strive to enable excellent atmospheric science in the UK and internationally.”

AMOF is a merger between two facilities, known as the Atmospheric Measurement Facility (AMF) and the NERC Facility for Atmospheric Radar Research (NFARR).

The merger aims to increase the efficiency of scientific services, and maintain NERC’s world-class atmospheric measurement capability under the leadership of NCAS. 

We sit alongside three partner facilities also managed by NCAS: the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM), the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA), and the Computational Modelling Service (CMS).

Working collaboratively

Our suite of services are at the forefront of a fast-changing research and technology landscape, and its staff are embedded in sector-leading UK research institutions: the University of Leeds, the University of York, the University of Manchester, the University of East Anglia, the University of Surrey, and the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

We have strong working relationships with a number of key UK stakeholders, including the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, the Environment Agency, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, and the UK Met Office. 

We invite international collaborations, and have existing and well-established partnerships with the European Space Agency, the Icelandic Met Office, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Our staff also participate in and benefit from the following networks and research infrastructures: ACTRIS, AERONET and ICOS. 

Further information:

Image: Mobile Instrument Deployment in Ghana (credit: NCAS)

For further information about AMOF please contact amof@ncas.ac.uk and visit amof.ac.uk. 

Hear news and updates on the Atmospheric Measurement & Observation Facility by following @AMOF_Science.

For media enquiries please contact the NCAS Press Office on comms@ncas.ac.uk or +44(0)113 343 4212.

]]> We supported the biggest ever Arctic research expedition https://amof.ac.uk/we-supported-the-biggest-ever-arctic-research-expedition/ Thu, 03 Oct 2019 11:32:24 +0000 http://amof-ac-uk.stackstaging.com/?p=1341
Orange crane moves blue shipping container onto a large white icebreaker ship

UK research teams have joined the first ever year-round expedition into the central Arctic Ocean, to undertake ground-breaking studies into the Arctic climate system during the middle of the polar night.

The expedition, called The Multi-Disciplinary drifting Observatory for the study of Arctic Climate programme (MOSAiC), will see the German research icebreaker RV Polarstern frozen into the Arctic sea ice and then drift across the top of the Arctic Ocean.

The Atmospheric Measurement & Observation Facility is involved in one of seven UK research projects onboard the ship, the Boundary Layer project, led by Professor Ian Brooks at the University of Leeds.

The Boundary Layer

The boundary layer is the part of the atmosphere that is closest to the earth’s surface. Winds and thermals generate turbulence is this zone, which then redistributes heat, moisture and pollutants within the atmospheric layer. In doing so, boundary layer turbulence plays a crucial role in weather and interactions with the land surface. The Boundary Layer project forms a vital part of MOSAiC, in helping to understand regional and global consequences of Arctic change.

In a short interview recorded with Prof Ian Brooks, you can hear him talk about his past experiences in the Arctic and what makes the MOSAiC project unique.

Dr Barbara Brooks, Joint Head of the Atmospheric Measurement & Observation Facility, and Dr Ryan Neely, an observational scientist for the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, will be providing expert advice over the course of the research expedition, and have prepared a range of scientific instruments that have been installed on the ship for making measurements of boundary layer turbulence.

Large blue and white ship rests in a large ice platform behind boxes of scientific equipment

Instrument Deployment

These instruments include a scanning aerosol lidar, lidar wind profiler and sodar. The lidar wind profiler will remain on the ship and provide 24/7 boundary layer wind profiles. The scanning lidar will be deployed on the ice and synchronised with a similar unit, operated by Trier University. This unique mode of operation allows for a ‘virtual’ mast to be created, which gives higher vertical resolution of the wind profile. The sodar will take direct measurements of winds in the lower 1km of the atmosphere, and will be calibrated using surface level heat measurements.

Scientists from 19 countries have joined the 12-month international project, which set sail on 20 September from Norway and will complete its drift by October 2020. Together, they will conduct an enormous range of unprecedented atmospheric, marine and biological research from the floating platform, as well as from field camps and by using remote and autonomous vehicles.

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