Climate Challenge
Climate Challenge
Putting Bioenergy on the Map
Pinpointing where to 'lock' carbon into the soil with special crops.
What's the Weather Like Where you are?
Citizen Science harnesses people power to keep an eye on the weather
When it comes to modelling the climate, there’s no substitute for massive computing power. But that doesn’t necessarily mean massive computers. That’s why the ‘weatherathome’ experiment, part of the Natural Environment Research Council’s LWEC-accredited Storm Risk Mitigation Programme, set out to recruit thousands of computer users worldwide toassess how climate and weather are changing in different regions of the world.
Climate Clues in the Silent Depths
Data from Britain’s submarines improves understanding of climate change
Royal Navy submarines have been defending our shores for decades. But could some of the data they routinely collect also help protect us against climate change? As part of the LWEC-accredited Arctic Research Programme, a new initiative called SEATS (Submarine Estimates of Arctic Turbulence Spectra) aims to find out.
“The Arctic plays a key role in global climate”, says Dr John Allen of the National Oceanography Centre.
Tackling Climate Change by Degrees
2°C may not sound much but, in terms of climate change, it literally could make a world of difference. In 2010, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Cancún agreed that allowing global average temperatures to rise by above that amount, compared with pre-industrial levels, would pose unacceptably high risks of dangerous climate impacts occurring.
London's Olympic Park draws on LWEC Planning Tool
A cool legacy thanks to local urban climate modelling.
The Olympic Park emerging from London’s East End provides an opportunity to leave a valuable legacy –and not just in sporting terms. The planting of trees and wetland plants, together with a general greening of the area, would help to counter the Urban Heat Island effect that is projected to become increasingly significant alongside projected climate change.
Oceans Face the Acid Test
Scientists gather evidence of the scale and impact of carbonic acid in our seas.
On June 6th 2011, the RRS Discovery sailed out of Liverpool on a pioneering mission. This was the first time a research vessel would specifically gather data on the increasing acidity of Europe’s seas and the impact of this on marine ecosystems.
Storm Risk Mitigation through Improved Prediction and Impact Modelling
Storm Risk
Storms have had an increasing social and economic cost over recent years and are likely to be a main cause of loss of life and assets in the UK over the next few decades. With climate change, the costs of storm impacts are likely to increase. This has highlighted the need to improve forecasting of storms.
What will the programme do?
The programme will improve storm forecasting in two ways:
Next Generation Weather and Climate Prediction Systems
Weather and climate prediction
There is a need for better weather and climate prediction. Technical developments in computing and in global-scale observations mean there are enormous opportunities for improving weather and climate prediction, but there are currently major scientific and technical barriers.
Aims
Geoscience Technologies
What is the Geoscience Technologies activity?
The British Geological Survey's Geoscience Technologies Programme will develop the tools needed to map, measure, monitor and model the geological environment.
Sizing up Rising Sea Levels
Measuring ice sheet melt helps to forecast when and by how much sea level is to rise.