National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO)

What is the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) ?

The National Centre for Earth Observation  is concerned with understanding planet Earth. It uses the wealth of observations from Earth-orbiting satellites to record how the Earth is changing, to understand why it is changing and to pinpoint errors in mathematical models that are used for prediction.  It achieves this via a partnership of over 100 scientists from 26 universities and institutions from a range of disciplines

Some of the key science questions that are addressed by the NCEO are:

• What are the main deficiencies with climate models, and how can we fix them?
• How fast is the Arctic’s ice cover disappearing and will it soon be ice free?
• How strong are the natural sources and sinks of CO2 and could the sinks become sources, making climate change worse?
• Where is air pollution coming from and will climate change make its health effects worse?
• Why do forecasts of damaging storms and floods go wrong, and how can we make them better?
• How has the Atlantic circulation varied during past decades and is there any sign of a slowdown?
• How fast is sea level rising around the world?
• Where are stresses and strains in the Earth's crust building up, and can we forewarn of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis?

What are some of the centre's major achievements?

NCEO is a key partner in many scientific collaborations of international importance including in the International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) at Harwell in Oxfordshire.   By bringing together the best of NCEO’s space science base with industrial researchers, it hopes to develop a wide range of applications. These include global monitoring of deforestation, concentration of greenhouse gasses, and levels of marine pollution.

Beneficiaries

Governments, researchers, business, industry and wider society.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Start and End Dates: 2008-2013 (funding period)

Website: http://www.nceo.ac.uk

Contact: Alan O'Neill: alan.oneill@nceo.ac.uk