New facility for atmospheric measurements launched
By: News Archive
A new research facility will offer scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) access to mobile instrumentation, laboratories and observatories across the world.
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), AMOF 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.
AMOF’s expertise in measuring the atmosphere will underpin the latest weather, climate and air pollution research, spanning a range of research disciplines, applications and collaborations.
Its 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. Alongside UEA, they include: the University of Leeds, the University of York, the University of Manchester, the University of Surrey, and the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
Dr Grant Forster, from UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences, is co-ordinator of the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory, which is part of AMOF. He said: "The launch of AMOF marks an unprecedented coming together of experienced UK atmospheric instrument specialists to provide scientists with access to instruments, laboratories and observatories around the world.
“UEA's Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory, an internationally recognised observatory making long-term observations of atmospheric composition, is extremely proud to be part of AMOF. We are extremely excited about the future collaborations and new science which will inevitably be generated through this activity."
The new facility is led by Prof 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.
From today, AMOF will 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).
The facility has 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 .
AMOF has well-established partnerships with the European Space Agency, the Icelandic Met Office, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
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