NCAS Research Centre at Leeds

In addition to the NCAS Directorate being situated at the University of Leeds, NCAS at Leeds also provides leadership to the UK research community in the area of atmospheric measurements through leading the Facility for Ground based Atmospheric Measurements (FGAM).

FGAM is an integral part of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) consisting of a distributed set of ground-based and specialised airborne (FAAM) instruments in the UK that are designed to make measurements of small-scale and meso-scale physical and chemical features in the atmosphere. FGAM is closely linked to NCAS weather, NCAS composition and to the Met Office. It makes Field observations, Airborne observations, runs and/or works with Atmospheric Observatories and performs Laboratory and Calibration studies.

The IPCC highlights clouds and aerosols as one of the most influential yet uncertain factors in predicting climate change. Our research aims to improve our understanding of processes and their representation in the models that are used by the UK to predict climate and weather. We collaborate with our Met Office partner in guiding the current and future ways in which we will tackle these difficult problems. For example, NCAS research at Leeds is leading the development of United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols Model (UKCA), a model used by UK researchers.

To read more click here or contact Prof Ken Carslaw

Understanding how climate has changed in the past provides a means to place future predictions into context. Earth history is a natural laboratory in which to explore the predictive ability of models used to understand modern and future climate. Our research aims to improve our understanding of how sensitive different components of the Earth’s climate system are, and how they may behave under regimes of global temperature that are likely to characterise the future, and that also existed in Earth’s geological past.  To read more click here or contact Prof Alan Haywood.

We research a range of processes that are critical to forecasting high-impact weather and predicting climate change, for example, mid-latitude storms, deep convection and flow over orography. The work involves  national and international fieldwork campaigns and  high-resolution process modelling.  These results are used to understand the limitations of UK operational models and to develop the parameterisations for use by the UK community.  To read more click here or contact Prof Alan Blyth.

The study of global pollution issues, such as stratospheric ozone depletion and surface air quality, requires detailed and comprehensive models of atmospheric chemistry. At Leeds we develop and maintain a stratosphere-troposphere chemistry-aerosol model for the UK community. Technological development ensures that this model runs efficiently at high resolution on current high performance computers. At Leeds we develop and maintain a stratosphere-troposphere chemistry-aerosol model for the UK community and supply model results to groups worldwide for comparison with observations. To read more click here or contact Prof Martyn Chipperfield.

Ensuring our models are based on the optimal dynamical equations sets is essential for ensuring that the UK remains at the forefront of climate and weather prediction. NCAS researchers at Leeds are leading the work in this area and helping to ensure that UK numerical weather forecasting models are ideally suited for future UK research needs and computer systems. To read more click here or contact Dr Alan Gadian or Prof Stephen Mobbs.

We develop bespoke instruments to make measurements of important atmospheric properties that are essential to improving the UK modelling of the atmosphere. For example, we have developed a compact lightweight aerosol spectrometer probe (CLASP) suitable for making size resolved aerosol measurements. Instruments are developed for use by the UK research community through FGAM. To read more click here or contact Dr Barbara Brooks.