RAL Space - latest developments in space science and technology

RAL SPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The performance of satellite navigation
systems such as GPS and Galileo are
strongly affected by the behaviour of
the ionosphere and by space weather
Chilbolton Observatory
RAIN AND CLOUD
RESEARCH
RADIO
COMMUNICATIONS
CLIMATE RESEARCH
Activities within the Radio
Communications Research Unit are
focused on studying the impact of
water, in its various atmospheric forms,
on weather and climate. Using data
collected with instruments at CFARR
(p. 16), current research is leading to
the establishment of spatial-temporal
models of rain-rate variation, and the
characterisation of drizzle drop size
distributions. Detailed studies of water
vapour density profile variations in the
first 3 km of the atmosphere are being
undertaken with data collected using a
ground-based UV Raman lidar. Research
is also being undertaken to validate
atmospheric data retrieved from Earth
Observation satellite measurements,
and for this purpose, radar and lidar
measurements made at CFARR are
being used to validate estimates of
cloud top height made by visible/IR
imagers such as MODIS, MERIS, SEVERI
and ATSR-2, and to validate rainfall
estimates made using data collected
with the AMSU-B radiometer on a
number of NOAA satellites.
The UV Raman LIDAR instrument
Contact: John Goddard
Tel: 01235 446127
Email: j.w.f.goddard@rl.ac.uk
www.rcru.rl.ac.uk/
The Radio Research group includes
research activities in radio
communications, radio systems and
radiowave propagation modelling.
It provides expert advice to
government and industry on matters
related to the use of the radio
spectrum. Current projects include a
long term measurement campaign
aimed at improving the efficiency of
spectrum use by fixed services,
CAMRa image of a squall line passing the UK
projects designed to facilitate the
introduction of spectrum trading, and
the implications of new technologies
including Ultra WideBand and Smart
Radios. The group is a member of
BROADWAN, aiming to enable
Broadband Internet access through a
radio based system. The group is
involved in ionospheric propagation
and space weather prediction,
working towards a better
understanding of the ionosphere with
many practical applications including
improving the positioning accuracy of
GPS and Galileo and in HF
communications.
Contact: Mike Willis
Tel: 01235 445492
Email: m.j.willis@rl.ac.uk
www.rcru.rl.ac.uk/
The research group in the British
Atmospheric Data Centre is working
on aspects of climate modelling and
data fusion. The climate modelling
includes involvement in the world’s
largest climate prediction ensemble.
The physical processes which make up
the climate system are being studied
in targeted projects, looking at the
representation of gravity waves in
climate models, the influence of
variability in the Atlantic sea surface
temperature on European climate, and
the influence of solar variability on the
middle atmosphere. One data fusion
project is concerned with global sea
surface temperature distribution using
a combination of satellite sensors,
another is exploiting ENVISAT (p. 6)
data to generate global fields of
stratospheric ozone, methane and
water vapour. RAL is a key member of
DARC, the Data Assimilation Research
Centre, one of the Centres of
Excellence established by NERC and
RAL provides data support for DARC
via BADC.
Contact: Martin Juckes
Tel: 01235 445124
Email: m.juckes@rl.ac.uk
ATSR false-colour image of a typhoon over the
East China Sea
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