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British Council’s Green edition of cubed webzine: Cloud Radar

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02.12.2008

New cloud radar beats balloons

Detailed information

A new cloud radar which has been developed over 10 years, may help climate scientists as well as meteorologists. It has been developed by researchers and engineers at the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council in collaboration with the Met Office.

Conventional weather monitors ‘can see the outside of the cloud and can tell what height it is,’ explains Brian Moyna, Senior Systems Engineer at the STFC. ‘Instruments, such as ceilometers, are often used for determining the height of the cloud base. However, they give limited information on what is happening above the cloud base. Our cloud radar gives detailed information on the cloud composition and can detect multiple layers of cloud up to a 16km altitude.’

Seeing ice and water
The level of detail given by the cloud radar has created a degree of excitement at the UK’s Met Office. ‘What our radar does is give an image that’s similar to a catscan,’ says Moyna. ‘We can find where the ice and water particles are’ Improved detail enables predictive modeling by forecasters and climate scientists.

Go online now for the full article and pictures on Cloud Radar in the December Green edition of cubed: www.britishcouncil.org/science-cubed.htm

Rianne Mason | Source: alphagalileo
Further information: www.britishcouncil.org/science-cubed.htm
www.britishcouncil.org

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