NCEO Single Centre EO Science for the 2020s
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leicester
Department Name: National Centre for Earth Observation
Abstract
Contemporary changes in Earth's climate are largely driven by human activities that perturb the physical, chemical, and biological processes on the land and in the oceans and atmosphere across a multitude of different spatial and temporal scales. Impacts of these changes are profound, affecting the health and livelihood of billions of people and the broader planetary health. Earth Observation data provide an unprecedented, long-term, and increasingly detailed view of these changes. The data collected allow us to study how short-term, local perturbations are superimposed on longer-term, global change, enabling us to better understand the different processes involved, and the linkages between them.
The central aim of the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) is to harness these data and translate them into scientific knowledge and actionable information that benefits the wider science and policy communities, drawing on decades of world-leading UK expertise and international collaboration. NCEO science foci address compelling, urgent, and enduring environmental challenges that both define the limits of climate knowledge and have profound societal impacts: quantifying and understanding changes in the carbon cycle, air pollution, and the energy and water cycles and how these are inter-linked.
Our science-led foci are at the forefront of environmental science, affected by competing global and regional pressures from climate change, urbanization, and growing populations. How do we quantify more accurately land fluxes of CO2 and link those to improved estimates for changes in terrestrial carbon stocks due to disturbance and changes in climate? How do we harness EO data to improve our model representation of ocean carbon fluxes? Which are the key land-surface and atmospheric processes that are responsible for changes in atmospheric methane? How can we better understand observed changes in surface ozone? How well do we understand changes in the coupled energy and water cycles? Where and how are landscape fire impacts most significant, and how might these be shifting?
Addressing these challenges draws on extensive experience and capability in NCEO and the capacity to work across spatial and temporal scales to fully unlock the scientific insights of the rapidly expanding range of EO data. This unifying multiscale theme to our proposal is enabled by the development of new sensor technologies and cutting-edge scientific analysis tools and is underpinned by world-leading research on data assimilation, machine learning, and uncertainty quantification that allows us and the wider community to make the most of these data for model predictions, reanalysis, and improved process understanding.
Our 10 year strategic outcomes are ambitious:
- The world has new EO-driven decision systems and reliable diagnostic monitoring of the Earth system
- Earth system data assimilation gives km-scale predictability, informing people of their local climate trajectories.
- Integrated carbon systems deliver robust, fine-scale information for global stocktakes and offsets.
- Improved assessments for methane and ozone set pathways for climate and pollution control.
- Compound risk assessments provide improved knowledge of climate hazards
- Interrogation of fire regimes leads to short-term predictive capability.
NCEO delivers national capability to the wider UK environmental science community - capabilities that are not available elsewhere in the UK - that focus on science challenges that are global and decadal in scale. Our team includes world-leading researchers that help influence UK and international science agendas, particularly around climate. Consequently, we are the focal point for providing impartial, informed advice to UK Government department that help them with policy development. Our privileged position also enables us to train the next generation of EO scientists and promote their subsequent career development.
The central aim of the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) is to harness these data and translate them into scientific knowledge and actionable information that benefits the wider science and policy communities, drawing on decades of world-leading UK expertise and international collaboration. NCEO science foci address compelling, urgent, and enduring environmental challenges that both define the limits of climate knowledge and have profound societal impacts: quantifying and understanding changes in the carbon cycle, air pollution, and the energy and water cycles and how these are inter-linked.
Our science-led foci are at the forefront of environmental science, affected by competing global and regional pressures from climate change, urbanization, and growing populations. How do we quantify more accurately land fluxes of CO2 and link those to improved estimates for changes in terrestrial carbon stocks due to disturbance and changes in climate? How do we harness EO data to improve our model representation of ocean carbon fluxes? Which are the key land-surface and atmospheric processes that are responsible for changes in atmospheric methane? How can we better understand observed changes in surface ozone? How well do we understand changes in the coupled energy and water cycles? Where and how are landscape fire impacts most significant, and how might these be shifting?
Addressing these challenges draws on extensive experience and capability in NCEO and the capacity to work across spatial and temporal scales to fully unlock the scientific insights of the rapidly expanding range of EO data. This unifying multiscale theme to our proposal is enabled by the development of new sensor technologies and cutting-edge scientific analysis tools and is underpinned by world-leading research on data assimilation, machine learning, and uncertainty quantification that allows us and the wider community to make the most of these data for model predictions, reanalysis, and improved process understanding.
Our 10 year strategic outcomes are ambitious:
- The world has new EO-driven decision systems and reliable diagnostic monitoring of the Earth system
- Earth system data assimilation gives km-scale predictability, informing people of their local climate trajectories.
- Integrated carbon systems deliver robust, fine-scale information for global stocktakes and offsets.
- Improved assessments for methane and ozone set pathways for climate and pollution control.
- Compound risk assessments provide improved knowledge of climate hazards
- Interrogation of fire regimes leads to short-term predictive capability.
NCEO delivers national capability to the wider UK environmental science community - capabilities that are not available elsewhere in the UK - that focus on science challenges that are global and decadal in scale. Our team includes world-leading researchers that help influence UK and international science agendas, particularly around climate. Consequently, we are the focal point for providing impartial, informed advice to UK Government department that help them with policy development. Our privileged position also enables us to train the next generation of EO scientists and promote their subsequent career development.
Organisations
- University of Leicester (Lead Research Organisation)
- Cranfield University (Collaboration)
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Collaboration)
- OPEN UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- UK CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY & HYDROLOGY (Collaboration)
- German Aerospace Centre (DLR) (Collaboration)
- University of Warwick (Collaboration)
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (Collaboration)
- University of Birmingham (Collaboration)
- International Space Science Institute (ISSI) (Collaboration)
- Meteorological Office UK (Collaboration)
- British Geological Survey (Collaboration)
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (Collaboration)
- Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (Collaboration)
- ICPAC (Collaboration)
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) (Collaboration)
- European Space Agency (Collaboration)
- Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) (Collaboration)
- Netherlands eScience Center (Collaboration)
- UK Space Agency (Collaboration)
- Institute of Marine Science (Collaboration)
Publications
Acil N
(2024)
Landscape patterns in stand-replacing disturbances across the world's forests
in Nature Sustainability
Adame JA
(2025)
Spatial distribution pattern and long-term trend of atmospheric methane in the Atlantic-Mediterranean transition region based on TROPOMI and GOSAT measurements.
in The Science of the total environment
Allan D
(2024)
Odden Ice Melt Linked to Labrador Sea Ice Expansions and the Great Salinity Anomalies of 1970-1995
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
Allan R
(2025)
Reconciling Earth's growing energy imbalance with ocean warming
in Environmental Research Letters
Allan R
(2024)
Droughts are blowing in the wind
in Nature Water
Aquino C
(2024)
Detecting selective logging in tropical forests with optical satellite data: an experiment in Peru shows texture at 3 m gives the best results
in Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation
Bartsch A
(2025)
Advancing the Arctic Methane Permafrost Challenge (AMPAC) With Future Satellite Missions
in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
Birhanu L
(2024)
Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Soil Erosion in Dondor Watershed, Blue Nile Basin, Northwestern Ethiopia
in Sustainability
| Description | Chair of Scottish Government Earth Observation Strategic Group |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The WG activity is ongoing. Early progress has been to support the development of a Scottish National Land Lidar Programme, which is currently being commissioned, to deliver airborne lidar at high resolution to support multiple users across government and its agencies. |
| URL | https://www.gov.scot/publications/new-deal-for-agriculture-nfus-first-ministers-speech/ |
| Description | Contribution to the CEOS working group on AI and Machine Learning with Earth Observation Data |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | E4 Doctoral Training Partnership |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Gemini Call Live - invited presentation |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| URL | https://cp.catapult.org.uk/event/gemini-call-live/ |
| Description | Lectures at summer school on data assimilation |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Meeting with Defra on the forthcoming Land Use Framework for England Consultation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2025/02/06/coverage-of-land-use-framework-consultation/ |
| Description | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee - Invited Expert onto the CEOS LSI-VC Panel (2024) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Resolving the Energy-Food-Nature Trilemma in Land Use: The Role of Digitalisation and EU Policies |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Training course in data assimilation |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| URL | https://research.reading.ac.uk/met-darc/training/training-courses/ |
| Description | Training development and delivery for ESA community frameworks TCCAS and D&B |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Several PDRA and PhD students have since adopted TCCAS and D&B as the key software in their current projects. |
| Description | WMO/UNEP Ozone Assessment 2026 |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://ozone.unep.org/system/files/documents/SAP_Presentation_36MOP_31Oct2024.pdf |
| Description | 4000126565/19/I-NB: CCI+ PHASE 1 - NEW R&D ON CCI ECVS |
| Amount | € 490,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 4000126565/19/I-NB: CCI+ PHASE 1 - NEW R&D ON CCI ECVS |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 03/2025 |
| End | 12/2026 |
| Description | Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Enhanced Representation of Processes and Extremes in Earth System Models (AI4PEX) |
| Amount | £467,098 (GBP) |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 03/2028 |
| Description | CLIMATE-SPACE - THEME II: CROSS-ECV ACTIVITIES - Energy Cycle |
| Amount | € 1,800,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 4000145298/24/I-LR |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 09/2027 |
| Description | CLIMATE-SPACE - THEME II: CROSS-ECV ACTIVITIES - Extreme Fires |
| Amount | € 1,800,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 4000145351/24/I-LR |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 09/2027 |
| Description | CLIMATE-SPACE: TIPPING ELEMENTS ACTIVITY |
| Amount | € 2,000,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 4000146344/24/I-LR |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 01/2025 |
| End | 01/2028 |
| Description | Climate and Marine Productivity |
| Amount | € 1,000,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | AO/1-12469/24/I-LR |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 03/2025 |
| End | 03/2028 |
| Description | Collaboration on Computational Biogeochemical Modeling of Marine Ecosystems (CBIOMES2) |
| Amount | $8,000,000 (USD) |
| Organisation | Simons Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 06/2022 |
| End | 06/2027 |
| Description | Copernicus Marine - Innovation Service Evolution R&D projects (23138-COP-INNO SCI-9000) |
| Amount | £45,834 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Mercator Océan |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | France |
| Start | 06/2024 |
| End | 06/2026 |
| Description | Correcting Seasonal Feedbacks for Physically Constrained Sea Ice Reanalysis |
| Amount | £515,894 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2025 |
| End | 02/2028 |
| Description | Drought Risk Information for the African Finance Sector (DRIAFS) |
| Amount | £183,774 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/Y005058/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 03/2027 |
| Description | ESA CCI+ Phase 1 - NEW ECVS - Land Surface Temperature |
| Amount | £307,368 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 07/2024 |
| End | 07/2026 |
| Description | EU-FOCIS: EU forest carbon market integrity using Sentinels |
| Amount | £800,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 11/2024 |
| End | 10/2026 |
| Description | EUMETSAT study on "Offline sea surface temperature (SST) algorithms |
| Amount | £151,315 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 06/2024 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | Earth Observation Marine and Climate Mission Development Programme (EO4MCM) - CLARE |
| Amount | £61,206 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 03/2025 |
| Description | EarthCARE: Cal/Val Implementation Activities - FAAM Airborne |
| Amount | € 450,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 4000146256/24/NL/JB |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 11/2024 |
| End | 06/2026 |
| Description | European Space Agency: 4000123553/18/I-NB - Land Surface Temperature Climate Change Initiative (LST_cci) CN#6 (€ 1000000; 2025 - 2026) |
| Amount | € 1,000,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 4000123553/18/I-NB |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 06/2025 |
| End | 12/2026 |
| Description | Framework Agreement for Copernicus Services ref. ECMWF/COPERNICUS/2024/C3S2_313a |
| Amount | € 3,000,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Department | Horizon 2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 03/2027 |
| Description | GEO-TREES |
| Amount | $25,000,000 (USD) |
| Organisation | Smithsonian Institution |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 03/2025 |
| End | 12/2025 |
| Description | Global energy cycle (ESA X-ECV |
| Amount | £155,105 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 09/2027 |
| Description | IKIRERE - Innovation And Knowledge Integration For Resilience In East Africa Through Climate Research And Education |
| Amount | £499,531 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | UKRI473 |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2025 |
| End | 02/2027 |
| Description | Investigating HALocarbon impacts on the global Environment |
| Amount | £402,598 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/X003450/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2022 |
| End | 11/2026 |
| Description | MOTECUSOMA - Cross-Essential-Climate-Variable project on Earth Energy Imbalance and Climate Sensitivity |
| Amount | € 500,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | AO/1-12062/23/I-NB |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 08/2027 |
| Description | Merchant_EUMETSAT_Noveltis |
| Amount | £118,625 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 09/2024 |
| End | 03/2026 |
| Description | NGS-ASLSTR Sentinel 3 - Next Generation Optical Phase 0/A Scientific Support Study for ASLSTR |
| Amount | € 298,650 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| End | 02/2025 |
| Description | New Copernicus Capability for Trophic Ocean Networks (NECCTON) |
| Amount | € 10,000,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Commission H2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 12/2026 |
| Description | Other long-lived greenhouse gases - CCI |
| Amount | € 1,325,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 11/2023 |
| End | 11/2026 |
| Description | PHYTOplankton biomass and diversity Climate Change Initiative (PHYTO-CCI) |
| Amount | € 1,500,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | ESA-EOP-SC-AMT-2024-36 |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 03/2025 |
| End | 03/2028 |
| Description | PhD Studentship |
| Amount | £75,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Environment Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2025 |
| End | 12/2027 |
| Description | SPectroscopy In The Far InfraREd (SPITFIRE): Reducing uncertainties in spectroscopic line parameters for ESA's FORUM mission |
| Amount | € 118,303 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 628617: D Coxon Living Planet Fellowship |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 04/2026 |
| Description | SST CCI project (CCI+ Phase 2) |
| Amount | £324,370 (GBP) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 04/2024 |
| End | 04/2026 |
| Description | Satellite-based observations of Carbon in the Ocean: Pools, fluxes and Exchanges (SCOPE) |
| Amount | € 1,000,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | AO/1-11510/22/I-DT |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 12/2023 |
| End | 03/2026 |
| Description | Sentinel Users Preparation (SUP) - MultiWater |
| Amount | € 800,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 4000146380/24/I-DT-bgh |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 12/2024 |
| End | 12/2026 |
| Description | Sentinel Users Preparation (SUP) - Urban Health |
| Amount | € 800,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | CfP/5-50046/23/I-DT-bgh |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 02/2025 |
| End | 02/2027 |
| Description | Spectroscopy Of Water in the Far Infrared (SOWFI) |
| Amount | $229,488 (AUD) |
| Funding ID | AS243/THz/22306 |
| Organisation | Australian Synchrotron |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Australia |
| Start | 11/2024 |
| End | 12/2024 |
| Description | Synchronising Earth Observation and Modelling Frameworks Towards a Digital Twin Ocean (SyncED-Ocean) |
| Amount | £700,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 03/2025 |
| Description | TMAC-2 - TRUTHS Mission Accompanying Consolidation Study-2 (TACOS) |
| Amount | € 88,981 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 11/2024 |
| End | 03/2026 |
| Description | Tipping points and abrupt changes In the Marine Ecosystem (TIME) |
| Amount | € 1,650,680 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | AO/1-12183/24/I-LG-lr |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 03/2025 |
| End | 03/2028 |
| Description | Towards an Integrated Capability to Explain and Predict Regional Climate Changes (EXPECT) |
| Amount | £701,210 (GBP) |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 03/2028 |
| Description | UKRI FLF - The First Environmental Digital Twin Dedicated to Understanding Tropical Wetland Methane Emissions for Improved Predictions of Climate Change - Rob Parker |
| Amount | £1,600,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | MR/X033139/1 |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 03/2028 |
| Title | Biogeochemical ensemble methods within ensemble-NEMOVAR assimilation |
| Description | We developed biogeochemical model (ERSEM) ensembles on the North-West European Shelf (NWES). The ensembles are currently based on ERSEM parameter perturbations, perturbed atmospheric forcing and observation perturbations, with some additional perturbations under development. We have implemented biogeochemical variables into an existing ensemble-NEMOVAR assimilation system. The ensemble-NEMOVAR system has now the capability to assimilate simultaneously both physics and biogeochemistry data and has been validated for temperature-salinity-(ocean color)chlorophyll assimilation on the NWES. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Improved reanalyses on the NWES, and capability to deliver uncertainty products for NWES physics and biogeochemistry variables. |
| Title | Machine learning model to predict carbon pools in UK regional waters |
| Description | Machine learning model using observable variables, atmospheric variables and riverine discharge data predicting sinking detritus and dissolved organic carbon at a low computational cost. This tool can support estimates of carbon pools and research on carbon cycle for UK regional seas. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | It will support a publication to be submitted very soon. It will be also made open access soon and available to the whole community. It will be publicly disseminated at a number of opportunities (the tool is very new). |
| Title | CARbon DAta MOdel fraMework |
| Description | CARDAMOM uses a Bayesian approach to combine models with observations and their uncertainties with the aim of generating robust, uncertainty quantified parameterisation of terrestrial ecosystem models (Bloom et al., 2016). CARDAMOM estimates parameters for each site or location uniquely based on the in available observations for that location. CARDAMOM can be applied at either site (Smallman et al., 2017), regional (Smallman et al., 2021) and global (Bloom et al., 2016) scales. The DALEC and ACM models are integrated into CARDAMOM providing a readily available library of models. CARDAMOM is written in Fortran with control code written in R. Source code provided from open access Github repository. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | CARDAMOM has allowed the first global multi-data constrained assessments of ecosystem traits providing a fully independent but observationally informed estimates of ecosystem traits and carbon cycling at pixel scale. CARDAMOM's unique spatially continuous estimation of uncertainty allows rigorous evaluation and identification of opportunities for improvement of the current generation of land surface models (e.g. the UK's JULES model) which sit at the bottom of Earth System models (under NCEO NC funding). CARDAMOM has supported the first UK wide winter winter assessment of harvest and net carbon exchange within a consistent mass balanced observationally informed framework (as part of the UK EOCIS). |
| URL | https://github.com/GCEL/CARDAMOM |
| Title | EOCIS: Daily land Surface Temperature from SLSTR (Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer) on Sentinel 3B, level 3 collated (L3C) global product , version 4.00 |
| Description | This dataset contains land surface temperatures (LSTs) and their uncertainty estimates from the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) on Sentinel 3B. Satellite land surface temperatures are skin temperatures, which means, for example, the temperature of the ground surface in bare soil areas, the temperature of the canopy over forests, and a mix of the soil and leaf temperature over sparse vegetation. The skin temperature is an important variable when considering surface fluxes of, for instance, heat and water. Daytime and night-time temperatures are provided in separate files corresponding to the morning and evening Sentinel 3B equator crossing times which are 10:00 and 22:00 local solar time. Per pixel uncertainty estimates are given in two forms, first, an estimate of the total uncertainty for the pixel and second, a breakdown of the uncertainty into components by correlation length. Also provided in the files, on a per pixel basis, are the observation time, the satellite viewing and solar geometry angles, a quality flag, and land cover class. The dataset coverage is global over the land surface. LSTs are provided on a global equal angle grid at a resolution of 0.01° longitude and 0.01° latitude. SLSTRB achieves full Earth coverage in 1 day so the daily files have gaps where the surface is not covered by the satellite swath during day or night on that day. Furthermore, LSTs are not produced where clouds are present since under these circumstances the IR radiometer observes the cloud top which is usually much colder than the surface. Dataset coverage starts on 17th November 2018 and continues until 31st December 2024. There are minor interruptions (1-10 days) during satellite/instrument maintenance periods or instrument anomalies. The dataset was produced by the University of Leicester (UoL) and LSTs were retrieved using the (UoL) LST retrieval algorithm and data were processed in the UoL processing chain. The dataset was produced as part of the UK Earth Observation Climate Information Service (EOCIS) and is based on development funded under ESA CCI with additional funding from NCEO. The EOCIS dataset includes and continues the CCI v4 CDR (currently under development). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Use of the dataset by companies on EO Data Hub |
| URL | https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/fc0bc3d5887d441296091a8025f8f45d |
| Title | EOCIS: Daily land surface temperature from SLSTR (Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer) on Sentinel 3A, level 3 collated (L3C) global product, version 4.00 |
| Description | This dataset contains land surface temperatures (LSTs) and their uncertainty estimates from the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) on Sentinel 3A. Satellite land surface temperatures are skin temperatures, which means, for example, the temperature of the ground surface in bare soil areas, the temperature of the canopy over forests, and a mix of the soil and leaf temperature over sparse vegetation. The skin temperature is an important variable when considering surface fluxes of, for instance, heat and water. Daytime and night-time temperatures are provided in separate files corresponding to the morning and evening Sentinel-3A equator crossing times which are 10:00 and 22:00 local solar time. Per pixel uncertainty estimates are given in two forms, first, an estimate of the total uncertainty for the pixel and second, a breakdown of the uncertainty into components by correlation length. Also provided in the files, on a per pixel basis, are the observation time, the satellite viewing and solar geometry angles, a quality flag, and land cover class. The dataset coverage is global over the land surface. LSTs are provided on a global equal angle grid at a resolution of 0.01° longitude and 0.01° latitude. SLSTRA achieves full Earth coverage in 1 day so the daily files have gaps where the surface is not covered by the satellite swath during day or night on that day. Furthermore, LSTs are not produced where clouds are present since under these circumstances the IR radiometer observes the cloud top which is usually much colder than the surface. Dataset coverage starts on 1st May 2016 and continues until 31st December 2024. There are minor interruptions (1-10 days) during satellite/instrument maintenance periods or instrument anomalies. The dataset was produced by the University of Leicester (UoL) and LSTs were retrieved using the (UoL) LST retrieval algorithm and data were processed in the UoL processing chain. The dataset was produced as part of the UK Earth Observation Climate Information Service (EOCIS) and is based on development funded under ESA CCI with additional funding from NCEO. The EOCIS dataset includes and continues the CCI v4 CDR (currently under development). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Use of the dataset by companies on EO Data Hub |
| URL | https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/a784eeb9287b43bcb63ccae59e6af82e |
| Title | Monthly Net Biome Exchange for the Southern African Woodlands 2006-2017 estimated using the CARDAMOM model-data fusion framework |
| Description | This dataset contains estimates of the monthly Net Biome Exchange for the Southern African Woodlands ecoregion from 2006-2017, mapped at 0.5 degree spatial resolution. The Net Biome Exchange describes the carbon (C) balance of the terrestrial ecosystem. Negative values indicate a C sink (more C absorbed by vegetation via photosynthesis than released to the atmosphere via respiration and fire). Positive values indicate a C source (more C released to the atmosphere than absorbed by vegetation). This dataset was produced using the CARDAMOM model-data fusion framework, and accompanies the manuscript: Precipitation-fire-trait interactions control biomass stocks and carbon exchanges across the world's largest savanna Authors: M Williams, D T Milodowski, T L Smallman, K G Dexter, G C Hegerl, I M McNicol, M O'Sullivan, C M Roesch, C M Ryan, S Sitch and A Valade |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | State-of-the-art model-data fusion CARDAMOM analysis provides a new data-informed and uncertainty bounded assessment of the precipitation-fire-trait interactions controlling stocks and carbon exchanges across the world's largest savanna. These data have been used to evaluate the internal carbon dynamics of the TRENDYv11 land surface model intercomparison identifying clear areas of inconsistency between the TRENDYv11 models and the data-informed CARDAMOM analysis. |
| URL | https://datashare.ed.ac.uk/handle/10283/8827 |
| Title | Neural Network-Based Nitrate Concentration Dataset for the North-West European Shelf |
| Description | The nitrate dataset has been created using a feed-forward neural network (NN) to generate a high-resolution, gap-free dataset of surface nitrate concentrations for the North-West European Shelf (NWES) from 1998 to 2020. The NN model was trained using sparse in-situ observations and various environmental features such as sea surface temperature, chlorophyll concentrations, riverine discharge, and atmospheric data. The dataset significantly improves nitrate estimation over traditional reanalysis models, allowing for better analysis of eutrophication trends, nutrient limitations, and long-term nitrate variability in coastal areas. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The NN model significantly improves nitrate estimation, providing a more accurate and complete dataset for monitoring eutrophication, assessing policy impacts, and enhancing ecosystem forecasts. It highlights nutrient-limited areas, refines our understanding of nitrate trends, and challenges the use of winter nitrate as a predictor for spring blooms, offering valuable insights for marine management. |
| URL | https://github.com/neccton-algo/nn-bgc |
| Title | SISTeR: QM2 Cruise 24, v2.5 |
| Description | Skin Sea Surface Temperature data from the SISTeR instrument (Scanning Infrared Sea surface Temperature Radiometer). This dataset contains SST data of the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean measured by SISTeR on-board RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) between 15 July 2022 and 14 October 2022. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Used in validation of SLSTR A and B |
| URL | https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/62334c44979b4c62b763e0dff97cc923/ |
| Title | SISTeR: QM2 Cruise 25, v2.5 |
| Description | Skin Sea Surface Temperature data from the SISTeR instrument (Scanning Infrared Sea surface Temperature Radiometer). This dataset contains SST data of the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean measured by SISTeR on-board RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) between 11 January 2023 and 10 February 2023. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Used for validation of SLSTR A and B |
| URL | https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/defed477a24547b7aa024d655f3d2adb/ |
| Title | SISTeR: QM2 Cruise 27, v2.5 |
| Description | Skin Sea Surface Temperature data from the SISTeR instrument (Scanning Infrared Sea surface Temperature Radiometer). This dataset contains SST data of the east Atlantic, Indian Ocean, west Pacific and Australia measured by SISTeR on-board RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) between 11 January 2024 and 28 April 2024. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Used for validation of SLSTR A and B |
| URL | https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/27fee373d42b4dada1aeb10bc729c98f/ |
| Title | SISTeR: QM2 Cruise 28, v2.5 |
| Description | Skin Sea Surface Temperature data from the SISTeR instrument (Scanning Infrared Sea surface Temperature Radiometer). This dataset contains SST data of the north Atlantic and the North Sea measured by SISTeR on-board RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) between 16 May 2024 and 30 August 2024. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Used for validation of SLSTR A and B |
| URL | https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/8234e536542141259e0ec632d45df496/ |
| Title | SISTeR: QM2 Cruise 29, v2.5 |
| Description | Skin Sea Surface Temperature data from the SISTeR instrument (Scanning Infrared Sea surface Temperature Radiometer). This dataset contains SST data of the North Sea, the north Atlantic and the Caribbean measured by SISTeR on-board RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) between 17 October 2024 and 11 January 2025. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Used for validation of SLSTR A and B |
| URL | https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/381e95004e0c44499b1d3e00b19aaaaf/ |
| Title | TCOM-HCl : Daily global gap-free stratospheric hydrogen chloride profile data set based on TOMCAT CTM and Occultation Measurements |
| Description | Methodology: TOMCAT simulation is performed at T64L32 resolution for the 1991-2021 time period. Collocated hydrogen chloride (HCl) profiles are divided in five latitude bins: SH polar (90S-50S), SH mid-lat (70S-20S), tropics (40S-40N), NH mid-lat (20N-70N) and NH polar (50N-90N). Initially, model-measurement differences are calculated for each zonal bins (46 height levels, 15km to 60km). Separate XGBoost regression models are trained for the differences between TOMCAT and measurements at each level for a given latitude bin. XGBoost model is then used to estimate error corrections for all the TOMCAT grids ( day/night, 2 X11323 time steps). TOMCAT output sampled at 1.30 am and 1.30 pm local time at the equator. Estimated corrections for a given model grid that are added to the original TOMCAT simulated day and night time HCl profiles. Height resolved data are then interpolated on 28-pressure levels (300 - 0.1hPa). For overlapping latitude bins, we use averages and then calculate daily zonal mean values. For more details see attached presentation. Dataset also includes two files containing daily mean zonal mean HCl profiles on height (15-60 km) and pressure (300-0.1 hPa) levels: zmhcl_TCOM_hlev_T2Dz_1991_2021.nc - height level data (15 to 60 km) zmhcl_TCOM_plev_T2Dz_1991_2021.nc - pressure level data (300 to 0.1 hPa) Daily 3D profiles on height and pressure levels would be made available upon request |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Has been used to test models and constrain retrievals. |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/7608194 |
| Title | TCOM-HF : Daily global gap-free stratospheric hydrogen fluoride (HF) profile data set based on TOMCAT CTM and Occultation Measurements |
| Description | Methodology: TOMCAT simulation is performed at T64L32 resolution for the 1991-2021 time period. Collocated hydrogen fluoride (HF) profiles are divided in five latitude bins: SH polar (90S-50S), SH mid-lat (70S-20S), tropics (40S-40N), NH mid-lat (20N-70N) and NH polar (50N-90N). Initially, model-measurement differences are calculated for each zonal bins (46 height levels, 15km to 60km). Separate XGBoost regression models are trained for the differences between TOMCAT and measurements at each level for a given latitude bin. XGBoost model is then used to estimate error corrections for all the TOMCAT grids ( day/night, 2 X11323 time steps). TOMCAT output sampled at 1.30 am and 1.30 pm local time at the equator. Estimated corrections for a given model grid that are added to the original TOMCAT simulated day and night time hydrogen fluoride profiles. Height resolved data are then interpolated on 28-pressure levels (300 - 0.1hPa). For overlapping latitude bins, we use averages and then calculate daily zonal mean values. For more details see attached presentation. Dataset also includes two files containing daily mean zonal mean hydrogen fluoride profiles on height (15-60 km) and pressure (300-0.1 hPa) levels: zmhf_TCOM_hlev_T2Dz_1991_2021.nc - height level data (15 to 60 km) zmhf_TCOM_plev_T2Dz_1991_2021.nc - pressure level data (300 to 0.1 hPa) Daily 3D profiles on height and pressure levels would be made available on request. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Has been used to test models and constrain retrievals. |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/7607564 |
| Title | TOMCAT CTM simulated ozone profiles using NRL2, SATIRE and SORCE solar fluxes |
| Description | Individual file contain TOMCAT CTM simulated ozone profiles from five model simulations analysed in the following publication. Briefly, vmro3_T2Mz_TOMCAT_A_NRL2_2005-2020.nc contain ozone profiles from the control simulation that uses ERA5 dynamical forcing fields and NRL V2 solar fluxes vmro3_T2Mz_TOMCAT_B_SATIRE_2005-2020.nc and vmro3_T2Mz_TOMCAT_C_SORCE_2005-2020.nc contain ozone profiles from a simulations that are similar to the control simulation but with SATIRE and SORCE solar fluxes vmro3_T2Mz_TOMCAT_D_SFix_2005-2020.nc has ozone profiles from simulation that is similar to the control simulation but with fixed solar fluxes, whereas vmro3_T2Mz_TOMCAT_E_DFix_2005-2020.nc also contain ozone profiles from a simulation where model uses annually repeating dynamical fields. Dhomse, S. S., Chipperfield, M. P., Feng, W., Hossaini, R., Mann, G. W., Santee, M. L., and Weber, M.: A Single-Peak-Structured Solar Cycle Signal in Stratospheric Ozone based on Microwave Limb Sounder Observations and Model Simulations, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2021-663, in review, 2021. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Improved understanding of solar - ozone interactions. |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/5875190 |
| Title | Terrestrial Community Carbon Assimilation System (TCCAS) and the D&B terrestrial carbon cycle model |
| Description | The Terrestrial Carbon Community Assimilation System (TCCAS) is built around the coupled D&B terrestrial biosphere model. D&B has been newly developed based on the well-established DALEC and BETHY models and builds on the strengths of each component model. In particular, D&B combines the dynamic simulation of the carbon pools and canopy phenology of DALEC with the dynamic simulation of water pools, and the canopy model of photosynthesis and energy balance of BETHY. D&B includes a set of observation operators for optical as well as active and passive microwave observations. The focus of TCCAS is the combination of this diverse array of observational data streams with the D&B model into a consistent picture of the terrestrial carbon, water, and energy cycles. TCCAS applies a variational assimilation approach that adjusts a combination of initial pool sizes and process parameters to match the observational data streams. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | TCCAS and D&B are ESA supported community models to enhance utilisation of ESA generated Earth Observation (EO) datasets relevant for terrestrial ecosystems. A key long-term ambition is to support ESA to generate regularly updated observation informed global carbon budgets consistent with ESA EO. |
| URL | https://tccas.inversion-lab.com/index.html |
| Description | Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) |
| Organisation | Animal and Plant Health Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Requesting aggregated cattle data from APHA for the digital twin development. |
| Collaborator Contribution | n/a |
| Impact | Requested Cattle Tracing System data for England aggregated at County Scale. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 |
| Organisation | British Geological Survey |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Prof. Pat Heslop-Harrison attended the CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 and taught a Module "Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs". Cheltenham Project X: Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs There is an imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a global target for reaching 'net-zero' by 2050. Farming or agriculture is responsible for substantial emissions of greenhouse gasses, and also has the potential to sequester carbon, going beyond the net-zero target. Non-agricultural land use also has effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and forestry are estimated to account for about a quarter of the global emissions, with emissions including methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen compounds. An appreciation of the greenhouse gas sources and sinks, their volume, and changes in status due to land use and environmental change is of fundamental importance. Methods of estimation of farm greenhouse gas emissions within the global carbon cycle is controversial. Approaches to reduce farm emissions are even more controversial at a political level, with EU proposals causing major demonstrations in the first months of 2024 and controversy within the UK (eg https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68241023, "Beef cattle carbon emissions scheme 'could disadvantage us'") The Managing Director of the agriculture advisory service, Climate and Sustainability Group, says "Calculating the carbon footprint of a farm is a complex problem. What are the current metrics that exist for doing this and what are their shortcomings? Is there a need for a standardised metric? What are the gaps in the current scientific understanding of agricultural emissions calculations?", while the agricultural consultant Simon Ward comments "There are a number of problems with a farm-based calculations of greenhouse gas emissions. For some of the calculations the inputs are complex and detail is not available." (see, for example, the 'featured farmer question" which covers some of this CENTA project: https://farmpep.net/group/1164). A major greenhouse gas generated in agriculture is methane. This gas causes 80 time more global warming than carbon dioxide, and is particularly generated by ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep, from digestion of grass by microbial flora during rumination. Globally, methane emissions may account for 10% of emissions, and are very high in tropical pastures, representing a third of global agricultural area. In this project, we will visit publicly accessible areas of contrasting agricultural farms. We will combine our ground-based observations with map-based studies and calculations to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and capture, and energy balances, from various farm types. During the 'field campaign' of your speed PhD you will need to estimate the emissions (and flows) of greenhouse gasses associated with contrasting land uses - in particular, a dairy farm, an arable farm, a forestry plantation, a 'solar farm', and potentially other sites of your own choosing (this could include, for example, roadside verges, golf-courses, or even urban environment). You will also examine food energy outputs from these farms, and consider the greenhouse gas footprint of producing the equivalent food elsewhere and importing. This might include clearing tropical rain forest and import of soybean and grain, or of meat. You could also consider intensification of production (as has been done, eg, for dairying in UK since 2000) in the UK, and use of irrigated/protected (plastic or greenhouses; and maybe imported) crops of Gloucestershire/Herefordshire. You could also consider associated food waste/co-products, and food security (cf energy security, or lack of). We will compare the measurements and estimates we make with methods such as those available on-line: https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/business-management/agricultural-transition/4-popular-carbon-calculators-for-farms-compared (there are limited number of articles you can read free in Farmers Weekly so copy the article!). We will consider the results and policy implications for reaching net-zero, and taking into consideration the requirement for food production. |
| Collaborator Contribution | n/a |
| Impact | Teaching PhD students from the CENTA cohort. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 |
| Organisation | Cranfield University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Prof. Pat Heslop-Harrison attended the CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 and taught a Module "Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs". Cheltenham Project X: Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs There is an imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a global target for reaching 'net-zero' by 2050. Farming or agriculture is responsible for substantial emissions of greenhouse gasses, and also has the potential to sequester carbon, going beyond the net-zero target. Non-agricultural land use also has effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and forestry are estimated to account for about a quarter of the global emissions, with emissions including methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen compounds. An appreciation of the greenhouse gas sources and sinks, their volume, and changes in status due to land use and environmental change is of fundamental importance. Methods of estimation of farm greenhouse gas emissions within the global carbon cycle is controversial. Approaches to reduce farm emissions are even more controversial at a political level, with EU proposals causing major demonstrations in the first months of 2024 and controversy within the UK (eg https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68241023, "Beef cattle carbon emissions scheme 'could disadvantage us'") The Managing Director of the agriculture advisory service, Climate and Sustainability Group, says "Calculating the carbon footprint of a farm is a complex problem. What are the current metrics that exist for doing this and what are their shortcomings? Is there a need for a standardised metric? What are the gaps in the current scientific understanding of agricultural emissions calculations?", while the agricultural consultant Simon Ward comments "There are a number of problems with a farm-based calculations of greenhouse gas emissions. For some of the calculations the inputs are complex and detail is not available." (see, for example, the 'featured farmer question" which covers some of this CENTA project: https://farmpep.net/group/1164). A major greenhouse gas generated in agriculture is methane. This gas causes 80 time more global warming than carbon dioxide, and is particularly generated by ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep, from digestion of grass by microbial flora during rumination. Globally, methane emissions may account for 10% of emissions, and are very high in tropical pastures, representing a third of global agricultural area. In this project, we will visit publicly accessible areas of contrasting agricultural farms. We will combine our ground-based observations with map-based studies and calculations to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and capture, and energy balances, from various farm types. During the 'field campaign' of your speed PhD you will need to estimate the emissions (and flows) of greenhouse gasses associated with contrasting land uses - in particular, a dairy farm, an arable farm, a forestry plantation, a 'solar farm', and potentially other sites of your own choosing (this could include, for example, roadside verges, golf-courses, or even urban environment). You will also examine food energy outputs from these farms, and consider the greenhouse gas footprint of producing the equivalent food elsewhere and importing. This might include clearing tropical rain forest and import of soybean and grain, or of meat. You could also consider intensification of production (as has been done, eg, for dairying in UK since 2000) in the UK, and use of irrigated/protected (plastic or greenhouses; and maybe imported) crops of Gloucestershire/Herefordshire. You could also consider associated food waste/co-products, and food security (cf energy security, or lack of). We will compare the measurements and estimates we make with methods such as those available on-line: https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/business-management/agricultural-transition/4-popular-carbon-calculators-for-farms-compared (there are limited number of articles you can read free in Farmers Weekly so copy the article!). We will consider the results and policy implications for reaching net-zero, and taking into consideration the requirement for food production. |
| Collaborator Contribution | n/a |
| Impact | Teaching PhD students from the CENTA cohort. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 |
| Organisation | Open University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Prof. Pat Heslop-Harrison attended the CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 and taught a Module "Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs". Cheltenham Project X: Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs There is an imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a global target for reaching 'net-zero' by 2050. Farming or agriculture is responsible for substantial emissions of greenhouse gasses, and also has the potential to sequester carbon, going beyond the net-zero target. Non-agricultural land use also has effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and forestry are estimated to account for about a quarter of the global emissions, with emissions including methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen compounds. An appreciation of the greenhouse gas sources and sinks, their volume, and changes in status due to land use and environmental change is of fundamental importance. Methods of estimation of farm greenhouse gas emissions within the global carbon cycle is controversial. Approaches to reduce farm emissions are even more controversial at a political level, with EU proposals causing major demonstrations in the first months of 2024 and controversy within the UK (eg https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68241023, "Beef cattle carbon emissions scheme 'could disadvantage us'") The Managing Director of the agriculture advisory service, Climate and Sustainability Group, says "Calculating the carbon footprint of a farm is a complex problem. What are the current metrics that exist for doing this and what are their shortcomings? Is there a need for a standardised metric? What are the gaps in the current scientific understanding of agricultural emissions calculations?", while the agricultural consultant Simon Ward comments "There are a number of problems with a farm-based calculations of greenhouse gas emissions. For some of the calculations the inputs are complex and detail is not available." (see, for example, the 'featured farmer question" which covers some of this CENTA project: https://farmpep.net/group/1164). A major greenhouse gas generated in agriculture is methane. This gas causes 80 time more global warming than carbon dioxide, and is particularly generated by ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep, from digestion of grass by microbial flora during rumination. Globally, methane emissions may account for 10% of emissions, and are very high in tropical pastures, representing a third of global agricultural area. In this project, we will visit publicly accessible areas of contrasting agricultural farms. We will combine our ground-based observations with map-based studies and calculations to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and capture, and energy balances, from various farm types. During the 'field campaign' of your speed PhD you will need to estimate the emissions (and flows) of greenhouse gasses associated with contrasting land uses - in particular, a dairy farm, an arable farm, a forestry plantation, a 'solar farm', and potentially other sites of your own choosing (this could include, for example, roadside verges, golf-courses, or even urban environment). You will also examine food energy outputs from these farms, and consider the greenhouse gas footprint of producing the equivalent food elsewhere and importing. This might include clearing tropical rain forest and import of soybean and grain, or of meat. You could also consider intensification of production (as has been done, eg, for dairying in UK since 2000) in the UK, and use of irrigated/protected (plastic or greenhouses; and maybe imported) crops of Gloucestershire/Herefordshire. You could also consider associated food waste/co-products, and food security (cf energy security, or lack of). We will compare the measurements and estimates we make with methods such as those available on-line: https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/business-management/agricultural-transition/4-popular-carbon-calculators-for-farms-compared (there are limited number of articles you can read free in Farmers Weekly so copy the article!). We will consider the results and policy implications for reaching net-zero, and taking into consideration the requirement for food production. |
| Collaborator Contribution | n/a |
| Impact | Teaching PhD students from the CENTA cohort. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 |
| Organisation | UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Prof. Pat Heslop-Harrison attended the CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 and taught a Module "Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs". Cheltenham Project X: Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs There is an imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a global target for reaching 'net-zero' by 2050. Farming or agriculture is responsible for substantial emissions of greenhouse gasses, and also has the potential to sequester carbon, going beyond the net-zero target. Non-agricultural land use also has effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and forestry are estimated to account for about a quarter of the global emissions, with emissions including methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen compounds. An appreciation of the greenhouse gas sources and sinks, their volume, and changes in status due to land use and environmental change is of fundamental importance. Methods of estimation of farm greenhouse gas emissions within the global carbon cycle is controversial. Approaches to reduce farm emissions are even more controversial at a political level, with EU proposals causing major demonstrations in the first months of 2024 and controversy within the UK (eg https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68241023, "Beef cattle carbon emissions scheme 'could disadvantage us'") The Managing Director of the agriculture advisory service, Climate and Sustainability Group, says "Calculating the carbon footprint of a farm is a complex problem. What are the current metrics that exist for doing this and what are their shortcomings? Is there a need for a standardised metric? What are the gaps in the current scientific understanding of agricultural emissions calculations?", while the agricultural consultant Simon Ward comments "There are a number of problems with a farm-based calculations of greenhouse gas emissions. For some of the calculations the inputs are complex and detail is not available." (see, for example, the 'featured farmer question" which covers some of this CENTA project: https://farmpep.net/group/1164). A major greenhouse gas generated in agriculture is methane. This gas causes 80 time more global warming than carbon dioxide, and is particularly generated by ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep, from digestion of grass by microbial flora during rumination. Globally, methane emissions may account for 10% of emissions, and are very high in tropical pastures, representing a third of global agricultural area. In this project, we will visit publicly accessible areas of contrasting agricultural farms. We will combine our ground-based observations with map-based studies and calculations to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and capture, and energy balances, from various farm types. During the 'field campaign' of your speed PhD you will need to estimate the emissions (and flows) of greenhouse gasses associated with contrasting land uses - in particular, a dairy farm, an arable farm, a forestry plantation, a 'solar farm', and potentially other sites of your own choosing (this could include, for example, roadside verges, golf-courses, or even urban environment). You will also examine food energy outputs from these farms, and consider the greenhouse gas footprint of producing the equivalent food elsewhere and importing. This might include clearing tropical rain forest and import of soybean and grain, or of meat. You could also consider intensification of production (as has been done, eg, for dairying in UK since 2000) in the UK, and use of irrigated/protected (plastic or greenhouses; and maybe imported) crops of Gloucestershire/Herefordshire. You could also consider associated food waste/co-products, and food security (cf energy security, or lack of). We will compare the measurements and estimates we make with methods such as those available on-line: https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/business-management/agricultural-transition/4-popular-carbon-calculators-for-farms-compared (there are limited number of articles you can read free in Farmers Weekly so copy the article!). We will consider the results and policy implications for reaching net-zero, and taking into consideration the requirement for food production. |
| Collaborator Contribution | n/a |
| Impact | Teaching PhD students from the CENTA cohort. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Prof. Pat Heslop-Harrison attended the CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 and taught a Module "Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs". Cheltenham Project X: Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs There is an imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a global target for reaching 'net-zero' by 2050. Farming or agriculture is responsible for substantial emissions of greenhouse gasses, and also has the potential to sequester carbon, going beyond the net-zero target. Non-agricultural land use also has effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and forestry are estimated to account for about a quarter of the global emissions, with emissions including methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen compounds. An appreciation of the greenhouse gas sources and sinks, their volume, and changes in status due to land use and environmental change is of fundamental importance. Methods of estimation of farm greenhouse gas emissions within the global carbon cycle is controversial. Approaches to reduce farm emissions are even more controversial at a political level, with EU proposals causing major demonstrations in the first months of 2024 and controversy within the UK (eg https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68241023, "Beef cattle carbon emissions scheme 'could disadvantage us'") The Managing Director of the agriculture advisory service, Climate and Sustainability Group, says "Calculating the carbon footprint of a farm is a complex problem. What are the current metrics that exist for doing this and what are their shortcomings? Is there a need for a standardised metric? What are the gaps in the current scientific understanding of agricultural emissions calculations?", while the agricultural consultant Simon Ward comments "There are a number of problems with a farm-based calculations of greenhouse gas emissions. For some of the calculations the inputs are complex and detail is not available." (see, for example, the 'featured farmer question" which covers some of this CENTA project: https://farmpep.net/group/1164). A major greenhouse gas generated in agriculture is methane. This gas causes 80 time more global warming than carbon dioxide, and is particularly generated by ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep, from digestion of grass by microbial flora during rumination. Globally, methane emissions may account for 10% of emissions, and are very high in tropical pastures, representing a third of global agricultural area. In this project, we will visit publicly accessible areas of contrasting agricultural farms. We will combine our ground-based observations with map-based studies and calculations to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and capture, and energy balances, from various farm types. During the 'field campaign' of your speed PhD you will need to estimate the emissions (and flows) of greenhouse gasses associated with contrasting land uses - in particular, a dairy farm, an arable farm, a forestry plantation, a 'solar farm', and potentially other sites of your own choosing (this could include, for example, roadside verges, golf-courses, or even urban environment). You will also examine food energy outputs from these farms, and consider the greenhouse gas footprint of producing the equivalent food elsewhere and importing. This might include clearing tropical rain forest and import of soybean and grain, or of meat. You could also consider intensification of production (as has been done, eg, for dairying in UK since 2000) in the UK, and use of irrigated/protected (plastic or greenhouses; and maybe imported) crops of Gloucestershire/Herefordshire. You could also consider associated food waste/co-products, and food security (cf energy security, or lack of). We will compare the measurements and estimates we make with methods such as those available on-line: https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/business-management/agricultural-transition/4-popular-carbon-calculators-for-farms-compared (there are limited number of articles you can read free in Farmers Weekly so copy the article!). We will consider the results and policy implications for reaching net-zero, and taking into consideration the requirement for food production. |
| Collaborator Contribution | n/a |
| Impact | Teaching PhD students from the CENTA cohort. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 |
| Organisation | University of Warwick |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Prof. Pat Heslop-Harrison attended the CENTA Speed PhD residential field trip to Cheltenham from 18-22 March 2024 and taught a Module "Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs". Cheltenham Project X: Farm Carbon Budgets - Storage, Inputs and Outputs There is an imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a global target for reaching 'net-zero' by 2050. Farming or agriculture is responsible for substantial emissions of greenhouse gasses, and also has the potential to sequester carbon, going beyond the net-zero target. Non-agricultural land use also has effects on greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and forestry are estimated to account for about a quarter of the global emissions, with emissions including methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen compounds. An appreciation of the greenhouse gas sources and sinks, their volume, and changes in status due to land use and environmental change is of fundamental importance. Methods of estimation of farm greenhouse gas emissions within the global carbon cycle is controversial. Approaches to reduce farm emissions are even more controversial at a political level, with EU proposals causing major demonstrations in the first months of 2024 and controversy within the UK (eg https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68241023, "Beef cattle carbon emissions scheme 'could disadvantage us'") The Managing Director of the agriculture advisory service, Climate and Sustainability Group, says "Calculating the carbon footprint of a farm is a complex problem. What are the current metrics that exist for doing this and what are their shortcomings? Is there a need for a standardised metric? What are the gaps in the current scientific understanding of agricultural emissions calculations?", while the agricultural consultant Simon Ward comments "There are a number of problems with a farm-based calculations of greenhouse gas emissions. For some of the calculations the inputs are complex and detail is not available." (see, for example, the 'featured farmer question" which covers some of this CENTA project: https://farmpep.net/group/1164). A major greenhouse gas generated in agriculture is methane. This gas causes 80 time more global warming than carbon dioxide, and is particularly generated by ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep, from digestion of grass by microbial flora during rumination. Globally, methane emissions may account for 10% of emissions, and are very high in tropical pastures, representing a third of global agricultural area. In this project, we will visit publicly accessible areas of contrasting agricultural farms. We will combine our ground-based observations with map-based studies and calculations to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and capture, and energy balances, from various farm types. During the 'field campaign' of your speed PhD you will need to estimate the emissions (and flows) of greenhouse gasses associated with contrasting land uses - in particular, a dairy farm, an arable farm, a forestry plantation, a 'solar farm', and potentially other sites of your own choosing (this could include, for example, roadside verges, golf-courses, or even urban environment). You will also examine food energy outputs from these farms, and consider the greenhouse gas footprint of producing the equivalent food elsewhere and importing. This might include clearing tropical rain forest and import of soybean and grain, or of meat. You could also consider intensification of production (as has been done, eg, for dairying in UK since 2000) in the UK, and use of irrigated/protected (plastic or greenhouses; and maybe imported) crops of Gloucestershire/Herefordshire. You could also consider associated food waste/co-products, and food security (cf energy security, or lack of). We will compare the measurements and estimates we make with methods such as those available on-line: https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/business-management/agricultural-transition/4-popular-carbon-calculators-for-farms-compared (there are limited number of articles you can read free in Farmers Weekly so copy the article!). We will consider the results and policy implications for reaching net-zero, and taking into consideration the requirement for food production. |
| Collaborator Contribution | n/a |
| Impact | Teaching PhD students from the CENTA cohort. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Copernicus Ocean Reanalysis Methods |
| Organisation | Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | A Copernicus Proposal was submitted in March 2024 lead by CMCC which will allow our smoothing assimilation work to contributed to new CMEMS long-term reanalyses Our own team were leading this proposal but the University of Reading pulled out of Leading for legal reasons at the last minute This project was awarded and began in Sept 2024 for 2 years with funding for Reading ~£65k. |
| Collaborator Contribution | CMCC and CNR both in italy are already partners in the Copernicus Marine service providing ocean reanalysis and forecasting products. In this project will work with them to improve their products and demonstrate the capability of new algorithms produced by NCEO at Reading |
| Impact | EU Copernicus project New Reanalysis smoothing and bias correction methods being developed |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Copernicus Ocean Reanalysis Methods |
| Organisation | Institute of Marine Science |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | A Copernicus Proposal was submitted in March 2024 lead by CMCC which will allow our smoothing assimilation work to contributed to new CMEMS long-term reanalyses Our own team were leading this proposal but the University of Reading pulled out of Leading for legal reasons at the last minute This project was awarded and began in Sept 2024 for 2 years with funding for Reading ~£65k. |
| Collaborator Contribution | CMCC and CNR both in italy are already partners in the Copernicus Marine service providing ocean reanalysis and forecasting products. In this project will work with them to improve their products and demonstrate the capability of new algorithms produced by NCEO at Reading |
| Impact | EU Copernicus project New Reanalysis smoothing and bias correction methods being developed |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | ISSI international workshop on Remote Sensing in Climatology |
| Organisation | International Space Science Institute (ISSI) |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Co-organizer of workshop (held in Nov 2023). Currently have a special issue in Surveys of Geophysics. One article submitted as lead author, one as co-author, with three more co-authors papers expected. Invited editor for special issue. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Workshop was organised by ISSI and invited experts on the quantification and use of uncertainties in remote sensing data from across the world. |
| Impact | Special issue in Surveys in Geophysics in production. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | NCEO support the INternational Ocean Colour Coordinating GRoup, a committe of international space agencies such as ESA, NASA and now NCEO |
| Organisation | European Space Agency |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Shubha Sathyendranath is the current Chair of IOCCG, Steve Groom is NCEO representative |
| Collaborator Contribution | NASA< ESA, JAXA and many other agencies cnribute to activities in IOCCG |
| Impact | https://ioccg.org/what-we-do/ioccg-publications/ioccg-reports/ |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | Steering committee member - Earth System Model evaluation tool (ESMValTool) |
| Organisation | Barcelona Supercomputing Center |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Development of open source software for climate model evaluation, soliciting funding for model evaluation research, contributing to research outputs such as publications and disseminating training to the community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Development of open source software for climate model evaluation, soliciting funding for model evaluation research, contributing to research outputs such as publications and disseminating training to the community. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | Steering committee member - Earth System Model evaluation tool (ESMValTool) |
| Organisation | German Aerospace Centre (DLR) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Development of open source software for climate model evaluation, soliciting funding for model evaluation research, contributing to research outputs such as publications and disseminating training to the community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Development of open source software for climate model evaluation, soliciting funding for model evaluation research, contributing to research outputs such as publications and disseminating training to the community. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | Steering committee member - Earth System Model evaluation tool (ESMValTool) |
| Organisation | Meteorological Office UK |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Development of open source software for climate model evaluation, soliciting funding for model evaluation research, contributing to research outputs such as publications and disseminating training to the community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Development of open source software for climate model evaluation, soliciting funding for model evaluation research, contributing to research outputs such as publications and disseminating training to the community. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | Steering committee member - Earth System Model evaluation tool (ESMValTool) |
| Organisation | Netherlands eScience Center |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Development of open source software for climate model evaluation, soliciting funding for model evaluation research, contributing to research outputs such as publications and disseminating training to the community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Development of open source software for climate model evaluation, soliciting funding for model evaluation research, contributing to research outputs such as publications and disseminating training to the community. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | Steering committee member - Earth System Model evaluation tool (ESMValTool) |
| Organisation | Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute |
| Country | Sweden |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Development of open source software for climate model evaluation, soliciting funding for model evaluation research, contributing to research outputs such as publications and disseminating training to the community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Development of open source software for climate model evaluation, soliciting funding for model evaluation research, contributing to research outputs such as publications and disseminating training to the community. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | UK Joint Office for the Group on Earth Observation and the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (UK GEO/CEOS Office) 2024/2025 |
| Organisation | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The Office is jointly funded between NERC (through NCEO), DSIT and the UK Space Agency. It provides support to the UK government policy responsible officials, enables technical research work on Earth system challenges which can addressed through Earth Observations and allows the development of international projects. Climate mitigation continued to be one of the unifying themes for 2024-25. Work has focussed on UK interventions in progressing methane standards (CEOS), accelerating forest-related initiatives (GEO) for mitigation, nature-based standards and solutions, and demonstrating UK systems for greenhouse gas verification (CEOS and GEO). |
| Collaborator Contribution | DSIT is the policy lead on Group for Earth Observations and coordinated inputs into the GEO Work Programme 2022-2025, as well as post-2025 Work Programme under development. UKSA became Chair of CEOS in October 2024, overseeing the activities of the CEOS Working Groups and providing support for internationally-agreed methods for calibration of satellite data systems, for co-ordinated climate observations including the international greenhouse gas constellation, Space Climate Observatory and analysis-ready data for non-expert EO users. |
| Impact | 1. NCEO Staff Paul Palmer supported the work on methane best practices and creation of a GHG Roadmap to facilitate the development of fit-for-purpose operational systems that integrate space-based GHG estimates with ground-based, airborne and shipborne observations of CO2 and CH4 to address the needs of a diverse range of stakeholders. 2. NCEO staff Matt Disney contributed to the creation of a good practices protocol for validation of aboveground biomass products, including the development of a network of biomass reference measurement sites. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | UK Joint Office for the Group on Earth Observation and the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (UK GEO/CEOS Office) 2024/2025 |
| Organisation | UK Space Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The Office is jointly funded between NERC (through NCEO), DSIT and the UK Space Agency. It provides support to the UK government policy responsible officials, enables technical research work on Earth system challenges which can addressed through Earth Observations and allows the development of international projects. Climate mitigation continued to be one of the unifying themes for 2024-25. Work has focussed on UK interventions in progressing methane standards (CEOS), accelerating forest-related initiatives (GEO) for mitigation, nature-based standards and solutions, and demonstrating UK systems for greenhouse gas verification (CEOS and GEO). |
| Collaborator Contribution | DSIT is the policy lead on Group for Earth Observations and coordinated inputs into the GEO Work Programme 2022-2025, as well as post-2025 Work Programme under development. UKSA became Chair of CEOS in October 2024, overseeing the activities of the CEOS Working Groups and providing support for internationally-agreed methods for calibration of satellite data systems, for co-ordinated climate observations including the international greenhouse gas constellation, Space Climate Observatory and analysis-ready data for non-expert EO users. |
| Impact | 1. NCEO Staff Paul Palmer supported the work on methane best practices and creation of a GHG Roadmap to facilitate the development of fit-for-purpose operational systems that integrate space-based GHG estimates with ground-based, airborne and shipborne observations of CO2 and CH4 to address the needs of a diverse range of stakeholders. 2. NCEO staff Matt Disney contributed to the creation of a good practices protocol for validation of aboveground biomass products, including the development of a network of biomass reference measurement sites. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Workshop on desert locust early warning in Eastern Africa |
| Organisation | ICPAC |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Workshop held in Kenya, 03/02/25-04/02/25. LTS-S funded proof of concept study and workshop organisation. Workshop resulted in commitment to develop a Leverhulme proposal bid. |
| Collaborator Contribution | ICPAC are responsible for monitoring hazards in East Africa including pest-related hazards. They issue advisories across the East African region. ICIPE are experts in insect phenology and lifecycle of desert locusts. |
| Impact | Workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya. 03-04/02/25. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Workshop on desert locust early warning in Eastern Africa |
| Organisation | International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Workshop held in Kenya, 03/02/25-04/02/25. LTS-S funded proof of concept study and workshop organisation. Workshop resulted in commitment to develop a Leverhulme proposal bid. |
| Collaborator Contribution | ICPAC are responsible for monitoring hazards in East Africa including pest-related hazards. They issue advisories across the East African region. ICIPE are experts in insect phenology and lifecycle of desert locusts. |
| Impact | Workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya. 03-04/02/25. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | "Meet the data assimilation experts" engagement at the OceanPredict conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A session where I was sharing data assimilation expertise with non-expert scientist (and potentially broader audience). It was an open consultation session where the audience could approach multiple of us with questions and open problems, and we were providing expert advise on data assimilation. It took place at the OceanPredict conference in November 2024 in Paris. The audience was about 40-50 people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | AI UK 2024 conference attendance |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | AI UK 2024 was a showcase of how data science and AI can be applied to society's biggest challenges, with a focus on The Alan Turing Institute's grand challenges, defence and security, environment and sustainability, and transformation of healthcare. Over 2000 people attended AI UK 2024 at QE II Conference Centre. A team of six AI for net zero team members attended the event on 19-20 March 2024 in London and networked with AI experts from the Turing Institute, researchers and industry leaders. We promoted self-learning digital twins for sustainable land management at the event and agreed with David Wagg (lead of the digital twin working group in Turing) to link into that activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.turing.ac.uk/events/ai-uk-2024 |
| Description | Agrifood for net zero Big Tent event in Sheffield, 13-14 March 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Big Tent event in Sheffield brought together about 150 attendees, about half of whom were academics and the others were from business and farms. I participated as a panel member in a panel discussion and in several working groups and breakouts and promoted the use of digital technologies such as self-learning digital twins for sustainable land management. This sparked a lot of interest. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.agrifood4netzero.net/big-tent-2024.html |
| Description | Agrifood for net zero network (AFN+) expert workshop on 23 January 2025 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I attended an invitation-only event in London by the Agrifood for net zero network where the AFN+ carbon calculator was presented and feedback was collected. I fed my views into the workshop outcomes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Attendance at the COP29 Climate Conference in Baku in November 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I was a panellist at COP29 in Baku in the session 'Evaluating progress on forest, land use and agriculture emissions - from the Emirates Declaration to accounting for carbon sequestration' chaired by Nick Breeze. It was livestreamed as well. I advised on using digital technologies for making more informed land use decisions in order to accelerate the land use transition towards net zero and nature restoration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://unfccc.int/cop29 |
| Description | BES Resilient Landscapes Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I attended the BES Symposium on Resilient Landscapes from 24-25 June 2024 in Birmingham. About 200+ people from research, policy, NGOs and industry attended. I presented a poster on the Land Use for Net Zero Hub that led to many useful connections and interactions. There was also interest in the digital twin work my group is doing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/events/resilient-landscapes-for-people-nature-and-climate/ |
| Description | CEOS Climate Working Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dr Gareth Thomas was appointed to the CEOS Working Group on Climate in 2024 as one of the UK representatives along with UKSA Head of Earth Observation and NCEO Director. The purpose of WGClimate is to liaise between international Space Agencies and other entities responsible for launching and operating satellites to observe the Earth and to produce data on the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere and land to monitor key climate variables and the international and national bodies responsible for utilising those data in research programmes and the development and application of policy. Dr Thomas contributed to UK team's preparation for, participation in and debriefing from meetings held in 2024-25, in USA and UK and online. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| Description | EO4PEAT Steering Committee |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Heiko Balzter was appointed to the Steering Committee of the EO4PEAT Project, which is funded by the Belgian Space Office (STEREO IV programme, https://eo.belspo.be/en/stereo-iv-programme). It is a 5-year project in the research group of Gabrielle De Lannoy at KU Leuven, Belgium (Catholic University Louvain). The project is partnered by Patrick Willems (KU Leuven, Belgium), Frieke Van Coillie (U Gent, Belgium), Sebastien Lambot (UCL, Belgium), Raphael Tshimanga (CRREBaC, DRC), and Alex Cobb (MIT-Singapore Alliance). It is focused on tropical peatlands and the interaction between land use land cover change (LULCC) and hydrology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://eo.belspo.be/en/stereo-iv-programme |
| Description | ESA Synergy Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentations and engagement on review of ESA Sentinel-3 mission, with particular reference to monitoring aerosol and surface reflectance |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Fenland Soil Conference 2025 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | At the Fenland Soil Conference 2025 in Ely, the University of Leicester ran a workshop for about 40 minutes on Digital technologies for sustainable land use, focusing on the estimation of carbon dioxide emissions from agriculture on drained peatland. The audience were mostly farmers, with some policy makers and other companies present. We demonstrated a machine learning model to estimate field-scale net ecosystem exchange from Earth observation and flux tower data. There was high interest in this technology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.fenlandsoil.org/conference-2025/ |
| Description | Fire, flood, winds and earthquakes: satellite imagery reveals damage wrought by climate change |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A press release to coincide with COP28 and highlight various aspects of my work with others across NCEO, EOS and Geography at the University of Leicester. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://le.ac.uk/news/2023/december/climate-satellite-imagery |
| Description | Interview for the Observer newspaper (February 2024) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed about my involvement in research to enhance the accuracy of weather predictions in collaboration with the Met Office and ECMWF. I was quoted extensively in the published article that appeared in Feb 2024 in The Observer newspaper, which was republished by TechnoSpace2, Yahoo! News, MSN and Aol. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Invited keynote talk to Royal Society Ecology and Evolution seminar series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | General (scientific) audience seminar series organised by the Royal Society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://cassyni.com/events/6mcGwSduJ454k3smZCRJG5 |
| Description | Land Surface Data Assimilation Community of Practice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Land-Surface Data Assimilation Community of Practice - 3 hybrid discussion workshops per year on topics of interest to academia and operational weather prediction services. Goal is to promote learning and collaboration across the sector. Attendees have included members from Met Office, ECMWF, NOAA, NCEO, UKCEH and UK Universities with up to 30 attendees per meeting. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Land Use Summit 2024 at ZSL |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Heiko Balzter gave an invited presentation at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL)'s and British Ecological Society (BES)'s Land Use Summit on 16 April 2024 about the Land Use for Net Zero (LUNZ) Hub. The summit was attended by around 200 people from Defra, Desnz, universities and other organisations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.zsl.org/news-and-events/events/land-use-summit |
| Description | MEDIA 2024/04 comments on extreme rainfall, El Nino and European climate in 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Various media comments and interviews on weather and climate: 22nd April 2024 - State of the European Climate 2023 (SMC, Euro News) 18th April 2024 - Comment on El Niño and climate change in The Context 17th April 2024 - comments to BBC on why extreme rainfall and flooding in Dubai were not related to cloud seeding but are consistent with the intensification of precipitation in a warming climate |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-the-european-state-of-the-climate-2023-report-... |
| Description | MEDIA 2024/04 press release on new study suggesting larger effect of aerosol particles on low level cloud |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | 11th April 2024 - New research in Nature Geoscience suggests aerosol particle pollution may have increased cloud and offset global warming more than expected based on analysis of volcanic plume from Hawaii (press release) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2024/Research-News/Cloud-engineering-could-be-painkiller-for-global-w... |
| Description | MEDIA 2024/05 media comments on new study linking shipping regulations on extra solar heating of the planet |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | 30th May 2024 - Comments on Yuan et al. paper quantifying effect of shipping fuel regumations on current climate change (SMC, Telegraph, Forbes) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-sulphur-reductions-in-shipping-fuel-and-increa... |
| Description | MEDIA 2024/06 comments on Copernicus Climate announcement of 12 months greater than 1.5oC above pre-industrial (CNN) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | 5th June 2024 - comments to CNN on Copernicus Climate announcement of 12 months greater than 1.5oC above pre-industrial |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/05/climate/12-months-record-heat-un-speech/index.html |
| Description | MEDIA 2024/08 media comments on new research highlighting warming effect of high altitude aircraft contrails in Newsweek |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | 7th August 2024 - comments on new research highlighting warming effect of high altitude aircraft contrails in Newsweek |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.newsweek.com/flights-aircraft-contrails-engine-pollution-greenhouse-gases-1935705 |
| Description | MEDIA 2024/09 media comments on serious flooding and increasing temperatures |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Copmments to media outlets on European flooding, rising temperatures and swing from El Nino to La Nina: 16th September 2024 - catastrophic European flooding as Storm Boris stalled, funnelling copious moisture from the warm Black Sea into the mountains of central and eastern Europe (BBC Radio 4 PM, BBC article) 11th September 2024 - comments on effects of emerging La Niña on the UK (Sky) 5th September 2024 - comments on Copernicus bulletin showing summer 2024 was hottest on record globally (CNN) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn5zx2zx5xvo |
| Description | MEDIA 2024/10 comments to media on Spanish floods and climate change |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Cpmments to media outlets on Spanish flooding, water cycle changes and climate change: 30th October 2024 - Severe flash flooding in Spain (SMC; WSJ; ITV; press release) 17th October 2024 - Global Commission on the Economics of Water report highlights imbalance in global water cycle (CNN) 15th October 2024 - comment on study failing to detect acceleration in global warming (SMC, Mail Online, Carbon Brief) 10th October 2024 - comments on Hurricane Milton (SMC) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-flash-floods-in-south-eastern-spain/ |
| Description | MEDIA 2024/12 Comments on record global temperatures in 2024 to the media |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press release and comments to the media on record global warmth in 2024 and the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions: 10th January 2025 - Record global warmth in 2024 (Reading press release) 16th December 2024 - Record warmth of the past 2 years (AFP) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://uk.news.yahoo.com/scientists-struggle-explain-record-surge-021843613.html |
| Description | MEDIA 2025/01 comments to Guardian on climate whiplash |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Comments on climate whiplash article to Guardian discussing how a warming climate drives a more variable water cycle |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/15/climate-whiplash-events-increasing-exponentially... |
| Description | MEDIA 2025/01 press release and social media dissemination of paper showing acceleration of climate change |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dissemination of results from new paper identifying acceleration of climate change using X, Bluesky and LinkedIn that increased take up of results by a large audience, adding to the large number of media stories. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://iop.altmetric.com/details/173582002 |
| Description | MEDIA 2025/02 Comments on record global temperatures in 2024 and January 2025 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Comments to press on passing 1.5oC above pre-industrial is probably inevitable (Science Media Centre, CNN), record January 2025 temperatures despite La Nina (Conversation, New Scientist, Financial Times, Science Media Centre) and on new Hansen et al. paper suggesting ship fuel regulations have contributed significantly to global warmimg (Science Media Centre, Financial Times) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.newscientist.com/article/2466649-january-2025-sets-surprise-record-as-hottest-ever-start... |
| Description | MEDIA 2025/02 blog on record global temperatures despite La Nina |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Blog for the Conversation "Record January heat suggests La Niña may be losing its ability to keep global warming in check" with links to NCEO work, receiving over 31,000 reads and many comments that generated discussion and changes in opinion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/record-january-heat-suggests-la-nina-may-be-losing-its-ability-to-keep-g... |
| Description | OUTREACH 2024/11 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Talk ad discussion on Climate Change: Causes, Consequences & Solutions at a DAF Trucks BETS meeting, Oxford Belfry, 13 November 2024. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | http://www.met.reading.ac.uk/~sgs02rpa/TALKS/Allan24DAF.pdf |
| Description | OUTREACH 2024/12 podcast on decarbonisation and climatye change |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Electric Evolution podcaast (December 24th 2024) on personal decarbonisation with fullcircleci.co.uk |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://fullcircleci.co.uk/episode-120-liz-allan-and-professor-richard-allan-a-festive-reflection/ |
| Description | OUTREACH 2025/01 EV Cafe podcast on climate science and personal journey to Electric Vehicle sector |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | EV Cafe Podcast on Unpacking Climate Change, Sustainability & More leading on from previous engagement with the EV sector and sparked further interest |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.evcafe.org/podcast-episodes/unpacking-climate-change-with-professor-richard-allan |
| Description | OUTREACH 2025/01 Talk on Climate change and extreme weather to local Pangbourne Rotary Club group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk and discussion on Climate Change and Extreme Weather to the Pangbourne Rotary Club at The Bull, Theale, 27 January 2025. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/diary-past.php?ClubID=1669&YrID=120 |
| Description | Organised EO for Biodiversity workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Experts in biodiversity and EO convened to discuss how UK efforts in biodiversity monitoring can be supported by Earth Observation. The workshop was held online on 14 October 2024 and attended by Madeeha Bajwa, from GEO Secretariat, and representatives from academia and government departments in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Outreach, NERC Explore our Planet, Cardiff |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof. Peter North and Dr Jacqueline Rosette at Swansea University supported the NERC outreach event held at Techniquest, Cardiff in October 2025. The event had over 2000 visitors, and was aimed at schools and families, promoting awareness of the environment and NERC Centre research. Their contribution focussed on understanding and detecting plastic waste, with hands on samples of plastics, microscopy and spectrometry. Swansea was invited due to North's participation in the NERC National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO). North and Rosette also discussed the research with the Senedd Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Presentation at EGU2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation at European Geophysical Union (EGU) 2024 in Vienna on 15 April 2024 on "pyeo: Forest alerts from space" in the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem User Forum. It was a hybrid event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.egu24.eu/ |
| Description | Presentation, UKHSA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to UK Health Security Agency, on satellite monitoring of air quality, and outcomes of EOCIS project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Press Release on "Quantifying the acceleration of multidecadal global sea surface warming driven by Earth's energy imbalance". |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Multiple interviews in connection with press release. Story was taken up as follows: Harper's Weekly Review, HN Online Slovakia, New Scientist (print), New Scientist (podcast), Spring News, Big News Network, Tempo, The Energy Mix, Daily Mail, MSN, Giessener Allgemeine, Krone, Kompas, Mannheim24, Ludwigshafen24, BuzzFeed, OP-Online, FNP, WA, Detik Science, Bluewin, Bisnis, Heidelberg24, Chiemgau24, Giessener Allgemeine, Madhyamam, Dagens Nyheter, Democratic Underground, Digi, BackChina, FNP, Ludwigshafen24, Chiemgau24, Mannheim24, Heidelberg24. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2465689-surge-in-ocean-heat-is-a-sign-climate-change-is-accelerating/ https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/oceans-are-warming-four-times-faster-as-earth-traps-more-energy https://grist.org/oceans/why-earth-oceans-record-hot-streak/ https://phys.org/news/2025-01-ocean-surface-quadrupled-late-1980s.html https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/25/the-kyoto-climate-treaty-is-hailed-on-stage-but-reality-tells-a-different-story https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14332957/Ocean-warming-QUADRUPLED-past-40-years-scientists-say-theres-one-way-slow-down.html https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/oceans-heat-temperature-climate-warming-b2687248.html http://ct.moreover.com/?a=55880622838&p=1pl&v=1&x=SFa69aUrenmZwrkQsVcHyQ http://ct.moreover.com/?a=55880997230&p=1pl&v=1&x=VlXvcI31yTYsQxtIZOWUNg https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/ocean-warming-accelerating-four-times-faster-than-1980s/54920/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ocean-warming-accelerating-four-times-faster-than-1980s http://ct.moreover.com/?a=55881338419&p=1pl&v=1&x=w_TxyurHfeZH5JCxpHF-Nw https://www.miragenews.com/ocean-warming-quadruples-since-late-1980s-1397975/ https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/the-surface-of-our-oceans-is-now-warming-four-times-faster-than-it-was-in-the-late-1980s/ar-AA1xYPyU https://www.inkl.com/news/the-surface-of-our-oceans-is-now-warming-four-times-faster-than-it-was-in-the-late-1980s https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/ocean-warming-accelerating-four-times-faster-than-1980s/54920/ https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1266538 https://www.lokmattimes.com/technology/ocean-surface-warming-4x-faster-in-last-four-decades-study-1/ https://weeklyvoice.com/ocean-surface-warming-4x-faster-in-last-four-decades-study-2/ https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2025/Research-News/Ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s https://www.yahoo.com/news/surface-oceans-now-warming-four-083100094.html https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2025/january/ocean-temperature-rise-accelerating-greenhouse-gas-levels-rising.html https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/ocean-surface-temperatures-warming-four-times-faster-than-in-80s/ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250128124303.htm https://theshillongtimes.com/2025/01/28/ocean-surface-warming-4x-faster-in-last-four-decades-study/ https://whatsnew2day.com/ocean-heating-has-quadrupled-more-than-in-the-last-40-years-and-scientists-say-there-is-only-one-way-to-slow-it-down/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/01/28/climate-change/ocean-warming-accelerates/ https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ocean-surface-warming-4-times-faster-than-it-did-in-1980s-study-7579379 https://www.thehansindia.com/life-style/health/ocean-surface-warming-4x-faster-in-last-four-decades-study-940425 https://www.envirolink.org/2025/01/28/finally-an-answer-to-why-earths-oceans-have-been-on-a-record-hot-streak/ https://www.newsx.com/space-science/what-is-ocean-warming-scientists-warn-of-accelerating-climate-crisis/ https://germanic.news/der-anstieg-der-ozeanwarme-ist-ein-zeichen-des-klimawandels-beschleunigt/ https://www.dailygazette.com/news/national/scientists-sound-alarm-about-ocean-warming-hitting-critical-level/article_7e0feb4d-5ce8-5029-8699-bdb5308e17e7.html https://www.ktbs.com/news/national/scientists-sound-alarm-about-ocean-warming-hitting-critical-level/article_d995603b-4fd9-5f3f-9438-0549477efad9.html https://www.wfmz.com/science_and_tech/scientists-sound-alarm-about-ocean-warming-hitting-critical-level/article_9696866d-07d4-5a09-a232-8784ff342a1e.html https://zeenews.india.com/world/ocean-warming-accelerates-rapidly-study-warns-of-dire-climate-consequences-2850193.html UK Radio: Heart Radio Berkshire; US radio stations: KGMI News, The Mighty 790 and WTOP2-DC. https://gizmodo.com/we-finally-know-why-the-oceans-are-on-a-record-hot-streak-2000556527 https://www.indiablooms.com/health/new-study-shows-ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s/details https://www.eurasiareview.com/29012025-ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s/ https://www.world-today-news.com/on-climate-change-intensifies/ https://www.connectedtoindia.com/study-finds-ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s/ https://in.mashable.com/science/88912/ocean-surface-is-warming-4-times-faster-than-in-the-1980s-why-its-concerning https://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/ocean-surface-warming-rises-4x-over-4-decades/81884219.html https://www.newsdrum.in/national/oceans-warming-four-times-faster-than-in-1980s-study-finds-8666650 https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/science-environment/3243945-oceans-heat-up-four-times-faster-alarming-climate-change-signal https://www.thehansindia.com/news/international/oceans-warming-four-times-faster-than-in-last-four-decades-study-finds-940724 https://www.ibtimes.sg/ocean-surface-warming-accelerates-four-times-faster-late-1980s-study-reveals-78159 https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/the-ocean-surface-is-warming-over-400-faster-than-in-the-1980s/ar-AA1y2xAI https://www.labmanager.com/ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s-33483 https://www.enn.com/articles/75935-ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s https://time.news/ocean-warming-signals-accelerating-global-climate-change/ https://www.heise.de/en/news/Climate-change-the-oceans-are-warming-faster-and-faster-10260698.html https://pogoda.o2.pl/pogoda/alarmujace-dane-naukowcow-rekordowe-wartosci-przez-450-dni-z-rzedu-7119736642095936a https://www.popsci.com/science/finally-an-answer-to-why-earths-oceans-have-been-on-a-record-hot-streak/ https://www.civilbeat.org/2025/01/finally-an-answer-to-why-earths-oceans-have-been-on-a-record-hot-streak/https://www.wnp.pl/parlamentarny/wydarzenia/powierzchnia-oceanow-ogrzewa-sie-coraz-szybciej,908733.html https://www.descopera.ro/natura/20784658-suprafata-oceanului-se-incalzeste-de-peste-patru-ori-mai-rapid-decat-in-anii-1980 https://www.newindianexpress.com/xplore/2025/Feb/01/sea-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-in-1980s https://scitechdaily.com/shocking-fourfold-spike-in-ocean-warming-sparks-global-concern/ https://iop.altmetric.com/details/173582002/news https://www.newscientist.com/article/2465689-surge-in-ocean-heat-is-a-sign-climate-change-is-accelerating/ https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/oceans-are-warming-four-times-faster-as-earth-traps-more-energy https://grist.org/oceans/why-earth-oceans-record-hot-streak/ https://phys.org/news/2025-01-ocean-surface-quadrupled-late-1980s.html https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/25/the-kyoto-climate-treaty-is-hailed-on-stage-but-reality-tells-a-different-story https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14332957/Ocean-warming-QUADRUPLED-past-40-years-scientists-say-theres-one-way-slow-down.html https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/oceans-heat-temperature-climate-warming-b2687248.html http://ct.moreover.com/?a=55880622838&p=1pl&v=1&x=SFa69aUrenmZwrkQsVcHyQ http://ct.moreover.com/?a=55880997230&p=1pl&v=1&x=VlXvcI31yTYsQxtIZOWUNg https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/ocean-warming-accelerating-four-times-faster-than-1980s/54920/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ocean-warming-accelerating-four-times-faster-than-1980s http://ct.moreover.com/?a=55881338419&p=1pl&v=1&x=w_TxyurHfeZH5JCxpHF-Nw https://www.miragenews.com/ocean-warming-quadruples-since-late-1980s-1397975/ https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/the-surface-of-our-oceans-is-now-warming-four-times-faster-than-it-was-in-the-late-1980s/ar-AA1xYPyU https://www.inkl.com/news/the-surface-of-our-oceans-is-now-warming-four-times-faster-than-it-was-in-the-late-1980s https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/ocean-warming-accelerating-four-times-faster-than-1980s/54920/ https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1266538 https://www.lokmattimes.com/technology/ocean-surface-warming-4x-faster-in-last-four-decades-study-1/ https://weeklyvoice.com/ocean-surface-warming-4x-faster-in-last-four-decades-study-2/ https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2025/Research-News/Ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s https://www.yahoo.com/news/surface-oceans-now-warming-four-083100094.html https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2025/january/ocean-temperature-rise-accelerating-greenhouse-gas-levels-rising.html https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/ocean-surface-temperatures-warming-four-times-faster-than-in-80s/ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250128124303.htm https://theshillongtimes.com/2025/01/28/ocean-surface-warming-4x-faster-in-last-four-decades-study/ https://whatsnew2day.com/ocean-heating-has-quadrupled-more-than-in-the-last-40-years-and-scientists-say-there-is-only-one-way-to-slow-it-down/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2025/01/28/climate-change/ocean-warming-accelerates/ https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ocean-surface-warming-4-times-faster-than-it-did-in-1980s-study-7579379 https://www.thehansindia.com/life-style/health/ocean-surface-warming-4x-faster-in-last-four-decades-study-940425 https://www.envirolink.org/2025/01/28/finally-an-answer-to-why-earths-oceans-have-been-on-a-record-hot-streak/ https://www.newsx.com/space-science/what-is-ocean-warming-scientists-warn-of-accelerating-climate-crisis/ https://germanic.news/der-anstieg-der-ozeanwarme-ist-ein-zeichen-des-klimawandels-beschleunigt/ https://www.dailygazette.com/news/national/scientists-sound-alarm-about-ocean-warming-hitting-critical-level/article_7e0feb4d-5ce8-5029-8699-bdb5308e17e7.html https://www.ktbs.com/news/national/scientists-sound-alarm-about-ocean-warming-hitting-critical-level/article_d995603b-4fd9-5f3f-9438-0549477efad9.html https://www.wfmz.com/science_and_tech/scientists-sound-alarm-about-ocean-warming-hitting-critical-level/article_9696866d-07d4-5a09-a232-8784ff342a1e.html https://zeenews.india.com/world/ocean-warming-accelerates-rapidly-study-warns-of-dire-climate-consequences-2850193.html UK Radio: Heart Radio Berkshire; US radio stations: KGMI News, The Mighty 790 and WTOP2-DC. https://gizmodo.com/we-finally-know-why-the-oceans-are-on-a-record-hot-streak-2000556527 https://www.indiablooms.com/health/new-study-shows-ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s/details https://www.eurasiareview.com/29012025-ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s/ https://www.world-today-news.com/on-climate-change-intensifies/ https://www.connectedtoindia.com/study-finds-ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s/ https://in.mashable.com/science/88912/ocean-surface-is-warming-4-times-faster-than-in-the-1980s-why-its-concerning https://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/ocean-surface-warming-rises-4x-over-4-decades/81884219.html https://www.newsdrum.in/national/oceans-warming-four-times-faster-than-in-1980s-study-finds-8666650 https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/science-environment/3243945-oceans-heat-up-four-times-faster-alarming-climate-change-signal https://www.thehansindia.com/news/international/oceans-warming-four-times-faster-than-in-last-four-decades-study-finds-940724 https://www.ibtimes.sg/ocean-surface-warming-accelerates-four-times-faster-late-1980s-study-reveals-78159 https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/the-ocean-surface-is-warming-over-400-faster-than-in-the-1980s/ar-AA1y2xAI https://www.labmanager.com/ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s-33483 https://www.enn.com/articles/75935-ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s https://time.news/ocean-warming-signals-accelerating-global-climate-change/ https://www.heise.de/en/news/Climate-change-the-oceans-are-warming-faster-and-faster-10260698.html https://pogoda.o2.pl/pogoda/alarmujace-dane-naukowcow-rekordowe-wartosci-przez-450-dni-z-rzedu-7119736642095936a https://www.popsci.com/science/finally-an-answer-to-why-earths-oceans-have-been-on-a-record-hot-streak/ https://www.civilbeat.org/2025/01/finally-an-answer-to-why-earths-oceans-have-been-on-a-record-hot-streak/https://www.wnp.pl/parlamentarny/wydarzenia/powierzchnia-oceanow-ogrzewa-sie-coraz-szybciej,908733.html https://www.descopera.ro/natura/20784658-suprafata-oceanului-se-incalzeste-de-peste-patru-ori-mai-rapid-decat-in-anii-1980 https://www.newindianexpress.com/xplore/2025/Feb/01/sea-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-in-1980s https://scitechdaily.com/shocking-fourfold-spike-in-ocean-warming-sparks-global-concern/ https://iop.altmetric.com/details/173582002/news |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Press release: Human fingerprint on forest disturbance patterns as viewed from space - Featured in Nature Plants and other media outlets |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Communication about scientific paper published in Nature Sustainability on the impacts of human activities on forest disturbance patterns as detected by satellite data. The article was highlighted in Nature Plants and other international media outlets. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-024-01885-8 https://phys.org/news/2024-12-satellite-human-fingerprint-forest-disturbance.html https://www.tiempo.com/ram/huella-humana-perturbacion-bosques.html |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://le.ac.uk/news/2024/december/forest-structures |
| Description | Public launch of the SCATTER project, as part of the Woodland Trust Living Legends campaign |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Public launch of the Woodland Trust Living Legends campaign and presentation of SCATTER results, and public policy briefing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/research-and-evidence/scatter-project/ |
| Description | Public lectures (Climate Change and Net Zero) x 4 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public lectures at: Henley Town Hall, Henley Green Week. Wokingham Parish Rooms, Walter Lecture Series. Earth Fayre, Wokingham, All Saints Church. Student Mock COP, Holme Grange School. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| Description | Quote in the Guardian article about global peatlands |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was quoted in a Guardian article about the need for protecting global peatlands. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/13/worlds-largely-unprotected-peatlands-are-ticking... |
| Description | Radio Interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was an interview for the weekly syndicated radio show called Radio Ecoshock Show which braodcasts on topics related to climate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.ecoshock.org/2025/01/techno-utopianism-hard-landing.html |
| Description | Space Lates at the National Space Centre |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Over 100 members of the public attended my talk as part of the National Space Centre "Space Lates" program in April 2024. I presented work entitled "Eye in the Sky: How satellite Imagery can help Disaster Monitoring". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.spacecentre.co.uk/whats-on/space-lates-april/ |
| Description | Space tech drives innovation in the food chain |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Thought leadership interview |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://citizen.le.ac.uk/blog/space-tech-food-chain/ |
| Description | Turing University Network presentations on 21/3/2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The Turing University Network Cafe in Leicester aims to connect University colleagues and students to share ideas and discussions around AI and data science in an informal setting and to hear about ongoing research and opportunities at the University which may be relevant to the Turing University Network and vice versa. Professor Heiko Balzter provided a short presentation on his work around using AI to develop a digital 'twin' of the UK that harnesses artificial intelligence and big data to meet its net zero target and Dr Rob Parker talked about his work on the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project "The First Environmental Digital Twin Dedicated to Understanding Tropical Wetland Methane Emissions for Improved Predictions of Climate Change" in front of an audience of about 25 attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | UK researchers join UN led collaboration to measure methane emissions from Nord Stream Pipeline Leak - largest ever leak of methane recorded |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | A press release via the University of Leicester press office to coincide with the release of a significant Nature paper I was co-author on. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://le.ac.uk/news/2025/january/nord-stream-methane-1-770#:~:text=It%20found%20that%20total%20emi... |
| Description | Various interviews for national and international news following press release on UK redwoods paper. Picked up by nearly 200 news outlets, 9 broadcast (TV and radio). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Media coverage led to many enquiries from public, NGO, campaigning groups around tree planting, carbon, native v non-native species etc. Also led to invite from Royal Society to present to their Ecology and Evolution seminar series. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68518623 |
| Description | Webinar: Self-learning digital twins for sustainable land management |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | 120 people attended a webinar in the AI for Net Zero webinar series on 18 June 2024. In the discussion after the presentation and in follow-up emails I received, several participants thanked me for the talk and said they were farmers and found my talk very refreshing. There were also attendees from policy, e.g. Natural England. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/live/AOxZCVuQi80 |