1. The AMMA project: Studying the climate and environment of West Africa
Doug Parker, University of Leeds
(Coordinator, AMMA-UK)
NCAS Open Day

2. Why West Africa?
Weather, climate and environment are critical to human livelihoods in Africa
Africa is a major part of the global climate system – a big hot continent.
Monitoring over Africa is poor, and has been deteriorating.
The science of African climate is (a) difficult and (b) less well investigated than our own latitudes.
NCAS Open Day

3. Why West Africa?
Weather, climate and environment are critical to human livelihoods in Africa
Africa is a major part of the global climate system – a big hot continent.
Monitoring over Africa is poor, and has been deteriorating.
The science of African climate is (a) difficult and (b) less well investigated than our own latitudes.
NASA-DAAC, NDVI, Aug 2000
NCAS Open Day

4. Why West Africa?
Weather, climate and environment are critical to human livelihoods in Africa
Africa is a major part of the global climate system – a big hot continent.
Monitoring over Africa is poor, and has been deteriorating.
The science of African climate is (a) difficult and (b) less well investigated than our own latitudes.
ECMWF, June 2004
NCAS Open Day

5. African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses
Afrikanske Monsun: Multidisiplinære Analyser
Afrikaanse Moesson Multidisciplinaire Analyse
Analisi Multidisciplinare per il Monsone Africano
Afrikanischer Monsun: Multidisziplinäre Analysen
Analisis Multidiciplinar de los Monzones Africanos
Analyses Multidisciplinaires de la Mousson Africaine
NCAS Open Day

6. AMMA observations,
5 aircraft
SOP3
SOP1&2
Around 800 scientists, engineers and operational specialists from 25 countries
NCAS Open Day

7. NERC is one of the three ‘founding agencies’ of AMMA
The Met Office is also making a significant commitment
NCAS Open Day

8. NCAS work in AMMA NCAS-Weather: Rainfall dynamics and the water cycle
NCAS-Composition: Emissions and chemistry over Africa, aerosol sources and dynamics
NCAS-Climate: long-term monitoring and shorter-term processes
CEH: soil moisture, vegetation and remote sensing
BADC and High Performance Computing
Associated projects: DABEX, DODO, GERBIL, TROBIT RADAGAST, BODEX
Met Office: monitoring, modelling, land surface and aerosol science
FAAM and UFAM
Universities: Cambridge, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, Reading, UCL, UEA, York
NCAS Open Day

9. FAAM and UFAM 200km MIT radar; Earle Williams
Photo and flying, Alan Foster
NCAS Open Day

10. Some other AMMA-UK work
Climate monitoring (CEH)
Radiosondes (Leeds)
Instrumented hut (Liverpool, CEH, IRD)
Benin ground site (York)
NCAS Open Day

11. Some other AMMA-UK work
Climate monitoring (CEH)
Radiosondes (Leeds)
Instrumented hut (Liverpool, CEH, IRD)
Benin ground site (York)
NCAS Open Day

12. Some other AMMA-UK work
Climate monitoring (CEH)
Radiosondes (Leeds)
Instrumented hut (Liverpool, CEH, IRD)
Benin ground site (York)
NCAS Open Day

13. Some other AMMA-UK work
Climate monitoring (CEH)
Radiosondes (Leeds)
Instrumented hut (Liverpool, CEH, IRD)
Benin ground site (York)
TMS sampling equipment
Julie Saxton, University of York
NCAS Open Day

14. Some achievements Surveys, climatology, statistics
An important database at BADC
Links between wet soil and storms
Does lightning strike the same place twice?
Emissions patterns for the forested and sandy zones of Africa
Pollution survey of Lagos
FAAM ‘scoring diagram’
Jim McQuaid
NCAS Open Day

15. Computer Modelling Models make predictions for weather and climate
AMMA will improve the models and their use of data
Models will tell us about relationships between climate and the human environment
NCAS Open Day

16. Knowledge transfer .
AMMA-EU includes around 20 African organisations, who are principally working in the ‘applications’ of the science:
water resources
food security
health
Weather forecasting centres (including the Met Office and many African centres) are using the data in their prediction systems.
NCAS Open Day

17. The future Better, and rational monitoring
Advancement of the science, and application of this to operational activities.
Better links with DfID, British Council etc, to help African partners to capitalise on the progress being made.
NCAS Open Day

18. AMMA international
NCAS Open Day