NPL on top of the world
Alpine atmospheric water vapour measurements for improved climate modelling.
A team of NPL scientists is currently stationed in the Swiss Alps' Jungfraujoch Research Station, over 3.5 km above sea level, taking measurements of water vapour with the aim of improving climate models.
Water vapour is by far the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. While the basic effect of water vapour is understood (i.e. that it helps trap the Sun’s heat), there is a major problem. There is an underlying broad absorption of energy, known as the water vapour continuum, which is poorly characterised, poorly understood but very important for atmospheric science as the water vapour continuum dramatically affects the Earth’s climate.
The NPL and University of Reading team are using an instrument called a high-resolution optical spectrometer to make ground-based measurements of how water vapour affects the energy from the Sun that reaches the ground. At the same time, colleagues from the UK Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM), the Met Office and Imperial College London are making simultaneous measurements from a research aircraft flying overhead.
This work is part of a larger cross-disciplinary team that are researching the water vapour continuum issue using a combination of scientific techniques such as quantum mechanical modelling, laboratory spectroscopy, atmospheric field instrumentation and radiative modelling. The team is a NERC/EPSRC funded consortium led by the University of Reading called CAVIAR (Continuum Absorption in the Visible and Infrared and its Atmospheric Relevance). In addition to the groups mentioned, CAVIAR also involves the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UCL, University of Cambridge, and University of Leicester.
Ultimately this project will lead to improved atmospheric models, which will provide better climate prediction.
For more information please visit the CAVIAR project website
Find out more about NPL’s climate research