Press Releases

University hosts Royal Meteorological Society weather and climate conference – University of Reading

Release Date : 29 June 2009

Scientists from the University of Reading's Walker Institute for Climate System Research will be making a major contribution to The Royal Meteorological Society biennial conference, which is being held at the University from 29 June to 2 July.

The theme for the conference is "Meteorological Science in time and space – from local weather to global climate". The conference is held every other year and represents one of the major gatherings of UK's weather and climate scientists and at which some of the latest research findings are presented.

This year the conference has three main themes: The Water Cycle; Predicting Hazards and Risks; Ecosystems, Atmospheric Composition, Weather and Climate. University of Reading climate scientists will be leading many of the workshop sessions as invited speakers and chairs.

• Dr Richard Allan, Senior Research Fellow, has been invited to speak about the water cycle. His work with satellite observations confirms the link between a warmer climate and more intense rainfall.

• Dr Jane Strachan, Research Fellow, will be running a workshop on climate modelling and risk assessment in the insurance industry. The workshop will include scientists and representatives from the insurance industry to examine the use of climate research to inform the insurance industry.

• Dr Ed Hawkins, Research Fellow, will lead a session on our ability to predict the climate of the next decade. Key scientific developments suggest that by using information about the state of the ocean we may be able to more accurately predict the climate over the coming decades.

• Dr Ellie Highwood, Senior Lecturer in Climate Physics, will be leading a workshop on the impact of aerosols on weather and climate. Aerosols - small particles in the atmosphere produced by burning coal and other industrial processes - can have a cooling effect on climate. Aerosol particles are tiny and difficult to model and they remain a large area of uncertainty when forecasting future climate.

Other workshops being led by scientists from the Walker Institute include: tropical climate, water vapour, rainfall and land/atmosphere coupling.

More details about the conference can be found at www.rmets.org



ENDS

Further information from Kathy Maskell on 07743343465

Notes to editors:

The Walker Institute for Climate System Research draws together the climate related research at the University of Reading to improve our understanding of future climate and its impacts for the benefit of society. See Walker Institute for Climate System Research