Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/P019897/1
NCAS Atmospheric Measurement Summer School
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Dr LE Whitehouse, University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment
- Grant held at:
- University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Overall Classification:
- Atmospheric
- ENRIs:
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Boundary Layer Meteorology
- Land - Atmosphere Interactions
- Large Scale Dynamics/Transport
- Radiative Processes & Effects
- Tropospheric Processes
- Abstract:
- Overview The goal of the "School in Atmospheric Measurement" is to teach students the theoretical and practical skills needed to design, plan and execute fieldwork activities; make observations of the atmosphere, including the deployment of sensors and instruments; collect and monitor data, interpreting the information collected and applying the results to real atmospheric problems. The school is taught with staff from NCAS, BAS and universities who are experts in observational atmospheric science. The course offers an opportunity for NERC funded PhD students and early career researchers to gain a broad practical and theoretical understanding of atmospheric measurement and data analysis. The Summer School will be held in two parts. The first provides students with the theoretical background they need to successfully design and interpret experiments in the field. Due to their undergraduate background, PhD students are often missing key understanding of processes which are important when designing field experiments. For example chemists or physicists may have a good understanding of their fundamental science but have no background at all in fundamental meteorology or atmospheric composition science which is essential for planning an atmospheric field programme. This part of the course is designed to bring this understanding to a baseline level. This part of the course is held at a location convenient for students and staff to attend, to allow for expert contributors from a range of locations. The second part of the course is held at the Arran Outdoor Education Centre, here students carry out various field measurement activities where they learn the basic skills for a successful measurement programme: practical weather forecasting, error analysis, instrument design, experimental design, computer interfacing, parameterisation development and data processing. The school would be managed by the NCAS Education & Staff Development Manager, Dr. Louise Whitehouse together with Dr Barbara Brooks and support from the NCAS IT and administration staff. Teaching would come from NCAS staff embedded at universities across the country. Rationale NERC PhD students in atmospheric science are often drawn from Chemistry/Physics/Maths backgrounds. They may have significant skills and knowledge in their background discipline and in the related laboratory science but are often very weak in the field-work skills central to atmospheric science and thus NERC science. For ten years NCAS has led a school in atmospheric field measurements to provide PhD students in atmospheric science with those skills which are typically absent after their undergraduate programmes. The experience NCAS staff have in running this successful programme places us as the organisation best able to deliver training which will fill the skills gap students have. Impact Students attending the Atmospheric Measurement School will have a good basic understanding of how field experiments are designed, implemented and analysed together with an increased background understanding of underpinning atmospheric science. This will strengthen their ability to conduct their PhD, improve the quality of their research and deliver enhanced scientific outputs. This will thus improve the employability of the students. Attendance on the school produces motivated and skilled students who have developed a cohesive and robust cohort of peers through working closely on the practical projects. We know that the students have kept in touch both scientifically and socially for years after the field course. These PhD students are then better able to work effectively in teams on their fieldwork and produce meaningful data of value to their project. These 'soft skills' are all highly regarded and requested by industry.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/P019897/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Doctoral Training
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Advanced Training
This training grant award has a total value of £60,000
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Other Costs |
|---|
| £60,000 |
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