Details of Award
NERC Reference : NER/A/S/2003/00370
Atmospheric teleconnections with the tropical stratosphere.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor LJ Gray, University of Reading, Meteorology
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor JD Haigh, Imperial College London, Grantham Institute for Climate Change
- Grant held at:
- University of Reading, Meteorology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Marine
- Atmospheric
- Overall Classification:
- Atmospheric
- ENRIs:
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Stratospheric Processes
- Tropospheric Processes
- Large Scale Dynamics/Transport
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- The sun is the fundamental source of energy in the Earth's climate system. However, this source of energy varies over a number of different timescales, including an 11-year cycle. Variations with similar timescales have been observed in climate parameters such as surface temperatures. There are many contending theories for the mechanism of this solar influence. Identifying the primary mechanism(s) is important to be able to separate accurately the impact of pollution such as increased carbon dioxide levels from purely natural changes. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Scientific Assessment (IPCC 2001) indicated that current estimates of the solar contribution to the forcing of the climate system is highly uncertain and the level of scientific understanding of this contribution is very low. The solar signal in stratospheric temperature shows interesting but complicated interactions with the quasi biennial oscillation (QBO) and semi annual oscillation (SAO) which are not well understood but may provide an important clue to the mechanism of solar influence on the lower atmosphere. This proposal seeks to (a) increase our knowledge of the solar, QBO and SAO variations in climate parameters using a brand new dataset that encompasses four 11-year solar cycles (ERA-40) and (b) to use these data to constrain model experiments with the UK Hadley Centre climate model to test a theory for the mechanism of solar influence on the lower atmosphere.
- NERC Reference:
- NER/A/S/2003/00370
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £168,458
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Staff | Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs | Total - Equipment | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £103,845 | £6,042 | £5,803 | £5,000 | £47,768 |
If you need further help, please read the user guide.