Catherine Muller | University of Birmingham (original) (raw)
Papers by Catherine Muller
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Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 2014
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International Journal of Climatology, 2013
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Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2013
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Research projects now rely on an array of different channels to increase impact, including high-l... more Research projects now rely on an array of different channels to increase impact, including high-level scientific output, tools, and equipment, but also communication, outreach, and educational activities. This paper focuses on education for children aged 5–12 years and presents activities that aim to help them (and their teachers) grasp some of the complex underlying issues in environmental science. More generally, it helps children to become familiarized with science and scientists, with the aim to enhance scientific culture and promote careers in this field. The activities developed are focused on rainfall: (a) designing and using a disdrometer to observe the variety of drop sizes; (b) careful recording of successive dry and rainy days and reproducing patterns using a simple model based on fractal random multiplicative cascades; and (c) collaboratively writing a children's book about rainfall. These activities are discussed in the context of current state-of-the-art pedagogical practices and goals set by project funders, especially in a European Union framework.
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The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is one of the most well documented phenomena in urban climatology. Al... more The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is one of the most well documented phenomena in urban climatology. Although a range of measurements and modelling techniques can be used to assess the UHI, the paucity of traditional meteorological observations in urban areas has been an ongoing limitation for studies. The availability of remote sensing data has therefore helped fill a scientific need by providing high resolution temperature data of our cities. However, satellite-mounted sensors measure land surface temperatures (LST) and not canopy air temperatures with the latter being the key parameter in UHI investigations. Fortunately, such data is becoming increasingly available via urban meteorological networks, which now provide an opportunity to quantify and compare surface and canopy UHI on an unprecedented scale. For the first time, this study uses high resolution air temperature data from the Birmingham Urban Climate Laboratory urban meteorological network and MODIS LST to quantify and identify the spatial pattern of the daytime and night-time UHI in Birmingham, UK (a city with an approximate population of 1 million). This analysis is performed under a range of atmospheric stability classes and investigates the relationship between surface and canopy UHI in the city. A significant finding of this work is that it demonstrates, using observations, that the distribution of the surface UHI appears to be clearly linked to landuse, whereas for canopy UHI, advective processes appear to play an increasingly important role. Strong relationships were found between air temperatures and LST during both the day and night at a neighbourhood scale, but even with the use of higher resolution urban meteorological datasets, relationships at the city scale are still limited.
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Energy consumption and outdoor ambient temperatures are inherently related. Low temperatures incr... more Energy consumption and outdoor ambient temperatures are inherently related. Low temperatures increase consumption via space heating, whereas high temperatures result in increased demand for refrigeration and air conditioning. A common approach used for investigating this relationship in detail is via the calculation of heating and cooling degree days. Starting with a critical review of studies in the scientific literature that have used this technique, this study highlights a range of limitations with the methodology, particularly with respect to standardization, which potentially hinder the utility of the technique in climate change risk assessments. Using an analysis of electricity consumption in Birmingham, UK, as an example, this study calls for a standardization of the approach via the use of a universal base temperature calculated using average outdoor air temperatures. Adoption of this measure will not only enable meaningful comparisons to be made across regions, but will also permit a more robust means to account for acclimatization in longer term analyses such as that required by climate change risk assessments. This is demonstrated in this study by coupling the existing degree days methodology with a temporal analogue.
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Crowdsourcing is traditionally defined as obtaining data or information by enlisting the services... more Crowdsourcing is traditionally defined as obtaining data or information by enlisting the services of a (potentially large) number of people. However, due to recent innovations, this definition can now be expanded to include ‘and/or from a range of public sensors, typically connected via the Internet.’ A large and increasing amount of data is now being obtained from a huge variety of non-traditional sources – from smart phone sensors to amateur weather stations to canvassing members of the public. Some disciplines (e.g. astrophysics, ecology) are already utilizing crowdsourcing techniques (e.g. citizen science initiatives, web 2.0 technology, low-cost sensors), and while its value within the climate and atmospheric science disciplines is still relatively unexplored, it is beginning to show promise. However, important questions remain; this paper introduces and explores the wide-range of current and prospective methods to crowdsource atmospheric data, investigates the quality of such data and examines its potential applications in the context of weather, climate and society. It is clear that crowdsourcing is already a valuable tool for engaging the public, and if appropriate validation and quality control procedures are adopted and implemented, it has much potential to provide a valuable source of high temporal and spatial resolution, real-time data, especially in regions where few observations currently exist, thereby adding value to science, technology and society.
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Existing Urban Meteorological Networks have an important role to play as testbeds for inexpensive... more Existing Urban Meteorological Networks have an important role to play as testbeds for inexpensive and more sustainable measurement techniques which are now becoming possible in our increasingly smart cities.
The Birmingham Urban Climate Laboratory (BUCL) is a near real-time, high-resolution urban meteorological network (UMN) of automatic weather stations and inexpensive, non-standard air temperature sensors. The network has recently been implemented with an initial focus on monitoring urban heat, infrastructure and health applications. A number of UMNs exist worldwide; however BUCL is novel in its density, the low-cost nature of the sensors and the use of proprietary Wi-Fi networks. This paper provides an overview the logistical aspects of implementing an UMN testbed at such a density, including selecting appropriate urban sites, testing and calibrating low-cost, non-standard equipment, implementing strict quality assurance/quality control mechanisms (including metadata), and utilising pre-existing Wi-Fi networks to transmit data. Also included are visualisations of data collected by the network, including data from the July 2013 UK heatwave as well as highlighting potential applications. The paper is an open invitation to use the facility as a testbed for evaluating models and/or other non-standard observation techniques such as those generated via crowdsourcing techniques.
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Annual, monthly and daily analyses of stable isotopes in precipitation are commonly made worldwid... more Annual, monthly and daily analyses of stable isotopes in precipitation are commonly made worldwide, yet only a few studies have explored the variations occurring on short timescales within individual precipitation events, particularly at mid-latitude locations. This study examines hydrogen isotope data from sequential, intra-event samples from sixteen precipitation events during different seasons and a range of synoptic conditions over an 18-month period in Birmingham, UK. Precipitation events were observed simultaneously using a vertically-pointing micro rain radar (MRR), which, for the first time at a mid-latitude location, allowed high resolution examination of the microphysical characteristics (e.g. rain rate, fall velocity, drop size distributions) that may influence the local isotopic composition of rainwater. The range in δD from 242 samples from 16 events was -87.0‰ to +9.2‰, whilst the largest variation observed in a single event was 55.4‰. In contrast to previous work, the results indicate that some mid-latitude precipitation events do indeed show significant intra-event trends that are strongly influenced by precipitation processes and parameters such as rain rate, melting level height and droplet sizes. Inverse relationships between rain rate and isotopic composition are observed, representing an example of a local type of ‘amount effect’, a still poorly-understood process occurring at different scales. For these particular events the mean δ value may therefore not provide all the relevant information. This work has significance for the testing and development of isotope-enabled cloud resolving models and land surface models at higher resolutions, and provides improved insights into a range of environmental processes that are influenced by sub-sampled precipitation events.
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Weather, Jul 2014
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The Internet of Things literally means ‘things’ (e.g. sensors and other smart devices) which are ... more The Internet of Things literally means ‘things’ (e.g. sensors and other smart devices) which are connected to the internet. Although this may seem insignificant, ‘things’ represent a new, and increasingly, critical infrastructure requiring their own dedicated technological ecosystem. As an industry, Winter Road Maintenance has been adept with coping with technological change, with the various data streams historically managed by bureaus and, more recently, sophisticated decision support systems. However, how well equipped is the industry to cope with the imminent inundation of additional data and information from new devices? This is a now inevitable challenge as the costs of sensors, communications and power dramatically start to fall. Indeed, since 2008, the number of ‘things’ has outnumbered users online and this trend will continue as our cities and roads become smarter and increasingly automated – it is estimated that there will be 20 billion things online by 2020. This paper describes the establishment of a winter maintenance demonstration corridor and corresponding IoT hub within a wider meteorological testbed in Birmingham, UK.
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Geophysical Research Abstracts, 2014
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Journal of Geography in Higher Education
The steep learning curve associated with computer programming can be a daunting prospect, particu... more The steep learning curve associated with computer programming can be a daunting prospect, particularly for those not well aligned with this way of logical thinking. However, programming is a skill that is becoming increasingly important. Geography graduates entering careers in atmospheric science are one example of a particularly diverse group who often require a better knowledge and understanding of computing. Critically, there is a necessity in the field for people with a diverse range of data analysis and modelling abilities. This article outlines the module design and evaluation of an introductory programming course for non-computer scientists within a UK geography department.
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Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic technology, 2014
A wide range of environmental applications would benefit from a dense network of air temperature ... more A wide range of environmental applications would benefit from a dense network of air temperature observations. However with limitations of costs, existing siting guidelines and risk of damage, new methods are required to gain a high resolution understanding of spatio-temporal patterns of temperature for agricultural and urban meteorological phenomena such as the urban heat island. With the launch of a new generation of low cost sensors it is possible to deploy a network to monitor air temperature at finer spatial resolutions. Here we investigate the Aginova Sentinel Micro (ASM) sensor with a bespoke radiation shield (together < US$150) which can provide secure near-real-time air temperature data to a server utilising existing (or user deployed) Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks. This makes it ideally suited for deployment where wireless communications readily exist, notably urban areas. Assessment of the performance of the ASM relative to traceable standards in a water bath and atmospheric chamber show it to have good measurement accuracy with mean errors < ± 0.22 °C between -25 and 30 °C, with a time constant in ambient air of 110 ± 15 s. Subsequent field tests also showed the ASM (in the bespoke shield) had excellent performance (root-mean-square error = 0.13 °C) over a range of meteorological conditions relative to a traceable operational UK Met Office platinum resistance thermometer. These results indicate that the ASM and bespoke shield are more than fit-for-purpose for dense network deployment in environmental monitoring applications at relatively low cost compared to existing observation techniques.
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Geophysical Research Abstracts
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With the growing number and significance of urban meteorological networks (UMNs) across the world... more With the growing number and significance of urban meteorological networks (UMNs) across the world it is becoming critical to establish a standard metadata protocol. Indeed, a review of existing UMNs indicate large variations in the quality, quantity and availability of metadata containing technical information (i.e. equipment, communication methods) and network practices (i.e. quality assurance/quality control and data management procedures). Without such metadata, the utility of UMNs is greatly compromised. There is a need to bring together the currently disparate sets of guidelines to ensure informed and well documented future deployments. This should significantly improve the quality, and therefore, the applicability of the high resolution data available from such networks. Here the first metadata protocol for UMNs is proposed, drawing on current recommendations for urban climate stations and identified best practice in existing networks.
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The heterogeneous nature of urban environments means that atmospheric research ideally requires a... more The heterogeneous nature of urban environments means that atmospheric research ideally requires a dense network of sensors to adequately resolve the local climate. With recent advances in sensor technology, a number of urban meteorological networks now exist with a range of research or operational objectives. This paper reviews and assesses the current status of urban meteorological networks, by examining the fundamental scientific and logistical issues related to these networks. The paper concludes by making recommendations for future deployments based on the challenges encountered by existing networks, including the need for better reporting and documentation of network characteristics, standardised approaches and guidelines, along with the need to overcome financial barriers via collaborative relationships in order to establish the long-term urban networks essential for advancing urban climate research.
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On 19 January 2013, the author teamed up with the online news provider ‘Birmingham Updates’ (@Bha... more On 19 January 2013, the author teamed up with the online news provider ‘Birmingham Updates’ (@BhamUpdates) – which has over 70 000 followers on Facebook and Twitter – to collect local snow depth data. Over 170 peo- ple responded to the experiment, noting typi- cal snow depth plus the first three characters of their post code. After taking the mean of the data for each post code area, a map was produced (Figure 1). Obviously, the accuracy of the measurements could not be verified but in most cases there were several meas- urements for each post code area so a basic quality check was conducted before averag- ing. Moreover, the data appeared to correlate well with the cumulative radar data (Figure 2). Such real-time reporting of data by the public may have applications for forecasting, trans- port management, risk assessment, drainage management and public information.
Sites such as the Met Office’s ‘Weather Observations Website’ (wow.metoffice.gov. uk/) already collate amateur weather observations, whilst UK Snow Map (www. uksnowmap.com) takes observations of falling snow from Twitter users, who give it a rating out of 10 (via #uksnowmap). However, this may be the first attempt to produce an interpolated snow-depth map at such a spatial resolution using social media platforms.
BUCL is a high-density urban meteorological network that is currently being implement- ed in Birmingham (www.bucl.org.uk), and we hope to repeat this experiment for other ex- treme weather events (e.g. heat-waves, flood- ing), using this network to verify the data.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
As part of ‘The Blue Marble’ project, the University of Leicester and University of Nottingham, U... more As part of ‘The Blue Marble’ project, the University of Leicester and University of Nottingham, UK, have developed day-long, inter-disciplinary, hands-on workshops for primary schools to introduce Space technology and the role of the research scientist. The workshop activities introduce 5-11 year olds to the role of the UK Space Industry, the importance of satellite technology for observing and monitoring Earth, and to highlight a range of environmental issues. There are links to ‘how science works’, environmental and geosciences topics, as well as a range of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects. These interactive workshops provide an opportunity for learners to meet 'real' scientists - one of the take-home message from the day is that anyone can become involved in science, whatever their ability or subject of interest. The methodology introduces the role of the scientist using space technology themes, but could be easily adapted for use with any inspirational topic. The workshops - attended by 349 learners aged 6 to 11 - were fully and independently evaluated, with very positive changes to learners’ views of science and scientists. This paper provides an overview of the activities, the methodology, the evaluation process and results, noting the potential for adaptation to key stage 3.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 2014
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
International Journal of Climatology, 2013
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2013
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Research projects now rely on an array of different channels to increase impact, including high-l... more Research projects now rely on an array of different channels to increase impact, including high-level scientific output, tools, and equipment, but also communication, outreach, and educational activities. This paper focuses on education for children aged 5–12 years and presents activities that aim to help them (and their teachers) grasp some of the complex underlying issues in environmental science. More generally, it helps children to become familiarized with science and scientists, with the aim to enhance scientific culture and promote careers in this field. The activities developed are focused on rainfall: (a) designing and using a disdrometer to observe the variety of drop sizes; (b) careful recording of successive dry and rainy days and reproducing patterns using a simple model based on fractal random multiplicative cascades; and (c) collaboratively writing a children's book about rainfall. These activities are discussed in the context of current state-of-the-art pedagogical practices and goals set by project funders, especially in a European Union framework.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is one of the most well documented phenomena in urban climatology. Al... more The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is one of the most well documented phenomena in urban climatology. Although a range of measurements and modelling techniques can be used to assess the UHI, the paucity of traditional meteorological observations in urban areas has been an ongoing limitation for studies. The availability of remote sensing data has therefore helped fill a scientific need by providing high resolution temperature data of our cities. However, satellite-mounted sensors measure land surface temperatures (LST) and not canopy air temperatures with the latter being the key parameter in UHI investigations. Fortunately, such data is becoming increasingly available via urban meteorological networks, which now provide an opportunity to quantify and compare surface and canopy UHI on an unprecedented scale. For the first time, this study uses high resolution air temperature data from the Birmingham Urban Climate Laboratory urban meteorological network and MODIS LST to quantify and identify the spatial pattern of the daytime and night-time UHI in Birmingham, UK (a city with an approximate population of 1 million). This analysis is performed under a range of atmospheric stability classes and investigates the relationship between surface and canopy UHI in the city. A significant finding of this work is that it demonstrates, using observations, that the distribution of the surface UHI appears to be clearly linked to landuse, whereas for canopy UHI, advective processes appear to play an increasingly important role. Strong relationships were found between air temperatures and LST during both the day and night at a neighbourhood scale, but even with the use of higher resolution urban meteorological datasets, relationships at the city scale are still limited.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Energy consumption and outdoor ambient temperatures are inherently related. Low temperatures incr... more Energy consumption and outdoor ambient temperatures are inherently related. Low temperatures increase consumption via space heating, whereas high temperatures result in increased demand for refrigeration and air conditioning. A common approach used for investigating this relationship in detail is via the calculation of heating and cooling degree days. Starting with a critical review of studies in the scientific literature that have used this technique, this study highlights a range of limitations with the methodology, particularly with respect to standardization, which potentially hinder the utility of the technique in climate change risk assessments. Using an analysis of electricity consumption in Birmingham, UK, as an example, this study calls for a standardization of the approach via the use of a universal base temperature calculated using average outdoor air temperatures. Adoption of this measure will not only enable meaningful comparisons to be made across regions, but will also permit a more robust means to account for acclimatization in longer term analyses such as that required by climate change risk assessments. This is demonstrated in this study by coupling the existing degree days methodology with a temporal analogue.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Crowdsourcing is traditionally defined as obtaining data or information by enlisting the services... more Crowdsourcing is traditionally defined as obtaining data or information by enlisting the services of a (potentially large) number of people. However, due to recent innovations, this definition can now be expanded to include ‘and/or from a range of public sensors, typically connected via the Internet.’ A large and increasing amount of data is now being obtained from a huge variety of non-traditional sources – from smart phone sensors to amateur weather stations to canvassing members of the public. Some disciplines (e.g. astrophysics, ecology) are already utilizing crowdsourcing techniques (e.g. citizen science initiatives, web 2.0 technology, low-cost sensors), and while its value within the climate and atmospheric science disciplines is still relatively unexplored, it is beginning to show promise. However, important questions remain; this paper introduces and explores the wide-range of current and prospective methods to crowdsource atmospheric data, investigates the quality of such data and examines its potential applications in the context of weather, climate and society. It is clear that crowdsourcing is already a valuable tool for engaging the public, and if appropriate validation and quality control procedures are adopted and implemented, it has much potential to provide a valuable source of high temporal and spatial resolution, real-time data, especially in regions where few observations currently exist, thereby adding value to science, technology and society.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Existing Urban Meteorological Networks have an important role to play as testbeds for inexpensive... more Existing Urban Meteorological Networks have an important role to play as testbeds for inexpensive and more sustainable measurement techniques which are now becoming possible in our increasingly smart cities.
The Birmingham Urban Climate Laboratory (BUCL) is a near real-time, high-resolution urban meteorological network (UMN) of automatic weather stations and inexpensive, non-standard air temperature sensors. The network has recently been implemented with an initial focus on monitoring urban heat, infrastructure and health applications. A number of UMNs exist worldwide; however BUCL is novel in its density, the low-cost nature of the sensors and the use of proprietary Wi-Fi networks. This paper provides an overview the logistical aspects of implementing an UMN testbed at such a density, including selecting appropriate urban sites, testing and calibrating low-cost, non-standard equipment, implementing strict quality assurance/quality control mechanisms (including metadata), and utilising pre-existing Wi-Fi networks to transmit data. Also included are visualisations of data collected by the network, including data from the July 2013 UK heatwave as well as highlighting potential applications. The paper is an open invitation to use the facility as a testbed for evaluating models and/or other non-standard observation techniques such as those generated via crowdsourcing techniques.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Annual, monthly and daily analyses of stable isotopes in precipitation are commonly made worldwid... more Annual, monthly and daily analyses of stable isotopes in precipitation are commonly made worldwide, yet only a few studies have explored the variations occurring on short timescales within individual precipitation events, particularly at mid-latitude locations. This study examines hydrogen isotope data from sequential, intra-event samples from sixteen precipitation events during different seasons and a range of synoptic conditions over an 18-month period in Birmingham, UK. Precipitation events were observed simultaneously using a vertically-pointing micro rain radar (MRR), which, for the first time at a mid-latitude location, allowed high resolution examination of the microphysical characteristics (e.g. rain rate, fall velocity, drop size distributions) that may influence the local isotopic composition of rainwater. The range in δD from 242 samples from 16 events was -87.0‰ to +9.2‰, whilst the largest variation observed in a single event was 55.4‰. In contrast to previous work, the results indicate that some mid-latitude precipitation events do indeed show significant intra-event trends that are strongly influenced by precipitation processes and parameters such as rain rate, melting level height and droplet sizes. Inverse relationships between rain rate and isotopic composition are observed, representing an example of a local type of ‘amount effect’, a still poorly-understood process occurring at different scales. For these particular events the mean δ value may therefore not provide all the relevant information. This work has significance for the testing and development of isotope-enabled cloud resolving models and land surface models at higher resolutions, and provides improved insights into a range of environmental processes that are influenced by sub-sampled precipitation events.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Weather, Jul 2014
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The Internet of Things literally means ‘things’ (e.g. sensors and other smart devices) which are ... more The Internet of Things literally means ‘things’ (e.g. sensors and other smart devices) which are connected to the internet. Although this may seem insignificant, ‘things’ represent a new, and increasingly, critical infrastructure requiring their own dedicated technological ecosystem. As an industry, Winter Road Maintenance has been adept with coping with technological change, with the various data streams historically managed by bureaus and, more recently, sophisticated decision support systems. However, how well equipped is the industry to cope with the imminent inundation of additional data and information from new devices? This is a now inevitable challenge as the costs of sensors, communications and power dramatically start to fall. Indeed, since 2008, the number of ‘things’ has outnumbered users online and this trend will continue as our cities and roads become smarter and increasingly automated – it is estimated that there will be 20 billion things online by 2020. This paper describes the establishment of a winter maintenance demonstration corridor and corresponding IoT hub within a wider meteorological testbed in Birmingham, UK.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Geophysical Research Abstracts, 2014
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of Geography in Higher Education
The steep learning curve associated with computer programming can be a daunting prospect, particu... more The steep learning curve associated with computer programming can be a daunting prospect, particularly for those not well aligned with this way of logical thinking. However, programming is a skill that is becoming increasingly important. Geography graduates entering careers in atmospheric science are one example of a particularly diverse group who often require a better knowledge and understanding of computing. Critically, there is a necessity in the field for people with a diverse range of data analysis and modelling abilities. This article outlines the module design and evaluation of an introductory programming course for non-computer scientists within a UK geography department.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic technology, 2014
A wide range of environmental applications would benefit from a dense network of air temperature ... more A wide range of environmental applications would benefit from a dense network of air temperature observations. However with limitations of costs, existing siting guidelines and risk of damage, new methods are required to gain a high resolution understanding of spatio-temporal patterns of temperature for agricultural and urban meteorological phenomena such as the urban heat island. With the launch of a new generation of low cost sensors it is possible to deploy a network to monitor air temperature at finer spatial resolutions. Here we investigate the Aginova Sentinel Micro (ASM) sensor with a bespoke radiation shield (together < US$150) which can provide secure near-real-time air temperature data to a server utilising existing (or user deployed) Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks. This makes it ideally suited for deployment where wireless communications readily exist, notably urban areas. Assessment of the performance of the ASM relative to traceable standards in a water bath and atmospheric chamber show it to have good measurement accuracy with mean errors < ± 0.22 °C between -25 and 30 °C, with a time constant in ambient air of 110 ± 15 s. Subsequent field tests also showed the ASM (in the bespoke shield) had excellent performance (root-mean-square error = 0.13 °C) over a range of meteorological conditions relative to a traceable operational UK Met Office platinum resistance thermometer. These results indicate that the ASM and bespoke shield are more than fit-for-purpose for dense network deployment in environmental monitoring applications at relatively low cost compared to existing observation techniques.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Geophysical Research Abstracts
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
With the growing number and significance of urban meteorological networks (UMNs) across the world... more With the growing number and significance of urban meteorological networks (UMNs) across the world it is becoming critical to establish a standard metadata protocol. Indeed, a review of existing UMNs indicate large variations in the quality, quantity and availability of metadata containing technical information (i.e. equipment, communication methods) and network practices (i.e. quality assurance/quality control and data management procedures). Without such metadata, the utility of UMNs is greatly compromised. There is a need to bring together the currently disparate sets of guidelines to ensure informed and well documented future deployments. This should significantly improve the quality, and therefore, the applicability of the high resolution data available from such networks. Here the first metadata protocol for UMNs is proposed, drawing on current recommendations for urban climate stations and identified best practice in existing networks.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The heterogeneous nature of urban environments means that atmospheric research ideally requires a... more The heterogeneous nature of urban environments means that atmospheric research ideally requires a dense network of sensors to adequately resolve the local climate. With recent advances in sensor technology, a number of urban meteorological networks now exist with a range of research or operational objectives. This paper reviews and assesses the current status of urban meteorological networks, by examining the fundamental scientific and logistical issues related to these networks. The paper concludes by making recommendations for future deployments based on the challenges encountered by existing networks, including the need for better reporting and documentation of network characteristics, standardised approaches and guidelines, along with the need to overcome financial barriers via collaborative relationships in order to establish the long-term urban networks essential for advancing urban climate research.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
On 19 January 2013, the author teamed up with the online news provider ‘Birmingham Updates’ (@Bha... more On 19 January 2013, the author teamed up with the online news provider ‘Birmingham Updates’ (@BhamUpdates) – which has over 70 000 followers on Facebook and Twitter – to collect local snow depth data. Over 170 peo- ple responded to the experiment, noting typi- cal snow depth plus the first three characters of their post code. After taking the mean of the data for each post code area, a map was produced (Figure 1). Obviously, the accuracy of the measurements could not be verified but in most cases there were several meas- urements for each post code area so a basic quality check was conducted before averag- ing. Moreover, the data appeared to correlate well with the cumulative radar data (Figure 2). Such real-time reporting of data by the public may have applications for forecasting, trans- port management, risk assessment, drainage management and public information.
Sites such as the Met Office’s ‘Weather Observations Website’ (wow.metoffice.gov. uk/) already collate amateur weather observations, whilst UK Snow Map (www. uksnowmap.com) takes observations of falling snow from Twitter users, who give it a rating out of 10 (via #uksnowmap). However, this may be the first attempt to produce an interpolated snow-depth map at such a spatial resolution using social media platforms.
BUCL is a high-density urban meteorological network that is currently being implement- ed in Birmingham (www.bucl.org.uk), and we hope to repeat this experiment for other ex- treme weather events (e.g. heat-waves, flood- ing), using this network to verify the data.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
As part of ‘The Blue Marble’ project, the University of Leicester and University of Nottingham, U... more As part of ‘The Blue Marble’ project, the University of Leicester and University of Nottingham, UK, have developed day-long, inter-disciplinary, hands-on workshops for primary schools to introduce Space technology and the role of the research scientist. The workshop activities introduce 5-11 year olds to the role of the UK Space Industry, the importance of satellite technology for observing and monitoring Earth, and to highlight a range of environmental issues. There are links to ‘how science works’, environmental and geosciences topics, as well as a range of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects. These interactive workshops provide an opportunity for learners to meet 'real' scientists - one of the take-home message from the day is that anyone can become involved in science, whatever their ability or subject of interest. The methodology introduces the role of the scientist using space technology themes, but could be easily adapted for use with any inspirational topic. The workshops - attended by 349 learners aged 6 to 11 - were fully and independently evaluated, with very positive changes to learners’ views of science and scientists. This paper provides an overview of the activities, the methodology, the evaluation process and results, noting the potential for adaptation to key stage 3.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact