School science inspired by improving weather forecasts
High winds and heavy rain are regular features of the British
weather, and forecasting these events accurately is a major priority for
the Met Office and other forecast providers. One of the most
challenging tasks is to predict the localised regions of severe weather
that occur within larger-scale storm systems.
This is the challenge facing DIAMET, a project involving University
groups from Manchester, Leeds, Reading and East Anglia, together with
the Met Office. DIAMET is part of the Natural Environment Research
Council’s Storm Risk Mitigation research programme, and is led by NERC’s
National Centre for Atmospheric Sciences.
The DIAMET scientists are trying to improve the accuracy of weather
forecasts by improving our understanding of diabatic processes within
the atmosphere and how the release of latent heat during cloud formation
can affect storm development. The project also aims to improve the
representation and the prediction of such weather systems in numerical
weather prediction systems. The scientists have used a research aircraft
to fly directly into storms and collect observations, producing
detailed measurements of the temperature, humidity and wind distribution
as well as the cloud particles. Together with ground-based radar and
satellite measurements this provides a powerful insight into exactly
what is happening inside the storms.
This major research project on storms also provides an excellent opportunity for school science engagement.
The project has produced two education videos. The first video goes
‘behind the scenes’ at the Met Office and investigates the science and
technology of modern day weather forecasting. The second video focuses
on the science of the DIAMET Project, including a tour of the Facility
for Airborne Atmospheric Measurement’s research aircraft and looks at
ways in which scientists are striving to improve our understanding of
how the atmosphere works and behaves. Both videos feature interviews
with DIAMET scientists, graphics and to-camera explanations. They are
freely available on the project website
or simply search for “ncas diamet” and go to “Diamet for schools”.
The atmosphere, weather and climate change are also relevant and topical
contexts to engage young people about a variety of scientific processes
taught within the school science curriculum. The project website
provides information, resources and activities to support teachers in
the delivery of a range of content within Science Key Stages 3 and 4.
These include change of state, the particle model, latent heat and uses
of the electromagnetic spectrum. There is also an opportunity for pupils
to investigate some of the DIAMET data sets, plot graphs and draw
conclusions about the meteorological conditions. This data handling
activity could form the basis for an interdisciplinary learning project
with social studies, numeracy and ICT.
We hope the educational resources produced as part of this NERC funded
project can help to inspire school pupils about the importance of
atmospheric sciences and also raise awareness about current research and
the many career opportunities within this fascinating area of science.
Dr Heather Reid OBE (Education Consultant), Professor Ian A. Renfrew
(University of East Anglia), Professor Geraint Vaughan (University of