Tuesday, 15 May 2007

MEDIA RELEASE

New agreement will improve climate prediction

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the United Kingdom’s Met Office have signed an historic agreement that will bring improvements to weather and climate forecasts in Australia.

Under the deal the Bureau of Meteorology will take the Met Office’s high-powered computer-based weather and climate prediction program and adapt it for Australian conditions.

Known as the Unified Model, the program is recognised as among the best in the world and performs strongly when applied to both weather and climate for research and operational forecasting. It will replace the two separate and ageing programs used by the Bureau to monitor and forecast climate and weather.

In turn, the Bureau will share its experience and know how in weather and climate in Australia and the southern hemisphere to assist with further development of the program.

According to Dr. Geoff Love, Director of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology the agreement marks a new period of collaboration between Australia and the UK.

“Today’s agreement marks an historic change for Bureau modelling research. We are leaving behind a rich history of developing our own atmospheric models to focus more greatly on collaboration,” Dr. Love said.

“With this new partnership we are setting Australian weather and climate modelling on a path that will be at the leading edge of the science,” he said.

The Australian contribution to this agreement in being developed with assistance from the university sector under a joint CSIRO and Bureau project — the Australian Community Climate and Earth Systems Simulator.

Further information:
Dr Geoff Love, Director, Bureau of Meteorology, mob: 0414 404 055
Dr Neville Smith, Chief Scientist, Bureau of Meteorology, mob: 0407 824 129
David Grant, Media Relations Adviser, Bureau of Meteorology, mob: 0439 452 424

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