• Meteorological and Related Research
• Highlights
• Resource Use
• Performance
• Pure Research
• Strategic Research
• Applied Research
• Supporting Research and Development and Systems Implementation
• Research-related Activities

Meteorological and Related Research includes both research undertaken in fulfillment of the Bureau's responsibilities as a national research agency to contribute to the advancement of meteorological science in Australia and research aimed at developing the application of meteorology to the needs of the Australian community. The Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre (BMRC), in collaboration with the operational areas of the Bureau, carries out the main research activities reported in this chapter. This is complemented by a program of supporting research and development undertaken in the Bureau's Regional Offices, Head Office Branches and the BMRC, including an annually reviewed program of high priority techniques development projects. Supporting research and development activities are reported as part of the chapter on Cross-cutting and Corporate Activities.

Meteorological research in Australia is carried out by the Bureau, the CSIRO, a number of university groups and, to a lesser extent, by other government departments and agencies and the private sector. In recent years, the Bureau and CSIRO, as the two major agencies engaged in atmospheric research, have worked closely to ensure that Bureau/CSIRO plans for atmospheric and related research are coordinated effectively and to identify joint research activities and areas of collaboration at the project level, particularly between the BMRC, CSIRO Atmospheric Research (CAR) and CSIRO Marine Research (CMR).

To improve further the coordination of meteorological and related research in Australia and to provide support for the strengthening of programs in meteorology at Australian universities, the Bureau actively participated in the development of multi-agency agreements to establish new research centres in meteorology and related disciplines under the Government's Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) program. During 2002-03, the Bureau participated in:

• the CRC for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Environment at the University of Tasmania with CSIRO Marine Research, the Australian Antarctic Division, Geoscience Australia and the University of Tasmania;
• the CRC for Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems which replaces the CRC for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Environment;
• the CRC for Catchment Hydrology at Monash University with CSIRO Land and Water, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (Victoria), Melbourne Water, Monash University, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Goulburn Murray Water (Victoria) and The University of Melbourne; and
• the development of a new CRC for Bushfire Research to commence in July 2003.

Bureau staff participated actively in the research and research training programs of a number of Australian universities. The Director of Meteorology continued to serve as a Professorial Fellow in the School of Earth Sciences of The University of Melbourne and chaired the University’s Community and Industry Advisory Board (CIAB) for Environmental Programs. The Bureau also provided partial funding for the Chair in Meteorology at Monash University.

The scientific development activities of the BMRC include pure research, strategic research and applied research. Together, they fulfill the Bureau's statutory responsibility for the advancement of meteorological science and the development of the useful application of meteorology to community needs. They also provide the foundation for the research and development that supports the Bureau's operations and services through the development of advanced systems and techniques.

Research in the BMRC is based around six thematic groups, as summarised in Table 6. The nature of research is such that each of the groups, and most of the projects undertaken within each, include a combination of strategic and applied research. A small component of the activity is aimed at pure research.

Research Group	Objective
Model Development	To conduct research on atmospheric modelling to support weather and climate research and operations
Data Assimilation	To conduct research on advanced data assimilation systems for use in numerical models
Climate Dynamics	To use climate models to improve understanding of climate predictability, variability and change, and to improve the performance of climate models through evaluation and diagnostic studies
Weather Forecasting	To improve understanding of mesoscale processes, and to develop systems to enhance weather forecasting services
Climate Forecasting	To improve understanding of Australian climate, including the effects of climate change, and to develop systems to predict climate on scales beyond the medium range
Ocean & Marine Forecasting	To improve understanding of the variability of the oceans and marine environment of the Australian region, and to develop systems for monitoring and predicting ocean variability