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| Polar Meteorology Research Group | |
|---|---|
| Name | Polar Meteorology Research Group |
| Caption | Research team deploying instruments on sea ice |
| Formation | 1990s |
| Type | Research institute |
| Headquarters | Cambridge |
| Fields | Atmospheric science; Cryosphere studies |
| Leader title | Director |
Polar Meteorology Research Group
The Polar Meteorology Research Group is an academic research collective dedicated to understanding atmospheric processes in high-latitude Arctic and Antarctic regions. It integrates observations, modeling, and theory to study interactions among the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, and land surface across seasonal to decadal timescales. The group informs stakeholders including national polar programs such as the British Antarctic Survey, United States Antarctic Program, and agencies like the National Science Foundation and Natural Environment Research Council.
The group focuses on polar atmospheric boundary layer dynamics, radiative transfer over snow and ice, and coupled cryosphere–atmosphere feedbacks relevant to phenomena observed by ICESat-2, CryoSat-2, MODIS, ERA5, and POES. Senior scientists often hold joint posts with institutions like the University of Cambridge, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Toronto, University of Washington, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, National Oceanography Centre, and research centers including the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and Norwegian Polar Institute. Funding sources have included project grants from the European Research Council, UK Research and Innovation, NASA, and national polar programs such as the Australian Antarctic Division.
Formed in the mid-1990s, the group emerged from collaborations among researchers affiliated with the Scott Polar Research Institute, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and the British Antarctic Survey following seminal campaigns like ICEPOL and the SHEBA experiment. Early work built on theoretical foundations from scientists associated with the Met Office, National Center for Atmospheric Research, and pioneers whose research intersected with studies conducted at Davis Station, McMurdo Station, Ny-Ålesund, and Barrow (now Utqiaġvik). Over successive decades the group expanded through ties to initiatives such as International Polar Year (2007–2008), International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere and partnerships with programs including CONCORDIASI and MOSAiC.
Major themes include Arctic amplification, polar vortex variability, snow-atmosphere radiative coupling, and cloud microphysics under cold conditions. Projects have targeted processes relevant to observational platforms like CloudSat, CALIPSO, and Atmosphere–Ocean General Circulation Models employed at institutions such as Met Office Hadley Centre and ECMWF. Specific efforts investigate aerosol–cloud interactions relevant to MIPAS and INP studies, surface energy budget partitioning in contexts studied at Summit Station, and katabatic and boundary layer flows informed by work at Dome C and Neumayer Station. Modeling components often use frameworks developed at NCAR, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
The group has led and participated in field campaigns on sea ice and ice sheets, operating from platforms such as research vessels like RRS James Clark Ross, RV Polarstern, and aircraft operations with NOAA WP-3D and NASA DC-8. Campaigns included intensive observation periods co-located with projects such as SHEBA, MOSAiC, and ARM Arctic Program deployments at sites like Svalbard, Greenland, Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, and the East Antarctic Plateau. Instrument suites have collected radiosonde profiles, ceilometer and lidar returns, microwave radiometry, and eddy covariance fluxes during coordinated experiments alongside teams from Alfred Wegener Institute, Canadian Ice Service, and Korea Polar Research Institute.
Collaborative networks span universities, national laboratories, and international programs including the World Meteorological Organization, International Arctic Science Committee, and Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. The group maintains long-term relationships with centers such as CIRES, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, British Antarctic Survey, Polar Geospatial Center, and consortia funded by the European Commission and bilateral science agreements with Japan, Germany, Canada, and Norway. Partnerships facilitate data sharing with satellite missions from agencies like ESA, NASA, JAXA, and operational assimilation centers including NOAA and MET Norway.
Laboratory and field assets include climate-controlled environmental chambers, microwave and infrared spectrometers, scanning cloud radars, and snow microstructure laboratories comparable to facilities at University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Bern. Mobile observatories and instrumented vans enable deployments near research stations such as Ny-Ålesund and McMurdo Station. High-performance computing resources for model development and ensemble experiments are accessed via national facilities like ARCHER, NSF XSEDE, and European supercomputing centers underpinning work with models from UKESM and CESM.
The group’s outputs appear in journals including Nature Geoscience, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Geophysical Research Letters, The Cryosphere, Journal of Climate, and Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Findings have contributed to assessments of polar warming documented in reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and informed operational improvements in forecasting at services like the Met Office and NOAA National Weather Service. Members have been cited in policy-relevant reviews and have received recognition through awards from bodies such as the American Geophysical Union and national science academies.
Training programs include postgraduate supervision in collaboration with universities such as University of Cambridge, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of Oslo, summer schools run with Scott Polar Research Institute and workshops hosted under International Arctic Science Committee auspices. Outreach activities feature public lectures at institutions like the Natural History Museum, London, participation in media briefings during campaigns, and contributions to open-data portals used by researchers at NASA and ESA.
Category:Meteorology research institutes