Research funding is a key component of Met Éireann’s 10-year strategy “Making Ireland Climate and Weather Prepared” and supports a research programme focused around addressing the societal challenges of climate change and extreme weather in a warming world.
Met Éireann’s Weather and Climate Research Programme underpins the expertise and knowledge needed to enable the delivery and continuous improvement of national predictive capability in the areas of weather, climate and hydrology and to ensure that, particularly in the climate context, research outputs provide the evidence and tools necessary to inform government policy and action.
In 2020, Met Éireann launched its multi-annual competitive research call programme to complement its existing core research activities and to contribute to further building national capacity, with its first call for proposals in the area of climate services entitled “TRANSLATE”.
Today, Met Éireann is delighted to issue the Met Éireann Research Call 2021 for proposals, open to all Higher Education Institutions in Ireland, to address two research topics of specific interest:
- Climate Modelling;
- Model Coupling.
Topic #1: Climate Modelling Project
Improving EC-Earth’s modelling of the North Atlantic Ocean-Atmosphere system
Ireland’s climate is dominated by the influence of the North Atlantic Ocean-Atmosphere system. Variations in large-scale modes of atmospheric variability such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) drive climate variability in north-western Europe. The Atlantic Ocean also plays a crucial role in influencing Ireland’s climate. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) transports vast quantities of warm surface water poleward, which in turn exerts a strong influence on the climate of the North Atlantic and Europe.
The core aim of this Project is to investigate and improve the representation of the North Atlantic Ocean-Atmosphere system in the EC-Earth Earth system model. EC-Earth is developed by a Europe-wide consortium and is closely aligned with ECMWF’s seasonal forecasting system, in which the IFS atmospheric model is coupled with the NEMO ocean model. This Project will contribute to the on-going development of EC-Earth, in particular the next version of the model, EC-Earth v4.
Topic #2: Model Coupling Project
Developing a fully coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model system for Ireland
As an island nation where 40% of the population lives within 5km of the coast, accurate coastal weather forecasts are crucial for public safety (e.g. in terms of wind and wave forecasts, coastal flooding and surge forecasts). In the context of climate change, the expected increased impacts of extreme weather events and the continuation of offshore resource assessment studies also depend on an increase in near-surface parameter forecast accuracy (e.g. fluxes, precipitation, winds).
A fully coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model is crucial in such developments and the aim of this Project is to build a coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model based on the prototype co-funded by SEAI, the Marine Institute and Met Éireann. Thorough evaluations and verification will be expected to make the system pre-operational for Ireland. This research will require extensive testing and evaluation in order to ensure the robustness of the system both scientifically and technically.
Dates
- Call open: Thursday 16th September 2021.
- Call deadline: Friday 22nd October 2021 at 17:00.
- The system will automatically prevent application submission after the deadline.
- Results expected: December 2021.
More information
For more information, please visit http://www.met.ie/science/Research-Call-2021
Contact
If you have any questions on the Met Éireann Research Call 2021, please contact Met Éireann’s Research Funding Office by email to researchfunding@met.ie.
