Climate Observations from Space

Physics Colloquium 5th June 2015 delivered by Professor Stephen Briggs The Global Climate Observing System was set up in 1992 to define and advocate for the observations required for climate modelling and prediction in support of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It has developed a suite of some 50 Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) which define the observing requirements for climate. Satellite data are relied upon for the primary provision of about half of these parameters, and contribute significantly to the majority of the rest. Space agencies have organised themselves through various mechanisms to provide the relevant ECV observations. Some examples of the types of data which contribute to the ECVs and to the wider provision of data of climate modelling, attributions and mitigation will be presented and the wider aspects of dealing with climate change discussed.

Om Podcasten

The Department of Physics public lecture series. An exciting series of lectures about the research at Oxford Physics take place throughout the academic year. Looking at topics diverse as the creation of the universe to the science of climate change. Features episodes previously published as: (1) 'Oxford Physics Alumni': "Informal interviews with physics alumni at events, lectures and other alumni related activities." (2) 'Physics and Philosophy: Arguments, Experiments and a Few Things in Between': "A series which explores some of the links between physics and philosophy, two of the most fundamental ways with which we try to answer our questions about the world around us. A number of the most pertinent topics which bridge the disciplines are discussed - the nature of space and time, the unpredictable results of quantum mechanics and their surprising consequences and perhaps most fundamentally, the nature of the mind and how far science can go towards explaining and understanding it. Featuring interviews with Dr. Christopher Palmer, Prof. Frank Arntzenius, Prof. Vlatko Vedral, Dr. David Wallace and Prof. Roger Penrose."