About UKCA

From UKCA

What is UKCA?

UKCA is an underpinning research programme part of the NERC-Met Office Joint Weather and Climate Research Programme (http://www.jwcrp.org.uk/under/index.asp).

UKCA provides the capability to simulate aerosol and chemical processes in the Met Office Unified Model and is a core component of the UK Earth System model.

UKCA is an international project with partners in:

  • Met Office
  • National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS)
  • (NIWA)

Why do we need UKCA?

  • Scope of current chemistry and aerosol models is insufficient for Earth System modelling.
  • NCAS expertise is required to improve climate models.
  • To encourage wider community research in this area.

Objective of UKCA

To build and scientifically evaluate a new UK community atmospheric chemistry-aerosol global model suitable for a range of topics in climate and environmental change research.

Science targets in UKCA

  • Coupled tropospheric-stratospheric chemistry–climate model
  • Coupled aerosol-chemistry model
  • Improvements to Aerosol modelling
  • Internally mixed aerosol
  • New aerosol species

More information

Media:UKCA_Aerosols_2013_UM_tutorial.pdf - an overview of aerosol modelling in the UM in general and UKCA in particular. Presented at UM User tutorial 2013. Nick Savage