UKCA Training January 2018
Please see UKCA Training January 2015 for details of the Workshop run in January 2015.
Please see UKCA Training January 2016 for details of the Workshop run in January 2016.
Please see UKCA Training January 2017 for details of the Workshop run in January 2017.
NERC have provided funds to run a UKCA training course, which will take place on the 8th-12th January 2018 at the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge.
Please note that this course has been funded by NERC and therefore NERC funded PhD students and early career researchers will be prioritised when awarding funded places on this course. Once places have been awarded to NERC students and researchers any remaining places will be allocated to other applicants.
This course introduces new users to the UKCA systems and provides practical experience of setting up and running experiments. Users will be led through a series of exercises designed to encourage best practice and scientific exploitation of the ESM.
What is UKCA?
UKCA is a community chemistry-aerosol-climate model based around the Met Office Unified Model (UM), and is developed jointly by the Met Office and the Universities of Cambridge, Leeds, and Oxford. UKCA will be the atmospheric composition module of the joint NERC-Met Office Earth System Model UKESM1 and is used by the Met Office to provide operational 5-day air quality forecasts for the U.K.
Aims of the Workshop
The UKCA Theory and Practice Workshop will take place in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge designed to give users a good understanding of the theory behind the UKCA code, such as aerosol microphysics, dry and wet deposition, and the chemical mechanisms used, as well as teaching how to use the model via Rose/Cylc. The course will help you become familiar with using the various aspects of the UM that relate directly to UKCA.
After attending this course, you will be proficient with the main components of the UKCA model, and be confident in adapting it for your own purposes.
Aspects of the model that will be covered include:
- Adding new species and reactions
- Changing and adding emissions
- Managing output
- Adding new diagnostics
Prerequisites
You should have some experience in using the UM and the FCM system that is used to manage the model’s code base. If you do not have any UM or FCM experience you should ideally attend the UM training course organised by NCAS-CMS.
How to Apply
There are 20 fully funded places available, with priority given to NERC-funded students and PDRAs, although applications are welcome from any researchers interested in using the UKCA model. Accommodation and reasonable travel expenses will be provided. For more information, please contact Luke Abraham.
To apply please complete this form
Applications will close 3rd November 2017.
Registration
Registration is in the West Foyer of the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge. This is the main entrance to the Department, and can be accessed via the main car park from the Lensfield Road entrance.
- University of Cambridge map of the Department of Chemistry
- Google maps for the Department of Chemistry
Registration opens at 9am on the 8th January 2018, and closes at 9.45am.
Schedule
All talks will take place in the Pfizer Lecture Theatre (PLT) in the Department of Chemistry which is on the left as you enter the West Foyer (main entrance) on the North side of the building. Practicals will take place in the G30 computer room, which is on the north side of the Department on the ground floor, just off from the West Foyer.
The tea/coffee breaks, lunch, and posters, will all be in the BMS Lecture Theatre, which is accessible through the bottom of the Pfizer.
The schedule is:
Time | Monday 8th January | Tuesday 9th January | Wednesday 10th January | Thursday 11th January | Friday 12th January |
9am | Registration | Tracer Transport Nigel Wood |
Earth-System Modelling Fiona O'Connor |
Wet Scavenging Colin Johnson |
9.30am Model Evaluation Alex Archibald |
9.45 | Welcome Luke Abraham |
Break | Break | Break | |
10am | Emissions Marcus Koehler |
Chemical Solvers Oliver Wild |
Dry Deposition Gerd Folberth |
Heterogeneous Chemistry Paul Griffiths | |
10.45 | Tea/Coffee | Tea/Coffee | Tea/Coffee | Tea/Coffee | 11am Tea/Coffee |
11.15 | GLOMAP-mode Kirsty Pringle |
RADAER Nicolas Bellouin |
Photolysis Apostolos Voulgarakis |
Aerosol-Cloud Interactions Michael Herzog |
11.30am Group Photo in Todd-Hamied meeting room |
12noon | Lunch & Posters | Lunch & Posters | Lunch & Posters | Lunch & Posters | Lunch |
1pm | Practicals | Practicals | Practicals | Practicals | Practicals |
2pm | |||||
3pm | Tea/Coffee | Tea/Coffee | Tea/Coffee | Tea/Coffee | Tea/Coffee |
3.30 | Practicals | Practicals | Practicals | Practicals | Close |
4pm | |||||
5pm | |||||
5.30pm | Close | Close | Close | Close | |
5.30-7.00pm | Dinner in Homerton | Dinner in Homerton | Dinner in Homerton | 6.30pm onwards Workshop Drinks reception and Dinner |
Met Office Science Repository Service
To run UKCA at UM version 10.0 and above, you will need an account on the Met Office Science Repository Service. This site states
To register for an account, Met Office staff should contact Scientific_Partnerships@metoffice.gov.uk. Other users should contact their local institutional sponsor. If in doubt, please contact Scientific_Partnerships@metoffice.gov.uk for advice stating your affiliate institution and your reason for wanting access.
UK-based researchers who are NERC-funded (or whose PI is eligible for NERC funding) will probably be able to request an account via NCAS-CMS.
Practicals
The practical element of the course will follow the UKCA Chemistry and Aerosol Tutorials at vn10.9 available on this wiki. Before you go through these you will need to have done some prerequisites.
Note that for the practical element of the course training accounts (rather than personal accounts) will be used on ARCHER. A personal PUMA account is still required.
Please see the page here on how to log in and set up your accounts on the Cambridge workstations and ARCHER.
Accommodation, Breakfast, and Evening Meals
Accommodation, breakfast, and evening meals will be in Homerton College, Cambridge. Maps giving directions from Cambridge Station to the College, from the College to the Department of Chemistry, and from the Department to the Station are below. It is a short walk between all three locations.
Check-in is available from 2pm, and keys should be collected from the Porter's Lodge (see map below).
Evening meals are taken through the serving counter of the Great Hall from 5.30pm-7pm on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday there will be pre-dinner drinks in the Combination Room followed by dinner at 7.30pm in the Drawing Room.
Attendees arriving on Sunday will need to go elsewhere for dinner and then claim this back (up to the value of £20) along with their travel expenses.
All attendees will need to provide information about which nights accommodation they require to be arranged for them, between the Sunday evening to the Friday morning inclusive. Guest speakers will have had their night's accommodation arranged for them as per their requirements.
Please note that only single accommodation is available in Homerton College.
Lunches
Lunches will be provided in the Department of Chemistry.
Travel
It is probably easiest to travel by train, as both the Department of Chemistry and Homerton College are close to the railway station. Please pay for your tickets in advance, and then claim forms will be provided when you arrive. If your ticket will be over £120 please inform Luke Abraham.
Please inform me as soon as possible if you will be coming by car. You should also note that for this mode of transport, the amount that can be reimbursed is capped at the cost of an off-peak or super off-peak (where applicable) standard class train ticket, or 45p/mile, whichever is lower. In almost all cases, the rail cost is significantly lower.
Photography
Photographs may be taken during the talks for use on the UKCA website, the Departmental magazine Chem@Cam, or for other promotional purposes. If you do not wish to be photographed, please inform Luke Abraham.
Feedback
It is important to get attendee feedback, as this will help with the development of the course in the future. You will be asked to fill-in a feedback form once the course has finished.
Maps
- Map showing suggested route from Cambridge Station to Homerton College
- Map showing suggested route from Homerton College to the Department of Chemistry
- Map showing suggested route from the Department of Chemistry to Cambridge Station
- Homerton College Site Plan (2016-) (kindly provided by Homerton College)