The Met Office

Contact Information
 

Contact:	Dr Howard Cattle, Head (Ocean Applications)
	The Met Office
	London Road
	Bracknell
	Berks
Postcode:	RG12 2SZ
Telephone:	+44 (0)1344 856209
Fax:	+44 (0)1344 854499
Email:	hcattle@meto.gov.uk
Web Site:	http://www.metoffice.gov.uk

Visions and Goals

• Vision
  Through unrivalled know-how, to enable individuals, society and enterprises everywhere to make the most of the weather and the natural environment.
• Goals
  To lead the world in advice on the weather and the natural environment.
  To make the Met Office a source of pride to our staff, our owner and the public.

Short Historical Statement

The Met Office was originally formed as a small department within the Board of Trade in 1854, under the command of Admiral FitzRoy, to provide meteorological and sea current information to mariners.

More recently, in April 1990 the Met Office became an Executive Agency of the MoD. A month later, the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research was opened. On 1 April 1996 the Met Office became a Trading Fund, which is the latest step in the development of the organization.

The Met Office remains a centre of excellence for the development of the science of meteorology and the provision of environmental and weather-related services to a wide range of customers.

Current Activities in Marine Meteorology and Oceanography

Within the Met Office, the Ocean Applications (OA) branch draws together its expertise in ocean modelling for both climate research and operations. OA develops, and brings to implementation, the ocean modelling systems required to meet Met Office customer needs. In addition to operational oceanography, OA also support climate research and seasonal forecasting, specifically providing the ocean component of the Hadley Centre's coupled ocean–atmosphere models. The Observations Logistics and Automation (OLA) branch is responsible for automation and logistics of surface (over land and at sea) and upper air observing networks, including the Marine Automatic Weather Station (MAWS) network.

Contacts

• Professor Paul Mason, Chief Scientist
• Dr Howard Cattle, Head (Ocean Applications)
• Bob Shearman, Head (Observations Logistics and Automation)
• Jon Turton, Ocean Applications Business Development and International Programmes Manager
• Dr Martin Holt, Ocean Applications Operational Ocean Model Development Manager

In addition to the development of operational ocean models (FOAM, shelf-seas, waves) the Met Office is involved in many national and international programmes.  In the marine and oceanographic area these include:

• IACMST GOOS (Global Ocean Observing System) and MED (Marine Environmental Data) working groups
• GOOS and EuroGOOS 
• European Shelf Seas Ocean Data Assimilation and Forecast Experiment (ESODAE)
• Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE)
• Argo 
• Partnership for Observation of Global Oceans (POGO)
• UK Marine Information Council (Greenwich Project)