Meteorology-Relevant Facility at Harwell Campus
Here’s your image of Harwell Campus to set the scene:
Meteorology-Relevant Facility at Harwell Campus
RAL Space (Science and Technology Facilities Council) stands out as the key facility at Harwell Campus with direct relevance to meteorology.
What RAL Space Offers:
- RAL Space is the UK’s national space laboratory. It supports scientific research and technology development in areas like climate science, space weather, and astronomy.(Harwell Campus)
- Among its extensive infrastructure, RAL Space operates crucial environmental and data-related facilities, including:
- Centre for Environmental Data Analysis and JASMIN—a super-data cluster central to climate and Earth-system modelling, used by the UK and European climate science community.(Harwell Campus, arXiv)
- The Chilbolton Observatory—a radio observatory important for atmospheric and meteorological observations.(Harwell Campus)
These capabilities make RAL Space especially significant for meteorological research, enabling both environmental data processing and remote sensing.
Other Related Facilities (Contextually Relevant, but Less Direct)
- National Satellite Test Facility (NSTF): A major infrastructure for satellite testing, simulating conditions like extreme temperature and launch vibrations to ensure satellites—possibly including meteorological ones—can survive in orbit.(Harwell Campus, Wikipedia, Oxford Mail)
While not meteorological itself, NSTF facilitates the deployment of weather-monitoring satellites. - Small Satellite Calibration Facility: A newer facility supporting calibration of instruments for Earth observation satellites, which can include weather sensors.(Harwell IC)
Summary Table
| Facility | Relevance to Meteorology |
|---|---|
| RAL Space | Direct research in climate science, data analysis, space weather, and atmospheric observations |
| NSTF | Supports testing of meteorological satellites |
| Small Satellite Calibration | Calibrates instruments (like those for weather data collection) |
Bottom Line
If you’re asking which facility at Harwell Campus directly intersects with meteorology—the answer is RAL Space, thanks to its climate and environmental-science infrastructure and its operation of the JASMIN data cluster and the Chilbolton Observatory.