BOULDER—National research centers in the United States and United Kingdom are signing a memorandum of understanding today to collaborate more closely on atmospheric science and technology. The agreement will enable the two countries to increase research collaborations while developing joint educational and training programs.

Signers of the NCAR-NCAS memorandum to advance collaboration in the atmospheric and related sciences gathered at NCAR on June 6, 2008. Seated from left: Stephen Mobbs (NCAS), Tim Killeen (NCAR); standing: Alan Gadian (NCAS), May Akrawi (British Consulate General, Houston), Geraint Vaughan (NCAS). [ENLARGE] (©UCAR, photo by Carlye Calvin.) News media terms of use*

The agreement, which runs for three years, is between the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Britain's National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS). NCAR director Timothy Killeen, NCAS Director Stephen Mobbs, and Gina Taberski of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, NCAR's managing organization, are among those attending the signing at NCAR.

"This unique partnership will not only bring together the most skilled and knowledgeable individuals from both organizations, but it will forge a link that will enable us to share resources and pass our expertise on to younger scientists, allowing research and education to be fully integrated," Killeen says.

"International collaboration on this scale has never been more timely," Mobbs says. "It is essential, not optional, to work together now to provide society with reliable weather and climate predictions. No one nation can unravel the complexities of the atmosphere--we have to work together to tackle environmental issues head on."

The goal of the partnership is to coordinate ongoing research and education programs and to develop and implement future joint research projects. Focus areas include:

• Research into weather, climate, air quality, and interactions between land, oceans, and atmosphere. Understanding how these systems function is critical for scientists to develop and improve global and regional climate predictions.
• Developing, comparing, and evaluating computer models of atmospheric and Earth systems.
• Developing new sensors and other instruments for measuring the atmosphere.
• Education and outreach, including joint summer schools and exchanges for students and staff.

Britain's Science and Innovation Network is facilitating the collaboration between NCAS and NCAR.

NCAS carries out research programs in climate change science, atmospheric composition, weather, and technologies for observing and modeling the atmosphere.

NCAR is managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) under sponsorship by the National Science Foundation. The center conducts wide-ranging research in chemistry, climate, weather, and solar-terrestrial interactions. It provides UCAR's 71 member institutions and other affiliates with state-of-the-art instrumentation, aircraft, and computer technology to advance the study of Earth's atmosphere.

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