We are pleased to inform you that we have now solved the technical problem preventing access to some of the BADC datasets - all the BADC datasets are now available for download. ...

There is a problem curently affecting a storage disk. This unfortunately means that some of our datasets are currently not available for download. The service will be restored as soon as possible. We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause in the mean time. BADC Support 27 April 2004

We have recently updated the interface to our data archive to simplify the process of downloading multiple files via the web. You can now select multiple files from multiple directories for downloading as a single gzipped tar file. For more details, go to the 'Get Data' page (http://badc.nerc.ac.uk/browse) and click on 'How to use' in the Box labelled 'Download multiple files'. BADC Support 18 March 2004

New ECMWF Seasonal Forecast (hindcast) Ensemble dataset ======================================================= In support of the COAPEC Thematic Programme the BADC has extracted ECMWF Seasonal Forecast ensemble data. These data are also known as "Hindcasts" as they are forecasts run retrospectively. The dataset includes monthly means, maxima, minima and standard deviations for the available surface variables for the period 1987-2001 (with 2002 onwards currently being extracted). Atmospheric variables are only currently available as monthly means. There are 33 parameters held on surface or single levels including winds, temperatures, heat fluxes, radiation, precipitation and soil moisture. Geopotential, Temperature, Specific Humidity, Relative Vorticity and Divergence are available on pressure levels. The data is held on a regular 1.875 x 1.875 degree grid in GRIB format. For each month there are six forecast months archived, with 5 ensemble members for 10 months of the year, and 40 ensemble members in May and November of each year. The data is now available to BADC users as part of the main ECMWF Operational archive with documentation located at: Further documentation on the seasonal forecasts is available at the following ECMWF links: BADC Support. 12th March 2004.

Bolton Experiment data now available at the BADC ================================================ The Bolton Experiment was a NERC project with matching funds from industry which took place between 1999 and 2002. The study tested the proposal that the difference in attenuation at two microwave frequencies along a given path can provide an accurate estimate of rainfall rate. The area selected for study was the town of Bolton in north-west England. More information about the Bolton Experiment data held at the BADC can be found at: ______________ BADC Support 17/02/2004

ERA-40 Live Access Server (LAS) Launched ======================================== The BADC is pleased to announce that we have launched the ERA-40 Live Access Server (LAS). This service allows sub-sets, plots and animations to be created dynamically from the ERA-40 dataset. The BADC LAS provides a multi-functional web-interface to large geospatial datasets. It is particularly suited to global gridded data such as the ERA-40 Re-analyses. Users registered for the ERA-40 data held at the BADC can log in to the BADC LAS to extract subsets of the dataset. All level types and parameters are available and all data has been transformed to a 1° x 1° grid (this was the favoured resolution in a user questionnaire). The BADC LAS allows data sub-setting in latitude, longitude, altitude and time. The output can be obtained in a number of formats including gif and postscript image files, or NetCDF data files. A limited animation facility is also available. Please note the ERA-40 LAS is only available to users that are registered for access to ERA-40. Users must log-in to the usual BADC web site before entering the LAS, after which you can go directly to the LAS in any subsequent sessions. The LAS intended for users with low data volume requirements. If it receives large requests it will ignore them and inform you that it is doing so. Moderate to high data volume users should contact BADC Support (badc@rl.ac.uk). More information about the LAS is available on the ERA-40 Regular Gridded Data page: BADC Support. 16 January 2004.

Met Office Wind Profiler data is now available from the BADC. ============================================================================== In the late 1990's The Met Office purchased four boundary-layer wind-profilers (nominally 1 GHz), from Radian. The instruments are located at Camborne, Dunkeswell and Wattisham. The fourth was operated at the NERC MST Radar site at Capel Dewi, near Aberystwyth between November 1999 and March 2002; it has now been relocated to South Uist. Data from these instruments is now available at the BADC for the following dates: Camborne from 1998 to 2002, Dunkeswell from 1999 to 2002, and Wattisham from 2001 to 2002. Data from the fourth wind-profiler when it was located at Aberystwyth is also available. More information about the wind profiler data held at the BADC can be found at: BADC Support 07th January 2004

The TOMS team expects to be back in nominal real-time operation next week (i.e. the week of December 1, 2003). ...

Met Office Stratospheric Analyses - New Dynamics The assimilation system that produces the Met Office stratospheric data will soon be changed to use the New Dynamics (ND) version of the Unified Model. The changeover is scheduled for 28th October 2003. **Users of the data need to be aware of the following points:** - The data will be ordered from South to North, instead of North to South. - As before, the wind components (u and v) will be produced on a grid that is staggered relative to the mass grid (used for T and z). The output fields use the "Arakawa B grid" staggering, as before, even though the ND model uses a "C grid" staggering. - The vertical velocity will be w (dz/dt), rather than omega (dP/dt), and will be output on the mass grid. - Three additional UARS levels will be output (25 instead of 22), up to 0.1 hPa (instead of 0.316 hPa). If you use the grid definitions in the PP header record, the changes to the ordering of the data will be transparent, otherwise you will need modify your programs to allow for those changes. Access routines are supplied by the Met Office to help users read the data files. The original versions were written to access data from the UARS CDHF, but recent versions also read PP format data, as supplied to the BADC. A revised version of the access routines has been written (version 5c - file name acsasm_v5c.f). This is very similar to the previous version (5b), except that it will recognize the new w fields (as well as omega), and the default settings for field types and number of levels have been modified for New Dynamics. VAX/VMS-specific code (only a few lines) has been deleted. At the BADC, the new data files can be found in the current year assimilated data directory: /badc/ukmo-assim/data/standard/2003/ The associated documentation, as provided by the Met Office is available in the assimilated data doc directory: /badc/ukmo-assim/doc/ieee_binary/new_dynamics/ The Assimilated data documentation on the BADC Web pages will be updated shortly. BADC Support 28th October 2003