Creating daily analyses of surface air temperature globally
The University of Reading is ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world. It is a global University that enjoys a world-class reputation for teaching, research and enterprise. The University was established in 1892, received its Royal Charter in 1926, and has developed into a leading force in British and international higher education. It is a research-intensive university with nearly 90% of research deemed to be of international standing in the UK Research Assessment Exercise (2008). Henley Business School is of the world's few business schools to hold triple-accredited status. There are currently 17,040 students of 141 different nationalities and nearly 4,000 members of staff.
The University of Reading has a strong international reputation for environmental science, gaining 5* recognition (top UK rating) both in teaching and research. A significant proportion of research activity is delivered through the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS). The School of MPS is one of the largest and most successful of its kind in the UK, with over 250 staff, including 80 full-time and associate academic staff and 120 research staff. Over 60% of research was rated Internationally Excellent or World Class in the UK Research Assessment Exercise 2008.
Founded in 1965, the Department of Meteorology is internationally renowned for its research and training in weather, climate, physical oceanography and solar-terrestrial physics, and its work is playing a vital role in the improvement of weather forecasting and climate modelling. The Department received a 2005 Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for ‘Weather and Climate Science’ and more recently it was announced as one of twelve university departments that deemed to be outstanding and awarded the prestigious title of Regius Professor by The Queen to mark the Diamond Jubilee. There is an exceptionally broad range of well-established research collaborations. The University participates in and provides expert advice for international programmes within the International Council of Scientific Unions, the World Meteorological Organization and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The department hosts many thriving research groups within the three interlocking themes of Weather, Climate, and Earth Observation & Space.
Within EUSTACE, the University of Reading contributed expertise to WP1 both on the retrieval of lake surface water temperature and explore its links to surface air temperature and on the quantification of uncertainties in skin temperature retrievals.