FREE Projects and Contacts

FREE science is being undertaken within 13 individual projects. The table below shows how these projects from a coherent balanced programme of four components with specific elements providing knowledge exchange with stakeholders.

A data management policy has been developed by the British Atmosphere Data Centre (BADC) linking a wide range of data sources including data sets managed by the Met Office and the Environment Agency.

Substantial new datasets will not be produced in FREE. Any data that are collected with output from numerical model runs will be preserved and will be fully documented at the BADC, NEODC, BODC, or data centres at CEH, Wallingford and BGS as appropriate.

An arrangement, known as the FLOod Action Team (FLOAT), is also in place to assemble specific data should major extreme events occur during the programme as happened during 2007 (Tewksbury).

Project title NERC Reference Principal investigators Actual Data location Metadata original location*

Improved modelling and forecasts through new data assimilation methods

Exploitation of new data sources, data assimilation and ensemble techniques for storm and flood forecasting NE/E002137/1 Prof AJ Illingworth, University of Reading BADC BADC

Changing coastlines: data assimilation for morphodynamic prediction and predictability NE/E002048/1 Dr Sarah Dance, University of Reading BODC BODC

New approaches to modelling uncertainty in an integrated modelling environment

Ensemble Prediction of Inundation Risk and Uncertainty arising from Scour (EPIRUS) NE/E002129/1 Dr Q Zou, University of Plymouth BODC BODC

Local flood forecasting capability for fluvial and estuarine floods: Use of GridStix for constraining uncertainty in predictive models NE/E002439/1 Prof Keith Beven, Lancaster University CEH CEH

Modelling groundwater flood risk in the Chalk aquifer from future extreme rainfall events NE/E002307/1 Prof H Wheater, Imperial College London CEH CEH

Land Use Management Effects in Extreme Floods NE/F001134/1 Professor PE O'connell, Newcastle University BADC BADC

The statistics of extremes and their use

A data-driven exploratory study of extreme events based on joint probability analysis NE/F001037/1 Dr C Svensson, NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology No data expected CEH

Quantifying Flood Risk of Extreme Events using Density Forecasts Based on a New Digital Archive and Weather Ensemble Predictions NE/E002013/1 Dr PE McSharry, University of Oxford BADC BADC

A hybrid model for predicting the probablity of very extreme rainfall NE/F011822/1 Professor R Toumi, Imperial College London BADC BADC

The Impacts of a changing climate on the occurrence of flooding

Identification of changing precipitation extremes and attribution to atmospheric, oceanic and climatic changes NE/E002412/1 Dr TJ Osborn, University of East Anglia No data expected BADC

Uncertainty Assessments of Flood Inundation Impacts: Using spatial climate change scenarios to drive ensembles of distributed models for extremes NE/E002242/1 Prof GR McGregor, King's College London CEH CEH

FRACAS: a next generation national Flood Risk Assessment under climate ChAnge Scenarios NE/E002420/1 Mr N Reynard, NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology CEH CEH

Coastal Flooding by Extreme Events (CoFEE) NE/E002471/1 Prof J Williams, University of Plymouth BODC BODC

Project title	NERC Reference	Principal investigators	Actual Data location	Metadata original location*
Improved modelling and forecasts through new data assimilation methods
Exploitation of new data sources, data assimilation and ensemble techniques for storm and flood forecasting	NE/E002137/1	Prof AJ Illingworth, University of Reading	BADC	BADC
Changing coastlines: data assimilation for morphodynamic prediction and predictability	NE/E002048/1	Dr Sarah Dance, University of Reading	BODC	BODC
New approaches to modelling uncertainty in an integrated modelling environment
Ensemble Prediction of Inundation Risk and Uncertainty arising from Scour (EPIRUS)	NE/E002129/1	Dr Q Zou, University of Plymouth	BODC	BODC
Local flood forecasting capability for fluvial and estuarine floods: Use of GridStix for constraining uncertainty in predictive models	NE/E002439/1	Prof Keith Beven, Lancaster University	CEH	CEH
Modelling groundwater flood risk in the Chalk aquifer from future extreme rainfall events	NE/E002307/1	Prof H Wheater, Imperial College London	CEH	CEH
Land Use Management Effects in Extreme Floods	NE/F001134/1	Professor PE O'connell, Newcastle University	BADC	BADC
The statistics of extremes and their use
A data-driven exploratory study of extreme events based on joint probability analysis	NE/F001037/1	Dr C Svensson, NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology	No data expected	CEH
Quantifying Flood Risk of Extreme Events using Density Forecasts Based on a New Digital Archive and Weather Ensemble Predictions	NE/E002013/1	Dr PE McSharry, University of Oxford	BADC	BADC
A hybrid model for predicting the probablity of very extreme rainfall	NE/F011822/1	Professor R Toumi, Imperial College London	BADC	BADC
The Impacts of a changing climate on the occurrence of flooding
Identification of changing precipitation extremes and attribution to atmospheric, oceanic and climatic changes	NE/E002412/1	Dr TJ Osborn, University of East Anglia	No data expected	BADC
Uncertainty Assessments of Flood Inundation Impacts: Using spatial climate change scenarios to drive ensembles of distributed models for extremes	NE/E002242/1	Prof GR McGregor, King's College London	CEH	CEH
FRACAS: a next generation national Flood Risk Assessment under climate ChAnge Scenarios	NE/E002420/1	Mr N Reynard, NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology	CEH	CEH
Coastal Flooding by Extreme Events (CoFEE)	NE/E002471/1	Prof J Williams, University of Plymouth	BODC	BODC

* Regardless of the physical location of the data, a copy of the metadata will be lodged in the BADC catalogue and will be browsable through a common portal at BADC which will also link to the actual data location.