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The Met Office Tactical Decision Aids (TDAs) provide valuable guidance to the armed forces on how well their equipment is likely to perform under a variety of current and forecast meteorological conditions. Radiative transfer expertise within Observational Studies  is used to improve the speed and accuracy of the NEON Electro-Optic Infra-Red TDA which is used to provide guidance on the performance of military infra-red sensors looking at objects through various atmospheric conditions including cloud and dust.

Observational Studies staff test and validate the guidance which NEON produces using the  FAAM BAe146 research aircraft both in the UK and the Middle East. They are also able to give advice on using radiative transfer theory and models or the development of new radiative transfer tools for a variety of customers within the defence sector.

Key Aims

• To continuously research and develop improved radiative transfer algorithms for inclusion in various TDAs
• To test and validate TDA products using the  FAAM BAe146 research aircraft and other tools
• To consult and provide advice to the defence customer on the best use of radiative transfer technology

Current Projects

• Validation of NEON products using data from the MEVEX field campaign.
• Development of a full scattering version of the Fast Radiative Transfer Code.
• Developing techniques for retrieving hyperspectral surface information from images.
• Planning field campaigns to further validate Met Office TDAs.