Areas of expertise:

• Unified Model ancillary fields
• Modelling of surface fields within Met Office NWP models
• Providing support to Met Office NWP operational staff and Met Office external collaborators

Current activities

Keir is a senior scientist undertaking research in land-surface modelling. He is system manager for the SURF and ANCIL sub-systems.

SURF is a component sub-system within all deterministic NWP models run at the Met Office. Its function is to provide accurate analyses of soil moisture, sea surface temperatures, sea ice and snow. Errors in their modelling affect the forecast skill of surface field such as screen temperature, relative humidity, wind and visibility.

Ancillary files are the mechanism by which external data sources are entered into the Unified Model. This includes model orography, soil and vegetation types, and climatologies for sea surface temperature and sea-ice. The CAP reads this data and rewrites it in Unified Model format.

As well undertaking research in both these areas, Keir project manages them to standards dictated by ISO 9001 thereby ensuring stable releases are available for use in Met Office operational models and by external Met Office collaborators.

Career background

Keir has been a member of DAE since starting at the Met Office in 2003. Prior to joining the Met Office, Keir completed a PhD in medical imaging at the Department of Computer Science in the University of Exeter, where he also received his masters degree.

Prior to working in land-surface data assimilation, Keir was responsible for developing an observation targeting capability at the Met Office as part of the THORPEX project. He participated in field campaigns such as GFDEX, EURORISK Preview Data Targeting System and the European THORPEX Regional Campaign of 2007.