This data set consisting of initial conditions, boundary conditions and forcing profiles for the Single Column Model (SCM) version of the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model, the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS). The IFS SCM is freely available through the OpenIFS project, on application to ECMWF for a licence. The data were produced and tested for IFS CY40R1, but will be suitable for earlier model cycles, and also for future versions assuming no new boundary fields are required by a later model. The data are archived as single time-stamp maps in netCDF files. If the data are extracted at any lat-lon location and the desired timestamps concatenated (e.g. using netCDF operators), the resultant file is in the correct format for input into the IFS SCM. The data covers the Tropical Indian Ocean/Warm Pool domain spanning 20S-20N, 42-181E. The data are available every 15 minutes from 6 April 2009 0100 UTC for a period of ten days. The total number of grid points over which an SCM can be run is 480 in the longitudinal direction, and 142 latitudinally. With over 68,000 independent grid points available for evaluation of SCM simulations, robust statistics of bias can be estimated over a wide range of boundary and climatic conditions. The initial conditions and forcing profiles were derived by coarse-graining high resolution (4 km) simulations produced as part of the NERC Cascade project, dataset ID xfhfc (also available on CEDA). The Cascade dataset is archived once an hour. The dataset was linearly interpolated in time to produce the 15-minute resolution required by the SCM. The resolution of the coarse-grained data corresponds to the IFS T639 reduced gaussian grid (approx 32 km). The boundary conditions are as used in the operational IFS at resolution T639. The coarse graining procedure by which the data were produced is detailed in Christensen, H. M., Dawson, A. and Holloway, C. E., 'Forcing Single Column Models using High-resolution Model Simulations', in review, Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems (JAMES). For full details of the parent Cascade simulation, see Holloway et al (2012). In brief, the simulations were produced using the limited-area setup of the MetUM version 7.1 (Davies et al, 2005). The model is semi-Lagrangian and non-hydrostatic. Initial conditions were specified from the ECMWF operational analysis. A 12 km parametrised convection run was first produced over a domain 1 degree larger in each direction, with lateral boundary conditions relaxed to the ECMWF operational analysis. The 4 km run was forced using lateral boundary conditions computed from the 12 km parametrised run, via a nudged rim of 8 model grid points. The model has 70 terrain-following hybrid levels in the vertical, with vertical resolution ranging from tens of metres in the boundary layer, to 250 m in the free troposphere, and with model top at 40 km. The time step was 30 s. The Cascade dataset did not include archived soil variables, though surface sensible and latent heat fluxes were archived. When using the dataset, it is therefore recommended that the IFS land surface scheme be deactivated and the SCM forced using the surface fluxes instead. The first day of Cascade data exhibited evidence of spin-up. It is therefore recommended that the first day be discarded, and the data used from April 7 - April 16. The software used to produce this dataset are freely available to interested users; 1. "cg-cascade"; NCL software to produce OpenIFS forcing fields from a high-resolution MetUM simulation and necessary ECMWF boundary files. https://github.com/aopp-pred/cg-cascade Furthermore, software to facilitate the use of this dataset are also available, consisting of; 2. "scmtiles"; Python software to deploy many independent SCMs over a domain. https://github.com/aopp-pred/scmtiles 3. "openifs-scmtiles"; Python software to deploy the OpenIFS SCM using scmtiles. https://github.com/aopp-pred/openifs-scmtiles

The Reading Assimilated Atmospheric Satellite Data presents an analyses of stratospheric and tropospheric temperature, ozone and water vapour incorporating data from research satellites and operational observations, assimilated with the Hadley Centre Atmospheric Model (HADAM3) configuration of the Unified Model (UM). This dataset includes 3-D global fields for selected periods of time in the 1990s and is produced as part of the Assimilation of Remote-sensed Data for Applications in the Atmospheric and Oceanographic Sciences (ARDAAOS) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) thematic programme.

Vegetation and meteorological observations (snow and radiation) were collected by various ground instruments in an area of forest near Sodankyla (Finalnd) during measurement campaigns in March 2011. This data is made available through the BADC. An open area and five 20 m × 20 m forest plots were selected for shortwave and longwave radiation measurements and canopy characterization. The Arctic Research Centre of the Finnish Meteorological Institute at Sodankylä (67°22'N, 26°38'E) has continuous weather observations dating back to 1908 and is a major centre for meteorological and remote sensing field studies. The surrounding area includes forests of Norway Spruce (Picea abies) and Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris), extensive mires and numerous lakes that are frozen and snow-covered in winter. This was a NERC funded project.

The ACTIVE (Aerosol and chemical transport in tropical convection) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded consortium project, combined field measurements and a range of modelling tools at different scales to address questions related to the composition of the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). ACTIVE utilised the Australian Egrett aircraft operated by Airborne Research Australia (ARA) and the NERC Dornier 228 operated by the British Airborne Research and Survey Facility (ARSF) to measure chemical species and aerosol in the inflow and outflow of tropical storms. Cloud-scale and large-scale modelling studies assisted in the interpretation of the measurements to distinguish the different contributions to the TTL composition. The dataset contains ozonesondes measurements at Darwin, Australia.

The ACTIVE (Aerosol and chemical transport in tropical convection) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded consortium project, combined field measurements and a range of modelling tools at different scales to address questions related to the composition of the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). ACTIVE utilised the Australian Egrett aircraft operated by Airborne Research Australia (ARA) and the NERC Dornier 228 operated by the British Airborne Research and Survey Facility (ARSF) to measure chemical species and aerosol in the inflow and outflow of tropical storms. Cloud-scale and large-scale modelling studies assisted in the interpretation of the measurements to distinguish the different contributions to the TTL composition. The dataset contains the Egrett aircraft core instruments measurements from ARA Grob G520T Egrett aircraft.

Vegetation and meteorological observations (snow and radiation) were collected by various ground instruments in an area of forest near Abisko (Sweden) and Sodankylä (Finland) during measurement campaigns in March 2011 and March 2012. This dataset contains the data produced by a Vaisala WXT520 weather transmitter used to measure temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction and atmsopheric pressure during the radiometer experiments in each plot in March 2011. This was a NERC funded project.

Vegetation and meteorological observations (snow and radiation) were collected by various ground instruments in an area of forest near Abisko (Sweden) and Sodankylä (Finland) during measurement campaigns in March 2011 and March 2012. This dataset contains the data produced by a Vaisala WXT520 weather transmitter used to measure temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction and atmsopheric pressure during the radiometer experiments in each plot in March 2011. This was a NERC funded project.

The Reading Assimilated Atmospheric Satellite Data presents an analyses of stratospheric and tropospheric temperature, ozone and water vapour incorporating data from research satellites and operational observations, assimilated with the Hadley Centre Atmospheric Model (HADAM3) configuration of the Unified Model (UM). This dataset includes 3-D global fields for selected periods of time in the 1990s and is produced as part of the Assimilation of Remote-sensed Data for Applications in the Atmospheric and Oceanographic Sciences (ARDAAOS) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) thematic programme.

The ACTIVE (Aerosol and chemical transport in tropical convection) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded consortium project, combined field measurements and a range of modelling tools at different scales to address questions related to the composition of the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). ACTIVE utilised the Australian Egrett aircraft operated by Airborne Research Australia (ARA) and the NERC Dornier 228 operated by the British Airborne Research and Survey Facility (ARSF) to measure chemical species and aerosol in the inflow and outflow of tropical storms. Cloud-scale and large-scale modelling studies assisted in the interpretation of the measurements to distinguish the different contributions to the TTL composition. The dataset contains the Dornier-D-Calm core instruments measurements from NERC DO228-101 - D-CALM Aircraft.

Vegetation and meteorological observations (snow and radiation) were collected by various ground instruments in an area of forest near Abisko (Sweden) and Sodankylä (Finland) during measurement campaigns in March 2011 and March 2012. This dataset contains the snow depth data collected at Abisko site in March 2011. Snow depths were measured by pushing a graduated probe down to the ground surface at points with 2 m spacing in each 20 m × 20 m plot, giving grids of 121 points. This was a NERC funded project.