Chilbolton Weather Facilities

Weather Facilities

Chilbolton Observatory is home to a wide range of atmospheric science facilities which includes radars, lidars, radiometers and meteorological instruments. Our atmospheric science programme is a part of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science.

Chilbolton Advanced Meteorological Radar
The Chilbolton Advanced Meteorological Radar (CAMRa) is the largest fully steerable meteorological radar in the world
Cloud camera at Chilbolton
The cloud camera records all-sky visible images at Chilbolton
Copernicus 35 GHz cloud radar
Copernicus is a 35 GHz (9 mm wavelength) cloud radar. It is a fully coherent, dual-polarisation, pulse compression Doppler radar.
Eddy covariance measurements
A sonic anemometer and a water vapour and carbon dioxide gas analyser are used to make eddy covariance measurements.
Galileo 94 GHz radar
Galileo is a 94 GHz (3.2 mm wavelength) cloud radar. It is a fully coherent, dual polarisation Doppler radar.
HALO Photonics Doppler lidar
The HALO Photonics Doppler lidar measures cloud, aerosol and wind profiles. It operates at a wavelength of 1550 nm.
Lidar ceilometer
The 905 nm lidar ceilometer measures cloud and aerosol profiles.
Meteorological sensors
Standard meteorological measurements are made at Chilbolton in support of all experiments at the Observatory.
Optical particle counter
The optical particle counter measures the in-situ concentration of aerosol particles as a function of size.
Present weather sensor
The Present Weather Sensor provides data on weather conditions, visibility and precipitation.
Profiling Microwave Radiometer
The Radiometrics microwave radiometer uses brightness temperature measurements to measure water vapour and liquid water.
Rain gauges and disdrometers
Rainfall measurements are made with a variety of raingauges.
Solar and infrared upwelling and downwelling radiation
Incoming solar and infrared broadband radiation are measured using radiometers.
Sunphotometer
The Chilbolton sunphotometer measures aerosol optical thickness (AOT) in the wavelength range 340 - 1640 nm.
UV Raman Lidar
The UV Raman lidar system transmits at a wavelength of 355 nm and measures cloud, water vapour and aerosol profiles.