Snow from space: University of Leicester releases satellite images of snow-bound UK
Satellite images of UK under snow available
IMAGE: This is an image of snow-bound UK from space by MERIS on Nov. 29. Click here for more information.
Earth observation scientists at the University of Leicester have recorded stunning images of the UK’s winter landscape by orbiting satellites.
European Space Agency satellite instruments have been observing the icy blast in the UK from their vantage points in space.
Leicester scientists have used two instruments, MERIS and AATSR, which have returned stunning images of a snow-bound UK from observations on November 29th and December 1st.
In the MERIS images, the colour scale runs from white snow and clouds to green vegetation. In the AATSR images, the non-snow areas are coloured red to highlight differences to the white snow. The change in snow cover within two days is clearly visible.
The AATSR instrument has been funded in the UK by the Department for Energy and Climate Change, and is a centrepiece of a new exhibition at the Science Museum, entitled ‘Atmosphere … exploring climate science’. The exhibition was formally opened by HRH Prince Charles today, December 3rd, and will be open to the public from tomorrow (December 4th).
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 IMAGE: This is an image of snow-bound UK from space by AATSR on Dec. 1.
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Professor John Remedios, Head of Earth Observation Science at the University of Leicester, said “These images demonstrate how much our local climate depends on a combination of the climate mean temperature in a given month and the meteorological variability which can produce very cold and very warm months. For the UK, it is another cold winter. At one time a few years ago our children complained that there was never any snow. Now there is plenty!”
He added “Each year we need to make careful observations in order to increase the accuracy of the weather prediction. The AATSR instrument is both very good at measurements for climate and for weather forecasting”
The AATSR instrument is flown on the European Space Agency (ESA) satellite, Envisat, launched in 2002, alongside ESA’s MERIS instrument. The AATSR measures fundamental climate variables such as sea and land surface temperature, aerosols and clouds whilst the MERIS instrument is able to observe vegetation greenness and ocean colour, and their change over the seasons. The Envisat recently underwent a controlled orbit change to extend its lifetime to 2013. The images show that the instruments are working very well.
For more information contact Professor John Remedios on j.j.remedios@le.ac.uk
Images available from pressoffice@le.ac.uk
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 IMAGE: This is an image of snow-bound UK from space by MERIS on Dec. 1.
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Image credits:
AATSR 29 November 2010. Credit: AATSR data @ ESA, and University of Leicester
AATSR 01 December 2010. Credit: AATSR data @ ESA, and University of Leicester
MERIS 29 November 2010. Credit: MERIS data @ ESA, and University of Leicester
MERIS 01 December 2010. Credit: MERIS data @ ESA, and University of Leicester
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I detect little bit of the “this is weather, not climate” weasel dance from the University of Leicester spokesman.
Yeah, the weasel dance, but what else can they do? Admit they were wrong and dry up all their funding? I think not!
In Spokane, WA USA, we very nearly equalled the 1947(?) -9*F record low for the day, just before our Thanksgiving Day… reached -8*F. Also, for the month of November we exceeded the previous (1955) all-time recorded snowfall of 20″.
I love shoveling snow. It’s awesome excersize! Where else can an over-50 person move tons of anything by hand, in a 2-3 hour period, working up a sweat and not suffer heat-stroke?
Oh and it’s free, so long as Gang-Green doesn’t make our energy costs necessarily skyrocket! 🙂
Doug:
Cold down there eh?
Powell River, BC Canada here.
Coldest winter in years.
[d]
Wow, it’s worse than we ever predicted! It’s the hottest year on record, which is obviously why there’s so much snow and ice.
Looks like the west coast commenters are still awake, but barely…and Europe ought to be checking in any time–after brekky. 🙂
Everybody knows these are photos from the past. They were taken nearly two hundred years ago from the early satellite DICKENS-1.
Bratislava, Slovakia hit its 60-years minimum. It is -16°C ATM, less by 2-3 °C than 1950-2009 minimum. Should not be exactly those low winter night temperatures eradicated by that increased “radiative forcing”?
Next thing you know, someone will raise the temperature water freezes at to explain it all away.
“Children just aren’t going to know what snow is”
http://www.independent.co.uåk/environment/snowfalls-are-now-just-a-thing-of-the-past-724017.html
Ten years ago, on Monday, 20 March 2000, Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia made the above prediction.
David, how did you get your prediction wrong?
Here is the proper link for the story
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/snowfalls-are-now-just-a-thing-of-the-past-724017.html
This and the other satellite images posted a few days ago are very misleading. Certainly on November 29th most of the south of England had not seen any snow at all, and even on December 1st we here (Bracknell, Berkshire) only had a fine dusting (and an inch or so on December 2nd). Parts of the southwest never saw any at all during this spell. But what I do know is that it was totally cloudy here at the time of all these photos. You will notice that all the photos show an awful lot of cloud. To claim that 100% of the UK is snow covered is simply not true.
I like to know how the school teaches get around this one .I think it will be a snow job
A Times article titled, “Freezing Britons told: You’d better get used to it.” was reproduced in the Dominion Post here in New Zealand. There is a quote from, ‘the man in charge of the Government’s emergency review of Britain’s winter resilience said, “The public will have to get used to the disruption unless they are willing to pay for more snow ploughs and gritting lorries.” David Quarmby’s comments came as motorists , rail and airline passengers spent a second night sleeping in makeshift shelters after the snow closed roads, railways and four airports.’
Quarmby saved his best ’til last though when he predicted that, ‘climate change was likely to make snowfall less common but more intense.’ With two lots of almost nationwide snow coverage at either end of the same calendar year, is that what he means by ‘less common?’ If so, I’d hate to think what he means by ‘more intense!’
David Quarmby and Dr David Viner, with his prediction, fall into the category of ‘the hopeless.’ As my father still says, “There’s no hope for the hopeless.” The question is, can there be any hope for Great Britain if people like this are running the show?
Cheers
Coops
Here in sunny, but still freezing, Yorkshire in the northern part of the UK, we had temperatures down to -19c on Friday 3rd, the coldest for more than a century. Last time it was colder than that (-22c) was in 1895. Bet the Victorians in those days would have loved a bit of global warming.
And they managed to survive in those freezing conditions without central heating or thermal underwear!
On a lighter note a software fault is being blamed this year for the electric trains not being able to run. I suppose that is better than telling us it is the “wrong kind of snow” as they did in previous years.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/8181494/Fault-in-train-software-leaves-them-unable-to-operate-in-snow-and-ice.html
This article in the Telegraph is illustrated by the steam train on the North Yorkshire Railway that has no problems with running in the snowy conditions. They didn’t even have to clear the snow from the line. Built in 1934 and running on fossil fuels….oh dear!
George Monbiot in the Guardian opines that this inconvenient cold weather has been sent by God:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2010/dec/02/cancun-climate-change-summit-monbiot
Elsewhere in the Guardian, “Green Santa” is apparently urging children to make eco-pledges to stop his runway melting in the heat:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/dec/03/children-climate-change-television-santa
Piers Corbyn of Weather Action has issued a rather alarming forecast for northern Europe.
WeatherAction ESSENCE of WINTER Forecast 2010-11 for Britain, Ireland & Europe
http://www.weatheraction.com/docs/WANews10No37.pdf
“Winter Dec to Feb inclusive in Britain and Europe will be exceptionally cold and snowy – like hell frozen over at times – with much of England, Germany, Benelux and N France suffering one of the coldest winters for over 100 years. ”
Positive Weather Solutions are also predicting a colder than usual winter in the UK but nothing like as cold as Weather Action says.
December 2010
http://www.positiveweathersolutions.co.uk/UK-Month-Ahead-Forecast.php
Winter 2010/2011
http://www.positiveweathersolutions.co.uk/UK-Long-Range-Forecast.php
Both organisations believe that climate change is controlled mainly by natural forces, not human activity.
It’s freezing but the sun is shining. I’ll be going sledging later today. It’ll be amusing to glide swiftly downhill on all that lovely white global warming that’s been falling from the sky for over a week…
Jenn and Steep-
The West Coast of the North part of North America is very much awake at this hour.
kinda hard to ignore cold feet and the carbon taxed furnace running all night.
Try it sometime.
[d]
Lets wait for the official adjusted data. This could still be the hotest winter in the northern hemisphere for the last 1000 years.
One of the lies that we are told about Global Warming is that fish stocks are depleting because they can’t cope with rising sea temperatures (which would be rubbish anyway, fish can swim to the poles and adapt but it’s a lie).
So why did last fridays UK Daily Telegraph contain a stunning photo of pink salmon from the Fraser River in British Columbia which photographer Alex Mustard was visiting to witness “the biggest salmon migration for almost 100 years”?
Did the salmon community get together and decide,” C’mon guys, let’s make this year a biggie because we don’t have long left” and then kindly let Mr Mustard know?
That link doesn’t work Girma. Try:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/snowfalls-are-now-just-a-thing-of-the-past-724017.html
Are the red patches on the AATSR image the last vestiges of global warming?
Just wondering…..
That increased “radiative forcing” is making it very cold in Norway too. After being encouraged by politicians, most people use electricity for heating their houses.
Who wants to freeze to death?
Now, since most use electricity, they made sure about 1/3 of the cost is CO2 taxes.
Oh yes, all those hydro-dams release sooooo much CO2.
And the result? When the price skyrocket because we empty the dams by selling electricity to other countries, everyone runs to the marked and buy WOOD!
Me too. Yuo just cant afford that electricity bill.