Annual Report 2010 KNMI round the clock Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment | Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute Annual Report 2010 | 1 Annual Report 2010 KNMI round the clock Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment | Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute Annual Report 2010 | 1 Table of contents Foreword 4 Secretary-General Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment midnight – 01 a.m. 6 KNMI keeps on going… around the clock 01 – 02 a.m. 8 Maritime observations all over the world 02 – 03 a.m. 10 Indispensable computing power 03 – 04 a.m. 12 Weather satellites: continuous tracking 04 – 05 a.m. 14 Joining forces in the name of safety 05 – 06 a.m. 16 Meteorology for safe air travel at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 06 – 07 a.m. 18 Sharing knowledge with our international partners 07 – 08 a.m. 20 Construction of new, sustainable computer centre 08 – 09 a.m. 22 Seismology: a daily motion 09 – 10 a.m. 24 From platforms to airports, from airports to no man’s land 10 – 11 a.m. 26 To measure is to know 11 – noon 28 Intensive cooperation for disaster response efforts noon – 01 p.m. 30 The lessons of Climategate 01 – 02 p.m. 32 NMDC: Sharing knowledge yields better results 02 – 03 p.m. 34 KNMI and the market for weather information 2 | Annual report 2010 Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment | Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute 03 – 04 p.m. 36 KNMI’s financial core 04 – 05 p.m. 38 Ash cloud brings European air traffic to a standstill 05 – 06 p.m. 44 Weather Alarm in sight 06 – 07 p.m. 48 EUMETNET, making progress together 07 – 08 p.m. 50 Increasing demand for climate knowledge 08 – 09 p.m. 52 Meteorology in the Caribbean Netherlands 09 – 10 p.m. 54 Research never stops 10 – 11 p.m. 58 Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI): Vital data 11 – midnight 60 On volcanic ash, the coalition agreement and the political arena Staff 63 The year 2010 in brief 64 2010: coldest and warmest year 69 Finances 72 Management Team KNMI 74 Public Information 76 Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment | Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute Annual Report 2010 | 3 Siebe Riedstra Secretary-General Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment 4 | Annual Report 2010 Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment | Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute Dear reader, It gives me tremendous pleasure to write the foreword This year’s KNMI annual report takes a departure from for the 2010 KNMI Annual Report. As Secretary-General previous editions. For this report, one day in the year 2010 of the newly formed Ministry of Infrastructure and the has been selected at random; one of the 365 days a year Environment, I am justifiably proud of our agency for KNMI addresses issues related to weather, climate research weather, climate research and seismology in De Bilt. KNMI and seismology in the service of Dutch society. After all, has until recently been part of the Ministry of Transport, KNMI never stands still. Our institute works around the Public Works and Water Management. However, after the clock on its core tasks, which are inextricably linked to Rutte government took office on October 14, 2010, this the safety and security of the Netherlands. As an agency of Ministry was merged with parts of the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, KNMI Spatial Planning and the Environment to create the new serves as a repository of vital meteorological expertise Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. While used to warn the Netherlands about extreme weather and, creating an organisational structure for this new for instance, maintain the safety of Dutch airspace for air Ministry is a massive undertaking, made possible by the travel 24 hours a day. KNMI climatologists work daily on enthusiastic work of many, the benefits of this restructuring the development of climate scenarios and new insights - including for KNMI - are becoming increasingly clear, at both national and international level, thus providing thanks to the input from the former Ministry of Housing, knowledge that is of vital importance to our small, low- Spatial Planning and the Environment. What previously lying country, bordering as it does on the sea. Let’s not would have been called ‘overlap’ between the two forget the seismologists, who – largely in the Netherlands, former Ministries has now been given substantive but also all round the world – monitor, research and identify and administrative coherence, with all the inherent seismic activity: natural earthquakes in the province of advantages. Limburg, earthquakes attributable to natural gas extraction in the north of the Netherlands and more recently the Beyond the merger of our Ministries, the Rutte Cabinet dramatic earthquake and tsunami event in Japan. had another surprise up its sleeve for KNMI, mentioning it by name in the financial section of the coalition It must not have been hard to find inspiration for this agreement with respect to its remit: “The subsidies report’s theme: ‘KNMI round the clock’. I often hear how of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water surprised people are on their first visit to KNMI. Of course, Management will be reduced. Furthermore, KNMI’s current while just about everybody has heard of KNMI, far fewer range of duties will be reassessed (possible privatisation).” people are aware of all the work being done and all the We fully understand this mandate. After all, it offers resources and facilities it can call on to carry out its core opportunities to work in a future-oriented way on an tasks. This is why this annual report presents an hour- appropriate assignment of national responsibilities with by-hour account of a day in the life of KNMI, offering a regard to weather, climate research and seismology, laying glimpse into all the tasks it performs - each day, every day. the ground for the sector to move ahead until at least the year 2020. It’s my impression that State Secretary Joop I hope you enjoy reading it! Atsma will submit these plans to the Lower House sometime this summer and that these will then be Siebe Riedstra debated by the Lower House this autumn. Secretary-General Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment | Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute Annual Report 2010 | 5 from midnight till 01.00 a.m. KNMI keeps on going… around the clock The KNMI offices in De Bilt seem deserted at this hour of the day. The perimeter fencing is locked, and most of the lights in the building are out. The reception area near the main entrance is unmanned, and there is no sign of life in the building corridors. All that can be heard is the hum of a computer tucked away in some corner. It’s midnight at KNMI. You can hear a pin drop. This air of calm is deceiving, however. Located on the third Spider in the web floor is the beating heart of KNMI – the forecasting office. In this company the operator can be considered the Much like the weather, it is ‘on the go’ 24 hours a day. This ‘spider in the web’. In the event of an actual crisis, such as is where KNMI issues its weather forecasts and warnings for the chaos in April 2010 caused by the volcanic ash cloud the general public, as well as for the aviation and maritime originating from Iceland, the operator bears responsibility sectors, using high tech displays to constantly monitor for informing the ministries and embassies, as well as meteorological developments all round the world, includ- the National Crisis Centre and the traffic control centres ing extreme wind gusts and lightning storms, black ice, of the executive arm of the Ministry of Infrastructure snow fall, volcanic eruptions on Iceland, earthquakes, thick and the Environment (Rijkswaterstaat) and of ANWB, of fog, or simply calm, tranquil weather. meteorological conditions and keeping them apprised of developments. The operator eventually also informs KNMI At 11 p.m., the five member team working the evening shift Director-General Frits Brouwer about what is happening. makes way for the staff of five braving the night shift. Before The operator receives on-site support in this task in the taking up their positions, the night shift staff reviews the form of data from the meteorologists. events of the previous day and look ahead to the coming night and day. Are there any surprises brewing or any other North Sea meteorological conditions to note? A little further along, the meteorologist responsible for meteorological forecasting for the North Sea and the sur- All meteorologists are grouped according to their own rounding area receives data from the most recent run of the niche specialisation into sectors, namely Safety (general High Resolution Limited Area Model (HIRLAM). This weather weather forecasting and warnings), North Sea (the North model for short-term weather forecasting, developed by Sea and helicopters), Regional (regional airports and bal- KNMI in close cooperation with Denmark, France, Finland, looning), Mainport Schiphol (Amsterdam Airport Schiphol) Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Spain and Sweden, can handle and Operator. There is also a space reserved for any ad- runs with a horizontal grid resolution of up to eleven ditional expertise deployed when ferocious meteorological kilometres. As the calculations made involve a relatively conditions arise or when disaster response efforts must small geographical area, it does not take long to compile take the weather into account. This includes, for instance, the necessary data. The results are available more rapidly an incident involving chemical and nuclear substances than those of the long-term forecasts. In other words, the dispersed in the air. meteorologist receives the HIRLAM calculations quickly, so that any minor changes can be detected immediately and 6 | Annual Report 2010 Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment | Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute the forecasts adjusted in a timely manner.