This dataset collection is comprised of raw data from the NERC-funded, full waveform terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) deployed at sites on three continents, multiple countries and plot locations which, have been re-surveyed at different times. The terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) was able to scan 1000s of trees in tropical forests on three continents: including Amazonia, the Congo Basin and SE Asia. The laser data measured 3D tree volume and biomass non-destructively to within a few percent of the best current estimates, made by destructive harvesting and weighing. The project scanned all trees in multiple permanent sample plots (PSPs) spanning a range of soil fertility and productivity gradients (24 x 1 ha PSPs in total). The aim of the weighing trees with lasers project is to test if current allometric relationships are invariant across continents, or whether they differ significantly, and require continental level models; quantify the impact of assumptions of tree shape and wood density on tropical forest allometry; test hypotheses relating to pan-tropical differences in observed AGB from satellite and field data. It also aims to apply new knowledge to assessing retrieval accuracy of forthcoming ESA BIOMASS and NASA GEDI missions and providing calibration datasets; In addition to testing the capability of low-cost instruments to augment TLS data including: UAVs for mapping cover and canopy height; low-cost lidar instruments to assess biomass rapidly, at lower accuracy.

This repository provides a continuous hydrometeorological record of the Met Office Observation-based research Boundary Layer Facility (BLF) at the semi-rural field site (14 Ha) of Cardington (52° 06′ N, 00° 25′ W, 29 m ± 1 m above mean sea level) in central-southern England between 2004 and 2024. The dataset contains recorded surface meteorology, radiation and subsoil from in-situ sensor measurements at four averaging periods, '01', '05', '10' or '30' minute intervals and measured by instruments mounted on 2 m, 10 m, 25 m and 50 m masts. In addition, specialist remote-sensing instruments including microwave radiometers, Halo Doppler lidars, ceilometers and disdrometer datasets are provided. A full list of NetCDF variables can be found in "Continuous meteorological surface and soil records (2004-2024) at the Met Office surface site of Cardington, UK." Osborne et al. ESSD (2025). This paper also provides a technical introduction to the Cardington site, core instrumentation, specialist radiometers, the land surface model (LSM) forcing dataset derived from the principal dataset and a description of the file formats used in the archived products. This paper should be referenced in any research/publications pertaining to this dataset collection.

Measurements were made using the FAAM BAE-146 aircraft throughout the troposphere in the locality of the Tropospheric Organic Chemistry (TORCH) field campaign in Writtle, Essex to determine the influence of regional transport and local chemistry on ozone concentrations. The Production of Ozone of South-east England (POSE) project aimed to further the understanding of the factors governing ozone chemistry during summer periods in the UK. In particular, the relative sources of ozone: general Northern Hemisphere background, regionally produced products and local/in situ generation. The transport of pollutants from Europe within the boundary layer has been implicated in the very high levels of ozone seen in the UK during summer 2003. During the TORCH field campaign in Writtle, Essex, high levels of ozone and other reactive species were seen during the 2003 heatwave, and results suggest that this may be a result of mixing down of polluted air from aloft during the collapse of the night-time shallow inversion layer to form the day time boundary layer. In order to better understand this behaviour, the FAAM BAE-146 aircraft perfomed a series of profiles close to the Writtle site, to determine the influence of regional transport and local chemistry on ozone concentrations. Measurements included CO, ozone, hydrocarbons and oxygenated VOCs, throughout the troposphere.

The Met Office's research unit based in Cardington, Bedfordshire, study boundary-layer meteorology and surface processes to help with the development of numerical weather prediction methods. These are used in a number of ways including the development of physical parameterisation schemes. Surface meteorological data and high resolution radiosonde data are collected from the Met Office's research site and elsewhere. The dataset collection contains recorded surface measurements timed at 1, 10 and 30 minute intervals and measured by instruments mounted on the surface, 10, 25 and 50 metre masts. Radiosonde data are available at various locations depending on the deployment of the equipment. The facility continuously operates a comprehensive suite of surface, sub-surface, mast and tethered balloon mounted instrumentation. Various items of instrumentation, as well as the radiosonde and tethered balloon equipment, can also be deployed elsewhere in support of off-base measurement campaigns.

In-situ airborne observations by the FAAM BAE-146 aircraft for VIROSS - Visible Reflectance of the Sea Surface.

This dataset collection contains land monitoring data from the Multispectral Instrument (MSI) on the European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel 2A satellite. Sentinel 2A was launched on 23rd June 2015 and provides sun-synchronous platform for the multispectral imaging data. The instrument uses 13 spectral bands from visible to the near infrared to obtain images with a swath width of 290km. Level 1C processing provides Top-Of-Atmosphere (TOA) reflectances in cartographic geometry. A further processing level, bottom-of-atmosphere (BOA) reflectance in cartographic geometry (prototype product) can be produced by the user with the Sentinel 2 toolbox. The BOA mode allows for the accurate assessment of biophysical parameters e.g. Leaf Area Index, with reduced cloud interference.

Magnetograms are records of variations in the strength and direction of the Earth’s magnetic field. Historically these magnetograms were recorded on paper using photographic techniques. In the UK, measurements were made at eight long-running observatories; Abinger, Eskdalemuir, Falmouth, Greenwich, Hartland, Kew, Lerwick, and Stonyhurst. BGS also hold magnetogram records from the Cape Evans observatory that ran continuously at Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic base camp during the British Antarctic Expedition 1910–13. The magnetogram collection, one of the longest running geomagnetic series in the world, provides a continuous record of more than 160 years of UK measurements. These magnetograms start in the 1840s and end in 1986 at which time digital recording of the magnetic field took over and magnetograms can be produced by computer graphic. The plots show variation in the Earth's magnetic field, typically over a 24-hour period. The collection is a valuable, partly untapped data resource for studying geomagnetic storms, space weather and the evolution of the Earth’s magnetic field. The magnetograms provide insight into: • the Earth’s outer core: long-term change (years to centuries) in the dynamo that sustains our magnetic field • space weather: short-term changes (seconds to days) in near-Earth space and on the ground • space climate: long-term change (decades to centuries) in solar activity and consequences for Earth’s environment All the above have an impact on human activities. For example, bad space weather affects technologies that we increasingly rely on, such as electrical power and GPS networks. In response to the threat of loss from degradation due to age and a desire to preserve and exploit old data, BGS undertook a programme of work to digitally photograph, archive and preserve the analogue paper records of magnetic field variation in the United Kingdom. Between 2009 and 2013, high-quality digital images of every available magnetogram were taken. These images are available to search online. Scientists and the general public around the world can now gain easy access to this historical dataset.

In-situ airborne observations by the FAAM BAE-146 aircraft for EUFAR Lagrangian Dust Source Inversion Experiment (LADUNEX).

This dataset collection contains radar data from the C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on the European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel 1B satellite. Sentinel 1B was launched on 25th April 2016 and provides continuous all-weather, day and night imaging radar data. Three acquisition modes are available: Stripmap (SM), Interferometric Wide swath (IW), and Extra Wide swath (EW). The main operational mode is IW. The EW mode is primarily used for wide area coastal monitoring. The SM mode is only used on special request for extraordinary events such as emergency management. The SM, IW and EW modes are available in single (HH or VV) and dual (HH+HV or VV+VH) polarisation. The C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar images the Earth with enhanced frequency and revisit times obtaining full Earth coverage every two weeks. Timeliness and reliability is optimized for emergency response and operational applications with Europes’s coastal zones and shipping routes being monitored on a daily basis. The data has a wide range of scientific applications including sea-ice monitoring, imaging of forests and investigation into the carbon cycle, and the analysis of earthquakes. Data are provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) and are made available via CEDA to any registered scientific user in the UK.

In-situ airborne observations by the FAAM BAE-146 aircraft for ACEMED - Evaluation of CALIPSO's Aerosol Classification scheme over Eastern MEDiterranean.