Hooper, Dr David A

NERC MST Radar Facility Project Scientist

Address

STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Harwell Oxford

Didcot

OX11 0QX

 
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0956-6732
email
+44 1235 445 705  
email

I'm one of the three joint heads of the Atmospheric Measurement and Observation Facility (AMOF). I  have a particular responsibility for the Capel Dewi Atmospheric Observatory (CDAO) in west Wales. My research interests are focused on the observations made from this site, particularly those made by the Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST) Radar. These cover turbulence, clouds, atmospheric structure, and the mesosphere (i.e. the region of the atmosphere between altitudes of approximately 50 and 90 km, where Noctilucent Clouds occur).

I have been a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Ambassador for over a decade. I've given presentations on various subjects to primary school students, secondary school students, and special interest groups. I'm particularly proud of the time-lapse videos that I have created from images captured by a Sky-Camera at the CDAO. These are freely available through the AMOF website. They are as relevant to students of atmospheric science as they are to interested members of the public.

Picture of Hooper, Dr David A

Publications

  • Ren, Liling; Reynolds, Tom. G.; Clarke, John-Paul B.; Hooper, David A.; Parton, G. A.; Dore, Anthony J.; Meteorological influences on the design of advanced aircraft approach procedures for reduced environmental impacts. Meteorological Applications, 18 (1) , 40-59, [doi:10.1002/met.206] 2011

Engagements

  • What: Publication of "Atmospheric Science" education/outreach poster - http://cedadocs.badc.rl.ac.uk/1259/ Where: not applicable For whom: for whoever is interested , December 2015
  • What: I gave a presentation on atmospheric refractive index and a tour of the NERC MST Radar site Where: NERC MST Radar site near Aberystwyth For Whom: approximately 20 members of the Aberystwyth Amateur Radio Club , June 2016
  • What: I gave a talk on "Ice Crystals At The Edge of Space", i.e. about Noctilucent Clouds Where: RAL Space Visitor Centre For Whom: approximately 25 students (a mix of Work Experience, Vacation, and other) , July 2016
  • What: I have a talk on "Angels and Mirages", i.e. about atmospheric refractive index Where: RAL Space Visitor Centre For Whom: approximately 16 students (a mix of Work Experience, Vacation, and other) , August 2016
  • What: Supervising a Work Experience student Where: RAL Space When Monday 1st - Friday 5th August 2016 For Whom: a single (15 year old) student , July 2015
  • What: I gave a presentation on "Winds, Waves, and Turbulence" i.e. on atmospheric convection and waves Where: RAL Space Visitor Centre For Whom: approximately 10 school pupils of mixed ages , August 2016
  • What: Publication of the first atmospheric science education/outreach time-lapse video at http://cedadocs.badc.rl.ac.uk/1271/. Where: not applicable. For whom: for whoever is interested , December 2016
  • What. I gave a presentation on the different types of cumulus clouds to 11 members of the Abingdon Sea Cadets group. They had specifically requested a weather-related talk. , February 2017
  • During 2017 I published 6 openly-accessible time-lapse videos of interesting atmospheric phenomena observed by the NERC MST Radar Facility's Sky Camera. http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1298/ - showing Cirrostratus clouds giving rise to a 22° Halo around the Sun. http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1301/ - showing the development of Cumulus congestus clouds, leading to a Rain Shower and a Rainbow. http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1308/ - showing Altocumulus clouds displaying both undulatus and lenticularis features http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1309/ - showing Altocumulus lenticularis clouds revealing Mountain Wave activity http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1310/ - showing widespread development of Cumulonimbus clouds, some of which have extensive Anvils http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1311/ - showing Cumulonimbus cloud development at sunset, August 2017
  • What: I gave a presentation on "A beginner's guide to cloud spotting". Where: STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory For Whom: approximately 18 school pupils of mixed ages, July 2017
  • What: I gave a presentation on "Ice Crystals at the Edge of Space", i.e. on Noctiluecnt Clouds. Where: STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory For whom: approximately 18 school pupils of mixed ages, July 2017
  • What: I gave a presentation on "Angels and Mirages", i.e. about atmospheric refractive index Where: STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory For whom: approximately 14 school pupils of mixed ages, August 2017
  • I gave a presentation entitled "Insect Autumn Watch" for approximately 22 year 6 primary school pupils on 10th September 2018. Although, admittedly, the talk was more about insects than about atmospheric science, it was focussed on how those insects adapt to the changing climate conditions of the autumn., September 2018
  • I gave a public lecture entitled "Kingdom of the Cumulus Clouds" as part of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory's Talking Science lecture programme for members of public - https://stfc.ukri.org/news-events-and-publications/whats-happening/kingdom-of-the-cumulus-clouds/ . The lecture was given twice in the same day and covered approximately 370 attendees in total. , March 2019
  • I gave a talk entitled “Mirages and Angels: the effects of atmospheric refractive index on electromagnetic waves” to the Reading and District Amateur Radio club. Approximately 40 people attended. , March 2019
  • During December 2019 I produced 5 time-lapse videos showing various atmospheric phenomena. These have been published through the CEDA document repository under a Creative Commons Attribution licence so that they can be used by anyone. They show: Cumulus humilis clouds (http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1454/), Cumulus mediocris clouds (http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1456/), Altocumulus fluctus and Altocumulus undulatus clouds (http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1462/), Stratocumulus clouds that develop asperitas features (http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1463/), and Altocumulus undulatus clouds (http://cedadocs.ceda.ac.uk/1464/)., December 2019
  • I ran a stall at the Stargazing 2020 event held at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. My stall was based on daily sunshine duration data from the NCAS Capel Dewi Atmospheric Observatory together with graphical resources that I have developed to explain what I was showing. The event was attended by approximately 800 people in total. It was open to members of the public., January 2020