Bureau of Meteorology
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 January 1908 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Australia |
| Headquarters | Melbourne/Canberra |
| Employees | 1,663 (at 31 May 2015) |
| Annual budget | A$279.3 million (2015–16) |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | Department of the Environment |
| Website | www.bom.gov.au |
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), formerly known as the Central Weather Bureau,[1] is an Executive Agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together the state meteorological services that existed before then. The states officially transferred their weather recording responsibilities to the Bureau of Meteorology on 1 January 1908.[2][3]
Contents
Services and structure
The Bureau of Meteorology is the main provider of weather forecasts, warnings and observations to the Australian public. The Bureau distributes weather images via radiofax and is responsible for issuing flood alerts in Australia.
The Bureau's head office is in Melbourne Docklands, which includes the Bureau's Research Centre, the National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre, the National Climate Centre, as well as the Hydrology and Satellite sections.[4]
Regional offices are located in each state and territory capital. Each regional office includes a Regional Forecasting Centre and a Flood Warning Centre, and the Perth, Darwin and Brisbane offices also house Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres. The Adelaide office incorporates the National Tidal Centre, while the Darwin office the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre and Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (Analysis).
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issues Tropical Cyclone Advices[5] and developed the Standard Emergency Warning Signal used for warnings. The Bureau is responsible for tropical cyclone naming for storms in waters surrounding Australia. Three lists of names used to be maintained, one for each of the western, northern and eastern Australian regions.[6] However, as of the start of the 2008–09 Tropical Cyclone Year these lists have been rolled into one main national list of tropical cyclone names.[6]
The regional offices are supported by the National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre (NMOC) which is also located at the head office in Melbourne Docklands.
The Bureau maintains a network of field offices across the continent, on neighbouring islands and in Antarctica. There is also a network of some 500 paid co-operative observers and approximately 6,000 voluntary rainfall observers.
Management
The Director of Meteorology in the Bureau of Meteorology is Dr Rob Vertessy, succeeding Dr Greg Ayers who resigned due to ill health in February 2012.[7][8] Deputy Directors are Dr Neville Smith (Research and Systems), Dr Ray Canterford (Services), Graham Hawke (Climate & Water), Vicki Middleton (Corporate), and Dr Peter May and Dr Helen Cleugh (Deputy Directors of the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, the latter with the CSIRO, the other organisation involved with the centre).[8][9]
Former Directors
Former Directors of the Bureau of Meteorology are:
| Director | Years |
|---|---|
| Henry Ambrose Hunt | 1908–31 |
| William S Watt | 1931–40 |
| H. Norman Warren | 1940–50 |
| Edward W Timcke | 1950–55 |
| Leonard J Dwyer | 1955–62 |
| William J Gibbs | 1962–78 |
| John Zillman | 1978–2003 |
| Geoff Love | 2003–08 |
| Neville Smith (Acting Director) | 2008–09 |
| Greg Ayers | 2009–12[7] |
| Rob Vertessy | 2012– |
Technology
In Head Office an Oracle Supercomputer provides the framework for weather modelling and simulation,[10] while other UNIX servers support the Computer Message Switching System and Real-Time Data Base. The Australian Integrated Forecast System affords the main computing infrastructure in the Regional offices. Numerical Weather Prediction is performed using the Unified Model software. In August 2010 the Bureau of Meteorology decommissioned their previous supercomputer, the NEC SX-6, switching to the Oracle "Solar" Supercomputer.[10]
See also
- World Meteorological Organization, co-ordination body for weather, climate and environment services
- Weatherzone, another Australian weather service provider
- International Cloud Experiment, which collected data on tropical cyclones in January and February 2006
- 2023–24 Australian region cyclone season
- Water Data Transfer Format
- Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council
References
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- ↑ Tropical Cyclone Advices, Bureau of Meteorology, 2009
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External links
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