Forecasts from space come rain or shine

Published on Saturday 13 March 2010 19:32

THIS is the weather forecast – for wherever you may be standing. Scottish scientists are developing personalised weather bulletins that can be transmitted from space direct to your mobile phone.

Accurate text messages warning of gathering storms and showers will be picked up by mobiles no matter the location, according to the technicians behind the project.

The highly accurate and localised texts will be able to predict the severity of rainstorms and how long they will last. Half-hourly updates on shifting weather systems will remove much of the unpredictability of Britain's climate.

The system depends on a network of mini-satellites to be launched into outer space next year by Clyde Space, based in Maryhill, Glasgow. The company is hoping to secure a deal with India's space programme to launch the first of its mini-satellites in 18 months' time.

Clyde Space is building the "cubesats", which are only 10cm tall and wide and cost up to 200,000 to produce.

The cubesats will contain highly sophisticated transmitting and listening equipment capable of sending out signals that can detect raindrops in the Earth's atmosphere. The kit is being developed at the University of Strathclyde's Advanced Space Concept Laboratory.

Eventually, it is hoped that a network of 40 such cubesats, orbiting 600km above the Earth, will provide comprehensive coverage of weather patterns across the globe, which would be fed into mobile phone networks.

Clyde Space managing director Craig Clark said: "We are looking at sending these text message alerts and using the information provided by technology that can determine the approach of rain, the wind speed and the amount of moisture in the air.

"Nowadays, people expect technology that can do amazing things, so we need to look at doing amazing things. If we don't do it, someone else will do it within ten or 20 years."

According to Clark, the cubesats would transmit "soundings" – similar to radar signals – into the Earth's atmosphere. These would bounce back from the moisture in the air. The reflected soundings would be picked up by a listening device on board the satellite, allowing the software to paint an accurate picture of the weather and the direction in which it is moving.

The climatic information would be fed into a mobile phone network via the internet, giving constant updates on weather patterns as they develop. The information would then be picked up via text by mobile phone users. The information received by the phone would be filtered to reflect the precise location of the user.

The user's location would be fed into the system using existing technology that can tell where a phone is by noting from which mobile phone tower (or base) the device is receiving the strongest signal.

An even more accurate location could be pinpointed by linking the system to GPS (global positioning system), which is already a feature of many mobile phones and SatNav technology.

Weather experts said personalised bulletins would be a breakthrough. "It's a great idea," said Alex Hill, the Met Office's chief government adviser to Scotland. "It is certainly an intriguing concept and the more information we have, the better.

"I suppose the question would be how accurate it would prove over longer periods. Predicting the weather for the next half-hour can often be done by simply looking through the window. Predicting the weather in 48 hours' time is more difficult. This sounds as if it is aiming for a very localised weather forecast."

Clyde Space's partnership with Strathclyde University will tomorrow be hailed as the type of ground-breaking project that ought to be encouraged in Scotland when officials from the Technology Strategy Board meet ministers at Holyrood.

The TSB is a publicly funded UK agency that advises the government on innovation and technology. It is providing funding for the Space Clyde/Strathclyde partnership.

Iain Gray, the TSB chief executive, said: "These cubesats are allowing small companies and universities to get into space."