Research project
DOOC: Drone Observation Of Clouds and their role in weather and climate
- Start date: 1 December 2025
- End date: 30 November 2029
- Funder: UK Research and Innovation
- Value: £2.3 million
- Partners and collaborators: Met Office, Menapia
- Primary investigator: Dr Declan Finney
- Co-investigators: Professor Paul Field, Dr Ryan Neely III
- External co-investigators: Jessica Girdwood (Manchester); Chris Stopford (Hertfordshire)
Clouds are central to Earth’s weather and climate systems, influencing precipitation and the planet’s energy balance. However, long-term cloud observations remain extremely limited due to the dynamic and complex nature of clouds.
This project introduces a pioneering drone-based approach to cloud measurement, enabling routine, in-situ observations that were previously impractical. By overcoming the limitations of current methods—such as the sporadic nature of aircraft campaigns, the restricted accuracy of satellite retrievals, and the loss of instruments during balloon launches—this initiative will deliver a transformative dataset for atmospheric research.
The core innovation lies in integrating a miniaturised cloud microphysics instrument with a commercial drone, and establishing a suitable site for routine sub-daily operations. This will result in the first vertically profiling system collecting long-term measurements of aerosol and cloud droplet characteristics up to 2 km altitude.
The project will include an intensive three-month campaign with additional remote sensing instruments, thereby generating a unique dataset to advance understanding of cloud-radiation interactions and their role in climate. Impact will be achieved through two main routes: improving UK weather forecasting via direct collaboration with the Met Office, and synchronizing drone measurements with EarthCARE and other satellite overpasses to produce a novel dataset of coincident drone-satellite measurements for climate research.