BAMOS April 2025
22 Article
New book explores BMRC’ s research legacy and scientific achievements
Prof Michael Manton, Monash University( michael. manton @ monash. edu)
The Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre( BMRC) was established in 1985 as the research division of the Bureau of Meteorology.
A new book, written by nine former leaders of BMRC, describes the contributions of the Centre over the following two decades as advances in technology and scientific understanding led to global progress in meteorology and oceanography.
Over that period, numerical weather prediction became the foundation of weather forecasting, forecasts and warnings of hazardous weather became more timely and precise, seasonal forecasting supported important sectors such as water and agriculture, and climate change became an issue of global significance. Routine monitoring and prediction of the world’ s oceans became available to shipping and related industries.
Drawing on published papers and reports, the book documents the contributions of BMRC scientists to these and other advances from 1985 to 2007. It also describes the modes of operation of the scientists in BMRC in their interactions within the Bureau and with national and overseas colleagues.
The book outlines three major aspects of BMRC’ s work: advances in Bureau operations and services, support of national needs, and international collaborations. The work was a blend of strategic and applied research, with strategic research providing a foundation for the development of operational systems and the practical problems of the Bureau leading to strategic questions for research. Each research group in BMRC was led by a world-recognised expert, and the expertise of the groups included numerical modelling as well as skills in theoretical, analytical and observational meteorology.
The organisational structure of the Bureau facilitated the transfer of systems from research to operations, based on a blend of formal and informal links between units that ensured effective collaboration across the Bureau. The staffing structure also allowed meteorologists to move readily between BMRC and operational or service units, further encouraging collaboration. Joint projects involving Regional Offices promoted more rapid deployment of advanced systems into operations.
Nationally, BMRC had substantial collaborations with CSIRO and the universities, with the Government-supported Cooperative Research Centres program and the Australian Climate Change Science Program facilitating those links.
The joint Bureau— CSIRO High Performance Computing and Communications Centre supported several collaborative modelling projects, such as the development of ocean modelling and air quality modelling. Scientists in BMRC also worked with Government agencies in a range of sectors, including health, water, agriculture and aviation.
Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre( BMRC): Contributions to Meteorological Research, Operations & Services 1985- 2007. Published by Michael Manton.
International collaboration was an essential strategy of BMRC, and it extended from leadership roles in international programs, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change( IPCC), to collaboration with overseas colleagues in field projects, such as the Maritime Continent Thunderstorm Experiment( MCTEX) in Darwin.
The BMRC was closed in 2007 when the joint Bureau – CSIRO Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research( CAWCR) was established. In 2014, CAWCR was replaced by the Collaboration for Australian Weather and Climate Research which promotes collaboration between the separately managed activities of the Bureau and CSIRO.
The book Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre( BMRC): Contributions to Meteorological Research, Operations & Services 1985-2007 is freely available on Trove. Each section is headed by a box containing a plain-language summary of the detailed content of the section. A foreword written by John Zillman, former Director of Meteorology( 1978-2003), provides an informed context for the book.