I am Science Leader of the Atmosphere, Ice and Climate  team and an atmospheric physicist. I work within the Climate Processes group (part of AIC). I have worked at BAS since 2006 and my main area of research is the study of atmospheric gravity waves and tides as a dynamical vertical coupling mechanism in the polar regions.  I am also interested in climate change in the polar regions and space weather effects on middle atmosphere circulation.

Current Activities:

I am the lead investigator for the NERC large grant MesoS2D (with colleagues from Bath and Leeds Universities). This project will combine instrument observations and model results to examine variability in the middle atmosphere with an aim to provide a pathway to improved predictability in the middle atmosphere.

I am Co-Investigator on the following projects:

DRIIVE: A NERC funded project which is looking at multi-scale coupling in the ionosphere and how it is influenced both by space weather and the lower atmosphere.

ExtAnt: A NERC funded project (starting early 2024) that will provide the first comprehensive assessment of present day and future high impact extreme weather events in Antarctica, and associated risks.

Previous projects I’ve been involved in recently:

DRAGON-WEX grant (led by colleagues at Bath University) which investigated the role of gravity waves around 60S in driving atmospheric circulation in this region.

SG-WEX (led by colleagues at Bath University) which investigated gravity waves being generated from the small mountainous island of South Georgia.

Committee roles:

I am on the science committee for the ANtarctic Gravity Wave Instrument Network (ANGWIN) which is a SCAR action group looking to study gravity waves across Antarctica using international collaborations.

Antarctic Instrumentation:

I am joint PI for the following instruments:

An all-sky infrared airglow imager located at Rothera (with Prof. Taylor of Utah State University).

An all-sky infrared airglow imager located at Halley (with Dr Corwin Wright of Bath University)

2 airglow spectrometers (Rothera and Halley)

A multi filter airglow imager system at Rothera.

SKiYMET meteor radars located at Rothera and Halley ( Halley radar being deployed 2024/25 season)

I also use radiosonde data, gathered routinely by our meteorologists, to study gravity wave activity in the lower stratosphere.

Career:

2022 – current: Science Leader AIC

2020-2021: Interim Science Leader AIC

2018 – 2020: Deputy Science Leader of AIC

2014 – current:  Senior scientist (gravity wave physicist)

2006-2014:  Higher scientist (gravity wave physicist)

2001-2005:  PhD at University College London: Development and validation of the UCL Martian thermosphere-ionosphere general circulation model

1997-2001:  MPhys Physics degree at Warwick University

Research interests

Dynamical coupling in the middle atmosphere with a focus on gravity waves and atmospheric tides.

Climate change in the Polar Regions.

Space weather effects on the dynamics of the middle atmosphere.

Moffat-Griffin, T., A. D. Aylward, W. Nicholson (2007), Thermal structure and dynamics of the Martian upper atmosphere at solar minimum from global circulation model simulations, Annales Geophys., 25, 2147-2158

M. Lopez-Valverde, F. Gonzalez-Galindo, F. Lefevre, S. Lebonnois, T. Moffat, A. D Aylward, and S. Bougher, Inter-comparison of UV radiation models in the Upper Atmosphere of Mars, Conference proceedings, International Mars Atmosphere Workshop, Granada, January 2003

T. Moffat, Developing and Validating the UCL Martian Thermosphere/Ionosphere Global Circulation Model,  PhD Thesis, University of London, March 2005

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

1. PRESCIENT

   PRESCIENT supports long-term, strategically important measurements and capabilities for the wider science community.

   Read more of: PRESCIENT

   

2. Predicting the mesosphere

   MesoS2D uses powerful radars and satellites to study a little-understood layer of the atmosphere, the mesosphere.

   Read more of: Predicting the mesosphere

   

3. Gravity waves over the Southern Ocean

   DRAGON-WEX used a novel 3D satellite analysis method combined with meteor radars at Rothera and King Edward Point to track how gravity waves influence atmospheric circulation.

   Read more of: Gravity waves over the Southern Ocean

   

4. Space Weather Observatory

   Assessing Space Weather impacts

   Read more of: Space Weather Observatory

   

5. New gravity wave observatories in Antarctica

   ANGWIN brings together different nations to observe gravity waves over Antarctica and understand how these atmospheric waves affect global weather patterns and polar climate processes.

   Read more of: New gravity wave observatories in Antarctica

   

8. Decoding Ionospheric Dynamics

   DRIIVE researches how polar ionosphere changes affect satellite orbits, communications, and space weather forecasts.

   Read more of: Decoding Ionospheric Dynamics

   

1. Grant to understand future impacts on atmospheric prediction

   A new project to improve scientists understanding of the impact of space weather and climate change on the atmosphere starts this month (January 2022). A team from British Antarctic Survey, […]

   Read more of: Grant to understand future impacts on atmospheric prediction

   

2. Ship-borne imager system

   This system is comprised of three 1 degree field of view instruments that measure the OH airglow emission at ~87 km altitude.

   Read more of: Ship-borne imager system

   

3. all-sky infrared airglow imager

   This instrument observes infrared emissions during the night and operates on a high temporal cadence.

   Read more of: all-sky infrared airglow imager

   

4. Multi-filter airglow imager

   This instrument has a fish-eye lens and a filter wheel that allows it to observe different airglow emissions.

   Read more of: Multi-filter airglow imager

   

5. All sky camera (colour)

   This instrument produces an all-sky image in visible light. Used for cloud detection and studying the properties of clouds. It can also be used for studying aurora.

   Read more of: All sky camera (colour)

   

6. All sky camera (black and white)

   This instrument produces an all-sky image in visible light. Used for cloud detection and studying the properties of clouds.

   Read more of: All sky camera (black and white)

   

7. Andor Airglow Spectrometer

   This instrument observes the spectra of OH airglow emission from ~87 km altitude.

   Read more of: Andor Airglow Spectrometer