Podcast

Noel Fitzpatrick

Noel Fitzpatrick is a research meteorologist with Met Éireann. He recently returned to Ireland from Canada after completing a PhD in Atmospheric Science. There, Noel carried out research on the links between weather, climate, and the loss of the planet’s snow and ice. Noel began his career in meteorology with a masters at the University of Reading before joining Met Éireann as a meteorological officer, working as an aviation weather observer and in the maintenance of the Irish weather station network. Today, Noel is involved with the development of Met Éireann’s use of satellite data and high performance computing, with the goal of improving weather and climate services into the future.

“I’m passionate about science communication, and the responsibility researchers have to clearly communicate their work to a wide audience. I’m looking forward to our first episode on climate change, and hope it answers some questions people may have!”

Liz Walsh

Liz Walsh is an operational forecaster at Met Éireann. She began her career as a Meteorological Officer following completion of a Masters in Meteorology at UCD in 2006. She departed for New Zealand in 2009 to work at the National Meteorological Service in Wellington, where she eventually trained and worked as a forecaster.  She returned to the Northern Hemisphere in 2014 and worked as a Meteorologist for an energy company in Reading in the UK before returning to the Met Éireann fold in August 2016.

“I had the immense honour of taking part in the hurricane and warning workshop at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida in February/March 2018 so I’m really looking forward to the hurricane podcast!

Ferdia McCrann

Is é Ferdia McCrann ár n-oifigeach Gaeilge. Tháinig sé go dtí Met Éireann sa bhlian 2006, tá cúlra aige san eolaíocht agus go háirithe eolaíocht ríomhaireachta agus matamaiticí. Chaith sé cheithre bhlian ag obair i réadlann Dairbhre i gcontae Chiarraí sular bhog sé go dtí an ceanncheathrú i Glasnaíon áit a bhfuil sé ina bhall den rannóg taighde. Déileálann sé le fiosruithe uaidh na meáin agus ón bpobal agus is féidir é a chloisteáil go rialta ar raidió na Gaeltachta ag freagairt ceisteanna ar gach cineál aimsir. Beidh an podchraoladh nua uaidh Met Éireann á chur i láthair aige.

Seamus Walsh, Noel Fitzpatrick, Liz Walsh

With our guest this month, Seamus Walsh – Head of Climate and Observations at Met Éireann – we bring you through the fundamentals of climate change and discuss the latest climate projections for Ireland and the world, including how temperature, rainfall, storms and sea level will all change into the future.

We explore the greenhouse effect, how it works, and how emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane contribute to changing our climate.

We talk about measuring our carbon emissions and detail the relationship between increasing carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere and increasing temperatures. We will also answer questions on how much global temperatures will rise by the end of this century, how much sea level will increase, and how soon Arctic summers may become ice-free.

Closer to home, we discuss how climate change will affect Ireland’s weather and climate, how much our temperatures will rise, if we will get more or less rainfall, and the severity of storms that we might experience in our future climate.

This episode also features the Met Éireann choir – The Isobars – who play us out with a beautiful rendition of Samhradh Samhradh. See below for more information on The Isobars.

In the podcast we mention the ‘Keeling curve’ which is a graphic showing carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, measured since 1958.

See an image of the Keeling curve below.

Keeling curve

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations taken from the ice core record over the past 800,000 are shown here:

Note the almost vertical spike in CO2 concentrations in the past century.

Both these images were sourced from https://scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/keelingcurve/

Further reading on the topics discussed in this episode can be found on the IPCC website and via the work of Irish Climate Scientist Paul Nolan.

IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change): https://www.ipcc.ch/

Paul Nolan’s Report:

Weather has a massive impact on day-to-day life in Ireland. However, what drives the weather and climate we experience in this country? In this episode, we will be answering the question ‘What Causes Ireland’s Weather?’ with Met Éireann meteorologist and forecaster Pat Clarke.

Firstly, why do we have weather at all?

We will start with the underlying global processes and then narrow it down to Ireland.

How does the shape, rotation and axis of the earth affect our climate? What is ‘air pressure’? Why do rainforests and deserts appear in similar latitude bands around the globe? Why does Ireland often have low pressure while other areas have high pressure?

How does what’s happening in the atmosphere five to ten kilometres above our heads affect our weather at the surface? What is the jet stream and why is it stronger in the winter than the summer? What is the polar front and what side of it do we want to be on? Why do we generally get our most severe storms in the autumn and winter.

Ireland is at the same latitude as Edmonton in Canada, Alaska in the U.S. and Moscow, but why do we not have similar climate extremes? For example, Edmonton in Canada is at the same latitude as Dublin, however Edmonton’s average minimum temperature in January is -15°C while in Dublin it is +2.4°C.

How does the Atlantic Ocean moderate our climate?

What is an airmass? How does it form and how much does the airmass currently over us determine the kind of weather we can expect?

We close out the episode with the Met Éireann choir – The Isobars – and their rendition of Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head.

Pat Clark, Liz Walsh, Noel Fitzpatrick

You can find out more about the weather and climate of Ireland here on our website https://www.met.ie/climate

Sa chlár seo, breathnóidh muid ar bhuntréithe athrú aeráide. Cad é an éifeacht teach glás? Conas a oibríonn sé? Agus conas a chuidíonn astaíochtaí gáiseannaí teach glás lenár n-athrú
aeráid?
Labhraímid ar ár n-astuithe carbóin agus cad é an gaol idir méadú
dé-ocsaíd charbóin san atmaisféar agus teochtannaí ag meadú?
Cé mhéad a mhéadóidh teochtaí domhanda faoi dheireadh an chéid seo?
Cé mhéad a mhéadóidh leibhéil na farraige?
Agus cúis imní, cé chomh luath agus a d’fhéadfadh samhradh na hArtach a bheith saor ó oighear?
Tá ceol scríofa den clár ag Donal Black Met Éireann agus tá cór Met Éireann mar chuid de
– Na Isobars – a sheinneann amach le leagáin álainn de Samhradh Samhradh.

Clár a dó, cuir síos

Bíonn tionchar ollmhór ag an aimsir ar shaol laethúil na hÉireann. Mar sin féin, cad a spreagann an aimsir agus an aeráid a bhíonn againn sa tír seo? Sa chlár seo, beidh muid ag freagairt na ceiste ‘Cad is cúis le Aimsir na hÉireann?’.

Ar an gcéad dul síos, cén fáth a bhfuil aimsir againn ar chor ar bith?

Tosóimid leis na bunphróisis dhomhanda agus ansin díreoidh muid isteach ar Éirinn.

Cén tionchar a bhíonn ag cruth, uainíocht agus ais an domhain ar ár n-aeráid? Cad é “brú aeir “? Cén fáth a bhfuil foraoisí báistí agus fásaigh le feiceáil i mbandaí domhanleitheadacha comhchosúla ar fud na cruinne? Cén fáth go mbíonn brú íseal ag Éirinn go minic agus brú ard ag limistéir eile?

Cén chaoi a mbíonn tionchar ag na rudaí atá ag tarlú san atmaisféar cúig nó deich gciliméadar os cionn ár gceann ar ár drochaimsir?

Cad é an scaird-sruth agus cén fáth a bhfuil sé níos láidre sa gheimhreadh ná an samhradh? Cad é an fronta  polar agus cén taobh de ar mhaith linn a bheith ann? Cén fáth go bhfaigheann muid na stoirmeacha is dian san fhómhar agus sa gheimhreadh de ghnáth.

Tá Edmonton i gCeanada ar an domhanleithead céanna le Baile Átha Cliath, ach is é meánteocht íosta Edmonton i mí Eanáir ná -15 ° C agus i mBaile Átha Cliath tá sé + 2.4 ° C. Cén fáth?

Má tá Éire ar an domhanleithead céanna le Edmonton i gCeanada, in Alasca sna Stáit Aontaithe agus i Moscó cén fáth nach bhfuil aeráide chomhchosúla againn?

Conas a dhéanann an tAigéan Atlantach maolú ar ár n-aeráid?

Cad is mais aer ann? Cén chaoi a gcruthaíonn sé agus cén tionchair a bhíonn aige ar an cineál aimsire is féidir linn a bheith ag súil leis?

Tá Edmonton i gCeanada ar an domhanleithead céanna le Baile Átha Cliath, ach is é meánteocht íosta Edmonton i mí Eanáir ná -15 ° C agus i mBaile Átha Cliath tá sé + 2.4 ° C. Cén fáth?

Má tá Éire ar an domhanleithead céanna le Edmonton i gCeanada, in Alasca sna Stáit Aontaithe agus i Moscó cén fáth nach bhfuil aeráide chomhchosúla againn?

Conas a dhéanann an tAigéan Atlantach maolú ar ár n-aeráid?

Cad is mais Aer ann? Cén chaoi a gcruthaíonn sé agus cén tionchar a bhíonn aige ar an chineál aimsir is féidir linn a bheith ag súil leis?

Déanaimid na heachtraí a dhúnadh amach anois le cór Met Éireann – Na Isobars – agus a n-athdhéanamh ar braon báistí ag titim ar mo cheann.

Met Éireann choir – The Isobars

Conducted by Aoife Murray.
Accompanied by Dónal Black on piano and Linda Hughes on violin.

The Met Éireann choir, ‘The Isobars’ was founded in early 2017 and is based at Met Éireann HQ in Glasnevin, Dublin. Serving and retired staff members have joined from all divisions in the organisation. The choir’s repertoire is comprised of mostly of weather-related songs. These went down a storm when the choir performed at the annual conference of the European Meteorological Society in 2017, at ‘The Wind the Shakes the Island’, a conference at the RDS in 2018, as well as at the Workplace Choir of the Year Competition in 2017 and 2018.

The Isobars are excited to be contributing to the new Met Éireann podcast and will play out each episode with a new song.

Sopranos: Sarah Gallagher, Sheila McGuinness, Liz Walsh
Altos: Elizabeth Coleman, Linda Hughes, Phil Stokes, Laura Zubiate
Tenors: Colm Clancy, Michael McAuliffe
Basses: Paul Downes, Matt Roberts

The Isobars sing Samhradh, Samhradh (traditional, composer unknown)

The 19th Century music collector Edward Bunting wrote that ‘Samhradh, Samhradh’ or ‘Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn’ “is probably extremely ancient.” It depicts a May Day tradition of carrying May dolls (bábóg na Bealtaine) through the countryside. The song is thought to have originated in the Oriel District on the Louth/Armagh border. In recent times the song has experienced a rejuvenation following a recording by The Gloaming.

‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’, Burt Bacharach and Hal David

The song was composed in 1969 for the film ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.’ It was recorded by B.J. Thomas for the film and was subsequently released as a single, becoming the first number one of the 1970’s in the USA. It went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original song. The beautiful melody and upbeat lyrics made the song stand out against its contemporaries at the time, which included the more heavy-sounding ‘Whole Lotta Love’ by Led Zepplin and ‘Come Together’ by the Beatles.