Maldives Climate Observatory

The Maldives Climate Observatory – Hanimaadhoo (MCOH) is a background site for atmospheric and climate studies in South Asia, strategically located southwest of the subcontinent in the Indian Ocean. It is owned by the Government of Maldives and jointly operated by the Maldives Meteorological Services (MMS) and the MCOH International Science Team. The MCOH provides state-of-the-art measurements of the composition of the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. It is a receptor site of long-range transport of pollutants (the atmospheric brown cloud) from emission regions of South Asia, SE Asia, Middle East and Africa. MCOH has now accumulated an invaluable 15-yr time series record and is regularly hosting intensive campaigns (e.g., ABC, APMEX, MAC, CARDEX, SAPOEX). MCOH-related research has inspired fundamental new knowledge on anthropogenic and natural aerosols and their interaction with clouds, the monsoon system and other parts of the perturbed regional climate system (see MCOH literature list at the back). There are good opportunities to expand MCOH activities in the near future, including for studies of aerosols, aerosol-cloud interactions, greenhouse gases, ozone-depleting substances, radiation – coupled to synoptic observations at sites on the mainland.

Contact:
Örjan Gustafsson
orjan.gustafsson@aces.su.se