Andrew Prata Email & Phone Number

Melbourne, Vic, Au

Clayton, Victoria, Australia

As a Senior Research Scientist specialising in Earth Observations (EO) my key responsibilities are to:1. Enhance the delivery of existing EO analyses, capabilities and data to internal and external partners.2. Develop novel or adapt existing methods and tools for integrating data from across environmental and ecological science domains.3. Lead and develop new EO-related science projects to achieve impact through national applications.

Clayton, Victoria, Australia

I worked as a Research Fellow on the Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF) project where my role was to investigate precipitation processes over Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The major focus of my research was to develop cloud property retrievals using geostationary satellite observations over the Southern Ocean.

Oxford, England, United Kingdom

My position at Oxford investigated atmospheric processes surrounding volcanic ash and cloud. I used the Optimal Retrieval of Aerosol and Cloud (ORAC) algorithm to estimate ash plume properties using observations from a range of satellite imagers (e.g. MODIS, SEVIRI, AHI, SLSTR). Our research group derived uncertainty-bounded estimates of ash type, ash cloud-top height, effective particle radius and optical depth at pixel-level spatial resolution for several volcanic eruption case studies. I also worked on the cloud retrieval algorithm for the ESA Cloud_cci+ project.

Barcelona Area, Spain

I worked as a postdoc in the Environmental Simulations Group of the CASE department at the BSC. My research project developed satellite retrieval algorithms to quantify volcanic ash and SO2. The retrievals were used to validate FALL3D-8.0, an Eulerian atmospheric dispersion model, which is developed at the BSC.

Clayton, Victoria, Australia

I held an affiliate research scientist position at Monash University where I collaborated with researchers in the Earth, Atmosphere and Environment department.

My PhD research involved the quantification of volcanic ash cloud properties by use of A-Train observations. These involve retrievals from both passive and active satellite measurements, allowing for accurate spatio-temporal measurements of the development of volcanic clouds. Quantification of volcanic ash clouds is especially important for the aviation industry.

Reading, United Kingdom

I developed a proof-of-concept, interactive web-tool that enabled the calculation of along-flight volcanic ash dosages. Dosage calculations allow us to determine how much ash will likely build up on an aircraft engine. Communicating the uncertainty in these calculations to the aviation industry was a key focus of the project.

Docklands, Melbourne, Australia

Employed by the Bureau of Meteorology as a non-ongoing APS employee (BoM Broadband 1, APS Level 3, PO1). Conducted research as an assistant to Dr Elizabeth Ebert and Rodney Potts (CAWCR). My research involved analysis of satellite measurements for the Merapi volcanic eruption in Indonesia, October/November 2010. I made field measurements of SO2 at the Merapi volcano using a ground-based thermal camera as part of a satellite validation study. I also collaborated with VAAC forecasters at the Bureau’s regional centre in Darwin. The purpose of my visit was to compare VAAC dispersion model reports with reanalysed satellite data to better understand the difficulty with ash detection in moisture-laden atmospheres.

Pasadena, California, Usa

Worked as a paid summer intern, under the supervision of Dr. Bjorn Lambrigtsen. Research involved detailed analysis of microwave (AMSU) and infrared (AIRS) remote sensing observations of the atmosphere with special focus on severe tropical cyclone storm systems (e.g. hurricanes). In particular, developed Perl-based scripts to processes microwave data and generate KML files for visualisation in Google Earth. The data analysis came to fruition when my animation of the life cycle of tropical cyclone Alex featured in a special NASA TV broadcast in September 2010.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Atmospheric Physics (Remote Sensing)

Bachelor Of Science - Honours, Atmospheric Physics (Remote Sensing), Hd

Bachelor Of Science (B.Sc.), Atmospheric And Oceanic Sciences

Activities and Societies: Theta Xi

Bachelor Of Science (B.Sc.), Atmosphere And Ocean Science