An external view of the Met Office building at night.

Dr Sylvia Bohnenstengel

Sylvia leads research into evaluating convective-scale (Regional) Atmosphere & Land model configurations underpinning the development of our next-generation modelling systems.

Areas of expertise

  • Process-based model evaluation

  • Convective-scale model systems

  • Boundary layer and urban meteorology

  • Numerical modelling of urban and mesoscale interaction

  • Subgrid-scale land-use and surface flux parametrizations

  • Urban air quality

Sylvia's Publications

Current activities

Sylvia currently manages the Regional System Evaluation Team in Exeter and is based at MetOffice@Reading at the University of Reading, Department of Meteorology. The aim of the group is to direct and develop scientific research into convective-scale regional atmosphere/land model evaluation. We develop and support capabilities that underpin the evaluation of new developments to convective-scale Regional Atmosphere & Land model configurations both at the Met Office and by partners. These capabilities are instrumental in enabling us to transition to our use of next-generation modelling systems. Sylvia’s personal interests and background lie in urban boundary layer meteorology.

Career background

Sylvia worked in the Mesoscale Modelling group at MetOffice@Reading based at the University of Reading, Department of Meteorology on representing urban processes in high-resolution versions of the Unified Model such as the UKV. The aim of this work is to understand the processes leading to higher temperatures in the urban environment and faithfully parametrize these processes in the Unified Model at different spatial scales. An important part of this work is the validation of the Unified Model against observations taken during field measurements.
Sylvia joined the Met Office on a part-time basis in October 2013 while continuing her work at the University of Reading. She moved onto a full time position with the Met Office in October 2014. Prior to this Sylvia worked as a scientist and project manager at the University of Reading for the ClearfLo project, focusing on the impact of urban meteorology on air quality, and as a scientist during the LUCID project, determining the processes that lead to the London urban heat island. Sylvia did her PhD in mesoscale modelling at the Meteorological Department at the University of Hamburg and the Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany.