GloSAT Project
Land surface air temperature station records and climatological normals (1781–present) Kriging updates, data rescue & analysis.
Global Fire Dashboard
Regional fire stats & trends (IPCC AR6 regions) with robust OLS and confidence bands.
CUSSH Cities
ETCCDI & heat stress indices from CMIP6 (bias-adjusted), 7 city dashboards.
Hi, I'm Michael
Climate Data Records • Data Science • Remote Sensing
Bio
I was born in the UK when the monthly mean CO₂ at Mauna Loa was almost 100 parts per million less at 325.68 ± 0.12 ppm. My background is in Pure & Applied Physics (BSc:I, University of Manchester) and Applied Mathematics (PhD, University of St Andrews), and I have 20+ years research experience in climate and environmental data record production, quality control & curation, satellite and in situ remote sensing, applied statistics and algorithm development.
More recently, I helped update the global land surface air temperature record using Kriging for the GloSAT project while at the Climatic Research Unit (CRU), and computed climate warming stripes for the Age of Mammals (66 Ma) for the Climate Mural for our Times permanently installed in the Norwich City Hall.
I am a member of the Marie-Curie Alumni Association and learned Greek and Spanish while working abroad. I like cycle touring and folk music, and once upon a time when chess was still a human sport, I represented Hong Kong in the World Junior Chess Championships in Adelaide (where I met my first wild kangaroo).
Interests
- DataViz & aesthetics
- Algorithm development
- Observational data quality
- Climate & environmental data
Education
- PhD: Applied Mathematics – University of St Andrews
- BSc: Pure & Applied Physics – University of Manchester
Experience
Marine Data Scientist – Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Lowestoft, UK
Dec 2024 – present
Marine and riverine data record acquisition, gap analysis & quality assurance.
Senior Research Associate – Climatic Research Unit, UEA, Norwich, UK
Aug 2020 – Jul 2024
GloSAT project; Age of Mammals climate stripes mural; CUSSH Cities dashboard; Global Fire Dashboard (UEA PVC Impact Award).
Postdoctoral Researcher – Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
June 2017 – September 2019
Satellite remote sensing and gap analysis of essential climate variables at the Copernicus C3S Climate Data Store.
Postdoctoral Researcher – Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
March 2016 – March 2017
Contributing author to SPARC/IO3C/GAW Report 9 ‘Long-term Ozone Trends and Uncertainties in the Stratosphere’. ESA Ozone_CCI: construction of ozone datasets for the study of climate. EUMETSAT AC-SAF validation reports for MetOp-B OUV products.
Research Fellow – National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece
March 2012 – March 2017
H2020 GEO-CRADLE SENSE pilot (WP4): Use of neural networks to develop solar energy potential. MARIE-CURIE IEF AEROMAP: Global mapping of aerosol properties using neural network inversions of ground and satellite based data.
Postdoctoral Researcher – IAASARS, National Observatory of Athens, Greece
October 2008 – October 2009
Greek National Scholarships Foundation (IKY) research award: ‘Space weather prediction using nonlinear techniques’.
Postdoctoral Researcher – Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
March 2007 – December 2007
ESA/Herschel Space Telescope (HST) grant. Department of Astrophysical Molecules & the InfraRed (DAMIR): ‘3D inverse models and reconstruction of depth information’.
Postdoctoral Researcher – Departamento de Fisica Teorica, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM), Spain
January 2004 – March 2007
ESTALLIDOS: ‘3D radiative transfer modelling of astrophysical photoionization regions’.
Lecturer – Department of Physics, University of Bath, UK
September 2001 – September 2002
Undergraduate Courses: Vibrations & Waves, Electrical Circuits I, Magnetism III, Matrices, Mathematics I & II. MSc supervision (4 postgrads).
Books Commissioning Editor – Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol, UK
March 1998 – June 2000
Commissioning editor for popular science, graduate textbooks and research monographs.
Research Associate – Space & Atmospheric Physics Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London, UK
January 1996 – December 1996
NASA/JPL Galileo mission grant: ‘Magnetometer data analysis of ion cyclotron waves in the Jupiter aurorae’
Research Associate – Government Fusion Division, Culham Laboratory, Oxford, UK
January 1995 – December 1995
EURATOM-JET/MST CASE award: ‘Wave propagation through cyclotron resonance in the presence of large Larmor radius particles’.
Projects
Apps
Global Wildfire Dashboard
Interactive Plotly dashboard of global fire data by IPCC-AR6 regions & multiple timescales.
CUSSH Cities
Bias-adjusted CMIP6 indicators + heat stress indices for 7 cities.
Talks
Collaborations
Publications
- An observational record of global gridded near-surface air temperature change over land and ocean from 1781
Morice, Berry, Cornes, Cowtan, Cropper, Hawkins, Kennedy, Osborn, Rayner, Rivas, Schurer, Taylor, Teleti, Wallis, Winn, Kent (2025)
GloSAT reference analysis of monthly gridded land and ocean air temperature anomalies back to the 1780s; includes LAT exposure bias corrections & updated normals; uses MAT not SST; estimates MAT diurnal heating bias corrections; enables use of daytime MAT; blends via HadCRUT5 methods.
[pdf] [doi] [] [dataset] [github] [dataviz] [supplement]
- GloSAT LATsdb: a global compilation of land air temperature station records with updated climatological normals from local expectation kriging
Taylor, Osborn, Cowtan, Morice, Jones, Wallis, Lister (2025)
GloSAT monthly mean land air temperatures & climatological normals for 11865 weather stations; back-extends CRUTEM5 to 1781; includes exposure bias corrections; adopts hierarchical clustering; applies local expectation kriging with station holdout.
[pdf] [doi] [] [dataset] [github] [dataviz]
- Quantifying exposure biases in early instrumental land surface air temperature observations
Wallis, Osborn, Taylor, Jones, Joshi, Hawkins (2024)
Empirical correction of pre-Stevenson screen exposure biases in monthly land air temperatures; regression models of seasonal/diurnal biases across 4 exposure classes; models trained on 54 parallel measurement series; applied to extended CRUTEM5; estimated regional and annual corrections.
[pdf] [doi] [] [dataset] [dataviz] [supplement]
- The Bristol CMIP6 Data Hackathon
Mitchell, Stone, Andrews, Bamber, Bingham, Browse, Henry, MacLeod, Morten, Sauter, Smith, Thomas, Thomson, Wilson, Participants (incl. Taylor) (2022)
Part of Met Office Climate Data Challenge Hackathon series 2021; centralised CMIP6 expertise; >100 UK researchers across environmental disciplines; 10 projects utilising advanced data science methods.
[pdf] [doi] [] [dataset] [github] [supplement]
- Satellite-based time-series of sea-surface temperature since 1981 for climate applications
Merchant, Embury, Bulgin, Block, Corlett, Fiedler, Good, Mittaz, Rayner, Berry, Eastwood, Taylor, Tsushima, Waterfall, Wilson, Donlon (2019)
Global daily 0.05° gap-filled SST climate data record (1981–2016) comprising 4 trillion observations derived from thermal-IR satellites; median uncertainty 0.18 K; stability vs drifting buoys ~0.003 K/yr; provides skin and depth-adjusted SSTs, diurnal de-aliased fields, and anomalies.
[pdf] [doi] [] [github]
- Estimation of PM2.5 concentrations in China using a spatial back propagation neural network
Wang, Zhao, Jiao, Taylor, Zhang, Xu, Hou (2019)
Spatial back-propagation NN for PM2.5 mapping with spatial-lag input; combines ground PM2.5, satellite AOD, meteorology, emissions & geospatial covariates; applies PCA; outperforms BPNN; accurate PM2.5 concentrations for AQ monitoring; 70% of China above CAAQS Level-2 (35 μg/m³).
[pdf] [doi] [] [supplement]
- Ten priority science gaps in assessing climate data record quality
Nightingale, Mittaz, Douglas, Dee, Ryder, Taylor, Old, Dieval, Fouron, Duveau, Merchant (2019)
C3S EQC framework for CDS climate datasets; standardises quality metadata & comparability across satellite and in situ ECVs; built from user requirements and QA initiatives with evaluations of >250 products (24 in-depth); CMS prototype; highlights 10 priority cross-domain science gaps.
[pdf] [doi] []
- SPARC Report 9: long-term ozone trends and uncertainties in the stratosphere
Petropavlovskikh, Godin-Beekmann, Hubert, Damadeo, Hassler, Sofieva; contributing author Chapters 4 and 5: Taylor (2019)
SPARC/LOTUS report for the 2018 WMO/UNEP Ozone Assessment; mid/upper-stratospheric ozone trends outside the poles from merged satellites; integrates ground and CCMI support; improves records, sampling/stability & regression methods; updates trend estimates; notes gaps.
[pdf] [doi] [] [supplement]
- Earth observation-based estimation and forecasting of particulate matter impact on solar energy in Egypt
Kosmopoulos, Kazadzis, El-Askary, Taylor, Gkikas, Proestakis, Kontoes, El-Khayat (2018)
EO-based solar energy nowcasting system (SENSE) quantification of the impact of dust aerosols on surface solar radiation in Egypt; fuses MODIS AOD, RTM-ML and CAMS AOD forecasts; accounts for annual losses due to dust; extreme AOD>3.5 causes loss of >4 kWh/m²/day for 10 MW plants.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Assessment of surface solar irradiance derived from real-time modelling techniques and verification with ground-based measurements
Kosmopoulos, Kazadzis, Taylor, Raptis, Keramitsoglou, Kiranoudis, Bais (2018)
Operational real-time surface solar radiation (SSR) mapping via NN models & multiple linear regression using MSG-SEVIRI cloud products and CAMS aerosols; high resolution (1nm, 0.05°, 15-min); validated vs BSRN ground station SSR spectra; supports solar energy planning.
[pdf] [doi] []
- NILU-UV multi-filter radiometer total ozone columns: comparison with satellite observations over Thessaloniki, Greece
Zempila, Taylor, Koukouli, Lerot, Fragkos, Fountoulakis, Bais, Balis, van Roozendael (2017)
Operational high frequency (1-minute) neural network (NN) model of total column ozone from ground-based NILU-UV irradiances; validated against co-located GOME, SCIAMACHY, OMI and GOME2 satellite overpass ozone retrievals; applicable to any NILU-UV station.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Dust impact on surface solar irradiance assessed with model simulations, satellite observations and ground-based measurements
Kosmopoulos, Kazadzis, Taylor, Athanasopoulou, Speyer, Raptis, Marinou, Proestakis, Solomos, Gerasopoulos, Amiridis, Bais, Kontoes (2017)
Extreme dust event impacts on solar energy in the Mediterranean; exploits a NN model of SSR toether with a synergy of passive & active remote sensing (AERONET/CIMEL, MODIS, CALIPSO) inputs together with CAMS AOD forecasts to assess SSR attenuation and zonal contrasts affecting PV/CSP output.
[pdf] [doi] []
- TEMIS UV product validation using NILU-UV ground-based measurements in Thessaloniki, Greece
Zempila, van Geffen, Taylor, Fountoulakis, Koukouli, van Weele, van der A, Bais, Meleti, Balis (2017)
Neural-network (NN) high frequency (1-minute) retrievals of photobiological UV doses (erythema, vitamin D, DNA) from NILU-UV irradiances; benchmarked against Brewer and TEMIS satellite erythemal UV products; derived using UV window functions; supports reliable urban UV exposure assessment.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Modeling the relationship between photosynthetically active radiation and global horizontal irradiance using singular spectrum analysis
Zempila, Taylor, Bais, Kazadzis (2016)
Neural network (NN) models of photosynthetically-active radiation (PAR) and global horizontal irradiance (GHI) are validated across Greek UV (UVNET) and solar (HNSE) network stations; multi-channel singular spectrum analysis (M-SSA) regularizes the models for diverse sky/cloud regimes.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Anthropogenic sulphur dioxide load over China as observed from different satellite sensors
Koukouli, Balis, van der A, Theys, Hedelt, Richter, Krotkov, Li, Taylor (2016)
Satellite SO₂ over megacities and power stations in China from SCIAMACHY, OMI, and GOME-2 with post-processed, gridded fields; point-source time series reveal policy-driven declines, whereas some emerging regions are showing increases; seasonality diagnosed with SSA showing winter peaks.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Particulate matter estimation from photochemistry: a modelling approach using neural networks and synoptic clustering
Taylor, Retalis, Flocas (2016)
Bayesian-regularized neural network for PM₁₀ in Greater Athens; uses NO, NO₂, O₃ and temporal features and synoptic 850-hPa clustering for air quality modeling; outperforms unclustered NN and MLR; enables routine air-quality estimation from photochemistry + meteorology.
[pdf] [doi] [] [supplement]
- Neural network radiative transfer solvers for the generation of high resolution solar irradiance spectra parameterized by cloud and aerosol parameters
Taylor, Kosmopoulos, Kazadzis, Keramitsoglou, Kiranoudis (2016)
Neural network (NN) radiative transfer model producing instantaneous surface solar radiation (SSR) spectra; trained on satellite cloud data; columnar aerosol, ozone and water vapour, and 10-fold cross-validated using a 2.4M record high-spectral resolution (1 nm) look up table (LUT).
[pdf] [doi] []
- Global aerosol mixtures and their multiyear and seasonal characteristics
Taylor, Kazadzis, Amiridis, Kahn (2015)
Global mean and seasonal gridded atmospheric aerosol mixture maps derived from k-means clustering of GOCART columnar AOD; introduces true-colour taxonomy; assigns optical/microphysical traits via AERONET inversions; provides gap-filling for siting and climate forcing studies.
[pdf] [doi] [] [dataset]
- Satellite retrieval of aerosol microphysical and optical parameters using neural networks: a new methodology applied to the Sahara desert dust peak
Taylor, Kazadzis, Tsekeri, Gkikas, Amiridis (2014)
NN retrieval of aerosol microphysical & optical properties from satellites; uses MODIS+OMI inputs with PCA; trained/validated against AERONET over Saharan dust; recovers size distribution, coarse-mode volume, refractive index & spectral SSA; enables daily mapping.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Multi-modal analysis of aerosol robotic network size distributions for remote sensing applications: dominant aerosol type cases
Taylor, Kazadzis, Gerasopoulos (2014)
Generalised Gaussian-mixture multi-modal distribution fitting with automatic mode selection; fits AERONET lognormal volume size distributions; mode-separation optimised using hypothesis testing; uses total-volume constraint; extends 2-mode AERONET retrieval to up to 8-modes.
[pdf] [doi] [] [supplement]
- Aerosol microphysical retrievals from precision filter radiometer direct solar radiation measurements and comparison with AERONET
Kazadzis, Veselovskii, Amiridis, Gröbner, Suvorina, Nyeki, Gerasopoulos, Kouremeti, Taylor, Tsekeri, Wehrli (2014)
Synchronized AERONET-CIMEL and GAW-PFR AOD and microphysical retrievals comparison; evaluates effective radius and volume concentration across different aerosol-load regimes; assesses sensitivity to AOD errors; characterizes instrument differences; demonstrates reliable bulk-property estimation.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Rankings are the sorcerer’s new apprentice
Taylor, Perakakis, Trachana, Gialis (2014)
Critical analysis of global university rankings; exposes subjective indicators, opaque weightings, English-language bias & social-science underrepresentation; skew towards privately-funded US/UK institutions; examines socio-economic/psychological drivers; proposes quality assessment protocol.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Optimizing CALIPSO Saharan dust retrievals
Amiridis, Wandinger, Marinou, Giannakaki, Tsekeri, Basart, Kazadzis, Gkikas, Taylor, Baldasano, Ansmann (2013)
Enhanced CALIPSO lidar dust extinction retrievals; adopts a revised constant lidar ratio; isolate dust within mixtures; applies averaging that retains non-dust classes; validated against AERONET, MODIS and BSC-DREAM dust model; delivers robust multiyear dust climatology for North Africa and Europe.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Volterra network modeling of the nonlinear finite‐impulse reponse of the radiation belt flux
Taylor, Daglis, Anastasiadis, Vassiliadis (2011)
Volterra network spatio-temporal nonlinear impulse-response space weather forecast constructed from a NARMAX taxonomy; applied to Van Allen radiation-belt energetic-particle flux prediction; recovers key observational coupling features on recent-day timescales.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Towards a unified source-propagation model of cosmic rays
Taylor, Molla (2010)
Generalised non-extensive statistical mechanics (NESM) fit to the multi-fractal cosmic-ray spectrum; introduces the log–log gradient diagnostic to reveal transitions between Boltzmann-Gibbs and NESM regimes; presents a unified picture of source modulation + Fermi acceleration + solar modulation.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Natural selection of academic papers
Perakakis, Taylor, Mazza, Trachana (2010)
Critique of for-profit journal control distorting how scientific ideas are selected; charts the rise of open-access journals, self-archiving & disciplinary repositories; proposes a dynamic and transparent peer-review system to return selection power to the community.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Exact solutions for the populations of the n-level ion
Taylor, Vílchez (2009)
Matrix solution for the computation of n-level ion populations in collisionally-excited plasmas; recasts statistical-equilibrium in the form of symbolic linear systems; generalises the Seaton model; validated with 3D photoionization models and planetary nebular spectra; provides full MATLAB code.
[pdf] [doi] []
- A matrix generalisation of dimensional analysis: new similarity transforms to address the problem of uniqueness
Taylor, Diaz, Jódar Sánchez, Villanueva Micó (2008)
Matrix generalisation of the Buckingham–Pi theorem via non-square block-matrix inversion; recovers Planck-law form; enables semi-empirical data-driven physical law discovery.
[pdf] []
- The siege of science
Taylor, Perakakis, Trachana (2008)
Argues that access to scientific ideas and their peer-review has been hijacked by paywalls imposed by an overpriced journal monopoly; explains why the journal impact factor is a flawed metric; fits the Zipf law for journal impact factors; makes the case for free open access and open peer-review.
[pdf] [doi] []
- On the deduction of galaxy abundances with evolutionary neural networks
Taylor, Diaz (2007)
Genetic algorithm neural-network method for computation of metallicity indicators in HII regions and galaxies; evolves architecture, weights & transfer functions to yield functional (not just numeric) relations; derives a metallicity diagnostic Z from optical nebular/auroral line ratios.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Wave-particle dynamics in a hot inhomogenous fusion plasma (PhD)
Taylor (1996)
Generalised kinetic full-wave equations for ion RF heating in bi-Maxwellian inhomogeneous plasmas; preserves energy conservation and velocity-dependent equilibria; predicts anisotropy-driven resonance localisation and low-field cut-off in tokamak fusion plasmas.
[pdf] [doi] []
- Wave propagation through cyclotron resonance in the presence of large Larmor radius particles
Cairns, Holt, McDonald, Taylor, Lashmore‐Davies (1995)
Resonant ion cyclotron wave absorption across inhomogeneous fields with nonlocal plasma response; applies the fast wave approximation for large-Larmor radius ions; simplifies integro-differential equations while retaining nonlocal effects; applied example to JET tokamak plasma parameters.
[pdf] [doi] []