Mission

About the Icelandic Meteorological Office

28.5.2010

The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) is agovernmental institution under theMinistry of the Environment and NaturalResources . IMO has 135 fulltime employees, 80% with a university degree, thereof20% with Ph.D. degree. The gender balance of the office is 65% male and 35%female.

The main purpose of IMO is to contributetowards increased safety and efficiency in society by:

Monitoring,analyzing, interpreting, informing, giving advice and counsel, providingwarnings and forecasts and, where possible, predicting natural processes andnatural hazards;
issuing public and aviation alerts about impending natural hazards, such as volcanic ash, extreme weather and flooding;
conducting research on the physics of air, land and sea, specifically in the fields of meteorology, hydrology, glaciology, climatology, seismology and volcanology
maintaining high-quality service and efficiency in providing information in the interest of economy, of safety affairs, of sustainable usage of natural resources and with regard to other needs of the public;
ensuring the accumulation and preservation of data and knowledge regarding the long-term development of natural processes such as climate, glacier changes, crustal movements and other environmental matters that fall under IMO‘s responsibility; undertaking of risk assessments for natural hazards as requested by the government.

IMO has a long-termadvisory role with the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Managementof the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police and issues public alertsabout impending natural hazards. The institute participates in internationalweather and aviation alert systems, such as London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre(VAAC), and the Icelandic Aviation Oceanic Area Control Center (OACC). IMO is aState Volcano Observatory nominated by the Icelandic Transport Authority onbehalf of ICAO. IMO provides information to the European alarm system forextreme weather, www.meteoalarm.eu. IMO has an active role in the pilot projectARISTOTLE (All Risk Integrated System Towards Trans-boundary holisticEarly-warning), which is an European collaboration of meteorological andgeophysical institutes with the purpose to advice on multi-hazard to theEmergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC ). An effective early warningsystem is important for IMO to be able to warn the authorities, stakeholdersand the public about natural hazards, with the aim of minimizing thevulnerability of the society.

Theresearch focus of IMO is on weather and climate, atmospheric processes, glacierand avalanche studies, hydrological systems, earthquake and volcanic processesand geohazards. IMO also focuses on research in multi-parameter geophysicalmonitoring to develop more accurate forecasts of hazardous events. IMO hasparticipated in several European and Nordic funded research projects, havingthe role of lead partner in many of them.

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