XN000022-1982-10-07 — Page 4

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1982

CHIEF SECRETARY VISITS OBSERVATORY HEADQUARTERS

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THE CHIEF SECRETARY, SIR PHILIP HADDON-CAVE, SPENT THIS (THURSDAY) AFTERNOON TOURING THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY HEADQUARTERS IN NATHAN ROAD, TSIM SHA TSUI.

SIR PHILIP WAS MET ON ARRIVAL BY THE DIRECTOR, MR JOHN E. PEACOCK, WHO INTRODUCED THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, RESEARCH AND ADMINISTRATION, MR PATRICK SHAM, AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS AND METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES, MR PETER LI TO HIM.

AFTER AN INTRODUCTORY BRIEFING, SIR PHILIP WAS TAKEN ON

A GUIDED TOUR OF THE OBSERVATORY'S HEADQUARTERS.

SIR PHILIP FIRST WENT TO THE METEOROLOGICAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS CENTRE, AND THE SATELLITE AND RADAR RECEPTION ROOM LOCATED ON THE SAME FLOOR. HERE SIR PHILIP WAS BRIEFED ON THE ROLE THE OBSERVATORY PLAYS IN THE EXCHANGE OF WEATHER DATA OVER THE

INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION CIRCUITS AND WAS SHOWN THE VARIOUS FACILITIES AVAILABLE FOR THE RECEPTION AND DESPATCH OF WEATHER INFORMATION, THE RECEPTION OF WEATHER SATELLITE PICTURES AND THE IR APPLICATION TO WEATHER FORECASTING WERE ALSO EXPLAINED TO SIR PHILIP.

IN THE CENTRAL FORECASTING OFFICE, SIR PHILIP SAW FORECASTERS AND SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANTS AT WORK AND WAS GIVEN AN ACCOUNT OF HOW LOCAL METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION AND WEATHER DATA FROM OTHER CENTRES WERE COLLATED FOR USE IN WEATHER FORECASTING.

SIR PHILIP NEXT VISITED THE OBSERVATORY'S COMPUTER DIVISION WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACQUISITION, ANALYSIS, PROCESSING AND ARCHIVAL OF METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION FOR WEATHER FORECASTING AND RESEARCH.

FROM THERE, HE WENT TO THE RESEARCH AND RECORDS DIVISION, AND THEN THE AIR POLLUTION METEOROLOGY RESEARCH UNIT.

HE ALSO TOURED THE PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY UNIT, AND THE SEISMOLOGY, ASTRONOMY, GEOMAGNETISM AND TIME SERVICE SECTION.

AT THE PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY UNIT, SIR PHILIP WAS TOLD HOW MATHEMATICAL MODELS ARE USED TO PREDICT TIDES AND STORM SURGE LEVELS FOR WARNING PURPOSES AND ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS SUCH AS MAJOR RECLAMATION PROJECTS.

AT THE SPECIAL PROJECTS DIVISION, SIR PHILIP HEARD HOW INFORMATION IS COLLECTED, AND ANALYSED, IN CONNECTION WITH FEASIBILITY STUDIES FOR THE PROPOSED NEW AIRPORT AT CHEK LAP KOK.

FINALLY, SIR PHILIP WAS SHOWN ROUND THE METEOROLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS SECTION AND THE OBSERVATORY'S TRAINING UNIT WHERE SEVEN SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANTS WERE BEING GIVEN TECHNICAL TRAINING.