Work carried out by FAAM includes FAAM is staffed by a mixture of NERC , University of Leeds and Met Office personnel , and acts as a servant to numerous UK and occasionally overseas science organisations ; primarily the Met Office itself , or UK universities funded by NERC . It flies around 400 hours annually , most commonly on large campaigns where a team of typically 30 will spend around a month at a base location , potentially anywhere in the world , delivering a specific science campaign , although some flying from Cranfield also takes place . An emergency response role exists , which has been used three times - at the 2005 Buncefield fire , the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption and 2012 Total Elgin gas platform leak ; subsequent to Eyjafjallajökull a new aircraft , MOCCA - the Met Office Civil Contingency Aircraft , a converted Cessna 421 aircraft has been commissioned as the " first responder " to British volcanic ash emergencies
Buncefield fire
Buncefield fire
Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements