Home / Privacy Policy

This privacy policy applies to the National Centre for Atmospheric science website located at www.ncas.ac.uk.

This privacy policy has been produced in line with the General Data Protection Regulation.
External links from this site are not covered by this policy.

Privacy and cookies

1. Purpose of this Notice

This policy tells you how the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) will collect and use your personal data when you access this website. NCAS is a “controller” of this personal data for the purposes of the data protection legislation. Note that additional information will be provided where you are requested to enter personal information. It is important that you read this policy, together with any other privacy notice we provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This policy supplements the other notices and is not intended to override them.

2. Changes to this Notice

We keep the information provided in this policy under review. This policy may be updated from time to time. If we make any substantial updates, we will draw these to your attention.

We will not use your personal data in any manner that is incompatible with the purpose for which the data were collected originally, unless we have obtained your consent to that additional use.

3. Anything you are not clear about

If there is anything you are unclear about, please contact us. We will be happy to answer any queries you may have concerning this policy or the way in which we process your personal data.

4. Purpose of processing your data

Where we request personal data from you on our website you will be informed at that time of the purpose for which the data will be processed and how it will be processed, its legal basis for processing as well as any transfers to third parties.

5. Purpose of processing – automated collection of personal information

When you access our web pages certain information your browser provides, including your IP address at the time, browser type, and potentially the address of the page you last visited, will be automatically recorded by NCAS. This data may be used to aid detection in the event of a security breach. The legal basis for this processing is necessary to pursue our legitimate interests to keep our website secure.
NCAS retains this data in a form from which you may be identifiable for a period of up to one month.

6. Third-party access

Your personal data that you have provided will not routinely be sent to third parties
(unless notified – see 4. above).

7. Data retention

When you access our web pages certain information your browser provides will be automatically recorded by NCAS. NCAS retains this data in a form from which you may be identifiable for a period of up to one month.

If you subscribe to news or events, any retention of data will be made clear at the point of collection.

8. Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device by websites that you visit. Cookies are used to improve the functionality of our website (e.g. storing log-in details), they also help us collect statistical data on website use (e.g. Google Analytics). If you wish to manage your cookies, you can do this through your browser settings.

Please be aware that restricting cookies may have an impact upon the functionality of the NCAS website.

We use cookies for the following purposes:

  • Essential: To help our website function 
  • Performance tracking: Track how our website is used and help us make improvements.
  • Google Analytics
    • This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States . Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. 
    • Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting:  In order to ensure that content from the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) remains user-orientated, we employ the Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting tool. This tool is part of Google Analytics and helps us to simplify site navigation, make the site more user-friendly and tailor content to our audience’s preferences. Information generated during this process (including the IP address) is anonymised, making personal identification impossible. Demographics and interests data provides information about the age and gender of users, along with any interests you express through your online activities. This information is collected from the following sources: third-party DoubleClick cookie, Android Advertising ID, and iOS Identifier for Advertisers. Google provides further information about their Demographics and Interests analytics tool.
    • You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. The easiest way to opt-out of Google Analytics features being used by our site is the Google Opt-Out browser plugin.
    • By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
9. Your duty to inform us of changes

It is important that the personal data NCAS holds about you is accurate and current.
Please keep us informed if the personal data you have provided to us needs to be updated.
You can do this by visiting our ‘contact us’ page.

10. Your rights as a data subject

Under the GDPR, in certain circumstances, you have the right to:

  • withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal data where that is the legal basis for such processing
  • access any of your personal data which we hold
  • have your personal data which we hold corrected if it is inaccurate
  • have any of your personal data which we hold erased
  • restrict the ways in which we process your personal data
  • object to our processing of your personal data
  • receive a copy of any of your personal data which we hold in a structured and commonly used machine-readable format
  • in certain cases not be subject to a decision based solely on automated decision making
  • lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
11. Queries and complaints

If you have any queries or concerns relating to this privacy notice or the way your data is being processed through this website then please contact us.

The UK’s regulator for the DPA and GDPR is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Should you be dissatisfied with our handling of your concerns you have the right to complain to a supervisory authority. In the case of the UK this is the Information Commissioner’s Office and details can be found at https://ico.org.uk.