From 14-26 May, the Kelud Ash Experiment (KLAsh) will make measurements of the volcanic plume from the Mt. Kelud (Indonesia) using balloon-borne instruments.

The experiment consists of the University of Wyoming’s Optical Particle Counter, together with instruments that measure aerosol optical properties, ozone, and meteorological variables up to 30 km in altitude. The aim is to better characterize particle sizes and optical properties from a relatively fresh volcanic plume in the stratosphere. Mt. Kelud last erupted on 13 February 2014 and replaced lava dome with 400 meters diameter crater with 30 to 50 meters depth. The measurement campaign will provide valuable data for the SPARC activity on stratospheric sulfur (find more information on the SSiRC activity).

The data from the GASS-YoTC (GEWEX Global Atmospheric System Science, GASS, and Year of Tropical Convection, YoTC) Vertical Structure and Physical Processes Multi-model Experiment is highly suitable for detailed model-based, physical-process studies of a wide range of weather and climate phenomena.

Find data access and more information on the experimental framework, contributing models etc.

Dr David Carlson, oceanographer and former Director of the Project Office for the International Polar Year 2007-2008 will take up his duty as Director of the World Climate Research Programme secretariat in Geneva as off June 2014.

Find full announcement.

ESA is inviting young researchers to apply for a fellowship in the context of Earth Observation, Earth science and Climate research.

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The large international Conference organised by the German Helmholtz Association will take place on 6-9 October 2014 in Berlin, Germany. Submit abstract before 30 May.

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Climate modelers and scientists from around the world are invited to help improve the next generation of Coupled Model Intercomparisons and submit their comments before 15 September 2014.

Since 1995, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) has coordinated climate model experiments involving multiple international modeling teams. Through CMIP, climate modelers and scientists from around the world have analyzed and compared state-of-the-art climate model simulations to gain insights into the processes, mechanisms, and consequences of climate variability and climate change. This has led to a better understanding of past, present, and future climate, and CMIP model experiments have routinely been the basis for future climate change assessments made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

An initial design for CMIP6 has now been developed (Meehl et al., EOS, 2014) that is open for comments from the community until 15 September 2014. This includes a small set of experiments to be routinely performed by modeling groups whenever they develop a new model version. The output from these so-called ongoing CMIP Diagnostic, Evaluation and Characterization of Klima (DECK) experiments will be distributed for community use via the ESGF infrastructure. Other Model Intercomparison Projects (MIPs) will build on the CMIP DECK experiments and augment them to address a broad range of scientific questions. Additionally proposed MIP experiments together with the CMIP DECK experiments will constitute the suite of simulations for the next phase of CMIP.

MIPs are now invited to request endorsement for the next phase of CMIP (i.e., CMIP6). A CMIP6-Endorsed MIP may propose that a subset or even all of their experiments be included as part of the suite of simulations constituting CMIP6, see further information in the template for these applications which is available on the CMIP Panel website. This website also lists the current active MIPs under ‘Catalogue of MIPs’. The co-chairs of these MIPs have been informed by the CMIP Panel and WGCM co-chairs that the application for CMIP6-Endorsed MIPs is now open.

The Climate Symposium 2014 will take place in Darmstadt, Germany, 13-17 October. This large conference focusses on climate information for decision making and is organised by the World Climate Research Programme and Eumetsat.

Important dates:

31 March – Deadline to submit application for travel support

15 April – Deadline to submit abstracts

15 May – Early registration deadline

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In a new ACPD article, N. Eguchi et al. use the NICAM global non-hydrostatic model to investigate the dynamical coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) during a stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) in boreal winter. The model reproduced the observed tropical tropospheric changes well, including the enhancement of convective activity following the amplification of planetary waves. They found that deep convective activity was enhanced from 10-20°S and although this upwelling in the TTL was correlated with that occurring in the stratosphere, the TTL temperature tendency was controlled mainly by diabatic heating originating from cloud formation. This suggests that the stratospheric meridional circulation affects cloud formation in the TTL. The full abstract can be found here.

The 13th Quadrennial iCACGP Symposium and 13th IGAC Science Conference to be held on 22-26 September 2014 in Natal, Brazil, extended its deadline for abstract submission and Young Scientist support to 31 March.

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In a new ACPD paper, A. Schanz and co-authors use the WACCM model to study the diurnal ozone cycle in the stratosphere, exploring its underlying photochemical and dynamical processes. The analysis is focused on the middle stratosphere at 5hPa where the simulated ozone diurnal cycle shows a minimum after sunrise and maximum in the late afternoon. They find that this diurnal cycle varies seasonally and spatially, with a maximum amplitude of 15% (0.8ppmv) occurring at the polar circle in summer. They show that the global pattern of the diurnal ozone cycle is governed by the solar zenith angle and sunshine duration. They also find that the synoptic scale variability of the diurnal ozone cycle is often anti-correlated with regional temperature anomalies due to the temperature dependence of the Chapman cycle reactions. Furthermore, at high latitudes increased westerly (easterly) winds cause a decrease (increase) in the sunshine duration of an air parcel leading to a weaker (stronger) diurnal ozone cycle. The full abstract can be found here.