The US National Academy of Sciences is preparing for the Decadal Survey in Earth Science Applications from Space, and is requesting short (1500 word) white papers from the broad scientific community with a deadline of November 2nd. We are encouraging you to consider responding to this request, highlighting a scientific issue that should inform plans for future space observations that is important to the SPARC community.

Submissions should address:

1. What are the key challenges or questions for Earth System Science across the spectrum of basic research, applied research, applications, and/or operations in the coming decade?
2. Why are these challenge/questions timely to address now especially with respect to readiness?
3. Why are space-based observations fundamental to addressing these challenges/questions?

In your responses to these questions, please focus on the role of space-based observations and comment on:

a. Whether existing and planned U.S. and international programs will provide the capabilities necessary to make substantial progress on the identified challenge and associated questions. If not, what additional investments are needed?
b. How to link space-based observations with other observations to increase the value of data for addressing key scientific questions and societal needs;
c. The anticipated scientific and societal benefits; and
d. The science communities that would be involved.

For more details and a submission form, see:
http://sites.nationalacademies.org/SSB/SSB_167627

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This message was sent by email to the SPARC community by

the SPARC office
on behalf of Joan Alexander and Neil Harris, SPARC co-chairs

Abstract submission deadline: 22 November 2015

This is the second announcement for the upcoming Gravity Wave Symposium to be held on the week of May 16-20, 2016 starting with dinner Sunday the 15th and departing after lunch Friday the 20th at the Penn State Campus in State College Pennsylvania in the United States.

Call for papers:

The deadline for abstract submission is November 22, 2015.
Our ADAPT center assistant and postdoc Dr. Dandan Tao has kindly built a website for the symposium that should contain all the essential information about the meeting. Please visit the link to the following website: http://adapt.psu.edu/2016SPARCGWSymposium/

Subject areas:

Consistent with our first save-the-date announcement, we would encourage contributions from all aspects of atmospheric gravity wave research.

Topics of special interests include but are not limited to:

• Gravity wave sources including orography, convection, and other jet stream sources;
• Remote-sensing and in-situ observations of gravity waves;
• Gravity wave parameterization and impacts;
• Theoretical studies of Gravity wave dynamics;
• High resolution “gravity wave permitting” modeling studies;
• Gravity waves, energy spectrum, and predictability;
• Gravity Wave effects on the general circulation;
• Gravity wave effects on the climate in model studies;
• Gravity waves and convective initiations;
• Gravity waves and clear-air turbulence;
• Gravity waves and ice clouds;
• Gravity waves in the QBO/tropical stratospheric circulation;
• Gravity waves in tropical cyclones.

Meeting format:

We intend to identify one or two lead speakers to provide an overview of each of the subject areas based on the recommendations from the meeting’s scientific organizing committee, and/or the content of the submitted abstracts. We will give also ample time, space and attention for those abstracts to be selected as posters. Please indicate in your subjection whether a poster presentation is requested.

Conference package:

$225 per person per day for single occupancy and $180 per person per day for double occupancy plus taxes. The conference package include all day meals, snacks, coffee and non-alcoholic drinks as well as conference registration.
Yes, there will also be beer bars arranged in the evenings but they will be at your additional cost. More information will be added on the symposium website: http://adapt.psu.edu/2016SPARCGWSymposium/

Accommodation and transportation:

Penn State Campus, State College Pennsylvania.
You can find more information on the symposium website.

Local climate:

Temperature range in May: 40℉ – 60℉ (~ 5℃ – ~15℃). Pack clothes for chilly nights and warm days.

Highlights:

Breath-taking views of Niagara Falls is only 50 miles away, especially for those who choose to fly through Toronto Airport (you may need separate visa to Canada).

We looking forward to seeing all of you next May.

Best regards,
Fuqing ()
on behalf of the scientific organizing committee

Co-chairs: Joan Alexander, Kevin Hamilton, Kaoru Sato and Fuqing Zhang
Committee members: Ulrich Achatz, James Doyle, Edwin P. Gerber, Albert Hertzog, Richard Johnson, Brian Mapes, Jadwiga (Yaga) Richter

A selection of new science articles from the past week of interest to the SPARC community (a SPARC Office choice).

Optimization of the GSFC TROPOZ DIAL retrieval using synthetic lidar returns and ozonesondes – Part 1: Algorithm validation. By J.T. Sullivan et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

The Climate Change Web Portal: a system to access and display climate and earth system model output from the CMIP5 archive. By J.D. Scott et al. in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Concentric gravity waves over Northern China observed by an airglow imager network and satellites. By J. Xu et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Origins of Climate Model Discrepancies in Atmospheric Shortwave Absorption and Global Precipitation Changes. By B. Fildier and W.D. Collins in Geophysical Research Letters.

Evaluating a new homogeneous total ozone climate data record from GOME/ERS-2, SCIAMACHY/Envisat and GOME-2/MetOp-A. By M.E. Koukouli et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Consistent decrease in North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone frequency following major volcanic eruptions in the last 3 centuries. By A. Guevara-Murua et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Global patterns of solar influence on high cloud cover. By M. Dima and M. Voiculescu in Climate Dynamics.

The impacts of volcanic aerosol on stratospheric ozone and the Northern Hemisphere polar vortex: separating radiative-dynamical changes from direct effects due to enhanced aerosol heterogeneous chemistry. By S. Muthers et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Discussion papers – open for comment

Inter-comparison of stratospheric mean-meridional circulation and eddy mixing among six reanalysis datasets. By K. Miyazaki et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Ozone variability in the troposphere and the stratosphere from the first six years of IASI observations (2008–2013). By C. Wespes et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

A selection of new science articles from the past week of interest to the SPARC community (a SPARC Office choice).

Trend analysis of the 20-year time series of stratospheric ozone profiles observed by the GROMOS microwave radiometer at Bern. By L. Moreira et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Revisiting the evidence of increasing springtime ozone mixing ratios in the free troposphere over western North America. By M. Lin et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Blocking variability: Arctic Amplification versus Arctic Oscillation. By P. Hassanzadeh and Z. Kuang in Geophysical Research Letters.

Quantifying the uncertainty of the annular mode time scale and the role of the stratosphere. By J. Kim and T. Reichler in Climate Dynamics.

Abrupt reversal in emissions and atmospheric abundance of HCFC-133a (CF₃CH₂Cl). By M.K. Vollmer et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

A minimum standard for publishing computational results in the weather and climate sciences. By D. Irving in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Can cirrus cloud seeding be used for geoengineering? By J.E. Penner et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

IAMAS-IAPSO-IAGA are organising a joint conference to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 27 August – 1 September 2017 (www.iapso-iamas-iaga2017.com/).

They welcome session proposals from the SPARC Community.

Please contact the SPARC Office () if you are interested in doing so.

A selection of new science articles from the past week of interest to the SPARC community (a SPARC Office choice).

Multigrid solvers and multigrid preconditioners for the solution of variational data assimilation problems. By L. Debreu et al. in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Stratosphere–troposphere exchange (STE) in the vicinity of North Atlantic cyclones. By P. Ruetter et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Altitude misestimation caused by the Vaisala RS80 pressure bias and its impact on meteorological profiles. By Y. Inai et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Abstract submission deadline: 11 March 2016
Registration deadline: 22 April 2016

The Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation: Confronting Model Biases and Uncovering Mechanisms

Persistent biases in forecast and climate prediction systems hinder our ability to model circulation changes, both in seasonal forecasting and in climate projections.

SPARC Dynvar has established a set of diagnostics (DynVarMIP, endorsed by CMIP6) to enable a mechanistic approach to confront model biases and understand the underlying causes behind circulation changes.

This workshop is an action to launch this effort and reinforce connections between the modeling centers involved in DynVarMIP and the wider research community. As atmospheric reanalyses provide a vital connection between models and the real Earth, we will meet jointly with a subset of the SPARC Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (S-RIP) focused on the Brewer-Dobson Circulation and the Stratospheric-Tropospheric Coupling.

Presentations are called for analysis of seasonal prediction, CMIP, and idealized models on:

• The origin and consequences of systematic models biases in the context of atmospheric dynamics; with a focus on: tropical – extratropical connections, storm tracks, polar vortex and sea ice variability.
• The role of atmospheric dynamics in shaping the climate response to anthropogenic forcing (e.g. global warming, ozone depletion).
• How dynamical processes contribute to uncertainty in climate prediction at seasonal and decadal time scales.

The workshop will provide a forum for:

• Discussion on how best analyze the CMIP6 diagnostics that will be available via DynVarMIP, which targets the DECK experiments (AMIP, abrupt4xCO2 and 1pctCO2), the CMIP6 historical and the ScenarioMIP RCP8.5 experiments, as well as selected experiments within VolMIP, AeroChemMIP, and HiResMIP, where there is natural overlap in scientific interest.
• Explore the possibility of coordinated idealized experiments on dynamical processes

Invited Speakers and Discussion Leaders will introduce presentation topics and stir discussion.

DynVar is a working group of the Stratosphere-troposphere Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC) Project.

SPARC is a core project of the World Climate Research Program (WCRP).

We thank the Finnish Meteorological Institute for hosting the workshop and anticipate that limited funding will be available to support the attendance of early career scientists.

DynVar Conveners: Ed Gerber, Alexey Karpechko and Elisa Manzini

Meeting website

DynVar website

A selection of new science articles from the past week of interest to the SPARC community (a SPARC Office choice).

Use of North American and European air quality networks to evaluate global chemistry–climate modeling of surface ozone. By J.L. Schnell et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

The GOME-type Total Ozone Essential Climate Variable (GTO-ECV) data record from the ESA Climate Change Initiative. By M. Coldewey-Egbers et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Global OZone Chemistry And Related trace gas Data records for the Stratosphere (GOZCARDS): methodology and sample results with a focus on HCl, H₂O, and O₃. By L. Froidevaux et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Is a high-altitude meteorological analysis necessary to simulate thermosphere-stratosphere coupling? By D.E. Siskind et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Multi-Sensor Profiling of a Concentric Gravity Wave Event Propagating from the Troposphere to the Ionosphere. By I. Azeem et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Variability in Antarctic ozone loss in the last decade (2004–2013): high-resolution simulations compared to Aura MLS observations. By J. Kuttipurath et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Observational evidence of strengthening of the Brewer-Dobson circulation since 1980. By Q. Fu et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Inter-model diversity in jet stream changes and its relation to Arctic climate in CMIP5. By Y. Yim et al. in Climate Dynamics.

A decomposition of ENSO’s impacts on the northern winter stratosphere: competing effect of SST forcing in the tropical Indian Ocean. By J. Rao and R. Ren in Climate Dynamics.

Discussion papers – open for comment

Transport across the tropical tropopause layer and convection. By A.-S. Tissier and B. Legras in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Using beryllium-7 to assess cross-tropopause transport in global models. By H. Liu et al in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Transport pathways from the Asian monsoon anticyclone to the stratosphere. By H. Garny and W. J. Randel in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Water vapour variability in the high-latitude upper troposphere – Part 2: Impact of volcanic emissions. By C.E. Sioris et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Improved simulation of tropospheric ozone by a global-multi-regional two-way coupling model system. By Y.-Y. Yan et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

A selection of new science articles from the past week of interest to the SPARC community (a SPARC Office choice).

Observational evidence of the influence of Antarctic stratospheric ozone variability on middle atmosphere dynamics. By N. Venkateswara Rao et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Convective Transport of Trace Species Observed During the Stratosphere-Troposphere Analyses of Regional Transport 2008 Experiment (START08). By L.W. Siu et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Tropospheric Biennial Oscillation (TBO) indistinguishable from white noise. By M.F. Stuecker et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Signal of Central Pacific El Niño in the Southern Hemispheric stratosphere during austral spring. By C. Yang et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Sustainable early-career networks. By F. Rauser et al. in Nature Geoscience.

Effect of tropical cyclones on the tropical tropopause parameters observed using COSMIC GPS RO data. By S. Ravindra Babu et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Comparing the impacts of tropical SST variability and polar stratospheric ozone loss on the Southern Ocean westerly winds. By D.P. Schneider et al. in the Journal of Climate.

Discussion papers – open for comment

The vertical distribution of volcanic SO₂ plumes measured by IASI. By E. Carboni et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

The millennium water vapour drop in chemistry-climate model simulations. By S. Brinkop et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Stratospheric ozone change and related climate impacts over 1850–2100 as modelled by the ACCMIP ensemble. By F. Iglesias-Suarez et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Dear colleagues,

We would like to bring to your attention a SPARC workshop on "Stratospheric Change and its Role in Climate Prediction (SHARP)" to be held from 16-19 February 2016 in Berlin, Germany.

The SPARC-SHARP workshop aims at addressing relevant issues of stratospheric change, the interaction between atmospheric chemistry and climate change, and the implications for climate and weather in observations and model studies.

The workshop will be organized around four major topics:

1. How is the Brewer-Dobson circulation affected by climate change, and which processes are relevant?
2. How is the evolution of stratospheric ozone affected by climate change, and how strong is the feedback?
3. How is stratospheric water vapour affected by climate change, and which processes are responsible?
4. How is the coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere affected by climate change, and how strong is the feedback on climate and weather?

More detailed information on the scientific program, abstract submission, and registration check the official workshop website: http://www.geo.fu-berlin.de/en/met/sharp/news/1st-Announcement-on-SPARC-Workshop.html.

We look forward to welcoming you in Berlin!

Sincerely,
Ulrike Langematz (FUB)

on behalf of the SPARC-SHARP Scientific Organizing Committee:

John P. Burrows (U Bremen)
Martin Dameris (DLR)
Gabriele Stiller (KIT)
Neil Harris (SPARC)
Mark Weber (U Bremen)
Hauke Schmidt (MPI Met)
Harald Bönisch (U Frankfurt)
Patrick Jöckel (DLR)