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

Vertical structure of stratospheric water vapour trends derived from merged satellite data. By M.I. Hegglin et al. in Nature: Geoscience.

Stratospheric sudden warmings in an idealized GCM. By M. Jucker et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Validation of the Aura High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder geopotential heights. By L.L. Smith and J.C. Gille in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

First quasi-Lagrangian in-situ measurements of Antarctic Polar springtime ozone: observed ozone loss rates from the Concordiasi long-duration balloon campaign. By R. Schofield et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Assessment of the accuracy of (re)analyses in the equatorial lower stratosphere. By A. Podglajen et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Evidence of Mixing Between Polluted Convective Outflow and Stratospheric Air in the Upper Troposphere during DC3. By J.R. Schroeder et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Microphysical, radiative and dynamical impacts of thin cirrus clouds on humidity in the tropical tropopause layer and lower stratosphere. By T. Dinh and S. Fueglistaler in Geophysical Research Letters.

Migrations and dynamics of the intertropical convergence zone. By T. Schneider et al. in Nature.

Observation and a numerical study of gravity waves during tropical cyclone Ivan (2008). By F. Chane Ming et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

The conveners

Jan Keller (Hans-Ertel-Centre for Weather Research, Germany)

Sean Davis (NOAA, CIRES, USA)

Christian Ohlwein (University of Bonn, Germany)

Masatomo Fujiwara (Hokkaido University, Japan)

cordially invite you to submit an abstract before 6 August to the 2014 AGU Fall Meeting session on:

Reanalysis: Evaluation and Intercomparison (NGO015)

The session welcomes contributions on the evaluation of reanalyses,

including global, regional, atmospheric, ocean, land-surface and coupled

reanalyses. In particular, we encourage submissions on the

intercomparison of multiple reanalyses and comparisons with independent

(non-assimilated) data.

Invited speakers

Gil Compo (NOAA, ESRL, Boulder)

Steven Pawson (NASA, GSFC, Washington)

Frank Kaspar (German Meteorological Service, Offenbach, Germany)

Ron Gelaro (NASA, GSFC, Washington)

The AGU Fall Meeting takes place on 15-19 December 2014 in San Francisco, CA, USA.

The WCRP/EUMETSAT event taking place on 13-17 October 2014 in Darmstadt, Germany looks at future generations with a dedicated networking and discussion programme. Registration is now open!

Early career Scientists and Students are the future of Climate research, therefore it is crucial to actively foster their participation in the discussions in order to take their views into account and to provide them with opportunities to network with experts.

With this in mind, the Symposium will have activities such as:

· a best poster competition awarding exclusive prizes (revised poster competition guidelines attached)

· coffee break talks with renowned speakers, selected from the daily sessions

· social gatherings

· a creative interaction with a climate artist

· the chance to judge the overall Symposium best poster while networking with experts

· a guided tour of EUMETSAT and of the City of Darmstadt

· and last but not least, the opportunity to significantly contribute to the final statement of the Climate Symposium 2014

A specific area of the conference centre will be dedicated to Early Career Scientists and Students where they will get to know each other and exchange visions for the future.

Register at Climate Symposium 2014 website.

The Suomi NPP OMPS LP Science Team is pleased to announce the release of Version 2 (V2) ozone and aerosol profile data products from the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Limb Profiler (LP) instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite. These products consist of daily files containing individual ozone profiles (0-60 km altitude range) and aerosol extinction coefficient profiles (0-40 km altitude range). OMPS LP measurements began in January 2012, and continue to the present (August 2014). Level 1 gridded radiance (L1G) orbital data sets are also available. All data files and supporting documents are available at the NASA OzoneAQ web:

http://ozoneaq.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps

These documents provide an initial evaluation of the V2 product data quality. More detailed information will be provided on the website as they become available. Preliminary results indicate that below 25 km, LP profile ozone data quality is comparable to MLS and SAGE, and significantly better than nadir profiling instruments such as SBUV, OMI, GOME and AIRS. However, above 25 km there are some known data quality issues in the V2 product that are discussed in the Data Release Notes document. The LP aerosol extinction coefficient data quality compares well with concurrent data sets from CALIPSO, GOMOS, and OSIRIS.

Contact person:
Matthew DeLand

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

Robust Forced Response in South Asian Summer Monsoon in a Future Climate. By A.K. Srivastava and T. DelSole in the Journal of Climate.

Skillful seasonal prediction of the Southern Annular Mode and Antarctic ozone. By W. Saviour et al. in the Journal of Climate.

Technical Note: 30 years of HIRS data of upper tropospheric humidity. By K. Gierens et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Gauss-Seidel Limb Scattering (GSLS) radiative transfer model development in support of the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Limb Profiler mission. By R. Loughmann et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Daily ozone cycle in the stratosphere: global, regional and seasonal behaviour modelled with the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model. By A. Schanz et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Variability of NO_x in the polar middle atmosphere from October 2003 to March 2004: vertical transport vs. local production by energetic particles. By M. Sinnhuber et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

The climate impact of past changes in halocarbons and CO₂ in the tropical UTLS region. By C. McLandress et al. in the Journal of Climate.

The July issue of the SPARC newsletter is in print and will be sent to subscribers within the next week. Find its digital version at

http://www.aparc-climate.org/publications/newsletter/

Find the SPARC Annual Report 2013 at

http://www.aparc-climate.org/publications/programme-plans/.

SPARC is inviting the wider community including participants from the SPARC General Assembly 2014 to help shaping the SPARC Capacity Development activity.

Find more information and link to survey.

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.