Category Archives: News

SAVE THE DATE – Climate Observation Conference, 29 Nov.-2 Dec. 2022, Darmstadt, Germany

The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) supported by EUMETSAT will be holding a conference to assess how the current global climate observing system can be improved to better support current and near-term user needs for climate information. This conference follows on from the first climate observations conference, Global Climate Observation: The Road to The Future held on 2 – 4 March 2016 in Amsterdam.

The conference will take into account the GCOS Status Report 2021 as well as the GCOS Implementation Plan 2022 (in preparation), which will make recommendations to meteorological networks, ocean and land major observing systems and satellite agencies and will be presented to the UNFCCC in 2022. 

A scientific committee is being setup under the leadership of Prof. Sabrina Speich, and an invitation for abstracts will be issued in March 2022. 

Please mark your calendars now for this important conference from 28 November – 1 December 2022. We hope that in spite of COVID-19 pandemic the meeting will be held in person, but hybrid options will be considered too. The registration page for the conference will open in March 2022 and more detail on the programme will be available at that time. All information will be made available at our meeting website: https://www.eventsforce.net/gcos-coc

If you have any questions related to the conference, do not hesitate to contact us via email: .

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Darmstadt next year!

EGU 2022 session anouncement: Stratospheric aerosol during the post Pinatubo era: processes, interactions, and impact

We are happy to announce two SPARC relevant session at the next EGU 2022, 3-8 April, Vienna.

Deadline for submitting related abstracts to these sessions is 05 January 2022!

First session:
AS3.6: The role of the middle atmosphere in a changing climate:  circulation, composition changes and radiative feedbacks

Convener: Mohamadou Diallo
Co-conveners: Gabriel Chiodo, William Ball, Birgit Hassler, James Keeble
Link

Abstract: Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone depleting substances have caused substantial changes in the chemical composition of the middle atmosphere that, in turn, can influence tropospheric processes. Increasing greenhouse gas levels are expected to modify the stratospheric amount of key radiatively active gases, such as water vapor, ozone and stratospheric aerosols through changes in the stratospheric Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC). Changes in stratospheric ozone can in turn affect the biosphere (via e.g. changes in UV exposure) and feed back on surface climate via their influence on Earth’s radiative budget. In addition, long-term changes in the ozone layer (e.g. ozone hole and recovery) are known to influence the tropospheric circulation and may be further coupled to a variety of Earth system feedbacks, which are to date poorly understood.

We welcome abstracts which explore composition changes and resulting radiative impacts and feedbacks on the tropospheric and stratospheric circulation as well as on surface weather and climate. Abstracts may address these issues on time-scales encompassing inter-annual to centennial timescales as well as impacts ranging from the tropics to poles. In particular, new studies on the influence of stratospheric ozone and composition on weather and climate are of interest. Research might also concern long-term ozone trends (depletion and recovery), as well as water vapor changes and volcanic aerosol impact in the stratosphere. We welcome contributions using chemistry-climate and Earth system models such as the new Chemistry Climate Model Initiative (CCMI-2) and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6), observations, as well as contributions using novel statistical approaches (e.g. Machine, causal inference) to gain insights into composition changes, related feedbacks and theoretical studies.

Second session:
AS3.7:  Dynamics and chemistry of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS)

Convener: Felix Ploeger
Co-conveners: Tanja Schuck, Hella Garny, Harald Boenisch, Daniel Kunkel
Link

Abstract: The composition of the upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere (UTLS) plays a key role in the climate system. Our understanding of the interactions between dynamics, chemistry and climate in this region is rapidly advancing thanks to both observational and modelling studies. In this session we invite studies of dynamical, transport and chemical processes determining the variability and long-term trends in the composition of the UTLS, and related impacts on radiation and dynamics. This particularly includes studies of upper and middle stratospheric as well as of tropospheric dynamics and chemistry affecting the UTLS. We encourage studies bringing together recent in situ and/or remote sensing observations and model simulations of different complexity (e.g., comprehensive climate models, chemistry transport models, idealized and conceptual models)

Paper Invitation: Special Issue on “Dynamics and Chemistry of the Middle and Upper Atmosphere and Its Response to External Forcing— Observations and Models”

MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute) is pleased to announce a Special Issue on “Dynamics and Chemistry of the Middle and Upper Atmosphere and Its Response to External Forcing—Observations and Models” in Atmosphere

[Atmosphere – IF 2.686]

Dr. Stefan Bender, Dr. Yvan Orsolini and Dr. Kristell Pérot are serving as Guest Editors. Given your expertise in this field, we warmly welcome you to submit a manuscript.

Keywords: mesosphere; thermosphere; solar-terrestrial physics; solar activity; external forcing; particle precipitation; whole-atmosphere models; sudden stratospheric warming; middle-atmosphere dynamics; atmospheric tides; atmospheric gravity waves; planetary waves.

The submission deadline is 31 January 2022. Detailed Special Issue and published paper information can be found here.

Atmosphere is fully open access with more frequent citations. The median processing time is less than forty days. The Article Processing Charge

(APC) of the journal is 1800 CHF, please note that for papers submitted after 31 December 2021, an APC of 2000 CHF applies (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/atmosphere/apc).

For early submissions before 31 December 2021, we will be glad to provide 600 CHF APC special discounts. If you are interested in contributing, please send us a short abstract or tentative title in advance for initial checking, and an expected submission date for our reference.

Or you can upload the information of your abstract to the following link.

Thank you for your consideration. Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions. We look forward to hearing from you.

iCACGP-IGAC2022 Conference Announcement & Survey

The iCACGP-IGAC2022 conference is being planned as a hybrid conference, with an in-person conference in Manchester, UK and held globally virtually 11-15 September 2022 . We believe that a hybrid format is the most equitable way to ensure that scientists from around the world can participate. We wish to develop a hybrid conference format that works for the community and carry this model forward after COVID-19 has waned. In-person interactions are important to community growth in IGAC and we will continue to support in-person events, but we hope to leverage new virtual tools for communication so that all atmospheric chemists can be mindful of their travel footprint and allow more scientists to fully participate in IGAC. 

We are a community-led organization and are always very grateful for feedback on how we can better serve atmospheric chemistry. For that reason, we are seeing input on hybrid conference formats. 

Please fill in the survey on conference logistics and hybrid conference format here if you have time.

The Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) project of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) announces an open call for CliC Grants 2021.

Goal: The goal of CliC fellowships and grants is to increase the engagement of Early Career Scientists in CliC activities and to promote participation of scientists from regions currently underrepresented in CliC, i.e., South America, Asia and Africa

Objectives: Applications for CliC fellowships and grants shall address CliC´s new vision and objectives as described in the  DRAFT CliC Strategic Plan 2022-2031.

Proposed activities may include: 

Fellowships:

  • Research visits to laboratories, research groups, etc
  • Research synthesis, fieldwork or analysis

Grants

  • Promotion of best practice protocols on research in cryosphere regions attentive to societal and community needs and expectations
  • Educational activities/capacity exchange related to cryosphere research
  • Activities to promote leadership and project management skills
  • Research/activities to support participation in policy decision processes
  • Science communication efforts aimed at policy making
  • Dissemination and outreach activities, e.g., production of media pieces about CliC activities, research highlights, etc

Proposals that are motivated by clearly articulated COVID-induced delays or thwarted activities will also be considered.

CliC fellowship and grant awards up to a maximum amount of 20 000 Swiss Francs (CHF). If a strong case is made for a larger grant, it should not exceed 30 000 CHF. Co-funding with other sources is encouraged.

Timeline: Activities must be completed in 2022.

Eligibility´:

  • PhD candidates: Applicants should be currently enrolled in a PhD program
  • ECR: those who have obtained a PhD within 7 years by the deadline January 21, 2022. The period excludes career breaks due to parental leave, health issues, etc.
  • Applicants from underrepresented regions in CliC, e.g. South America, Asia, Africa
  • For fellowships: the visiting facility must differ from the applicant’s country of origin and current country of residence

Apply here until 21st of January 2022 at 13:00 (1 pm) UTC.

Call for self-nominations to the committees for the next ICRC-CORDEX conference

Make a difference! Be part of the scientific or the organizing committee for the next ICRCC-CORDEX conference!

Send your self-nomination to before 31 December 2021.

The preparation of the next ICRC-CORDEX conference has just started and to ensure an effective process we need to set up a scientific committee and an overall organizing committee.

The conference will take place during 2023, tentatively late spring/early summer, and will probably be in a hybrid format, possibly featuring regional hubs, with both in-person and remote/on-line participation.

CORDEX aims to develop and provide detailed, regional climate information necessary for vulnerability, impact and adaptation studies at local and regional levels. CORDEX is working to meet the increasing need for reliable regional climate information communicated in a manner enabling effective impact and adaptation planning.

Some of the topics that will be highlighted at the next International Conference on Regional Climate (ICRC)- CORDEX will be extracted from the CORDEX White Papers and Science Plan, including further development of regional climate as well as impacts and applications.

The conference will also provide a platform for scientists and users from all parts of the globe to meet and advance capacity development, training and knowledge exchange as well as to build new and enhance existing co-operations.

The scientific committee will be tasked with proposing the main theme as well as details of the conference program; sessions, important partners/speakers, side events and more – all in close cooperation with the organizing committee.

The organizing committee will be in charge of the administration such as settling venue(s), handling website and registrations, contact with participants and speakers and close cooperation with the scientific committee.

Hope you want to contribute! Please don’t hesitate to contact the International Project Office for CORDEX (IPOC) at and volunteer for the scientific committee and/or the organizing committee.

Abstract submission for Living Planet Symposium 2022

The European Space Agency is pleased to invite you to it’s 2022 Living Planet Symposium. The event, which is held every three years, will take place on 23–27 May 2022 in Bonn, Germany. The symposium is organised with the support of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

This symposium focuses on how Earth observation contributes to science and society, and how disruptive technologies and actors are changing the traditional Earth observation landscape, which is also creating new opportunities for public and private sector interactions.

More details on the event can be found on the ESA website.

Abstracts can be submitted following this link. Deadline for submission is 26th of November 2021.

Of special interest for the SPARC comunity is the Session A1.11 on „Atmospheric Dynamics and Vertical Coupling”:

The vertical coupling of the atmosphere, both in upward and downward direction, has a strong impact on seasonal and interannual weather prediction and long-term climate projection. A multitude of atmospheric waves transport energy and momentum from the troposphere to the stratosphere and mesosphere, where they impact and change large scale circulations and wind patterns (e.g. the stratospheric polar vortex and the mesospheric general circulation). The changes in the middle atmosphere then couple back to the troposphere and influence our surface weather and climate. These vertical upward and downward coupling processes are not yet fully understood and are a topic of many current research projects. For example, the SPARC project explicitly mentions the stratosphere-troposphere coupling as scientific questions of interest.
To get a better picture of these vertical coupling processes, vertically resolved measurements of wind, temperature and trace gas distribution are necessary. Many current (e.g. ESA’s Aeolus, NASA’s Saber) and future (e.g. ESA’s Altius, Cairt, and Wivern) satellite missions provide such vertically resolved measurements. Usually, these satellite missions measure either temperature and trace gas distribution, or wind. It is expected that the combination of wind data with temperature and trace gas distribution measurements would greatly enhance the understanding of vertical coupling in the atmosphere.
We invite contributions on dynamical coupling between troposphere and middle atmosphere. A special focus shall be on new missions and new methods exploiting remote sensing data for atmospheric waves. Studies exploring synergies between the different satellite missions to improve the understanding of vertical coupling in the atmosphere are particularly welcome.

Special Issue about the Middle Atmosphere in the journal “Atmosphere”

The guest Editors of the journal Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433, *IF*: 2.397),
would like to invite you to submit a research article or a review to the
Special Issue “Dynamics and Chemistry of the Middle and Upper Atmosphere and Its Response to External Forcing—Observations and Models “.

You can find brief information on this Special Issue for download below, while detailed information can be found under this link.


The Guest Editors are: Dr. Stefan Bender, Dr. Yvan Orsolini and Dr. Kristell Pérot

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2022

“Atmosphere” is fully open access with more frequent citations. The median
processing time is less than fourty days. Also we will do free English editing
after the acceptance of your paper. The Article Processing Charges (APC) are
1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Since you are invited author, we will consider a 20%
discount if you would like to contribute. If you are interested, please send us
a short abstract or tentative title in advance for initial checking, and an
expected submission date for our reference.

Or you can upload the information of your abstract to the following link.

If you have any questions, please do feel free to contact the editorial office or Stefan Bender. We hope this topic is of interest to you and look
forward to collaborating with you soon.

WCRP COP26 Pavilion Event: Emerging Climate Risks and what will it take to limit global warming to 2.0C?

We are happy to announce the following event on the COP26 WCRP Pavilion, which will be streamed on the WMO YouTube channel. 

Organizations: WCRP (co-sponsored by WMO, ISC and IOC-UNESCO), Future Earth and IPCC WG1

Speakers/Panellists/Moderator: Valerie Masson-Delmotte, Panmao Zhai, Detlef Stammer, Johan Rockström, Peter Gluckman, Helen Cleugh, Gabi Hegerl, Regina Rodrigues, Bruce Hewitson, Greg Flato, Sabine Fuss

Abstract: Anthropogenic climate change brings many significant challenges and risks that affect almost all aspects of life on Earth. Droughts, heavy rain and flooding, heatwaves, extreme fire weather and coastal inundation are some examples of what is already occurring and where amplified risks and impacts in the future will threaten millions of people around the world with many of the poorest most severely impacted. It also threatens the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

To reduce such threats, the COP21 Paris Agreement aimed to limit global warming to well below 2C above pre-industrial temperatures, and to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5C. This requires a dramatic reduction of emissions of anthropogenic climate forcers, especially a reduction in fossil CO2 emissions. Eventually, all net emissions of anthropogenic climate forcers need to be reduced to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

It now appears increasingly likely that the 1.5C goal will be breached, given current emissions and national commitments. However, any delay in emissions reduction is committing the planet to even further increases in global temperatures and even greater risk of more intense and frequent weather and climate extremes.   Staying below 2.0C requires an unprecedented transformation of societies around the world to reduce emissions as well as a technology revolution. Negative emission technologies are unlikely to be possible at the scale proposed in many scenarios.  The session will discuss risks and consequences of breaching 1.5C warming, and possible transformation pathways that guide decision makers and stakeholders.

The Journey from Scientific insights to Societal Action – ECRA Side Session at COP26

The Journey from Scientific insights to Societal Action
Side Session at COP26 is held on 1st November, 11:30 GMT (Glasgow Time) as online presentation

To tackle climate change effectively, it is important that all levels of society have an understanding of climate change, and its risks and impacts. This session takes a journey from new scientific research findings about net-zero futures and climate change impacts, discussing recent developments in communication, education and public engagement, to arrive at policy and action.

To register, visit the conference page here.
More information can be downloaded as pdf below.

The session is a collaboration of:
ECRA – European Climate Research Alliance
EUA – European University Association
CMCC – presenting the COACC, PESETA, and SOCLIMPACT projects
IIASA – International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis – presenting ENGAGE
CPA – Climate Psychology Alliance
KIT – Karlsruhe Institute of Technology