What:  The second phase of the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR-II) is beginning with an open call to the research community to build the assessment and coordinate new studies on ozone’s global distribution and trends, as well as impacts on human health, vegetation and climate. To learn more about, satisfy your curiosity, or to get involved with this grass roots effort you are invited to attend the TOAR-II Quickstart Event on September 16, 2020.  This 90-minute virtual event will include a series of short presentations from the TOAR-II Steering Committee covering the scope and goals of the Activity, followed by a Q&A session.

When:  Wednesday, September 16, 12:00-13:30 UTC*
*the webinar will be recorded for those who cannot attend

Where:  Online, pre-register here*:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/330820367512943631
*seats are limited so please pre-register to ensure your place; you may also register on September 16

Agenda:

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Find more information on the webpage:  https://igacproject.org/activities/TOAR/TOAR-II

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

Observed Temperature Changes in the Troposphere and Stratosphere from 1979 to 2018. By A.K.l Steiner et al. in the Journal of the Climate.

Inconsistencies between chemistry–climate models and observed lower stratospheric ozone trends since 1998. By W:T: Ball et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Investigating stratospheric changes between 2009 and 2018 with halogenated trace gas data from aircraft, AirCores, and a global model focusing on CFC-11. By J.C. Laube et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Long-term trends and impacts of polar cold airmass in boreal summer. By Q. Liu, G. Chen, and T. Iwasaki in the Environmental Research Letters.

Atmospheric gravity waves observed in the nightglow following the 21 August 2017 total solar eclipse. By I. Paulino et al. in the Geophysical Research Letters.

The Unique Characteristics and Potential Mechanisms of the MJO‐QBO Relationship. By N. Sakaeda, J. Dias, and G. Kiladis in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Observed Hemispheric Asymmetry in Stratospheric Transport Trends from 1994‐2018. By S.E. Strahan et al. in the Geophysical Research Letters.

A new book is now available about the Montreal Protocol on Protection of the Ozone Layer.

The book “Saving our Skins”, written by Richard McKenzie is an insider’s account of the most successful international environmental action ever undertaken: the Montreal Protocol on Protection of the Ozone Layer. Saving our Skins is the story of how McKenzie and his colleagues at New Zealand’s National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research in Lauder – a research laboratory housed on a sheep and cattle station at the bottom of the country – helped ensure the success of the Montreal Protocol. Ultimately, McKenzie shows that with foresight and global cooperation, difficult problems in science can be solved. As world leaders grasp for solutions to the climate change threat, this book suggests they might find a model in the Montreal Protocol.

Find more information on the book and the author on the Amazon webpage

This September the training team at EUMETSAT is going to kick off a series of online short courses that will cover weather, oceanography, air quality and climate.

The short courses are open to all interested participants and address a wide range of attendees, from service providers to young (and less young) scientists and forecasters.

More information about the online series and the course schedule is available on Moodle ^EXT, the EUMETSAT training platform at https://training.eumetsat.int/course/index.php?categoryid=97 ^EXT. Here participants can find information about the content and format of the sessions, and they can already register their interest ^EXT in the courses.

Each short course will offer a webinar with a presentation, a demonstration of data discovery and data application. Some courses will also include a follow-up self-paced phase where participants will have the opportunity to further explore the data and discuss it with experts.

YESS (the Young Earth System Scientists community) focuses on researchers working in the interdisciplinary field of Earth system sciences, including social and natural scientists.
Members within YESS cover a large breath of scientific expertise, including – but not limited to – weather, climate, geophysics, economy, engineering, hydrology, architecture, anthropology, governance, many more.

YESS members are organizing the webinar series on “Career Opportunities and Experiences in Climate and Weather Research for Latin America scientists”.

The first meeting will be on August 26th at 15UTC and 2 ECRs will give their testimonies.

Registration: https://eventos.redclara.net/event/1075/

The Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS), a scientific organizational entity of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Centre for Materials and Coastal Research, invites applications for a Scientific Coordinator to promote and help coordinate regional activities across the range of WCRP science (more about CORA). The office is shared between GERICS and the Bjerknes Centre in Bergen, Norway. To find out more, see the full position outline. The deadline for applications is 2 September 2020.

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

State of the Climate in 2019. By J. Blunden and D.S. Arndt in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

A supplement to this article is available online (PDF; 10.1175/2020BAMSStateoftheClimate.2).

Non‐additivity of the mid‐latitude circulation response to regional Arctic temperature anomalies: the role of the stratosphere. By B. De, Y. Wu, and L.M. Polvani in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Impact of Interannual Ozone Variations on the Downward Coupling of the 2002 Southern Hemisphere Stratospheric Warming. By H.H. Hendon, E-P. Lim, and S. Abhik in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Evaluation of tropospheric ozone reanalyses with independent ozonesonde observations in East Asia. By S. Park et al. in the Geoscience Letters.

Lagrangian gravity wave spectra in the lower stratosphere of current (re)analyses. By A. Podglajen et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Discussion papers – open for comments:

Local and Remote Response of Ozone to Arctic Stratospheric Circulation Extremes. By H-J Hong and T. Reichler in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Role of equatorial planetary and gravity waves in the 2015–16 quasi-biennial oscillation disruption. By M-J Kang, Y-Y Chung, and R.R. Garcia in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

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

Facility for Weather and Climate Assessments (FACTS): A Community Resource for Assessing Weather and Climate Variability. By D. Murray et al. in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Discussion Papers – open for comment:

Stratospheric aerosol layer perturbation caused by the 2019 Raikoke and Ulawun eruptions and climate impact. By C. Kloss et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Changes in stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficient after the 2018 Ambae eruption as seen by OMPS-LP and ECHAM5-HAM. By E. Malinina et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Potential of future stratospheric ozone loss in the mid-latitudes under climate change and sulfate geoengineering. By S. Robrecht et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Ship- and island-based atmospheric soundings from the 2020 EUREC4A field campaign. By C.C. Stephan et al. in Earth System Science Data.

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

Numerical impacts on tracer transport: A proposed intercomparison test of Atmospheric General Circulation Models. By A. Gupta, E.P. gerber, and P.H. Lauritzen in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Predictability of European winter 2019/20: Indian Ocean dipole impacts on the NAO. By S.C. Hardiman et al. in the Atmospheric Science Letters.

Representation of the equatorial stratopause semiannual oscillation in global atmospheric reanalyses. By Y. Kawatani et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

A statistical analysis of the energy dissipation rate estimated from the PMWE spectral width in the Antarctic. By M. Kohma et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Differing responses of the quasi-biennial oscillation to artificial SO2 injections in two global models. By U. Niemeier, J.H. Richter, and S. Tilmes in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

North Atlantic climate far more predictable than models imply. By D.M. Smith et al. in nature.

Can the Madden‐Julian oscillation affect the Antarctic total column ozone? By C. Yang et al. in the Geophysical Research Letters.

The Key Role of Coupled Chemistry–Climate Interactions in Tropical Stratospheric Temperature Variability. By S. Yook et al. in the Journal of the Climate.

The QBO community paper: The SPARC Quasi Biennial Oscillation initiative is now available online.

Opening letter from Detlef Stammer and Helen Cleugh on the future of WCRP

WCRP is evolving to ensure that the Programme is fit for purpose and fit for the future. WCRP Chair, Detlef Stammer, and Vice-Chair, Helen Cleugh, explain where we are at with implementing the new WCRP Strategic Plan and outline opportunities that will arise in the coming months. More here.