4th CLIVAR Workshop on the Evaluation of ENSO in Climate Models: ENSO in a changing climate

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2015-01-26 04:47

The El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the dominant mode of interannual climate variability on Earth, with worldwide impacts. Because ENSO involves a complex interplay of ocean and atmospheric processes, accurately modelling this climate phenomenon with coupled General Circulation Models (GCMs), and understanding and anticipating its behaviour in a warming climate, still pose major challenges.

US National Academies releases decadal survey of ocean sciences

Submitted by Nico on Mon, 2015-01-26 02:26

Eight science priorities have been identified by the National Academy of Sciences “to identify areas of strategic investment with the highest potential payoff” for the next decade. Such priorities include sea level rise, processes that contribute to climate variability, and the role of biodiversity, to name a few. Ultimately these priorities have broad societal relevance and will help shape investments in ocean-related infrastructure. Further details at http://nas-sites.org/dsos2015/

The End of the Rainbow - An Open Letter to the Community

Submitted by LinaKang on Sun, 2015-01-25 10:58

 An open letter from a group of climate scientists ask for an end to the rainbow colour scale in climate science. The scientists, including NCAS's Ed Hawkins petitions the climate science community in a "A plea to you all to help rid climate science of colour scales that can distort, mislead and confuse. Colour scales that are often illegible to those who are colour blind."

A 2000 km Continuous Mission

Submitted by Nico on Sun, 2015-01-25 10:12

The World Climate Research Program (WCRP) is launching a Polar Challenge to reward the first team able to send an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for a 2,000 kilometer mission under the sea-ice in the Arctic or Antarctic.

The aim is to stimulate the development of a sorely-needed monitoring tool for the Polar regions and ultimately to expand scientific research capabilities and climate services in both the Arctic and Antarctic. 

Highlights of the Global Drought Information System Workshop

Submitted by LinaKang on Sun, 2015-01-25 08:47

The workshop, organised by CLIVAR and GEWEX, addressed the fact that there is currently no global, authoritative, and consistent information on drought that is easily accessible to all users, including real-time assessments of on-going drought and information on our understanding of the physical mechanisms and predictability of drought. The participants reviewed the physical mechanisms and predictability of drought world-wide, reviewed and discussed regional capabilities and needs versus global capabilities, and developed pilot projects as part of a limited duration, real-time demonstration of current GDIS capabilities.

Pages