SESSION |
TITLE |
M01 |
Middle Atmosphere Science |
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Responsible commission: ICMA |
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Convenors: |
Shigeo Yoden, Gregory Bodeker, Daniel Marsh, Charles McLandress, Ross Salawitch |
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Description: |
Papers related to any aspect of the dynamics, chemistry, or physics of the atmosphere from near the tropopause to the lower thermosphere are appropriate for this session. Observational, modeling, theoretical, and laboratory studies are all solicited. Research topics include (but are not limited to): multiple-scale dynamics and mixing, observations and modeling of gravity waves, stratospheric chemistry and ozone, vertical coupling in the polar regions, microphysics, chemistry and dynamics in the TTL or the extratropical UTLS, tropical/extratropical interactions, and intraseasonal and interannual variations in the middle atmosphere. We specially invite new results that will provide new insights into the science of the middle atmosphere. |
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M02 |
Climate Processes in the Upper Troposphere and Stratosphere |
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Responsible commission/program: ICMA/SPARC |
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Convenors: |
Laura Pan, Martin Dameris, Piers Forster |
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Description: |
Dynamical, chemical and radiative processes in the upper troposphere and stratosphere play an important role in the Earth’s climate system. Trends in the thermal and dynamical structure and the chemical composition of this region are key indicators of climate change. In this session, we invite papers on recent progress in observational, theoretical and modeling studies of stratospheric/upper tropospheric processes. Topics include but are not limited to:
- changes in the Brewer-Dobson circulation and its effect on temperature, ozone and water vapour concentrations near the tropopause and in the stratosphere
- the two-way exchange between stratosphere and troposphere
- temperature trends in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere
- understanding ozone trends and the dynamical and chemical processes that control ozone recovery,
- stratospheric water vapour trends and dehydration in the tropical tropopause layer
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M03 |
The Impact of Solar Variability on Earth |
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Responsible commissions/association/program: ICMA, IRC, IAGA, SPARC |
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Convenors: |
Ulrike Langematz, Victor Fomichev, Joanna D. Haigh, Lon L. Hood, Alexei Krivolustsky, Werner Schmutz, Tom Woods |
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Description: |
The session will address all aspects of the impact of solar variations on the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. These include:
- the response to variations in total and spectral electromagnetic radiation
- the response of the atmosphere to energetic particles precipitating from the space
- the identification of mechanisms and interactions leading to indirect solar effects
- the impact of solar activity on tropospheric meteorological processes and climate.
The symposium invites contributions on identifying the solar signal from ground-based and satellite observational datasets ranging from the upper atmosphere (thermosphere, mesosphere) to the troposphere, the Earth's surface and the oceans. Papers on the solar irradiance and particle flux on Earth are welcome as well as contributions on physical and chemical processes and mechanisms leading to the observed solar signal. Simulations with mechanistic, general circulation and chemistry climate models are especially encouraged. Studies may include solar variations on different time scales ranging from the 27-day rotation period over the 11-year solar cycle to centennial and millennial variations including the Maunder Minimum. |
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M04 |
Solar UV Radiation |
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Responsible commission: IRC |
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Convenors: |
Peter Köepke, Mario Blumthaler, Nataly Chubarova |
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Description: |
This symposium invites papers with the focus on: new methods for the determination of Solar UV radiation from ground and from space, development of UV instruments and networks; the temporal and spatial variability of solar UV (back and into the future) due to variable atmospheric conditions, and especially in the variable local human environment; effects of solar UV on men, biosphere (inclusive water) and air chemistry, also considering the diversity of biological weighting.
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M05 |
Stratosphere-Troposphere-Ocean Coupling in Climate - Top Down or Bottom Up? |
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Responsible commissions: ICDM/ICMA |
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Convenors: |
Theodore G. Shepherd, Ulrich Cubasch, Adam Scaife |
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Description: |
There is a growing body of evidence that the stratosphere actively couples to the troposphere, although the mechanisms for this coupling are only partly understood. They involve dynamical, physical and chemical processes covering a range of scales.
On seasonal timescales stratosphere-troposphere models may offer extra predictive skill through inclusion of stratospheric variability and its coupling to the surface. So questions arise as to how this coupling occurs and whether the stratosphere may play an active role in seasonal prediction. On climate timescales stratosphere-troposphere coupling will involve the ocean. So the question arises whether the stratosphere may also play an active role climate prediction. Unambiguous evidence of such roles may be sought in the tropospheric and ocean response to stratospheric climate perturbations such as solar variability, ozone depletion, and volcanoes. Indirect dynamical effects through stratosphere-troposphere coupling are a major focus of this session. The question of a stratospheric role in ocean coupling in climate is particularly timely, as the past effects of ozone depletion are expected to reverse as the stratospheric ozone layer slowly recovers during the 21st century. Climate models are expected to begin to provide useful contributions to this question as chemistry-climate models encompassing the stratosphere are beginning to be coupled to ocean models.
The aim of this symposium is to bring together scientists analyzing observational data, modellers trying to simulate the processes involved as realistically as possible, and theoreticians developing conceptual and mechanistic models of the interaction between stratosphere, troposphere and ocean. Contributions on all aspects of stratosphere- troposphere-ocean coupling are encouraged. |
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M06 |
Theoretical Advances in Dynamics |
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Responsible commission: ICDM |
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Convenors: |
Eyal Heifetz, Theodore G. Shepherd, Nili Harnik, Hisashi Nakamura |
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Description: |
This session focuses on the application of geophysical fluid dynamics theory to the understanding of the atmospheric circulation, with emphasis on synoptic to planetary scale atmospheric circulations, both in the troposphere and stratosphere. Contributions based on theoretical, diagnostic and modeling (either realistic or idealized) studies are invited on a range of topics including, but not limited to, wave and cyclone growth and evolution, eddy-mean flow interactions and possible dynamical regimes arising from it, the dynamics of storm tracks and jet streams, the dynamics of the stratospheric polar vortex, and its interaction with the troposphere. |
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M07 |
Towards Seamless Probabilistic Forecasting |
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Responsible commission: ICDM |
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Convenors: |
Craig Bishop, David Frame |
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Description: |
Ensemble methods are becoming increasingly popular for both the analysis of observations and for quantifying uncertainties in forecasts for both the atmosphere and ocean. Probabilistic methods are being applied at a wide range of timescales, from forecasts a few hours ahead to prediction of climate change. This session invites contributions on all aspects of ensemble and probabilistic forecasting at all lead times and will include the following 5 topics:
- probabilistic data assimilation
- probabilistic short-range forecasting systems
- probabilistic medium-range forecasting systems
- probabilistic monthly, seasonal and climate prediction systems
- applications of probabilistic forecasts
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M08 |
Dynamics and Predictability of High-impact Weather |
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Responsible commission: ICDM |
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Convenors: |
Istvan Szunyogh, Richard Swinbank |
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Description: |
This symposium invites papers on all aspects of the dynamics of severe weather events on synoptic scales and smaller, and their predictability on one-day to sub-seasonal timescales. THORPEX is an international research programme to improve the prediction of high-impact weather on short- to medium-range timescales. While this session is not exclusively focused on THORPEX, all studies that relate to the THORPEX programme will be appropriate for this symposium. Studies based on THORPEX field campaigns such as the THORPEX Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC, 2008), Tropical Cyclone Structure 08 (TCS08) and the European THORPEX Regional Campaign (E-TReC, 2007) will be particularly welcome. |
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M09 |
Topographic Effects on Weather and Climate |
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Responsible commission: ICDM |
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Convenors: |
Ronald B. Smith, Kenneth S. Gage, Zhe-min Tan |
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Description: |
This symposium invites contributions based on observational (including diagnostic), theoretical and numerical studies of the Earth’s topography on atmospheric circulation, weather and climate. Topics of relevance include: boundary layer flows over hills, generation of waves and turbulence by flow over complex terrain, variability of dynamical fields over complex terrain, spatial and temporal distribution of mountain induced rainfall, mesoscale orographic impacts revealed by observations, vortex and cyclogenesis associated with orography and their weather impacts, mechanical and thermal forcing of large-scale orography and their regional and global climate effects. |
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M10 |
Tropical Waves & Circulations and Tropical-midlatitude Interactions |
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Responsible commission: ICDM |
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Convenors: |
Brian Mapes, Richard Grotjahn, Michael Blackburn |
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Description: |
This symposium invites contributions regarding convectively-coupled tropical waves and tropical circulations. Contributions on the diverse linkages between the tropics, subtropics and midlatitudes are also invited. We seek to advance and connect understanding in these areas by bringing together diagnostic, theoretical, idealised and realistic simulation, prediction and model intercomparison approaches. Topics include the dynamics of equatorial waves and organized tropical convection, tropical intraseasonal variability including phenomena such the Madden-Julian Oscillation, and large-scale tropical circulations including responses to surface anomalies. Contributions on lateral influences and impacts, scale interactions and predictability, and the subtropical highs and other subtropical weather systems are also welcomed. |
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M11 |
Dynamical Implications of Aerosol-Cloud-Climate Interactions |
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Responsible commissions: ICDM /ICCP |
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Convenors: |
Wojciech Grabowski, Johannes Quaas |
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Description: |
Aerosol-cloud-climate interactions take place on a wide range of spatial scales, from the cloud microscale to the atmospheric general circulation. Changes of atmospheric aerosols affect cloud microphysical process and these changes feed back on small- and mesoscale processes. In turn, changes of the latent heating on the mesoscale affect the larger-scale circulations and thus meteorological conditions in which subsequent clouds develop. These complex multiscale interactions are poorly understood yet their net result has a critical impact on the Earth climate in general, and on the indirect aerosol effects in particular.
The purpose of this session is to review progress in the area of aerosol-cloud-climate interactions across all relevant scales and with the emphasis on dynamical processes, from the process-level understanding, through feedbacks in cloud ensembles, up to large-scale effects that can be represented in climate models. We encourage submission of papers that use observations and/or modeling to distinguish between changes in cloud fields due to changes in aerosols and changes due to different meteorological conditions. On the modeling side, we are interested in papers addressing aerosol effects on ensembles of clouds, rather than on individual clouds. We also encourage papers demonstrating interactions between microphysics and multiscale dynamics in cloud-resolving large-domain and global simulations, where the interactions between cloud-scale and large-scale process can be studied with significantly better confidence. |
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M12 |
Relations Between Aerosols and Ice Formation in Clouds: Measurements and Modelling |
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Responsible commission: ICCP |
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Convenors: |
Paul J. DeMott, Ottmar Möhler |
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Description: |
Understanding and predicting initiation of ice in clouds and its potential relation to the changing state of atmospheric composition remain as enigmatic topics. Yet such knowledge and capabilities are critical to ultimately understanding and quantifying the role of aerosols and clouds in affecting weather and climate. Many approaches advance knowledge in this area including theoretical studies, experimental measurements (laboratory, ground-based, aircraft, satellite), cloud and climate model simulations, and combinations thereof. This session welcomes papers touching on all aspects of this study area including theoretical developments, laboratory and atmospheric measurements of ice nuclei concentrations and ice nucleation mechanisms (homogeneous or heterogeneous), physical and chemical identification of various types of aerosols as primary ice nuclei, description of new techniques for measuring ice nuclei or ice crystal concentrations, cloud measurements providing insights into primary or secondary ice formation processes, direct or indirect comparisons of ice nuclei and ice formation in clouds, studies (laboratory, field and satellite) of aerosol-ice cloud and aerosol-mixed phase cloud interactions, parameterization of ice formation, and modeling studies of ice formation and its implications at all model scales (parcel to global). |
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M13 |
Aerosol-Cloud-Radiation-Precipitation Interactions |
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Responsible commissions: IRC, ICCP, ICACGP |
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Convenors: |
Ulrike Lohmann, George A. Isaac, Guang-Yu Shi, Teruyuki Nakajima |
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Description: |
Clouds exert major influences on both shortwave and longwave radiation as well as on the hydrological cycle. Small changes in the amount, altitude, physical thickness, and/or microphysical properties of clouds due to human influences can exert changes in Earth’s radiation budget that either partly offset or enhance warming due to anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Because clouds form on aerosol particles, changes in the amount and/or composition of aerosols affect clouds in a variety of ways. The forcing of the radiation balance and the hydrological cycle due to aerosol-cloud interactions has large uncertainties because a variety of important processes are not well understood. Thus, this symposium will investigate the full interaction among aerosol-cloud-radiation-precipitation processes, which have started to draw a great attention from various communities of radiation, chemistry, clouds and climate modeling. The symposium will highlight various interaction processes important for understanding the earth's climate formation. Specifically, we invite papers on recent progress in observational, theoretical and modeling studies discussing aerosol direct and indirect radiative effects, interactions of aerosols with warm, mixed-phase and ice clouds and the hydrological cycle, and cloud microphysical, cloud dynamics and cloud radiative processes. |
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M14 |
3D Radiative Transfer in the Atmosphere |
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Responsible commission: IRC |
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Convenors: |
Robert F. Cahalan, Bernhard Mayer |
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Description: |
We invite papers on modeling and observations involving three-dimensional (3D) radiative transfer (RT) applications to the Earth's atmosphere and surface (vegetation, land and sea ice). We are interested in aspects of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation (e.g. actinic flux; irradiance on horizontal and tilted receivers including biological ones); visible and near-infared radiation with applications to solar radiative transfer and remote sensing; and 3D effects due to variations in thermal absorption and emissivity. We expect methods for identifying errors and limits of various RT methods, and highlighting 3D effects characteristic of UV, Vis-NIR, and thermal RT. We strongly encourage papers on new approaches explicitly considering 3D radiative effects. |
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M15 |
Atmospheric Composition Change: Air Pollution in the Global Environment
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Responsible commission: ICACGP |
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Convenors: |
Maria Kanakidou, David Edwards, John Burrows, Kimitaka Kawamura, Young J. Kim |
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Description: |
The symposium will investigate the tropospheric composition, how this is altered by human activities and the natural variability of the environment and the impact of these changes on air quality and climate. The symposium invites presentations on new findings on emissions, transport and transformation of pollutants in the troposphere that highlight the relations between induced forces and impacts to the environment. Attention will be given to the interactions between natural and anthropogenic substances, element cycles as well as gaseous and particulate phases in the troposphere. There are many major international projects related to these topics like AC&C (IGAC/SPARC), T&TP in ACCENT, the Megacities-Asia subproject of IGAC (and the two new EU FP7 projects MEGAPOLI and CITYZEN), from which we especially welcome contributions. The symposium welcomes laboratory, field, remote sensing and modelling investigations as well as integration of observations and modelling. Specific topics of interest are outlined:
- Emissions (emission inventories, emission factors, gases and aerosols, inverse modelling, constrains).
- Atmospheric transport and transformation of pollutants, including aerosols.
- Oxidizing capacity in the troposphere (daytime/nighttime chemistry, free radicals, organics, missing reactivity, halogen chemistry).
- Chemistry at the interfaces (ice/ snow/ aerosols/precipitation)
- Role of Megacities and other 'hot spot' areas on regional air quality and climate.
- Observing atmospheric composition change, including remote sensing and state of the art observations
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M16 |
Thunderstorms and their Manifestation on Local, Regional and Global Scales |
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Responsible commission: ICAE |
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Convenors: |
Earle Williams, Serge Soula, Colin Price |
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Description: |
New developments in the observation of thunderstorms span the electromagnetic spectrum: In the X-ray and gamma ray domain (for detection of energetic radiation presumed to be caused by runaway electrons in thunderstorm fields), in the VHF domain (for detailed lightning structure and comparison with radar and in situ measurements of storms), in the VLF region (for regional lightning studies over land and over ocean, including hurricanes), and in the ELF region (for studies of the global circuit and the extraordinary lightning flashes that produce sprites, elves and haloes in the mesosphere). These new observations have all spurred an integration of activity in atmospheric electricity over many scales. In this symposium, we invite papers covering the following topics:
- Observational, theoretical and modeling studies on the relationship between storm morphology and the electrical activity both within and above storms, including sprites, elves and haloes
- Operational application of lightning data for weather forecasting and climate monitoring
- Impact of lightning on climate, lightning’s response to climate change, and atmospheric chemistry.
- The global electrical circuit and the Earth’s Schumann resonances
- Energetic radiation from lightning and thunderstorms
- All other related subjects in atmospheric electricity.
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M17 |
Lightning: Characteristics, Physics, and Hazard Mitigation |
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Responsible commission: ICAE |
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Convenors: |
Vladimir Rakov, Christian Bouquegneau, Daohong Wang |
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Description: |
Lightning can be defined as a transient, high-current (typically tens of kilo-amperes) electric discharge whose length is measured in kilometers. It represents a serious hazard to human life, as well as to various objects and systems. The scope of the symposium includes the following topics: Properties of different types of lightning discharges, lightning models, various effects of lightning discharges, basic theory of lightning protection and warning systems, evaluation of lightning risk and risk management. One of the objectives of this symposium is to facilitate interaction between lightning researchers and those concerned with mitigation of lightning effects. |
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M18 |
Comparative Atmospheres of the Giant Planets and their Satellites |
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Responsible commission: ICPAE |
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Convenors: |
Athéna Coustenis, Darrell F. Strobel, Hojatollah Vali |
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Description: |
Papers are invited which report progress on all aspects of our current understanding of the evolution of atmospheres of the outer planets, their moons and their interactions with their environment (rings, magnetosphere, surfaces). The emphasis will be on insights gained from recent space missions, including Cassini-Huygens and Earth-orbiting satellites. Contributions describing the atmosphere-related objectives of the relevant missions, analysis of observations, and the results of model simulations of atmospheric evolution are also welcome. Research on exoplanetary atmospheres in comparison to the ones in our solar system is also of relevance. The relation of all of these aspects to the field of Astrobiology shall be put forward. |
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