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

Stratospheric Connection to the Abrupt End of the 2016/2017 Iberian Drought. By B. Ayarzagüena et al. in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Climate data empathy. By S. Brönnimann and J. Wintzer in WIREs Climate Change.

Response of Arctic ozone to sudden stratospheric warmings. By A. de la Cámara et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Reconstructing climatic modes of variability from proxy records: sensitivity to the methodological approach. By S. Michel et al. in Geoscientific Model Development.

Climate, weather, and water in history. By R.A. Morgan in WIREs Climate Change.

Global Climatologies of Fronts, Airmass Boundaries, and Airstream Boundaries: Why the Definition of “Front” Matters. By C.M. Thomas and D.M. Schultz in the Monthly Weather Review.

Polar amplification dominated by local forcing and feedbacks. By M.F. Stuecker et al. in Nature Climate Change.

The vertical wave number spectra of potential energy density in the stratosphere deduced from the COSMIC satellite observation. By Y.Y. Yan et al. in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Intermodel differences in upwelling in the tropical tropopause layer among CMIP5 models. By K. Yoshida, R. Mizuta, and O. Arakawa in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Discussion papers – open for comment:

Convective hydration in the tropical tropopause layer during the StratoClim aircraft campaign: Pathway of an observed hydration patch. By K.-O. Lee et al. 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).

The Role of Hadley Circulation and Lapse-Rate Changes for the Future European Summer Climate. By R. Brogli et al. in the Journal of the Climate.

SO2 observations and sources in the western Pacific tropical tropopause region. By A.W. Rollins et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Towards data‐driven weather and climate forecasting: Approximating a simple general circulation model with deep learning. By S. Scher in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Why does deep convection have different sensitivities to temperature perturbations in the lower and upper troposphere? By Y. Tian and Z. Kuang in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences.

Initial report on polar mesospheric cloud observations by Himawari-8. By T.T. Tsuda et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Discussion papers – open for comment:

Correlated observation error models for assimilating all-sky infrared radiances. By A.J. Geer in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

We are thrilled to hear that Don Wuebbles has received this award which he thoroughly deserves. Don has contributed to SPARC science for many years and is currently a valuable member of the SPARC Steering Group.  – The SPARC co-chairs

From The AGU news:

Donald Wuebbles’s research contributions would be notable based solely on his foundational efforts in atmospheric chemistry, including important work on the ozone hole. But his research has been remarkably wide ranging and influential, advancing our knowledge about many key aspects of global environmental change, including severe weather, climate extremes, high-resolution modeling of the climate system, national security, and risk management issues associated with climate change. His leadership of environmental assessments has been extensive at the regional, national, and international levels. For the 2014 Third National Climate Assessment and the 2017 Climate Science Special Report, his singular leadership influence on the development of those products was one of the key reasons for the quality and balance of these influential assessments. His body of work reflects his deep commitment to solving the core environmental challenges of our age.

– Kenneth Kunkel, North Carolina State University, Raleigh

Find Don’s response on the AGU webpage:
https://eos.org/agu-news/wuebbles-receives-2018-bert-bolin-global-environmental-change-award

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

Data assimilation strategies for state dependent observation error variances. By C.H. Bishop in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Heterogeneity of scaling of the observed global temperature data. By S. Blesić, D. Zanchettin, and A. Rubino in the Journal of the Climate.

The role of the nonlinearity of the Stefan-Boltzmann law on the structure of radiatively forced temperature change. By M. Henry and T.M. Merlis in the Journal of the Climate.

Mean precipitation change from a deepening troposphere. By N. Jeevanjee and D.M. Romps in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Characteristics of Atmospheric Wave‐Induced Laminae Observed by Ozonesondes at the Southern Tip of South America. By H. Ohyama et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Inertia‐Gravity Waves Revealed in Radiosonde Data at Jang Bogo Station, Antarctica (74°37’S, 164°13’E). Part I: Characteristics, Energy, and Momentum Flux. By J.-H. Yoo et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Discussion papers – open for comment:

Unravelling the microphysics of polar mesospheric cloud formation. By D. Duft, M. nachbar, and T. Leisner in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Position announcement from the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (BCCR):

The Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (BCCR) is currently seeking a senior adviser. The senior adviser will coordinate the newly established office for the World Climate Research Program (WCRP)’s regional activities and will report to the Programme’s Joint Scientific Committee. The office is shared between the Bjerknes Centre and the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS) in Hamburg, where a corresponding position is being announced. Some travel may be expected.

Responsibilities:

• Promote and coordinate WCRP’s Core projects and Grand Challenges in line with WCRP Strategic Plan 2019-2028
• Contribute to synergy and integration between the various regional activities and WCRP’s Core Projects
• Highlight opportunities, resources, and partnerships that can help promote regional climate research within the WCRP
• Contribute to the dissemination of WCRP´s activities through brochures and online media
• Schedule and organize science-specific meetings and courses conducted by WCRP
• Report on plans and progress at annual meetings
• Contribute to synergy and integration between WCRP and BCCR

Qualifications and personal qualities:

• A doctoral degree within the natural sciences related to climate
• Extensive documented experience in working internationally
• Documented experience from strategy work and coordination
• Documented experience from organizing meetings and conferences
• Fluent in spoken and written English
• Good communication skills in Norwegian is an advantage
• Ability to cooperate and other qualities required for the position will be emphasized

We can offer:

• A good and professionally challenging working environment
• Salary at pay grade 64 – 70 (code 1364) in the state salary scale. This currently amounts to an annual salary of 565 100 – 631 300 before taxes. Higher salary can be considered for a particularly qualified applicant.
• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• A position in an inclusive workplace (IA enterprise)
• Good welfare benefits

Detailed information about the position can be obtained by contacting:

Director Tore Furevik, Bjerknes Centre of Climate Research, / +47 98677226

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

Highlight article (office choice):
Science directions in a post‐COP21‐world of transient climate change: enabling regional to local predictions in support of reliable climate information. By D. Stammer et al. in Earth’s Future.

On the momentum budget of the quasi-biennial oscillation in the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model. By R.R. Garcia and J.H. Richter in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences.

East Asian climate under global warming: understanding and projection. By J. Li et al. in Climate Dynamics.

A robust constraint on the temperature and height of the extratropical tropopause. By D.W.J. Thompson, P. Ceppi, and Y. Li in the Journal of the Climate.

Stratospheric tropospheric wind profiling radars in the Australian network. By B.K. Dolman, I.M. Reid and C. Tingwell in Earth, Planets and Space.

Widespread polar stratospheric ice clouds in the 2015–2016 Arctic winter – implications for ice nucleation. By C. Voigt et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Mesoscale fine structure of a tropopause fold over mountains. By W. Woiwode et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Stratospheric aerosols, polar stratospheric clouds and polar ozone depletion after the Mt. Calbuco eruption in 2015. By Y. Zhu et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Discussion papers – open for comment:

Ice injected up to the Tropopause by Deep Convection: 1) in the Austral Convective Tropics. By I.-A. Dion et al in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.