The call for nominations to SPARC’s Scientific Steering Group (SSG) is now open. The SSG currently comprises 12-14 researchers from around the world with a wide range of expertise in atmospheric dynamics and chemistry. They guide SPARC’s priorities and activities, working together with the SSG co-chairs and the SPARC project office. SSG members will be responsible for the new SPARC implementation plan, the regional and international research agendas, and ensuring that SPARC’s priorities align with those of the new WCRP strategy. We are currently working on a draft of terms of reference that summarise the work of the SSG.

The deadline for nominations is 08 November 2019.

Nominations can be submitted through the online form at
https://www.aparc-climate.org/about/leadership/ssg-nominations/
(including the upload of a publications list).

Please note that you can either nominate a candidate or nominate yourself.

The SSG takes a strategic view of SPARC’s role, so we are looking for individuals with a broad view of atmospheric science and climate change as well as expertise in their own field. Scientific expertise, career stage as well as gender and geographical balance are taken into account. The initial term of service is for four years (January 2021 – December 2024), with a possible extension of two years.

If you are interested in getting involved in SPARC in other ways, including ideas for new foci, please visit the SPARC webpage for more information: www.sparc-climate.org/get-involved or contact the SPARC Office (see below). We recommend that early career researchers consider getting involved in specific activities first, including leadership roles, as involvement in international activities is a great way to broaden one’s horizons. Activity Leaders can attend the annual SSG meetings. We are happy to advise anyone unsure about how best to get involved.

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

Influence of instrumentation on long temperature time series. By F. Acquaotta et al. in Climatic Change.

How accurate are modern climate reanalyses for the data-sparse Tibetan Plateau region? By X. Bao and F. Zhang in the Journal of the Climate.

Gap filling of monthly temperature data and its effect on climatic variability and trends. By S. Beguería, M. Tomas-Burguera, and R. Serrano-Notivoli in the Journal of the Climate.

Improved tropospheric and stratospheric sulfur cycle in the aerosol–chemistry–climate model SOCOL-AERv2. By A. Feinberg et al. in Geoscientific Model Development.

How marine emissions of bromoform impact the remote atmosphere. Ba Y. Jia et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Building an Accessible, Integrated Earth Observing and Information System: The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project as a Pathfinder. By W.B. Rossow and J.J. Bates in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Technical Note: Intermittent reduction of the stratospheric ozone over Northern Europe caused by a storm in Atlantic Ocean. By M. Sofieva et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Discussion papers – open for comments:

Detecting breakpoints in global temperature. By J. Duan et al. in Earth System Dynamics.

On the forcings of the unusual QBO structure in February 2016. By H. Li, R. Pilch Kedzierski and K. Matthes 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).

Six New Satellites Watch the Atmosphere over Earth’s Equator. News report by by R. Anthes and W. Schreiner in Earth & Space Science News (EOS).

Atmospheric observations made at Oliktok Point, Alaska, as part of the Profiling at Oliktok Point to Enhance YOPP Experiments (POPEYE) campaign. By G. de Boer et al. in Earth System Science Data.

On the Cooling-to-Space Approximation. By N. Jeevanjee and S. Fueglistaler in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences.

POLSTRACC: Airborne experiment for studying the Polar Stratosphere in a Changing Climate with the high-altitude long-range research aircraft HALO. By H. Oelhaf et al. in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

A Systematic Approach to Assessing the Sources and Global Impacts of Errors in Climate Models. By S.D. Schubert et al. in the Journal of the Climate.

Changes in winter stationary wave activity during weak mid‐latitude and Arctic thermal contrast period. S. Wang et al. in the International Journal of Climatology.

Large Amplitude Quasi‐10‐day Waves in the Middle Atmosphere during Final Warmings. By Y. Yamazaki and V. Matthias in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Discussion papers – open for comments:

Modeling Trans-Pacific Transport and Stratospheric Intrusion of Tropospheric Ozone using Hemispheric CMAQ during April 2010: Part 2. Examination of Emission Impacts based on the Higher-order Decoupled Direct Method. By S. Itahashi et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

EGU 2020 call for scientific sessions, Union Symposia, Great Debates, Short courses, and Townhall meetings tot he EGU General assembly 3-8 May 2020 in Vienna, Austria

Deadline: 5 September 2019

More information and link to submission page: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2020/provisionalprogramme

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

Predictability of Northern Hemisphere final stratospheric warmings and their surface impacts. By A. Butler et al. in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Observational Evidence for Two Modes of Coupling Between Sea Surface Temperatures, Tropospheric Temperature Profile, and Shortwave Cloud Radiative Effect in the Tropics. By S. Fueglistaler in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Impact of vertical wind shear on gravity wave propagation in the land-sea breeze circulation at the equator. By Y. Du, R. Rotunno, and F. Zhang in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences.

Modelled and observed volcanic aerosol control on stratospheric NO_y and Cl_y. By B. Zambri et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Discussion papers – open for comments:

The Global Methane Budget 2000–2017. By M. Saunois 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).

Tropospheric and stratospheric causal pathways between the MJO and NAO. By E.A. Barnes et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

The response of the ozone layer to quadrupled CO2 concentrations: implications for climate. By G. Chiodo and L.M. Polvani in the Journal of the Climate.

Uncertainty in the Representation of Orography in Weather and Climate Models and Implications for Parameterized Drag. By A.D. Elvidge et al. in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems.

A diagnostic equation for tendency of lapse-rate-tropopause heights and its application. By M. Kohma and K. Sato in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences.

Revisiting the Agung 1963 volcanic forcing – impact of one or two eruptions. By U. Niemeier, C. Timmreck, and K. Krueger in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Large Uncertainties in Estimation of Tropical Tropopause Temperature Variabilities due to Model Vertical Resolution. By W. Wang et al. in the Geophysicl Research Letters.

Parameterization of Directional Absorption of Orographic Gravity Waves and Its Impact on the Atmospheric General Circulation Simulated by the Weather Research and Forecasting Model. By X. Xu et al. in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences.

Discussion papers – open for comment:

Very high stratospheric influence observed in the free troposphere over the Northern Alps – just a local phenomenon? By T. Trickl et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

A CEOS, WMO-GSICS Workshop

Hosted by UKSA at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington 
September 9-11 2019.

This international workshop will discuss the needs, state of the art and vision for a space based climate observing system spanning the electromagnetic spectrum with a workshop report to establish a roadmap for its implementation. In particular it will highlight climate benchmark missions such as UK led TRUTHS mission adopted into the ESA Earth Watch mission for subscription as part of ‘Space19+’ in November, NASA CLARREO and similar mission from China.

More information relating to this workshop including the draft agenda and details of how to register can be found here.

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

Detection, variability, and predictability of monsoon onset and withdrawal dates: a review. By R.J. Bombardi, V. Moron, and J.S. Goodnight in the International Journal of Climatology.

Satellite Limb Observations of Unprecedented Forest Fire Aerosol in the Stratosphere. By A.E. Bourassa et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Are sudden stratospheric warmings preceded by anomalous tropospheric wave activity? By A. de la Cámara, T. birner, and J.R. Albers in the Journal of the Climate.

The impact of recent changes in Asian anthropogenic emissions of SO2 on sulfate loading in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and the associated radiative changes. By S. Fadnavis et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Changes in hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) emissions in China during 2011‐2017. By X. Fang et al. in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Comparison of equatorial wave activity in the tropical tropopause layer and stratosphere represented in reanalyses. By Y.-H. Kim et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Tropical deep convection impact on southern winter stationary waves and its modulation by the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation. By C. Peña-Ortiz, E. Manzini, and M.A. Giorgetta in the Journal of the Climate.

Quantifying the local effect of Northern Hemisphere atmospheric blocks on the persistence of summer hot and dry spells. By M. Röthlisberger and O. Martius in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Emissions of halocarbons from India inferred through atmospheric measurements. By D. Say et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Interannual variations of water vapor in the tropical upper troposphere and the lower and middle stratosphere and their connections to ENSO and QBO. By E.W. Tian et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Discusion papers – open for comments:

Tropical and mid-latitude teleconnections interacting with the Indian summer monsoon rainfall: A Theory-Guided Causal Effect Network approach. By G. Di Capua et al. in Earth System Dynamics.

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

Variations in the vertical profile of ozone at four high-latitude Arctic sites from 2005 to 2017. By S. Bahramvash Shams et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Global ozone depletion and increase of UV radiation caused by pre-industrial tropical volcanic eruptions. By H. Brenna, S. Kutterolf and K. Krüger in Scientific Reports.

How Is Recent Arctic Warming Impacting East Asian Weather? By S.-J. Kim, B.-M. Kim, and J. Ukita in Earth and Space Science news (EOS).

Tropopause altitude determination from temperature profile measurements of reduced vertical resolution. By N. König, P. Braesicke, and T. von Clarmann in Atmospheric measurement Techniques.

Abrupt stratospheric vortex weakening associated with North Atlantic anticyclonic wave breaking. By S.H. Lee et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Impacts of the ENSO Lifecycle on Stratospheric Ozone and Temperature. By J. Lin and T. Qian in the Geophysical Research Letters.

The polar stratosphere as an arbiter of the projected tropical versus polar tug‐of‐war. By Y. Peings, J. Cattiaux, and G. Magnusdottir in the Geophyical Research Letters.

Evaluation of wake influence on high-resolution balloon-sonde measurements. By J. Söder et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

A geostatistical framework for quantifying the imprint of mesoscale atmospheric transport on satellite trace gas retrievals. By A.D. Tores et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Radiative Feedbacks Associated with the Madden-Julian Oscillation. By B. Zhang et al. in the Journal of the Climate.

Discussion papers – open for comments:

Improved Water Vapour retrieval from AMSU-B/MHS in polar regions. By A.M. Triana-Gómez et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Determining the Daytime Earth Radiative Flux from National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Radiometer (NISTAR) Measurements. By W. Su et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

The efficiency of transport into the stratosphere via the Asian and North American summer monsoon circulations. By X. Yan et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.