Category Archives: News

SPARC Science update: 6 August –12 August

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.

SPARC Science update: 30 July –5 August

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.

Fuqing Zhang, 1970 – 2019

We sadly note the loss of our colleague and friend Dr. Fuqing Zhang, who died Friday July 19, 2019 following a recent diagnosis of cancer. This enormous loss to his family, friends and students and colleagues at Penn State is also felt by his many colleagues around the world. Fuqing had many accomplishments, awards, activities, and interests, and an obituary from colleagues at Pennsylvania State University can be found >>here

Among his many scientific interests, Fuqing was active in the field of atmospheric gravity waves, and he had been serving as co-chair of the SPARC Gravity Wave Activity since 2016.

A memorial service was held on July 24th at Koch Funeral Home in State College. At this time, one may read and add their own condolences and memories at >>this website

Many of us not only remember Fuqing’s tireless enthusiasm and passion for science, but also his kindness and helpfulness to so many scientists young and old around the world. We will miss him and we mourn his loss, which came much too soon.

Joan Alexander & Kaoru Sato, Gravity Wave activity co-leads

SPARC Science update: 23 July –29 July

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

 

On the representation of major stratospheric warmings in reanalyses. By B. Ayarzagüena et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

The biggest unknowns related to decadal prediction: what 50 experts think are the 5 major knowledge gaps. By D. Bojovic et al. in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

Stratospheric Gravity-Wave Products from Satellite Infrared Nadir Radiances in the Planning, Execution and Validation of Aircraft Measurements during DEEPWAVE. By S.D. Eckermann et al. in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology.

What drives the lifecycle of tropical anvil clouds? By B. Gasparini et al. in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems.

Decadal global temperature variability increases strongly with climate sensitivity. By F.J.M.M. Niijsse et al. in Nature: Climate Change.

A study on harmonizing total ozone assimilation with multiple sensors. By Y.J. Rochon, M. Sitwell, and Y.-M. Cho in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

The Signal‐to‐Noise Paradox for Interannual Surface Atmospheric Temperature Predictions. By F. Sévellec and S.S. Drijfhout in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Why do Antarctic Ozone recovery trends vary? By S.E. Strahan, A.R. Douglass, and M.R. Damon in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Comparison of ground-based and satellite measurements of water vapour vertical profiles over Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. By D. Weaver et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Message from WCRP leaders on recent developments concerning the Implementation Plan

Dear Colleagues,

The Implementation and Transition Meeting Report is now finalized and available on the WCRP website. Please note that the report reflects discussions during the 2-day meeting, but also lists the key outcomes following the 40th Session of the Joint Scientific Committee (JSC-40), in particular, the timeline and conceptual framework, to avoid confusion. The JSC-40 Report will be published in the next few weeks. You will see from the implementation timeline and milestones that the next step in the process is consolidation. This includes refinement of the science questions, conceptual framework, and of the key elements for operations, delivery, and engagement. It also includes the identification of science, funding, and infrastructure needs and partner and stakeholder consultation. In the next weeks, a number of task teams will be formed to begin this process. We will soon be in touch with more information on this opportunity.

To share our plans as widely as possible we have put together an MS PowerPoint presentation that provides information on the WCRP Strategic and Implementation Plans. Now that the Strategic Plan has been finalized, we invite you to disseminate the key details of our Plan and its implementation process.

We thank you all for your contributions to this important first step and look forward to working with you all in the coming months.

Kind regards

Detlef Stammer
Chair WCRP Joint Scientific Committee

Helen Cleugh
Vice-chair WCRP Joint Scientific Committee

Pavel Kabat
in his capacity as WCRP Director

SPARC Science update: 16 July –22 July

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

 

On Estimating the Cross‐Correlation and Least‐squares Fit of One Dataset to Another with Time Shift. By C.F. Chao and C.H. Chung in Earth and Space Science.

A 1D RCE study of factors affecting the tropical tropopause layer and surface climate. By S. Dacie et al. in the Journal of the Climate.

Influence of Arctic stratospheric ozone on surface climate in CCMI models. By O. Harari et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

The impact of radiosounding observations on numerical weather prediction analyses in the Arctic. By T. Naakka et al. in the Geophysical Research Letters.

FORMATION OF ARCTIC STRATOCUMULI THROUGH ATMOSPHERIC RADIATIVE COOLING. By L.F. Simpfendoerfer et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Is Arctic Amplification Dominated by Regional Radiative Forcing and Feedbacks: Perspectives From the World‐Avoided Scenario. By J.G. Virgin and K.L. Smith in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Updated Temperature Data Give a Sharper View of Climate Trends. By H.-M. Zhang et al. in Earth and Space Science news (EOS).

 

Discussion papers – open for comments:

The unprecedented 2017–2018 stratospheric smoke event: Decay phase and aerosol properties observed with EARLINET. By H. Baars et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Comparison of IAGOS in-situ water vapour measurements and ECMWF ERA-Interim Reanalysis data. By P. Reutter et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

SPARC Science update: 9 July –15 July

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

 

Predictability of Weather and Climate. By V. Krishnamurthy in Earth and Space Science.

Optimization of Gravity Wave Source Parameters for Improved Seasonal Prediction of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation. By C.A. Barton et al. in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences.

Using Project Loon super‐pressure balloon observations to investigate the inertial peak in the intrinsic wind spectrum in the mid‐latitude stratosphere. By J.P. Conway et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

China plans CFC-monitoring network to investigate rogue emissions. News article by D. Cyranoski in Nature.

ESD Reviews: Climate feedbacks in the Earth system and prospects for their evaluation. By C. Heinze et al. in Earth System Dynamics.

Interannual variations in Lower Stratospheric Ozone during the period 1984–2016. By J. Lu et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Quantification of water vapour transport from the Asian monsoon to the stratosphere. By M. Nützel et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Observational Evidence of Horizontal Transport‐Driven Dehydration in the TTL. By L.L. Pan et al. in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Blocking statistics in a varying climate: lessons from a ‘traffic jam’ model with pseudostochastic forcing. By A. Paradise et al. in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences.

Trends of vertically integrated water vapor over the Arctic during 1979-2016: Consistent moistening all over? By A. Rinke et al. in the Journal of the Climate.

Impact of El Niño–Southern Oscillation on the interannual variability of methane and tropospheric ozone. By M.J. Rowlinson et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Effects of the tropospheric large‐scale circulation on European winter temperatures during the period of amplified Arctic warming. By T. Vihma et al. in the International Journal of Climatology.

The tropopause inversion layer interaction with the inertial gravity wave activities and its latitudinal variability. By Y. Zhang et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Announcement: Interdisciplinary PhD and Post-Doc summer research school in St. Petersburg

International interdisciplinary PhD and Post-Doc summer research school

Observing and Modelling the Arctic Environment – Climate processes, prediction and projection

at

Nansen International Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NIERSC), St. Petersburg, Russia

 

8th – 13th September 2019

Sponsored by the Research Council of Norway INTPART project “ARCONOR: Arctic cooperation between Norway, Russia, India, China and US in satellite Earth observation and Education”, EC Horizon2020 “INTAROS: Integrated Arctic Observation System” and the organizing partners.

Applications by 1. August at 12:00 CET

Download announcement

The aim of this research school is to provide students with an overview of state-of the-art research in the Arctic from observations through process understanding and model development to application. The research school will have five sessions addressing:

(1) Observational capabilities: including in-situ measurements and satellite remote sensing, field campaigns and operational resources;
(2) Dynamics of the Arctic environment: what we know about the most important processes and how we include them in climate models;
(3) Surface coupling: a review of the multitude of surface coupling processes in the Arctic and current approaches to integrating this understanding in models at different scales;
(4) Climate projection and prediction: anthropogenically-forced and natural climate change in the Arctic, perspective from the 21st century and opportunities with climate prediction;
(5) Modelling for Arctic applications: using climate model results in other domains with examples from simulating marine primary production, future shipping routes, and other industrial activities in ice covered waters

Find meeting webpage

Deadline Approaching: HEMERA summer school, Heidelberg/Germany, Sept. 9 – 13, 2019

The HEMERA summer school is open to advanced master students, PhD students and young scientists interested/involved in balloon research, technicians and engineers from the participating agencies, research institutions, and industries.

Major themes of the summer school will cover the following:

  1. The history, early and modern balloon science and industrial opportunities, recent advances and discoveries.
  2. The atmospheric environment
  3. The general logistics of balloon types, flight control, limitations of the ballooning environment, launching techniques, regulations.
  4. Specific scientific and industrial ballooning operations of the agencies (CNES, SSC, ASI/CSA….
  5. More detail on modern scientific results from ballooning and the instruments involved.
  6. Future work, opportunities, measurements, ..

Teaching at the HEMERA summer school will be provided via lectures and showing casing balloon equipment.  One afternoon and the evening of Sept. 11, 2019 will be dedicated to a social programme (see programme).

The HEMERA summer school will be credited by 2 ECTS points, for which the students will receive a written certificate at the venue!

Registration must be completed before 26 July 2019
For more details, find link to registration webpage