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

Inter-model diversity of Arctic amplification caused by global warming and its relationship with the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone in CMIP5 climate models. By Y. Yim et al. in Climate Dynamics.

The robustness of mid-latitude weather pattern changes due to Arctic sea-ice loss. By H.W. Chen et al. in the Journal of Climate.

Atmospheric photochemistry at a fatty acid–coated air-water interface. By S. Rossignol et al. in Science.

Carbon monoxide climatology derived from the trajectory mapping of global MOZAIC-IAGOS data. By M.K. Osman et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Simultaneous and co-located wind measurements in the middle atmosphere by lidar and rocket-borne techniques. By F.-J. Lübken et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Satellite observations of stratospheric hydrogen fluoride and comparisons with SLIMCAT calculations. By J.J. Harrison et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Tropospheric ozone variability during the East Asian summer monsoon as observed by satellite (IASI), aircraft (MOZAIC) and ground stations. By S. Safieddine et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Northern Hemisphere winter storm track trends since 1959 derived from multiple reanalysis datasets. By E.K.M. Chang and A.M.W. Yau in Climate Dynamics.

The influence of the Gulf Stream on wintertime European blocking. By C.H. O’Reilly et al. in Climate Dynamics.

The natural oscillations in stratospheric ozone observed by the GROMOS microwave radiometer at the NDACC station Bern. By L. Moreira et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Effect of geomagnetic activity on the northern annular mode: QBO-dependence and the Holton-Tan relationship. By V. Maliniemi et al. in the Journal of Geophysical research: Atmospheres.

Long-term variation of stratospheric aerosols observed with lidars over Tsukuba, Japan from 1982 and Lauder, New Zealand from 1992 to 2015. By T. Sakai et al. in the Journal of Geophysical research: Atmospheres.

On instrumental errors and related correction strategies of ozonesondes: possible effect on calculated ozone trends for the nearby sites Uccle and De Bilt. By R. van Malderen et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

WACCM-D – Improved modeling of nitric acid and active chlorine during energetic particle precipitation. By M.E. Andersson et al. in the Journal of Geophysical research: Atmospheres.

An update on the uncertainties of water vapor measurements using cryogenic frost point hygrometers. By H. Vömel et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Improvement of stratospheric balloon GPS positioning and the impact on gravity wave parameter estimation for the Concordiasi campaign in Antarctica. By W. Zhang et al. in the Journal of Geophysical research: Atmospheres.

The impact of changes in parameterizations of surface drag and vertical diffusion on the large-scale circulation in the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM5). By J. Lindvall et al. in Climate Dynamics.

Impact of the Asian monsoon on the extratropical lower stratosphere: trace gas observations during TACTS over Europe 2012. By S. Müller et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Proposed standardized definitions for vertical resolution and uncertainty in the NDACC lidar ozone and temperature algorithms – Part 1: Vertical resolution. By T. Leblanc et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Proposed standardized definitions for vertical resolution and uncertainty in the NDACC lidar ozone and temperature algorithms – Part 2: Ozone DIAL uncertainty budget. By T. Leblanc et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Proposed standardized definitions for vertical resolution and uncertainty in the NDACC lidar ozone and temperature algorithms – Part 3: Temperature uncertainty budget. By T. Leblanc et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Tropical Rainfall, Rossby Waves and Regional Winter Climate Predictions. By A.A. Scaife et al. in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Evidence for gravity wave drag in the boundary layer of a numerical forecast model –a comparison with observations. By A. Lapworth and S.R. Osborne in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Discussion papers – open for comment

How Does Downward Planetary Wave Coupling Affect Polar Stratospheric Ozone in the Arctic Winter Stratosphere? By S.W. Lubis et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Heterogeneous reaction of ClONO₂ with TiO₂ and SiO₂ aerosol particles: implications for stratospheric particle injection for climate engineering. By M.J. Tang et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Improved GOMOS/Envisat ozone retrievals in the upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere. By V.F. Sofieva et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions.

Model Sensitivity Studies of the Decrease in Atmospheric Carbon Tetrachloride. By M.P. Chipperfield et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

A 2-year research fellowship focusing on the assimilation of geostationary water vapour radiance data.

The position is based at Deutscher Wetterdienst DWD, Offenbach, Germany.

Find vacancy.

Find more details.

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

Which way will the circulation shift in a changing climate? Possible nonlinearity of extratropical cloud feedbacks. By N.F. Tandon and M.A. Cane in Climate Dynamics.

Investigations of the middle atmospheric thermal structure and oscillations over sub-tropical regions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. By S. Sharma et al. in Climate Dynamics.

Role of atmospheric chemistry in the climate impacts of stratospheric volcanic injections. By A.N. LeGrande et al. in Nature Geoscience.

A short-term negative eddy feedback on mid-latitude jet variability due to planetary wave reflection. By G. Rivière et al. in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences.

The relationship between age of air and the diabatic circulation of the stratosphere. By M. Linz et al. in the Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences.

The anomalous change in the QBO in 2015-16. By P.A. Newman et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

The representation of solar cycle signals in stratospheric ozone – Part 1: A comparison of recently updated satellite observations. By A.C. Maycock et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Satellite observations of middle atmosphere gravity wave absolute momentum flux and of its vertical gradient during recent stratospheric warmings. By M. Ern et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

A multi-wavelength classification method for polar stratospheric cloud types using infrared limb spectra. By R. Spang et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

A probabilistic study of the return of stratospheric ozone to 1960 levels. By A. Helena Södergren et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Interhemispheric differences in seasonal cycles of tropospheric ozone in the marine boundary layer: observation – model comparisons. By R.G: Derwent et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

LOAC: a small aerosol optical counter/sizer for ground-based and balloon measurements of the size distribution and nature of atmospheric particles – Part 2: First results from balloon and unmanned aerial vehicle flights. By J.-B. Renard et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Glider aims to break world record — and boost climate science. By D. Butler in Nature.

Changes in the width of the tropical belt due to simple radiative forcing changes in the GeoMIP simulations. By N.A. Davis et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

A joint data record of tropospheric ozone from Aura-TES and MetOp-IASI. By H. Oetjen et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Features of vortex split MSSWs that are problematic to forecast. By M. Taguchi in Atmospheric Science Letters.

Seasonal and inter-annual variability of lower stratospheric age of air spectra. By F. Ploeger and T. Birner in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Discussion papers – open for comment

Halogen chemistry reduces tropospheric O₃ radiative forcing. By T Sherwen et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Shortwave radiative forcing and feedback to the surface by sulphate geoengineering: Analysis of the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project G4 scenario. By H. Kashimura et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Place and dates: Berlin, Germany – 31 October to 1 November 2016
Abstract submission and registration deadline: 30 Sep 2016

Motivation and goals

In recent years the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) has identified several Grand Science Challenges (http://www.wcrp-climate.org/grand-challenges) representing areas of emphasis in scientific research for WCRP in the coming decade. Progress in these areas should lead to “actionable information” for decision makers. More broadly, WCRP supports climate science via its Core Projects, among them the SPARC project on “Stratosphere-troposphere processes and their role in climate” .

Held back-to-back with the annual meeting of the SPARC scientific steering group, this workshop tries to bring together scientists active in Grand Challenge research, in different SPARC activities, and scientists that so far have had fewer links to WCRP.

The workshop has the following aims:

1. To discuss the state of the science in the areas of Grand Challenges and SPARC themes;
2. To define improved collaborations between SPARC and the Grand Challenges;
3. To discuss the role of SPARC and Grand Challenges in WCRP priorities.

Contributions

We call for scientific contributions related to

• the Grand Challenges on “Clouds, circulation & climate sensitivity”, “Climate extremes”, “Near-term predictability”, and “Carbon feedbacks in the climate system”,

and/or

• the SPARC themes “Atmospheric dynamics and predictability”, “Chemistry and climate”, and “Long-term records for climate understanding”.

Please submit a short abstract by 30 September 2016 by email to .

Most contributions will be presented in poster format.

Confirmed invited speakers

Guy Brasseur, Andrew Charlton-Perez, Bill Collins, Dim Coumou, George Craig, Daniela Domeisen, Hella Garny, Corinna Hoose, Wolfgang Müller, Olivia Romppainen, Gabriele Stiller, Claudia Timmreck, Ted Shepherd

For more details and registration, please visit the webpage.

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

A multi-model intercomparison of halogenated very short-lived substances (TransCom-VSLS): linking oceanic emissions and tropospheric transport for a reconciled estimate of the stratospheric source gas injection of bromine. By R. Hossaini et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

The QBO, Gravity Waves Forced by Tropical Convection, and ENSO. By M.A. Geller et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Impact of the January 2012 solar proton event on polar mesospheric clouds. By C.G. Bardeen et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Simulation study for measurement of horizontal wind profiles in the polar stratosphere and mesosphere using ground-based observations of ozone and carbon monoxide lines in the 230–250 GHz region. By D.A. Newnham et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Upper-tropospheric CO and O₃ budget during the Asian summer monsoon. By B. Barret et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Tropopause Sharpening by Data Assimilation. By R. Pilch Kedzierski in Geophysical Research Letters.

Investigating possible Arctic – midlatitude teleconnections in a linear framework. By R. Sellevold et al. in the Journal of Climate.

Convection generated high frequency gravity waves as observed by MST radar and simulated by WRF model over the Indian tropical station of Gadanki. By P. Ghosh et al. in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.

MIPAS IMK/IAA CFC-11 (CCl₃F) and CFC-12 (CCl₂F₂) measurements: accuracy, precision and long-term stability. By E. Eckert et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Robust response of the Amundsen Sea Low to stratospheric ozone depletion. By M.R. England et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Spectroscopic evidence of large aspherical β-NAT particles involved in denitrification in the December 2011 Arctic stratosphere. By W. Woiwode et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Stratospheric gravity waves at Southern Hemisphere orographic hotspots: 2003–2014 AIRS/Aqua observations. By L. Hoffmann et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Climate impacts of geoengineering in a delayed mitigation scenario. By S. Tilmes et al. in Geophysical Research Letters.

Asymmetry and nonlinearity of the influence of ENSO on the northern winter stratosphere. Part I: Observations. By J. Rao and R. Ren in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Asymmetry and nonlinearity of the influence of ENSO on the northern winter stratosphere. Part II: Model study with WACCM. By J. Rao and R. Ren in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Reassessing properties and radiative forcing of contrail cirrus using a climate model. By L. Bock and U. Burkhardt in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Validation of Aura MLS retrievals of temperature, water vapour and ozone in the upper troposphere and lower–middle stratosphere over the Tibetan Plateau during boreal summer. By X. Yan et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

Regional and global temperature response to anthropogenic SO₂ emissions from China in three climate models. By M. Kasoar et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

A potential-vorticity-based index for the East Asian winter monsoon. By W. Huang et al. in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

Discussion papers – open for comment

The major stratospheric final warming in 2016: Dispersal of vortex air and termination of Arctic chemical ozone loss. By G.L. Manney and Z.D. Lawrence in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Harmonization and Diagnostics of MIPAS ESA CH₄ and N₂O Profiles Using Data Assimilation. By Q. Errera et al. in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions.

STEFLUX, a tool for investigating stratospheric intrusions: application to two WMO/GAW global stations. By D. Putero et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Introduction to the SPARC Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (S-RIP) and overview of the reanalysis systems. By M. Fujiwara et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Multi-model simulations of aerosol and ozone radiative forcing for the period 1990–2015. By G. Myhre et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Tropospheric observations of CFC-114 and CFC-114a with a focus on long-term trends and emissions. By J.C. Laube et al. in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions.

Application deadline: 30 Aug 2016

The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) is a multidisciplinary centre for climate research located in Hamburg, Germany. It has an internationally recognised reputation in climate modelling. The MPI-M is located in the heart of one of Europe’s most livable and vibrant cities. It provides a highly international and interdisciplinary environment for conducting scientific research as well as access to state-of-the-art scientific and computational facilities.

Within the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) funded collaborative JPI Climate-Belmont project “The potential of seasonal-to-decadal-scale inter-regional linkages to advance climate predictions” (InterDec-MPI), the department for The Ocean in the Earth System (Director’s research group) is looking for a

Postdoctoral Scientist/Research Scientist (m/f, Ref. W029)

to investigate the inter-linkages among seasonal-to-decadal scale variability in the Arctic, mid-latitudes and tropics, their mechanisms and their implications for reliable climate predictions through coordinated multi-model sensitivity experiments and suites of initialized climate predictions. The project InterDec-MPI coordinates the research activities of an international consortium of European and Asian elite universities and research climate centers within the Belmont Forum/JPI-Climate initiative "Climate services collaborative
research action on climate predictability and inter-regional linkages" (http://www.jpi-climate.eu/2015projects/interdec).

Specific objectives of InterDec are

• To investigate the mechanisms that govern the fast atmospheric linkages through both tropospheric and stratospheric processes between polar and lower latitudes and explore the potential for predictions on sub-seasonal to seasonal time scales.
• To advance our understanding of how frequency and amplitude of extreme weather events can be modulated by decadal-multidecadal changes in the background climate conditions.
• To explore the role of the ocean for low frequency signal communication between high and low latitudes and the implications for decadal predictability.
• To explore the added value of increased climate model resolution for a more realistic representation of processes linking high and low latitudes and for enhancing the predictability of high-impact climate and extreme weather events on regional scales.

Responsibilities

• Develop original research and analysis strategy to address research questions relevant to the InterDec project objectives.
• Conduct and analyze coordinated sensitivity and hindcast climate simulations with the Max Planck Earth System Model aimed at improving our understanding of Arctic-Midlatitude-Tropics linkages at seasonal-to-decadal time scale and their potential predictability, with a focus on monsoon systems, Eurasian climate extremes and hiatus like events.
• Contribute to project and task coordination, as well as to the writing and assembling of project reports.
• Disseminate the results through publications in high-impact peer-reviewed journals and presentations at project annual meetings, national and international conferences.
• Attend training, coordination, and dissemination activities that are organized by InterDec.

Qualifications /experience

• A PhD in Meteorology, Oceanography, Physics, or a related area is required for this position.
• Good knowledge of climate dynamics and predictability, in particular of atmospheric and/or ocean dynamics, atmosphere/ocean interactions and teleconnections. Expertise in initialising and evaluating the skill of seasonal-to-decadal climate predictions is an advantage.
• Experience in performing and evaluating coupled atmosphere-ocean
system simulations is desired.
• Programming skills in Fortran and statistical post-processing (e.g. cdo, R) and visualization software (e.g. MATLAB, FERRET, NCL, IDL, GRADS), as well as experience in handling large climate data sets.
• Good knowledge of advance statistical techniques for climate analyses. Experience in extreme events statistics is an advantage.
• Ability to coordinate cross-institutional research work and reporting tasks is desired.
• Ability to work both independently and within a team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Selection criteria

The selection criteria will value the qualifications, the experience and the ability of the candidates to fulfill the responsibilities of the opening as outlined above.

Employment conditions

• The position is offered for 38 months, with a starting date between September and November 2016.
• Payment will be in accordance with German public service positions (TVoeD E 14), including extensive social security plans. The conditions of employment, including upgrades and duration, follow the rules of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Sciences and those of the German civil service.

Selection process

A selection panel will be established. The selection will follow the rules of the Code of Conduct for Researcher Recruitment (http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/index.cfm/rights/codeOfConduct)
The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology seeks to increase the number of female scientist and encourages them to apply. Handicapped persons with comparable qualifications receive preferential status.

How to submit your application for this post

Please submit:

• A cover letter
• A detailed curriculum vitae
• The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of two references

By uploading the documents in our online Webtool: https://s-lotus.gwdg.de/mpg/mhmt/perso/mpim_w029.nsf/application

Deadline for applying

This vacancy has been opened on 21 July 2016. The vacancy will be kept open until filled.

A first cut-off date for the collection of the applications is foreseen on 30 August 2016. If the position is not filled, this vacancy announcement will be re-published indicating a second cut-off date.

For further information, please contact Dr. Daniela Matei (daniela.matei(at)mpimet.mpg.de) and Dr. Jürgen Bader (juergen.bader(at)mpimet.mpg.de).
Do not forward your application to these email addresses; the application needs to be submitted through the online Webtool (see link above).

Oral abstracts submission deadline: 5 Sep 2016

Introduction

Human activities have greatly impacted the Earth system so much so that it has ushered in a new epoch – the Anthropocene. The consequent changes – observed and predicted – occur in the oceans, the terrestrial regions, and the biosphere, and have raised important societal issues such as climate change, ocean acidification, air quality degradation, and ozone layer depletion.

The central component that leads to changes and impacts are the processes that alter the composition of the atmosphere. It is time to take a closer look at the processes that change the composition the Earth’s atmosphere to ensure that they are understood and represented accurately in models, whose predictions underpin societal actions.

This Discussion will focus on emerging issues such as interactions between anthropogenic and biogenic emissions, new mechanisms important for atmospheric chemistry, the impacts of climate on air quality, and new instrumental tools and platforms for atmospheric chemistry.

Aims

This meeting aims to bring together a global network of experimentalists, field scientists, theoreticians, chemists, physicists and environmental scientists working at the forefront of these emerging issues, providing a forum for cross-disciplinary exchange and discussion of ideas on the processes that control the composition of the atmosphere.

Themes

Atmospheric chemistry and the biosphere
In this session we will explore ocean-atmosphere and land-atmosphere interactions; new emission mechanisms and feedbacks.

Atmospheric chemistry processes
In this session we will discuss new mechanisms of importance for atmospheric chemistry, including radical chemistry and recycling, Criegee intermediates, gas phase precursors to SOA, and nitrogen cycling.

The air we breathe: Past, present, and future
This session will look at air quality-climate interactions; developing world issues; short-lived climate forcers. We will discuss air pollution extremes in the 21st century, the benefits of reducing short-lived climate pollutants, environmental pollution in developing nations.

New tools for Atmospheric Chemistry
In this final session we aim to explore the new tools and strategies available, including new measurement techniques, platforms, modelling tools and paradigms.

For further details, please visit the meeting website.