BAMOS Vol 39 No.3 2016

AMOS

AustralianMeteorological & OceanographicSociety

2017 Australian Weather Calendar on sale now What to expect at AMOS 2017 Cape Grim celebrates 40 years Book review: Southern Surveyor ... and much more!

Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological & Oceanographic Society Vol 29, No. 3, 2016 ISSN 2206-6063

Contents Editorial...........................................................................................................................................................................51 President’s Column.........................................................................................................................................................52 News...............................................................................................................................................................................53 News from the Centres...................................................................................................................................................58 Article..............................................................................................................................................................................60 Book Review: Southern Surveyor, Stories from onboard Australia’s Ocean Research Vessel, by Michael Veitch.........61 Weather in literature quiz with Matthias Tomczak........................................................................................................63 Conference Report: The RMetS/NCAS High Impact Weather and Climate Conference, Manchester, July 2016..........63 Obituary: Alan Frank Pearce ..........................................................................................................................................67 Obituary: Bob Dingle......................................................................................................................................................70 Charts from the Past with Blair Trewin...........................................................................................................................72

ISSN 1035-6576 Cover picture: Cloud over boab trees in Derby, Western Australia, 5 December 2010 (this image appears on the cover of the 2017 Australian Weather Calendar).

Image: Mieke Boynton, www.miekeboynton.com.

Unless specifically stated to the contrary, views expressed in the Bulletin are the personal views of the authors, and do not represent the views of the Society or any other organisation or institution to which the author(s) may be affiliated.

Editorial

Farewell I say goodbye to 2016 with mixed feelings. Sure, the end of a year is merely a marker of time, but this particular year was “bad”. This is, of course, a personal reflection, but after a quick internet/confirmation bias search for “2016 worst year ever” it seems I’m not the only one not too fond of the previous 12 months.

Just looking at the news of the year, there was the demise of the Great Barrier Reef, the outbreaks of Zika, the wars, the crazy politics, the job cuts, the suffering, and the indifference to the suffering. And then there was the loss of the voices and faces who had blessed our childhoods (and adulthoods) with light. Not just those of Hollywood, but those we held close—our family, our friends and our colleagues.

In this issue of BAMOS we remember some of the AMOS members who passed in 2016, who made significant contributions to our sciences, and who had quite an impact on the communities they were part of. As Editor, I enjoyed reading these touching tributes. In times of tragedy, it can be difficult to find strength and inspiration, but I find that the obituaries embrace these, and are usually the most well-written pieces in each issue. The story of one’s life and the insight on what went into their achievements, the details of the moments that shaped their character and career, are always written with great care and respect, and remind me of how supportive, diverse and fascinating AMOS members are.

It is then, with sadness, that I am leaving AMOS with this issue of BAMOS. I’ve held onto it long enough now! Going into the new year, you may see some changes ahead as the editorial team shift around. I’m sure it will be exciting and I look forward to seeing how BAMOS evolves.

I’d like to thank you all for letting me be part of your community, and I’d also particularly like to thank those who dedicated their time and efforts in both guiding and supporting me through my role at AMOS. Firstly, Jeanette Dargaville—I’m pretty sure she’s at the top of everyone’s thank yous because without her, there is no AMOS. It is a long and exhaustive list of what Jeanette does, but her job title as Executive Officer doesn’t do her justice. One of the things I admire most about her is that she doesn’t stop, yet still manages to come up with new ideas and views to keep things fresh. I’d also like to thank the editorial team at BAMOS—the individual talents of Duncan Ackerley, Linden Ashcroft, Diana Greenslade and Blair Trewin make a potent combination of editors. Each has a keen eye for error, and they picked up many. Thank you also to the Presidents in my time here Todd and Mary; to Duncan

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(again), Angela Maharaj and Damien Irving for showing me the ropes; to fellow communicators Simon Torok, Paul Holper, Craig Macaulay and Alvin Stone; and to previous science editors Willow Hallgren and Chris Bull.

So what else is in store for AMOS this year? President Mary Voice looks ahead in her column. And of course, a new year means gearing up for another AMOS National Conference very shortly!

2017 sees a tightly packed conference schedule as AMOS merges with the Meteorological Society of New Zealand for an Australasian theme. More details are within this issue.

My first AMOS conference was in 2015. We were lucky then to have Professsor David Schultz as the keynote speaker. David spoke about communication—his speech was insightful, helpful and encouraging, and I think will be useful for many years to come. Thankfully, Professor Schultz has allowed us to print his keynote as a supplement to this issue of BAMOS—it is quite a timely read ahead of the conference with many tips on how to communicate well.

A tip I myself found most useful in the supplement was to respect your audience and ask “why should they care about what I’m saying/writing?” With that in mind, and being in Canberra for the conference this year, Will Grant and Rod Lamberts from the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) will be running a workshop on policy communication, Monday 6 February (the day before the conference). For anyone who works with policy, or is looking to, who wants to improve and hone their communicaiton skills, or who is simply just curious, please do register soon for tickets. There are a few other workshops taking place ahead of the actual conference, so if you haven’t already, please check out the schedule here: http://www.amos.org.au/AC2017/Home/AC2017/.

There is a lot to look forward to in 2017, and I wish you all well for the year ahead.

Melissa Lyne Editor

President’s Column

AMOS: the year just finished and the year ahead With this issue of BAMOS we farewell Melissa Lyne, our AMOS Publications and Communications Officer, who has resigned in order to proceed with other activities in her life. I am sure we all thank her for the service she has given to AMOS across her time in the position. AMOS really appreciates the quality and professionalism she brought to our regular publications, and to our communications efforts and strategies. We wish her well for her future and her future career in communications.

It is also time to thank Duncan Ackerley who has been the Editor-in-Chief of BAMOS for the past two years, and Editor for two years before that. Duncan and Melissa between them have produced a series of Bulletins of high production and editorial quality, and their contribution to this keystone publication of AMOS is greatly appreciated.

As of February 2017, our new Editor-in-Chief will be Damien Irving, well known to many of you as the author of “The Research Corner with Damien Irving” and also for soon completing two terms as AMOS Secretary. Thank you Duncan and welcome Damien.

The organising committee for the AMOS/MSNZ 2017 Conference in Canberra has been doing a great job putting together an exciting programme for all of us, as well as preparing for a number of side events and organising sponsorship for a number of students, thereby assisting them to attend the conference. For a taste of what’s on offer at the conference, check out the infographic below:

For a weather ready nation and to help manage seasons

Around Australia In New Zealand Southwest Pacific

Education and outreach

Traditional weather knowledge

Value of outlooks Climate and health Climate over a decade Climate history and us

We start with observations Weather forecasting

The oceans around us

What’s on @ AMOS/ MSNZ2017

Weatherocean linkages

Climate and us

Extreme climate events Your region living safely

Where most of us live – cities.

What’s happening in the Alps?

How to do climate research

High impact weather

Southern Exposure Indian Ocean?

Hotspot oceans to our north

Extreme ocean events Ocean > weather > seasons > climate

Fire weather How does uncertainty work?

Living safely Our health and weather

International representation at the conference will include: •

David Grimes (President of the World Meteorological Organization, WMO),

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Laura Furgione (Deputy Director of the US National Weather Service, NOAA),

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Craig Stevens (Principal Scientist—Marine Physics, NIWA, NZ) and;

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with a conference session on instruments and observation, Tammy Weckwerth NCAR/EOL (as an instrumentation expert and co-sponsoring with the Bureau).

These visitors provide AMOS and its community with excellent opportunities to engage with Canberra during the conference. The AMOS 2017 conference organising committee see it as an important window of opportunity to showcase our sciences in a positive light.

2017 brings an interesting milestone and opportunity for AMOS. AMOS was founded in about April 1987 as a successor to the Australian Branch of the Royal Meteorological Society (RMS), which at the time had existed for 15 years. This means both a 30 year and a 45 year anniversary. A small working group has formed to plan a celebration. The RMS is keen to join us in a celebration of international cooperation in meteorology.

The proposed date for this event is the last week in August 2017. Please let me or another member of the Executive know if you would be interested in joining this working group or are interested in the anniversaries in other ways.

2016 has brought several changes to our research communities, some of which have been challenging.

Nevertheless our sciences remain strong, and one example of this is the funding of the new ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes. I am sure that the excitement of research combined with translating research results into useful services for the Australian community drive much of the work done in AMOS communities and that will continue in 2017.

I hope all AMOS members had a happy and safe festive season and I wish you all the best for 2017. I’m looking forward to meeting you all in Canberra in February.

Mary Voice What’s on at AMOS/MSNZ 2017? Infographic: Mary Voice & Linden Ashcroft.

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News

2017 conference: what to expect Paul Holper & Simon Torok, Scientell

Canberra’s average February maximum temperature is 28 °C. So that sounds just about the perfect time to visit the nation’s capital to converse on climate, opine on oceanography and wonder about the weather.

Each year, the AMOS conference seems to get bigger.

The number of abstracts submitted indicates that we can expect to be rubbing shoulders with around 500 colleagues at the 2017 event.

The conference will be at the Australia National University’s Manning Clark Centre, from 7 to 10 February 2017. You’ll find details at http://www.amos.org.au/AC2017/Home/ AC2017/.

The Monday before the conference, 6 February, will feature workshops on topics as varied as communication, software, and climate projections data, so consider spending a week in the ACT. The list of high-profile international speakers is headed

by David Grimes, World Meteorological Organization President and Canadian Meteorological Service Director.

Also present will be Laura Furgione, NOAA Weather Services Deputy Assistant Administrator and US National Weather Service Deputy Director.

Here are just some of the fascinating topics that leap out from the list of accepted abstracts: •

The impact of the Great Barrier Reef on local climate

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Improved monitoring and prediction of fire weather

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Increased population exposure to climate changedriven precipitation extremes

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•

Record temperatures set in Australia in recent years to become the norm by 2030

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Future snowfall probabilities for Alpine Australia

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Indigenous seasons of north-east Arnhem Land

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Heatwave forecasts

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One thousand years of past hydrologic variability

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Hail and lightning climatology

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Impacts of 1.5 degree warming on the occurrence of extreme El Nino events

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Urban heat mitigation strategies to cool Melbourne

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Marine heatwaves and their drivers

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The strongest, longest and largest marine extreme events

We know from experience just how much work is involved in organising a large conference, and we can tell you that the AMOS Executive Officer, Jeanette Dargaville, is doing a superb job of managing this complex event.

Working closely with Jeanette is the Local Organising Committee, led by Clem Davis, Mary Voice and Bob Cechet.

Special thanks to conference sponsors: Bureau of Meteorology, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, Vaisala, NIWA, NCI and CSIRO. The Meteorological Society of New Zealand is an event partner, and the ANZ Climate Forum, American Meteorological Society and Scientell are conference supporters.

News

AMOS members win awards Stephanie Downes has claimed Tasmania’s Young Tall Poppy award for 2016, while Ross Griffiths won the 2017 Jaeger Medal from the Australian Academy of Science.

Congratulations to both on these significant achievements!

2016: a year of extreme weather events Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Quick facts: Major weather events in 2016 It was a year of extreme weather events, wetter than average overall, and the fourth warmest on record for Australia, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s Annual Climate Statement 2016 released earlier this month.

•

Very large fires in northwest Tasmania during January and February following an extended dry period; about 123 800 ha burnt, mostly in remote areas

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Significant flooding in Tasmania in January

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Significant fires at the start of the year near Wye River on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, and in southwest Western Australia affecting Yarloop and Waroona

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An East Coast Low caused major coastal flooding and erosion in New South Wales in early June, with flooding also affecting Victoria and large areas of Tasmania

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Flooding occurred from June to September in western, central and southern Queensland following the State’s second wettest winter on record

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Periods of flooding in inland New South Wales and northern and western Victoria during September and October

“Widespread, droughtbreaking rains led to flooding in multiple states. Even northern Australia saw widespread rainfall, during what is usually the dry season, greening regions that had been in drought for several years.”

•

Supercell thunderstorms caused extensive damage across southeast Australia and parts of southeast Queensland during early November, with widespread reports of golfball-sized hail

For Australia as a whole, annual rainfall was 17 per cent above average.

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Severe thunderstorms and a tornado outbreak caused widespread damage in South Australia during late September

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On 21 November, lightning storms associated with a strong and gusty change ignited grassfires across northern Victoria, caused damage across parts of Victoria, and along with a high pollen count, triggered thousands of incidents of thunderstorm asthma

•

A tropical low at the end of the year brought exceptional December rainfall to a number of regions between the northwest of Australia and the southeast, with some flooding and flash flooding resulting in the Kimberley, around Uluru in Central Australia, and around Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart.

Assistant Director of Climate Information Services, Neil Plummer, said 2016 was an eventful year with significant climate drivers affecting the country’s weather.

“The year started off very warm and dry, with bushfires in Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia, and a nationwide heatwave from late February to mid-March,” Mr. Plummer said.

“We had our warmest autumn on record partly due to a very strong 2015–16 El Niño,” he continued.

“In May the El Niño broke down and the dry start was followed by record wet from May to September as a negative Indian Ocean Dipole developed, with ocean waters warming to the northwest of Australia.”

Sea surface temperatures around Australia were the warmest on record in 2016, and 0.77° C above average.

World Meteorological Organization figures have announced that 2016 is very likely to have been the warmest year on record for global mean temperatures.

The Annual Climate Statement is available at: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/annual/ aus/2016/

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News

New discoveries made about ocean “skin” Schmidt Ocean Institute

Kayaks were used to collect microlayer samples and analyze them in search of trace metals. Trace metals can limit ocean productivity and biochemical processes. Image: Schmidt Ocean Institute.

The Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor recently undertook the first international, multidisciplinary research cruise to increase understanding of the role of the the ocean’s “skin”—also known as the sea surface microlayer (SML). The crew aboard the a 31-day voyage from Darwin to Guam studied the characteristics of SML, which works as a boundary layer between the ocean and atmosphere, and has been widely ignored by past and current research efforts. The findings have important implications for understanding the ocean’s role in climate change and advancing broader understanding of ocean properties.

“The sea-surface microlayer plays a vital role in the uptake and release of greenhouse gases, including methane and carbon dioxide via the ocean,” said Chief Scientist Oliver Wurl from the University of Oldenburg.

“Even the latest models ignore what happens at the sea surface. We hope this research will change that, helping to inform computer models to improve forecasts of climate change.”

The science team completed 17 sampling stations along their transit, capturing several unique discoveries in the microlayer. Some of these surprising results came from the first air-sea investigation with a cyanobacteria bloom (a potentially toxic blue-green bacteria), as well as the discovery of widespread tiny copepods scattering in the layer (extremely tiny crustaceans), demonstrating a previously unknown distribution.

With the same thickness of a human hair, chemists, biologists, geologists, and oceanographers used sensors Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol. 29 page 55

attached to a multitude of vehicles to better study the microlayer. A remote-controlled catamaran, unmanned aerial vehicle, and kayak were used to collect water samples and data from the atmosphere. The unmanned aircraft took off from Falkor, scanning the sea surface with hyperspectral cameras to measure ocean color and phytoplankton, as well as with highly sensitive thermal and optical instruments to measure the ocean’s surface skin temperature and the net energy crossing the ocean’s surface.

Co-chief scientist Christopher Zappa from the LamontDoherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University was pleased with the success of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which had never flown over open ocean before.

“It has been almost six years since the design of the instruments began,” said Zappa. “The vehicles and instrument payloads performed how they were supposed to, allowing us to gather some very interesting data of the ocean’s surface in high resolution.”

These specialised tools were deployed to explore trace metals, greenhouse gas exchange, wind and wave effects on air-sea transfer; and microbial communities.

The team will now interpret and correlate these distinct but interconnected data sets. “This is no easy feat with over 400 water samples” said co-chief Scientist Bill Landing from Florida State University.

“This data set is the first of its kind, incorporating data from many disciplines.”

News

AMS 2017 Annual Meeting American Meteorological Society

The American Meteorological Society’s 2017 Annual Meeting will be held 22–26 January 2017 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington.

The theme for the 2017 AMS Annual Meeting is “Observations Lead the Way.” The meeting will feature numerous town hall meetings and side panel discussions along with daily weather briefings that will be held during the lunch break each day beginning on Monday, 23 January, and will be hosted by both the local National Weather Service Forecast Office and the University of Washington.

The AMS Annual Meeting is host to the largest exhibit program anywhere in the atmospheric, oceanic, and related sciences. Exhibitors come from all over the United States and abroad, with over 100 organizations showcasing a wide range of products, publications, and services.

The show provides organizations with a forum to make major announcements and roll out new products.

Demonstrations of new and innovative equipment are given daily. The exhibit schedule is designed to both encourage social interaction and provide an opportunity to look at future trends in equipment, systems, and software.

The Annual Meeting will be preceded by eight short courses, the 16th Annual WeatherFest, a briefing for firsttime attendees to the meeting, the 97th Annual Review, New Fellows and Featured Awards, and a Welcome Reception.

The AMS Annual Meeting is co-sponsored by various organizations (including AMOS) of which their members are offered a special co-sponsorship registration rate.

For additional information please contact the Annual Meeting Web site at http://annual.ametsoc.org/2017/.

Cape Grim 40 year anniversary Australian Bureau of Meteorology

Mid-November marked the 40th anniversary of the Bureau of Meteorology’s Cape Grim Air Pollution Baseline Station.

Located on Tasmania’s remote northwest coast, it is one of the world’s most important atmospheric monitoring sites.

Cape Grim provides a unique atmospheric record as it samples some of the cleanest air in the world, after it crosses the Southern Ocean from the tip of South America without passing over any other land mass.

It provides the Southern Hemisphere’s most comprehensive set of atmospheric greenhouse gas information, along with the measurements of ozone-depleting chemicals, solar radiation, reactive gases and basic meteorological components such as wind, air pressure and humidity.

Cape Grim is now globally recognised as one of only three premier World Meteorological Organization (WMO) global reference stations for the measurement of greenhouse gases.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Director, Dr. Andrew Johnson, said long-term monitoring, measuring and analysis conducted at Cape Grim shows the world’s atmosphere has changed.

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“The information and data collected at the Cape Grim Station for the past 40 years has allowed scientists across Australia, and the world, to further understand our changing climate and strengthened our ability to track the progress of our response,” Dr. Johnson said.

“We congratulate all the scientists and staff associated with the station for their hard work over the past four decades,” he said.

The Bureau of Meteorology operates the Cape Grim facility and CSIRO analyses and models the data, which are made available to Australian government and international agencies, industry and the public.

As the world works to reduce the rate of global warming, Cape Grim’s measurements along with those at the other WMO reference sites in Hawaii and Canada, will continue to play a significant role in monitoring the composition of the world’s atmosphere.

Further information about the Cape Grim Station is available at www.bom.gov.au/inside/cgbaps/

News

Clockwise from top left: View from the instrument deck at Cape Grim, Tasmania. Image: Cape Grim staff, Bureau of Meteorology. Delicious cake served at the event to celebrate 40 years of research at Cape Grim.

Image: Alan Seed, Bureau of Meteorology. Cape Grim. Image: Ian Cochrane, https://flic.kr/p/CoXgtj, shared under Creative Commons attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0): https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/2.0/

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News from the Centres

Tasmania Regional Centre: 2016 in review Andrew Marshall, Tasmania Regional Centre Chair

Wednesday 17 August, in partnership with the Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA).

Panellists Prof Neil Bose, Prof Matt King, Dr Delphine Lannuzel and Dr Mary-Anne Lea at the National Science Week UTas public event in Launceston.

Titled “What’s happening down south and why should we care?”, the public events featured fascinating talks

by Professor Matt King (IMAS/UTas), Dr. Delphine Lannuzel (IMAS/UTas) and Dr. Mary-Anne Lea (IMAS/ UTas) on the physical, chemical and biological changes in the Southern Ocean inextricably linked to changes in Antarctica. Prof. King provided an overview of the spatially variable changes observed in Antarctic land ice since the late 20th Century, while Dr. Lannuzel expanded on the complexities of Antarctic climate sensitivity with a summary of recent changes in sea ice and associated impacts on marine biology. Dr. Lea elaborated on the biological and behavioural changes detected within the Antarctic food web, from the microscopic phytoplankton to the mighty sperm whale. The presentations were followed by a 40 minute panel question-and-answer session with the audience, with input for the panel discussion provided

by Dr. Guy Williams (IMAS/UTas) in Hobart, and by Prof.

Neil Bose (AMC/UTas) in Launceston, each facilitating as Masters of Ceremonies for the events.

The Tasmania Centre’s inaugural AMOS Regional Award for Academic Achievement for 2015 was presented during the public event in Hobart to Ms. Eavan Brennan, for her outstanding academic achievement in the Bachelor of Antarctic Science at the University of Tasmania. Ms. Brennan was nominated by her lecturers in KSA205 (Introduction to Oceanography) for which she received a High Distinction with 86%, and KGA320 (Our Changing Climate) for which she received the top mark in the class and a High Distinction with 84%. The Hobart event was recorded live and is available for playback viewing at: http s : / / l ive s t re am . c om / Un ive r s it yof Ta s m an i a / events/5774030/videos/133016159.

Dr Andrew Marshall presents the AMOS Regional Award for Academic Achievement for 2015 to Ms Eavan Brennan.

A key focus for the Tasmania Regional Centre in 2016 was statewide engagement, beginning with the formalisation of our name (away from ‘Hobart Centre’) in March.

Planning began early in the year to build on the success of our previous years’ National Science Week activities, with the University of Tasmania again offering generous support for an AMOS-Tas public lecture and forum at the UTas Sandy Bay (Hobart) campus on Tuesday 16 August, and at the UTas Newnham (Launceston) campus on Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol. 29 page 58

Early in the year we received the sad news of the loss of our friend and colleague Dr. Gary Meyers, who passed away peacefully in the company of his family on 19 April.

Gary served on the AMOS-Tas committee in 2014 and 2015, he was an active AMOS member throughout his career, and he received the AMOS Morton Medal in 2006.

In June 2016 the Tasmania Centre committee put forward a proposal to the AMOS National Awards Committee of an award named in Gary’s honour that would recognise his generosity as a mentor to early-career researchers and commemorate his profound contributions to oceanographic and climate research of the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans. Chaired by Professor Neville Nicholls, the Awards Committee decided to name one of the Society’s prestigious awards—the AMOS Early Career Research Award—in honour of Gary. The award,

News from the Centres

Oceanographer Dr Gary Meyers, whose work with ocean measurements provided a foundation for much of what we know of ocean conditions today. Credit: Bruce Miller, CSIRO. to be renamed the Meyers Medal, will be the first AMOS award to be named after an oceanographer, an honour most befitting considering Gary’s instrumental work in building an internationally-relevant research presence in the Southern Hemisphere. The naming of the Meyers Medal will commence in time for the next biennial awarding after the current year, i.e. from 2018.

The year concluded with a well-attended Annual General Meeting at IMAS Salamanca Waterfront on 8 December.

An engaging presentation on recent scientific voyages to Macquarie Island by Dr. Simon Alexander (AAD & ACE CRC) was followed by the election of a new (and expanded) committee line-up for 2017. Helen Phillips became the new Chair of the Tasmania Centre, alongside office-bearers Neil Holbrook (Vice-Chair), Damien Irving (Secretary), Andrew Klekociuk (Treasurer), Simon Alexander, Kathy Allen, Zanna Chase, John Church, Stephanie Downes, Craig Macaulay, Andrew Marshall, Steven Phipps, Mike Pook, Irina Sakova, Peter Strutton, and Carly Tozer. Congratulations to Helen for being elected to the role of Chair (Helen was also one of the first members of the 2014 National Conference Organising Committee), and welcome Simon, Kathy, Stephanie, Irina, and Carly as new members on the committee.

On a personal note, I wish to thank all AMOS-Tas committee members past and present for what has been a Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol. 29 page 59

most fulfilling and rewarding three years for me as Centre Chair. Thanks also to AMOS Past Presidents Blair Trewin and Todd Lane for facilitating the revitalisation of the Tasmania Centre in 2014, and to President Mary Voice and Executive Officer Jeanette Dargaville for your ongoing support. I look forward to continued involvement with the AMOS-Tas committee as a general member in 2017 under the leadership of Helen Phillips.

The Tasmania Centre thanks the University of Tasmania, National Science Week and the Australian Institute of Physics for providing generous support for our events in 2016. We also thank our partner organisations Inspiring Australia, the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science.

Plans for 2017 include (i) a public lecture and forum in conjunction with National Science Week (August) at the University of Tasmania on the theme “big changes” covering topics such as continental drift, large scale ocean circulation, and Antarctic ice sheet disappearance, and their relevance to Australia, (ii) a tertiary student focussed education outreach event in association with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, and (iii) the award of the 2016 AMOS Regional Award for Academic Achievement, for which the shortlisting process is currently underway.

News from the Centres

New year, new plans

Andrew Wiebe, Brisbane Regional Centre Chair The Brisbane Regional Centre had an up and down year in 2016. We started strong with a seminar on Gulf weather and particularly the Morning Glory with Professor Roger Smith. Roger is currently at the Meteorological Institute University of Munich and has a long history with Australia and the morning glory. The seminar was very well attended and highlighted the diversity of the AMOS-BRC membership. One of the most well received elements of the seminar was a video presented by Jonny Durand (Red Bull hang-gliding world record holder) of him gliding on the Morning Glory. It really brought the evening together showcasing the linkages between the sciences and the community.

What we learned was that AMOS members are as diverse in their areas of research and industry as they are geographically. In light of this we are investigating new avenues to connect and interact with our members, through social media and other platforms that foster a more inclusive and accessible centre to all members in Queensland. In relation to this we are proposing a name change of the Brisbane Regional Centre to better reflect the membership base and would like to invite all Queensland AMOS members submit their preference on the AMOS website BRC page. The new name will be put forward at the upcoming AGM for approval. The BRC committee looks forward to reconnecting with our diverse and distributed membership base in 2017.

Article

A new working group for AMOS conferences and events Andrew Marshall, AMOS Vice-President

By the conclusion of the AMOS National Conference each year, planning is already underway for the next year’s conference, led by our Executive Officer Jeanette Dargaville in partnership with a fresh local organising committee. This will typically involve a high degree of spin-up as the next year’s group of enthusiastic individuals works from scratch to develop a tailored conference plan, identify partners, draft sponsorship and invitation letters, explore venue options, and investigate audio-visual logistics for their Centre’s big event. For smaller regional centres of AMOS, limited resources provide additional challenges to planning conferences and major events throughout the year.

Therefore, in order to provide continuity in conference planning from one year to the next, to better equip regional centres in hosting larger events, and to deliver backup support for our lead conference organiser Jeanette Dargaville, AMOS has developed a Conference and Events Working Group that will, among other tasks, retain and update essential planning documentation to help with the organisation of national and regional events across the country.

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The Working Group will be chaired by the Vice-President of AMOS, with around six general members including the Executive Officer, Treasurer, Immediate Past President, current conference convenor, and two communication officers (one internal and one external to AMOS). In addition, the immediate past conference convenor will have an informal role in debriefing the Working Group prior to planning for the next year’s conference.

The Working Group will thereby provide oversight and support to regional centres and organising committees in the development and delivery of the annual conference and major events, thus making everyone’s work that bit easier and facilitating timely delivery of a diverse program of events each year.

Proposed duties and key results of the Working Group are outlined in its Terms of Reference, available via the AMOS web page at www.amos.org.au. One of the first orders of business is to construct an annual calendar of events, to which the newly formed Working Group asks all AMOS Committee and Regional Centre Chairs to contribute by sending details of key event dates to: andrew.marshall@bom.gov.au

Book Review

Southern Surveyor, Stories from onboard Australia’s Ocean Research Vessel, by Michael Veitch Published by CSIRO Publishing, 2015 Reviewed by Matthias Tomczak, Flinders University of South Australia On glossy paper, in sans serif type face, left justified and with a clearly photoshopped cover, the book has more the appearance of a government report than something one expects to find on bookshop shelves. Ignoring form and concentrating on content, it turns out to be quite a good read. 35 interviews with men and women, happy to share their intimate knowledge of the ship, paint a vivid picture of life at sea in the service of science.

Why, however, would one consider devoting a book to the Southern Surveyor? The CSIRO operated many research vessels, none considered worthy of its own swansong.

There was the Warreen, a small fishing vessel serving the CSIR Division of Fisheries during 1938–1942 and again during 1946–1951. There was the Derwent Hunter, a schooner that brought marine science back to the age of sail and would without doubt provide many gripping tales.

Then in 1973 came RV Sprightly, a converted war-time tug and salvage vessel. It was retired in 1985 and replaced by RV Franklin, the first purpose-built Australian research vessel. CSIRO at Sea, 50 Years of Marine Science, published in 1988 and still available as an e-book, mentions the ships without going into detail, concentrating instead on the history of the Division of Fisheries and Oceanography.

So why now publish a book on the Southern Surveyor, a converted North Sea trawler? The answer is found in the last interview, with the Executive Director of the “Future Research Vessel Project”. She introduces the Investigator, now already in service for more than a year, as the first Australian true long-distance deep-sea research vessel operating outside the Southern Ocean (where the Antarctic Division has operated Antarctic research vessels for many years), which marks the Southern Surveyor as the last in a series of make-do compromises.

In 1982, when I took RV Sprightly on her first true longdistance voyage to within 120 nautical miles of the Equator, condensation was dripping from the air conditioning ducts that had to be retro-fitted to make the vessel fit for the tropics; we had to hang tarpaulins over our equipment to keep it dry. RV Franklin was in a different class, built to a German research vessel design but cut back in size; rumours had it that this was done to avoid the need for a medical officer by keeping the number of scientists below the passenger threshold set by international maritime law. She was a capable vessel, though, and one of three ocean-going vessels available to Australian marine science in the 1980s: the CSIRO Division of Fisheries had Soela, later replaced by Southern Surveyor, the Division of Oceanography had Franklin, and the geoscientists at the Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol. 29 page 61

Bureau of Mineral Resources (BMR, after 1992 known as the Australian Geological Survey Organisation AGSO) had Rig Seismic.

The moment that defined the future and final role of the Southern Surveyor came when the Rig Seismic changed duties and was no longer available to geoscientists. As Director of the Marine National Facility (MNF) I now faced an ever increasing number of cruise applications from marine geologists who wanted to use the Franklin for the deployment of heavy equipment for which the ship was simply not built. I remember well the trip to Canberra when I tried to impress on the minister the need for a larger research vessel, to no avail. (This was years before 2005, mentioned in the book, which was the second, this time successful, attempt to get the government to accept the need for a new purpose-built ship.) Instead,

Book Review the decision was made to sell off the Franklin, transfer the Southern Surveyor out of CSIRO Fisheries control to the MNF and modify her to allow her use for all marine disciplines, including the demanding geosciences. As a result, the beginning of the 21st century saw Australia’s long-distance research fleet reduced from three to one, an aging North Sea trawler.

Given the history and circumstances, the crew has to be admired how well they coped with the demand that was placed on the ship. In the words of the chief engineer she was like grandfather’s axe: “Lasted fifty years but had three new heads and two new handles.” Occasionally spare parts could only be located in a museum, at one point the wheelhouse was about to separate from the ship, during another voyage a loose bearing on the propeller nozzle forced her to be towed to port; but the crew got it all fixed, and the scientists testify in their interviews how much excellent science was done with such an aging tool.

How does one convey life at sea onboard a research vessel?

People can undergo testing times during their lives but hold on to their good memories better than to their bad ones. “We were cruising along with the sun setting in front of us, and big black storm clouds behind us, and an albatross, its white wings illuminated in the bright sunlight with the dark clouds behind it flying alongside at my eye level in the air wake of the vessel, I sat there just looking at it—the bird and I, just a couple of meters apart—and thought, ‘Wow, this is fantastic’.” For me the electronics engineer speaks from the heart with these words. But can magnificent sunsets, glorious storm clouds and turquoise seas fill 240 pages and keep the reader interested?

Psychologists tell us that although we prefer good memories over bad ones, the details of the bad ones that we do remember stick extremely well. As if to provide proof for this, when prodded by the author the interviewees always have a story or two to tell to recall their most memorable experience, and the book sometimes reads like a series of disaster reports. When a “huge wave crashed into the lab”, where the scientist on duty “was instantly swept off her feet by the sudden deluge, … out the open hatch and to heaven knows what fate” I am reminded of incidences at sea that always made me think “don’t tell anyone” lest someone be asked whether negligence on their part might have played a role. But when a few years later she married the seaman who “managed to get his hand on her jacket and haul her back” it makes a good human interest story and has to be told.

The incident that made the biggest impression on me occurred on the day when the electronic engineer lost part of his right index finger to a heavy piece of equipment. The severed piece rolled around on the deck, was found, taken up to the hospital room and re-attached by the Chief Mate without anaesthetic. It healed perfectly well.

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There is of course also much science in the book. A story that has the potential to change a reader’s habits is the research on the amount of plastic in the ocean and what it does to life in the sea. Results from other research voyages demonstrate how little is still known, whether it is climate change or the structure and resources of Australia’s oceans, and readers will ask themselves whether one long-distance deep-sea research vessel funded by the government for only 180 days at sea, despite being capable of operating more than 300 days per year, is sufficient to do the job.

They will also ponder the comparison with Canada, mentioned in the introduction to the book. With a population comparable to Australia (36 million vs. 23.6 million), a comparable gross national product ($1.6 trillion vs. $1.1 trillion based on purchasing power parity), and an extended economic zone only two-thirds of Australia’s, Canada operates 16 deep-water research vessels. There is still a long way to go before Australia will have an ocean-going research capability commensurate with the country’s maritime geographical setting.

The book includes many photos and images to support the science stories. All are colourful and well reproduced but not always up to publication standard. A box “What is the East Australian Current” is accompanied by a map of Australia surrounded by red and blue arrows that may indicate warm and cold currents or surface and subsurface currents; the caption “Regional and global ocean currents in the Australasian region” does not throw much light on that. The deck plans of the Southern Surveyor are reproduced at such a small scale that much of the annotation is barely readable, and only a reader familiar with research vessels will know that areas coloured in green are accommodation, grey are laboratories, salmon is the mess and recreation area, and blue is the work deck.

Such illustrations contribute little to the value of the book.

But as a description of life on a research vessel the Southern Surveyor is a true testament to the Australian way of life.

Like some of the scientists in the book I worked on ships of different flags. The Royal Research Vessel Discovery had three mess rooms, for officers, engineers and deck crew. Scientists dined with the officers, and because the equipment was operated by seamen on a deck above the scientists’ laboratory the two virtually never came face to face. The German Research Vessel Meteor had two mess rooms, but scientists were allowed into the crew mess as visitors during evening movie screenings. Australian ships all have one mess, and scientists, technicians, officers, engineers and deck crew all learn to know each other during the duration of the voyage.

The idea of Australia as an egalitarian society may be questionable, but on its research vessels it is the glue that brings together a team determined to make every voyage a success. This includes the support staff on land as well.

The author is to be congratulated to have found the

Book Review correct mix of interviews to represent the contributions from all parts of the team: With 17 of 35 contributions the scientists are in the minority. They define the objective of each voyage, but the work requires people with many skills. In the words of the ship’s master, the “general sense of worth, even pride, in the work being undertaken, felt at all levels of the ship” was noticeable on every voyage.

Two hundred years before the Southern Surveyor sailed the seas another research vessel sailed along Australia’s

shores. On 2 November 1800 her master wrote in his diary: “Those captains who have scientists, or who may some day have them aboard their ships, must, upon departure, take a good supply of patience.” Society has advanced since Nicolas Baudin wrote these words in his journal. Judging from the stories from onboard Australia’s ocean research vessel, the atmosphere onboard Southern Surveyor was, with few exceptions, always congenial and pleasant.

Weather in literature quiz with Matthias Tomczak Welcome to the second in a BAMOS series of weatherrelated literature quizzes. Can you guess which book the following passage is from?

The answer will be printed in the next issue of BAMOS. “The Westerly Wind asserting its sway from the south-west quarter is often like a monarch gone mad, driving forth with wild imprecations the most faithful of his courtiers to shipwreck, disaster, and death. … The East Wind, the interloper in the dominions of Westerly Weather, is an impassive-faced tyrant with a sharp poniard held behind his back for a treacherous stab.”

Good luck!

The last issue of BAMOS featured the opening paragraph of a novel more than 1,700 pages long, considered to be one of the most significant European novels of the twentieth century. AMOS Fellow Tom Beer was the only reader to answer correctly. The novel, clearly dated in its opening paragraph, is “Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften” (The Man without Qualities) by the Austrian writer Robert Musil (1880–1942). It describes the fin-de-siècle society and prevailing ideas during the dying days of the AustroHungarian monarchy.

Tom, in answering, says, “Not only do you have the curious use of “isothers” in the quote, but in the version that I read the translator did not know the English for Vernier calipers, and used the German word which is unfamiliar to English readers.”

Conference Report

The RMetS/NCAS High Impact Weather and Climate Conference, Manchester, 6–8 July 2016 Ian Watterson CSIRO

High impact weather and climate is a major focus of science in the United Kingdom, just as it is in Australia.

The Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS), together with the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), recently held a conference “bringing together academics, practitioners and industry to exchange knowledge and ideas in meteorology, climatology, air quality, health and related fields.” I was fortunate to be able to participate by including the meeting on a trip to England for the annual UK Met Office modelling workshop. I also took advantage of the reduced registration fee for members, Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol. 29 page 63

after joining RMetS under the arrangement with AMOS giving a reduced membership rate for members of the other Society.

The conference was held at the University of Manchester, which, like the city centre, is very impressive but also undergoing large-scale redevelopment. I stayed at a student residence that was conveniently close to the main railway station, but a 1,200 m walk past several building sites and a thought-provoking entrance (see picture on next page) to the conference venue, University Place. This had

Conference Report of Attributable Risk’ (FAR) studies. Antje Westheimer (Oxford) argued these may not be valid if forecasts are not reliable, to the extent that forecast event probabilities do not match the observed frequency, given a seasonal forecast—as shown in a “reliability diagram” (see her paper in J Roy Soc Interface, 2014). Tim Palmer (Oxford) expanded on this at a later workshop.

Day 2: Predicting

The thought-provoking doors at the conference venue. Image: Ian Watterson. a large plenary theatre, numerous large classrooms used for workshops, and ground floor spaces used for displays and social events. Lunch and drinks were provided, buffet style, in a large cafeteria, which also housed about 140 posters. The conference was structured around three themes: Observing, Predicting and Responding. Each had three keynote speakers, followed by one or more two-hour periods for mini-workshop—30 in total. These each had two or three speakers and then a discussion period, which was table-based except for workshops held in the lecture theatre. I offer subjective comments on the sessions I attended.

Day 1: Observing The conference began with welcomes by NCAS and RMetS leaders, including President Jennie Campbell, who also has leading roles in weather business. The Observing keynote speakers addressed urban climate and air quality in the UK, forecasting of severe weather, and the changing earth system. The latter talk was by Graeme Stephens now at Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) California, but formerly at CSIRO and also a head of our Southern Hemisphere CRC. Graeme argued that we need more observations and more understanding of processes, if we are to overcome global model biases in clouds and rainfall. He also emphasised developing a more integrated systems approach to Earth Observing to provide more insight into interactions between subsystems.

I joined a workshop with talks on observing constituents of the tropical tropopause. Wiebke Frey (formerly University of Melbourne, now University of Manchester) showed her simulations with Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF). At a popular session on attribution of changes in extreme events, several speakers presented ‘Fraction

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In the “Predicting” keynotes, Dame Julia Slingo (Met Office) spoke about responding to risk across the timescales (weather to climate) and how impacts of climate change will be felt through hazardous weather and climate extremes.

She described several high impact events over the globe, even from the past month, and then presented predictions of such events with ensembles of simulations. She demonstrated improvements through higher resolution modelling, such as in currents through key straits in the North Atlantic. She also illustrated the probabilistic time series approach for climate projection. Sue Grimmond (University of Reading) presented on high impact urban weather, illustrating this with cases from UK cities and others—including Melbourne. She spoke of the challenges associated with modelling and predicting complex urban surface-atmosphere interactions. Sue stressed the need for observations to support high resolution urban environmental prediction. Tim Stockdale (The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, ECMWF) presented on the prospects for seasonal forecasting of high impact events. Some of the challenges for the future that Tim mentioned were knowing what the predictability limit is; dealing with model error (representing and reducing it); communication of uncertainties; and optimal use of forecasts in applications. He noted the successor to ERAInterim, ERA5, being produced using an improved model at 31 km resolution. This will support the new Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

At my first Predicting workshop, “The role of diabatic processes”, (held on Day 1) several speakers showed cases of simulation of weather events in which the addition of more detailed convective or cloud-ice processes changed the result for the better. In a workshop on climate projection tools, Rob Wilby (Loughborough University) showed various UK studies and claimed: “no doubt this is a massive growth industry.” Tim Osborn (UEA) showed probability distributions for change derived using ClimGEN, and also noted that CRU data are now available through Google Earth. There was some debate about the reliability of such distributions. Rowan Sutton (Reading) argued that one also needs a narrative that covers the possibility of surprises, while Simon Tett (University of Edinburgh) countered that science must be based on evidence. I joined a group with Osborn and Nick

Conference Report Klingaman (Reading) discussing approaches to doing projections for clients.

Day 3: Responding Virginia Murray (UK Government) gave an impressive talk on responding to environmental threats, which is the mandate of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, achieved by the UNISDR. She mentioned the implementation of heat wave warnings in the UK (which were not needed during my trip—nor my summer clothes). Sally Priest (Middlesex University) spoke on flood warnings for the UK and specifically on the public responses. Rowan Douglas, from “The City”, noted the impact on finance and the law of being able to make credible forecasts of weather and climate risks. “An Act of God” is no longer an excuse!

I joined a workshop on climate change adaptation decisions, which featured Rachel McInnes (Met Office) speaking on the upcoming UKCP18 projections and Christel Prudhomme on the Copernicus EDgE program to improve hydrological services in Europe. Table-based discussion of related questions followed. At my final session, on probabilistic forecasts, Ken Mayne (Met Office) admitted that their animations of finely-detailed simulated weather and showers passing over Britain, which are shown on television, are clearly inaccurate as deterministic forecasts, but it seems viewers make a reasonable interpretation of them. David Schultz (Manchester) and Andrew Charlton-Perez (Reading) described studies on the public’s reaction to forecasts, with ease-of-use being a key issue.

I viewed most of the posters, which covered the range of the themes and more. Nick Klingaman showed the eastward progression of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) in various models. Stephen Outten (Nansen Centre) has a statistical analysis of change in extreme winds over Europe.

Cristian Munoz (University of Manchester) presented a global climatology of tropospheric cut-off lows. Claire Burke (Met Office) showed FAR results for China, which she said will soon be based on ensembles of 500 members.

Ying Ying Toh (Reading) was particularly interested in our poster: Distributions of rainfall in simulated present and future climates, globally and in South East Asia, by me, Jack Katzfey, Helen Geng, and Marcus Thatcher.

large or comprehensive as the 2003 National Conference— or perhaps as memorable, recalling the sky with contrails appearing through the early morning mist over the UEA campus. The format in Manchester, with much time devoted to mini-workshops and posters and “little room for theory and understanding” (as my Reading colleague, Mike Blackburn noted) did not suit some, I expect.

Furthermore, active participation varied considerably among the nine workshops that I joined.

Of course, international conferences crowd the European calendar. The RMetS ‘biennial’ national event made way for the European Meteorological Society conference at Reading in 2013. RMetS also has an annual conference for students, which immediately preceded this year’s conference. I was happy to accept an invitation to speak to the students, from 9:30 am on my Day 1, on potential opportunities in Australia. Our annual AMOS National Conference has, in these respects, a more important role for our community. An increased focus on impacts and applications could complement that within CSIRO and the Bureau, but “theory and understanding” should not be neglected, I think. Workshops can be an important component of a conference, but may be more effective with targeted participation. Overall, I strongly recommend that visitors to Europe consider adding the meetings and conferences of our sister (and mother!) Society to their agenda.

The conference program is available at www.rmets.org/ ncascon2016. I am very grateful to Debbie Hudson (Bureau), who also participated in the conference, for valuable comments on an earlier version and for sharing her detailed scientific report.

Some reflections The RMetS conference provided an impressive array of science, mostly from the UK, with much of it “delivering impact”, as the current Met Office Strategy states. It was also very enjoyable, and having all events in the one building aided interaction, as did receptions on both evenings. With some 300 registrants, the event was not as

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The magnificent skies above Manchester. Image: Ian Watterson.

2017 Australian Weather Calendar

The April image is a gust front approaching Mona Vale, New South Wales, 5 December 2014. Image: Pamela Pauline.

The Australian Weather Calendar is available each year as a co-publication between AMOS and the Bureau of Meteorology.

With each amazing image is a description of the weather phenomena behind it. The 2017 calendar also celebrates the traditional weather, climate and environmental knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and discusses how this informs the meteorological services of the country.

You can order the 2017 Australian Weather Calendar from the Bureau’s online shop at shop.bom.gov.au or phone 1300 798 789. Alternatively, your local Bureau office may have desk sales.

August is a rainbow near Binda, New South Wales, 11 July 2015. Image: Flavia Jager Williams.

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The photography competition for the 2018 Australian Weather Calendar is open now—enter at www.bom.gov. au/calendar/contest.

Obituary

Alan Frank Pearce 1940–2016

by Gary Jackson and Mervyn Lynch Alan was appointed chief of the Physical Oceanography Division (“the boss of the top floor” as he called it) at NRIO in 1976.

After moving his family to Australia in 1977, Alan joined the CSIRO Division of Fisheries and Oceanography in Cronulla, and began studying water circulation on the continental shelf off the NSW coast.

In 1981, Alan transferred to CSIRO’s Coastal Ecology Group at Marmion in Perth and commenced working on the Leeuwin Current.

Vale Alan.

Alan Frank Pearce, although not widely known to the WA public, was a driving force in efforts to better understand the physical oceanography of waters off the west coast of Australia and, to oceanographers, his name will always be linked with the Leeuwin Current.

He was a strong supporter of oceanographic research, especially here in WA, an innovator, a genuine collaborator, and was always generous with his time for marine science students.

Alan was born in Germiston, South Africa, and completed his schooling at Selbourne College in East London.

After graduating as a mechanical engineer from the University of Natal in 1962 he joined the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Durban, working on coastal problems such as the dispersal of effluent from submarine outfalls.

In 1968 he transferred to the National Physical Research Laboratory (later became the National Research Institute for Oceanography [NRIO]) to head a team studying water circulation on the continental shelf and the Agulhas Current off Natal on the east coast of South Africa.

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While the existence of this warm south-flowing current off the WA coast had been postulated much earlier, based on data from more traditional methods such as current meters and free-drifting buoys, it was only when satellite thermal images became available in the 1970s that the Leeuwin Current was finally confirmed and named by CSIRO oceanographers George Cresswell and Terry Golding in 1980.

Direct downlinking of satellite data at the WA Institute of Technology (WAIT, became Curtin University) from 1981 onwards initiated much interest in satellite data applications and saw an important collaboration develop between Frank Honey (CSIRO, Floreat) and Bill Carroll (WAIT).

At CSIRO, Frank and colleague Peter Hick began using these data to produce satellite imagery of land and ocean. Alan recognised the great potential in oceanographic research and he rapidly became the local expert using sea surface temperature imagery from NOAA satellites to map the Leeuwin Current.

In 1987, the WA Satellite Technology and Applications Consortium (WASTAC), a joint venture involving three Commonwealth agencies (Bureau of Meteorology, GeoScience Australia and CSIRO), Landgate and Curtin and Murdoch universities, was formed to provide a platform for the collection of satellite data that exits to the present day.

Alan was a member of the inaugural WASTAC Board in 1987 and continued in that role for many years, editing its annual reports with Richard Stovold (Landgate), until 2015. As in his own research, Alan applied those high standards of presentation and accurate reporting; little escaped his careful inspection.

Obituary Alan’s satellite SST images were used in collaborations with Ross Griffiths (Australian National University) to show flow and eddying structure of the Leeuwin Current, and in the identification and naming of the Capes Current (with Chari Pattiaratchi of UWA) and the Ningaloo Current (with Geoff Taylor, of whale shark fame).

The influence of the Leeuwin Current on our oceanographic environment and its effects on many important Western Australian fish stocks such as rock lobster, tuna, sardines and Australian salmon saw Alan and colleagues at CSIRO working with researchers with the WA Department of Fisheries Department, including Nick Caputi, Rod Lenanton and Dan Gaughan.

Working with Bruce Phillips, in 1988, Alan identified the Leeuwin Current as the main cause of the annual variation in the puerulus settlement of the western rock lobster, and even more importantly in oceanographic terms, identified the link between the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific and the strength of the Leeuwin Current off the west coast of Australia.

Alan’s ability to bring researchers together is best illustrated by his role in the Hillarys Transect Project, a collaboration between CSIRO and Curtin University’s Remote Sensing and Satellite Research Group under Mervyn Lynch, to study the physical, chemical, biological and optical properties properties of continental shelf waters off Perth using in situ sampling coupled with satellites data.

A total of 27 monthly transects were undertaken between October 1996 and December 1998 with a range of measurements made at stations between 5 and 40 km from shore.

While Alan adapted well to the use of hand-held and on-orbit satellite radiometers he nevertheless had absolute faith in his accurately calibrated mercury thermometers and a bucket which accompanied him on all 27 cruises and provided “real” temperature measurements.

The Hillarys Transect was a landmark activity which generated four research papers, contributed content to many Ph.D. theses and gave numerous graduate students the cruise experience.

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Alan’s endeavour was manifest in many ways, not the least of which was his prominent role as convenor, presenter and editor in two important symposia on the Leeuwin Current and its influence on WA marine life hosted by the Royal Society of Western Australia held in 1991 and 2007.

In addition to his activities with the Royal Society, Alan was a foundation member of the WA Committee of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) for which he performed the duties of Secretary of the Perth branch for many years until his illness.

Between 1998 and 2001 Alan, together with wife Val (the CSIRO librarian for many years) largely kept the Marmion laboratory going.

It is likely that had it not been for Alan’s continuous advocacy for CSIRO’s continued marine research presence in WA that the organisation may have pulled out altogether.

Around 2002, CSIRO again increased its staffing in Perth as part of the WA Strategic Research Fund for the Marine Environment (SRFME) and along with all the new staff, Alan moved to Floreat and worked with colleagues including John Keesing and Ming Feng until his retirement in 2006.

He was also the CSIRO Staff Association representative for many years.

Alan was very disappointed at the closure of Marmion (he even kept a piece of carpet from the Marmion Lab in front of his Floreat office) but embraced the new impetus brought about by having so many young and enthusiastic scientists once again working In Western Australia again.

He was a champion of using ships of opportunity to collect sustained long-term observations from underway sampling systems, like the transect using the instrumented Rottnest Island ferry that Alan established and which is still operating nearly 20 years later.

Alan was also a member of the team that established the Two Rocks oceanographic transect that revealed so much about the influence of the Leeuwin current on the south west region of WA. Given his long history of collaborating with scientists at the Department of Fisheries during

Obituary his time at CSIRO, Fisheries were very pleased to have him join them on a part-time basis after his ‘retirement’ in 2006.

He immediately was involved in a number of important research projects including investigating the link between changing environmental conditions and a significant decline in the juvenile settlement of rock lobsters and the effects of climate change on WA fisheries more broadly.

Alan was involved in identifying that the lower west coast of WA is one of the hotspots for warming water temperatures in the Indian Ocean.

A marine heat wave (a term Alan coined) affected the mid-west coast of Australia in the summer of 2010/11 and Alan was involved in the understanding of the factors influencing the heat wave. Within a few months he helped organise a workshop with marine scientists in WA to document the effects of the heat wave on the marine environment and again, two years later, another workshop was held to understand the long-term effects of the heat wave.

Alan’s passion for encouraging community interest in ocean science is exemplified with his support of the Busselton Jetty Environment and Conservation Association (BJECA) to establish a water monitoring program beneath Busselton Jetty.

Alan volunteered numerous hours of work in providing advice, collating and processing the data from the program’s inception in 2001 until late 2015, when BJECA took over with assistance from the Department of Fisheries. The monitoring program undertaken at the Busselton Underwater Observatory has now become one of the longest continuous water temperature programs in the State.

Alan’s always polite and humble exterior belied a determination, and scientific resolve and persistence that was needed to transform the manually acquired data as a jumble of numbers, into a consistent, calibrated and geometrically correct sequence, from which real-time quantitative assessments of the current that controls the climate and the fisheries, could be understood. And at this, he excelled.

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Alan was not one to promote himself, or his work, in a public manner.

One time, a senior CSIRO marine research executive came to visit the WA Department of Fisheries and informed staff there that they really would benefit from a world-class oceanographer to help with their work. The CSIRO executive was surprised and confused when told that Fisheries were already working with a world-class oceanographer who had already made world-class discoveries. The executive could not understand why this was not “known” (it was) and commented that Alan did not promote himself sufficiently. But that was not Alan Pearce. Alan was a scientist and researcher who sought evidence to get to the truth and was not interested in self-promotion.

Many of Alan Pearce’s research papers including those on the Leeuwin Current, the Capes Current and the Ningaloo Current are still widely cited.

Despite a long career in marine science, Alan only began working towards his Ph.D. on a parttime basis in 2008. His thesis research into the influence of marine processes, in particular the Leeuwin Current, on the dispersal and settlement of tropical fishes at Rottnest Island conducted over more than 20 years, was submitted to Curtin University just before he died in April 2016 and is currently under examination.

Alan Pearce had a strong Christian faith and was active in the Church community wherever he lived.

This faith helped to mould the caring, considerate Alan that people knew. He was interested in biblical history and archaeology and read widely on those subjects.

He was a critical thinker and never stopped analysing the Christian faith, yet came to accept that Science and God were on the same “page”. His faith was a great comfort to him during his illness.

Alan is survived by his wife of 49 years, Valerie, his children Catherine and Steven, and his two grandchildren Lydia and Elliot.

Obituary

Bob Dingle 1920–2016

by Herbert J. G. Dartnall next couple of weeks in hiding. On 6 January 1944, Bob and two other RAF downed airmen were caught in a random search of their train by the Gestapo whilst making for Brussels. Their fake identity cards passed scrutiny but they did not have the requisite working passes and they spent the rest of the war as POWs.

Vale Bob. Bob Dingle working the radiosonde recorder at Macquarie Island in 1956. Image: courtesy of the Australian Antarctic Division.

Bob Dingle, weather observer, who spent seven winters on Australian and American Antarctic stations, died in a Tasmanian nursing home, aged 95. He was born William Robert John Dingle in Cornwall, England, in 1920 and on leaving school joined the General Post Office as a clerk and telephonist. With the advent of the Second World War he enlisted in the RAF Volunteer Reserve and trained as a Wireless Operator. Operationally he flew in four-engined Halifax bombers and by mid-December 1943 he had flown 38 missions, including six to Berlin, four to Hamburg and two to Turin, had been decorated with the Distinguished Flying Medal and had been commissioned. On his next mission, to Frankfurt and after bombing the target, the starboard inner engine inexplicably caught fire and the pilot gave the order to bailout. The pilot and rear gunner died in the crash and the navigator’s parachute failed to open— three fatalities all New Zealanders and all with the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Bob landed alone and began walking in a south-westerly direction, spending the next day (21 December) hidden in a haystack. At dusk he began walking again and soon after linked up with the Belgium resistance. He spent the

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Bob migrated to Australia in 1949 and in 1950 joined the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology as a trainee Weather Observer.

After completing the training course at Melbourne he was posted to RAAF Forest Hill near Wagga Wagga, NSW. January 1951 saw him on board HMAS Labuan on his way to Heard Island as part of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) where he spent his first winter south. With hindsight, Heard Island was Bob’s favourite Antarctic place—it had it all: the mixture of wildlife and vegetation, ice and snow, coastal and mountainous scenery. Whilst there, Bob, Nils Lied and Ken Brown completed an epic 16 day trek, circum-navigating the island doing a seal count.

Back in Australia at Port Hedland, Bob volunteered and was accepted for a tour of duty at Macquarie Island. However, he was asked to defer this appointment and be part of the first Mawson expedition scheduled for the 1953–54 summer. In February 1954, Mawson Station, Australia’s first Continental Antarctic base, was established on an isolated outcrop of rock in MacRobertson Land. Bob was the sole Weather Observer in the 10-man team.

Bob spent the 1956 winter on Macquarie Island.

Whilst there he was invited to be the Officerin-Charge, and sole Meteorological Observer of Australia’s second Antarctic Station to be established during the 1956–57 summer. The MV Kista Dan relieved Macquarie Island and, with Bob on board, arrived back in Melbourne on 11 December 1956. Six days later he was back on board on his way to the Vestfold Hills, an ice-free oasis in Princess Elizabeth Land, where they began building Davis Station. A six

Obituary

day turn-around between two wintering years was most unusual; a year or two gap between consecutive overwinterings was normal. At other times between trips south, Bob had been sent by the Bureau of Meteorology to various RAAF stations around Australia, and to the Giles Weather Station in Central Australia that had been established to satisfy launch activities at the Woomera rocket range.

observer. In addition to his other duties Bob carried out routine weather observations for UNIMET. The fishing was good and the location was very desirable for amateur radio contacts with the rest of the World but his companions were quarrelsome. On his return he spent a very enjoyable six weeks on the summit of Mount Buller, just 200km east of Melbourne, testing equipment for the CSIRO.

Just five men made up the Davis 1957 wintering party. As well as improving their prefabricated living quarters they carried out research projects in meteorology and geology, maintained an all sky camera for auroral studies, trained dogs and explored the local area. A very full program had been successfully carried out and in January 1960 the London Gazette carried the announcement that all five had been recognised with the award of the Polar Medal, or as in Bob’s case an additional clasp, dated Antarctic 1957, to add to the Polar Medal he had already been awarded for his time at Mawson.

In December 1966 Bob was again seconded to the USARP and spent the 1967 winter at Plateau Station where he carried out routine weather observations for the USWB and research for UNIMET. Plateau Station, at an elevation of 11,980 feet (3624 metres) is located at 79º15’S, 40º30’E and is one of the most isolated and coldest places on earth. Summer temperatures (November to March) average –40ºC (–40ºF) and winter temperatures (April to October) average –70ºC (–96ºF) with an all-time low of –86.1ºC (–123ºF) recorded in June 1968, a few months after Bob had gone home. The base was only manned for three years by a team of four US Navy personnel who supported four civilian researchers.

In August 1958 Bob was granted special leave from the Bureau whilst attached to ANARE, and was appointed Officer-in-Charge at Wilkes Station, following its transfer from the United States Antarctic Research Program (USARP) to ANARE in February 1959. This proved to be Bob’s most difficult Antarctic posting. In addition to his Officer-in-Charge duties Bob carried out a limited research program for the Meteorology Department at Melbourne University (UNIMET).

In July 1961 Bob was again granted special leave from the Bureau of Meteorology whilst attached to UNIMET to join the USARP team at Byrd Station. Here he performed routine weather observations for the United States Weather Bureau and carried out a series of snow drift observations for UNIMET during the 1962 winter.

Back in Australia he spent a year and a half at Willis Station (east of Cairns in the Coral Sea).

Then, Willis station had a population of just three, two radio operators and one weather

Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol. 29 page 71

As a result of a co-operative program between the Australian and the US weather services Bob then spent the next four years, from August 1968 until March 1972, as the senior Australian Weather Observer on board the US Navy Ship Eltanin. The cruises were almost exclusively in the Southern Ocean between South America and 70º East of Greenwich. Bob served on 18 of these cruises (numbers 35 to 52) doing oceanographic research for the Special Services Section of the Tasmanian Regional Bureau in Hobart.

In 1975, after 25 years with the Bureau, Bob resigned from the Australian Meteorological Service at the end of year. He retired to Swansea on the east coast of Tasmania. He was a quiet, introspective and extremely private man who spent the next 40 years as a generous and active member of the community of this small town.

Charts from the Past with Blair Trewin

21 May, 1923 The early months of 1923 were exceptionally dry in southeastern Australia, and April 1923 especially so. April 1923 was the driest month on record for both Victoria and Tasmania, with no rain recorded at many locations, including Melbourne (the city’s only rainless calendar month) and Launceston. The first four months of 1923 were also the driest on record for Victoria, with only about half the rainfall of 1967, the next driest year.

After a dry start to May, there was a dramatic shift in the pattern on the weekend of 5–6 May. From that point onwards low pressure dominated near and south of Tasmania with persistent westerlies over southeastern Australia. There was no individual extreme rainfall event in Tasmania (no Tasmanian station had a daily total in excess of 100 millimetres during the month), but the wet conditions were extremely persistent, particularly in western and northern parts of the island.

Low pressure and westerly winds were especially prominent from the 17th to the 24th; Hobart’s pressure was below 1000 hPa at every observation in that period. There was substantial rain in western Tasmania on each of these days; Lake Margaret had daily totals in the range from 20 to 45 millimetres on each of the 10 days from the 16th to the 25th. Heavy rain was less consistent elsewhere, but 55 millimetres on 17–18 May at Launceston (most of it in a few hours), along with a storm surge up the Tamar estuary and strong flows from upstream, brought significant flooding to the central city. Many other Tasmanian rivers were also in flood, although higher peaks were to be reached at the end of the month (and again in early June) as further rains fell on already saturated catchments. The Forth River was in flood continuously for two weeks, and the Mersey reached its highest levels in 20 years at the end of May. Eastern Tasmania had a relatively mild day on the 19th (18.4 °C at Hobart) as winds turned northwesterly,

but otherwise temperatures were near to slightly below normal through the month.

There was also rain, although not of the same magnitude, in the southern mainland. Totals reached 25 to 50 millimetres over 19–22 May on the Victorian ranges, and in southwest Victoria and southeast South Australia.

Further north heat was the main story, as westerly winds brought warm inland air to the coast; little rain fell north of the Snowy Mountains. On the 19th, Moruya Heads set a May record with 28.6 °C, Gabo Island’s 26.1 °C was not surpassed until 2016, and Sydney (29.4 °C) set a late-season record. Over the following days, the heat was focused on northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, including Brisbane’s hottest May day on record, 32.4 °C, on the 21st. Highly out-of-season bushfires were reported in southeast Queensland. May went on to have the highest mean maximum temperatures on record for many parts of eastern Queensland and northeast New South Wales, with the Queensland state average (2.47 °C above normal) a close third behind 1958 and 2016.

Further rain over the rest of the month resulted in Tasmania having its wettest month on record with 370.9 mm— only a month after its driest with 7.9 mm. A number of locations in the west had between 600 and 800 millimetres for the month. Totals were less extreme elsewhere but rain was very consistent; Hobart did not have more than 20 millimetres on any day, but had only three dry days for the month. The contrast in pressure was equally dramatic; at Hobart, May 1923 had a monthly mean sea level pressure more than 3 hPa below any other May (and 15 hPa below normal), after April 1923 had set an April record high by a similar margin. Victorian rainfall, while above average, was less exceptional, but continued wet weather saw that state experience its wettest May—July on record.

Synoptic chart for 0900 AEST, 21 May 1923 Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol. 29 page 72

Calendar

2017

June

January 22–26 2017 AMS Annual Meeting, Seattle, USA

February 1–3 Symposium on Climate Change Adaptation in Asia, New Delhi, India 7–10 AMOS National Conference 2017, Canberra, Australia 12–17 International Symposium on The Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, Wellington, New Zealand

21–23 45th Conference on Broadcast Meteorology/Fourth Conference on Weather Warnings and Communication, Kansas City, USA 26–30 21st Conference on Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics 19th Conference on Middle Atmosphere, Portland, USA

July 24–28 17th Conference on Mesoscale Processes, San Diego, USA

August 28–1 September 38th Conference on Radar Meteorology, Chicago, USA

Call for Associate Editors Do you enjoy talking to and corresponding with a wide range of atmospheric, oceanographic, land surface and earth system scientists? Do you have a keen interest in communicating science to a broader audience? Do you often read a science article and think to yourself “This could have been written / edited better”? Would you like to increase your understanding of the publishing process?

If you answered “Yes!” to any or all of these questions then you have the opportunity to engage in these activities as an Associate Editor for the Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (BAMOS).

The position: proactively seek out and encourage interesting speakers and/or scientists in the AMOS sciences to submit their work to BAMOS and then coordinate the publication process. Being an Associate Editor will give you first-hand experience of publishing, and will also allow you to take a more active role in supporting the AMOS community.

The position is voluntary and ongoing for as long as you wish to remain in the role. There is currently no specification for the number of applicants and anyone working in the AMOS-related subjects is encouraged to apply.

You will work closely with and report to the current Editor. Please contact Melissa at melissa@amos.org.au with an expression of interest if you’d like to undertake one of these positions that will contribute significantly to the development of BAMOS. We look forward to hearing from you!

Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol. 29 page 73

BAMOS Author Guidelines

For all submissions: The Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (BAMOS) accepts short (<2500 words) contributions of original research work for peerreview and consideration in the “Science Articles” section.

Longer articles will be considered at the discretion of the Editor and Editor-in-Chief. Articles submitted to BAMOS should also be appropriate for the whole AMOS community (from weather enthusiasts to professional members) and should aim to be concise without using excessive scientific jargon.

For the peer-reviewed “Science Articles” section, authors should follow these guidelines: 1. Articles should be submitted as a PDF or Word document (or similar) for peer-review and include all figures and tables either within the main text or consecutively at the end of the article.

2. Articles should have a line spacing of 1.5 or more using a font size of 12. Articles should preferably be written using Times New Roman or Arial.

3. Articles should be split into sections, with the heading for each section numbered consecutively and using a font size of 14. For example (these are title examples, headings are made at the authors’ discretion):

1. Introduction

2. Method

3. Results

4. Conclusions

4. An abstract is required and should not be more than 150 words in length.

5. Acknowledgements to be included after the final work section and before the references.

6. References should follow these example formats: •

Journal Articles:

Jung, T., Ferranti, L. and Tompkins, A.M., 2006, Response to the summer of 2003 Mediterranean SST anomalies over Europe and Africa, Journal of Climate, 19, 5439–5454.

•

Books:

Holton, J.R., 2004, An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology. Academic Press, New York. 535 pp.

Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol. 29 page 74

•

Book chapter:

Raymond, D.J., 1993. Chapter 2: Observational constraints on cumulus parameterizations. In: The representation of cumulus convection in numerical models, Meteorological Monographs, 24 (46), 17–28, American Meteorological Society, Boston, USA. •

Theses:

Trewin, B., 2001, Extreme temperature events in Australia.

PhD Thesis, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia.

•

Web sites:

Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2012, Bushfire history - Major bushfires in Victoria, www.dse. vic.gov.au/fire-and-other-emergencies/major-bushfires-invictoria/ 7. We recommend that the author(s) make five suggestions for referees to undertake the peer-review.

Also, we ask for a list of five potential referees whom the author does not want as reviewers, due to conflicts of interest, or past close association..

8. Once peer-review has been completed, a final version of the document should be sent to the editor either in Word format or as plain text. The document should also include figure and table captions and the references but no figures. Figure files should be sent separately (they may be in any format and the editor will confer with the author(s) on the resolution and formatting).

9. Galley-proofs will be sent to the author(s) for final checking before publication.

BAMOS also accepts a wide range of non-peer-reviewed work, for example news items, charts from the past, conference reports, book reviews, biographical articles and meet a member. AMOS members are therefore encouraged to submit articles that would be of general interest to the AMOS community without necessarily requiring peer review. File formats should follow those given above; a word or plain text document should be submitted (which includes any figure captions and tables) along with any figure files given separately.

All articles should be either posted or emailed to the editor with any questions on the formatting also directed to the editor (see the inside back cover of this issue for contact details).

2016/17 AMOS Council Executive

Sub-Committee Convenors

Ordinary Members

Centre Chairs

President Mary Voice Vice-President Andrew Marshall Secretary Damien Irving Treasurer Angela Maharaj Past President Todd Lane

Adam Morgan Andy Pitman Jason Evans John McBride Robert Colman Roger Dargaville

AMOS Executive Officer Jeanette Dargaville GPO Box 1289, Melbourne VIC 3001 (attn: AMOS admin officer) E-mail: admin@amos.org.au

Expert Group Chairs

Public Relations Vacant Education & Outreach Vacant Equity & Diversity Ailie Gallant Awards Neville Nicholls 2017 Conference Clem Davis

ACT Jeff Kingwell Adelaide Darren Ray Brisbane Andrew Wiebe Darwin Ian Shepherd TAS Andrew Marshall Melbourne Andrew King NSW Anthony Kiem Perth Jatin Kala

Representatives

JSHESS David Karoly Science & Technology Australia Steven Phipps AMOS is represented on the relevant Australian Academy of Science committees.

Atmospheric & Oceanic Composition Robyn Schofield Climate Variability Jaci Brown Land Surface Processes Jason Evans Physical Oceanography Diana Greenslade Weather & Weather Prediction Michael Reeder

2016/17 Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society ISSN 1035-6576

Editor

Contributors

Editor-in-chief

Advertising Manager

Melissa Lyne Email: melissa@amos.org.au

Damien Irving

Assistant Editors

Diana Greenslade, Blair Trewin and Linden Ashcroft

Blair Trewin Damien Irving

Please contact the Executive Officer.

Publisher

AMOS, GPO Box 1289, Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia

Contributed articles, news, announcements and correspondence for the Bulletin should be sent to the editor no later than 19 February 2017. They will be reviewed and the galley proofs returned to the author if requested. An ASCII version of the text is required via e-mail or digital media to minimise typographic errors.

The Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society is produced and distributed with the assistance of CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research and the Bureau of Meteorology.

AMOS Website: www.amos.org.au

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