AMOS
AustralianMeteorological & OceanographicSociety
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological & Oceanographic Society Vol 26, No.2, April 2013 ISSN 1035-6576
Contents Editorial ..........................................................................................................................................................................17 President’s Column ........................................................................................................................................................18 News ..............................................................................................................................................................................18 News from the Centres ..................................................................................................................................................22 Conference reports .........................................................................................................................................................23 Obituary — Tim Gibson ...............................................................................................................................................25 Meet a Member .............................................................................................................................................................27 Snapshot ........................................................................................................................................................................28 Charts from the Past with Blair Trewin: 27 March 1913 ...............................................................................................29 The Research Corner with Damien Irving......................................................................................................................30
ISSN 1035-6576 Cover picture: Lightning over the Sydney Opera House. Image taken looking towards the east from the Overseas Passenger Termnal, Circular Quay West, Sydney at 8 p.m. on 8 April 2012. Image: Sebastian Salopiata. 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
Wellington weather, ENSO and cricket I have had an interest in the weather ever since I was very small (see the April 2012 BAMOS Editorial). I have also been a follower and supporter of the England cricket team for the last twenty years. I have had my fair share of glorious sunny days watching the cricket but I have also had many days sitting in the rain waiting for play to happen. Therefore, as cricket is heavily dependent on the weather, I thought this editorial could encompass them both. I recently took a trip from Melbourne to Wellington in order to catch the New Zealand vs England test match at the Basin Reserve. As I had been a former resident of Wellington (for about three years), I had been hoping to catch England play in New Zealand while I was living there. As I now live in Melbourne, this rare opportunity gave me the chance to visit some friends and catch a few days of play. Wellington (and much of New Zealand) has been suffering from a severe drought and, upon our arrival, we were informed by the local media that there were only “20 days of water left” for the metropolitan area1. This came as a bit of a surprise for me, as the Wellington weather is not particularly renowned for being benign. I was also informed by several friends that the summer had been the best that they could remember. Perfect for some cricket then; however, former Tropical Cyclone Sandy had other ideas. The first three days were fantastic (and the cricket was going pretty well for England too!) and culminated in glorious sunshine on the Saturday. The next day the weather returned to more Wellington-like conditions, as strong northerlies from the remains of Sandy moved south across the country. For anyone who has lived in Wellington, days with high winds are the norm, rather than the exception. The strong winds are caused by the interaction of the atmospheric flow with the high topography on either side of the Cook Strait causing air to accelerate through the narrow gap between the North and South Islands (see Reid, 1996). The strong winds can make landing at Wellington Airport2 and crossing the Cook Strait on the ferry3 particularly hazardous. One particular event (on 10 April 1968) caused the inter-island ferry (called the Wahine) to sink in Wellington Harbour with the loss of 51 lives. In this case, Tropical Cyclone Gisele had moved south and deepened along the east coast of the North Island, which brought winds of up to 50 m s-1 (180 km hr-1) to the Wellington area (Revell and Gorman, 2003). Such strong wind events are not uncommon in Wellington and can be a hazard for any outdoor activity. www.stuff.co.nz/national/8417298/Wellingtonswater-supply-now-at-crisis-level 2 www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA7qkUeltNI 3 www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7NB-bN-ns4 1
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 17
Thankfully the winds did not reach this magnitude while I was there but persistent showers and subsequent heavy rainfall brought an early end to the cricket. It seemed that the match was just held on exactly the wrong weekend. As we move into April, the cricket season has drawn to a close in the Southern Hemisphere but it is currently just starting in England with the prospect of the first installment of the back-to-back Ashes series (in England and then Australia). Hopefully the weather will be better in the UK this year than it was last year (National Climate Information Centre, UK, 2012). I also hope that the weather here in Australia will be perfect for cricket when the return series starts. It is at this point that I would like to draw your attention to a possible method for determining the outcome of the series before it has even started. Joshi (2009) wrote an interesting paper on the relationship between Ashes results in Australia and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). He suggested that if an El Niño event occurred in the months preceding the series, then the drier conditions would make an Australian victory more likely as conditions would be less like they are during an English summer. Conversely, a preceding La Niña would make the contest more even as the wetter conditions are more akin to an English summer. Predictions for the current year indicate that neutral conditions will prevail over the Niño-3 region4 but this forecast may change as the year continues on. Anyway, this is all interesting food for thought over the autumn and approaching winter. In the meantime, based on the most recent series results for both England (0-0 against New Zealand) and Australia (4-0 loss in India) the weather is unlikely to be any concern before some hard work in the practice nets has been done! Joshi, M., 2009, Could El Nino Southern Oscillation affect the results of the Ashes series in Australia?, Weather, 64, 178–179. National Climate Information Centre, 2012, UK seasonal weather summary: Summer 2012, Weather, 67, 267. Reid, S., 1996, Pressure gradients and winds in the Cook Strait, Weather and Forecasting, 11, 476–488. Revell, M.J. and Gorman R.M., 2003, The “Wahine Storm”: evaluation of a numerical forecast on a severe wind and wave event for the New Zealand coast, New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 37, 251–266.
Duncan Ackerley
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www.bom.gov.au/climate/poama2.4/poama.shtml
President’s Column
The end of summer and the start of weather tipping Summer seems to be behind us at last in southern Australia (although those entrants in the AMOS weather tipping competition who were looking at Port Hedland’s numbers on the weekend may disagree). As most of you will have heard by now, it was the hottest summer on record for Australia, and the last few months have also had their share of other extreme weather events, from floods in Queensland to one of the more significant (and definitely the best-recorded) tornadoes observed in Australia, along the Murray on 21 March. This has kept many of us busy, whether on the operational side or in keeping track of all the numbers afterwards. As expected, the National Conference was a highlight of recent years in AMOS. We had over 400 registrations and about the same number of papers presented, both well in excess of previous years. The conference has now well and truly reached critical mass and has achieved the status of being a “must-do” on the annual calendars of many people in our field. Hobart in 2014 has quite a lot to live up to, although all indications are that they will be quite capable of living up to it. Organising a conference on this scale is no small matter; when a meeting grows to the size that we have seen in recent years, everything becomes more complex, from handling the sheer volume of abstracts, to finding a venue which is large enough to cope with us but remains affordable, to finding somewhere that can cope with several hundred at a conference dinner (but still has decent food). Thanks go to everyone who was involved with the conference organisation, but especially to Vaughan Barras as chair of the conference organising committee, as well as Jeanette Dargaville, who again performed well above and beyond the call of duty. Something else which was on the agenda as of the last Bulletin was AMOS’s submission to the Senate inquiry on
extreme weather events. We were called to give evidence to this inquiry in Melbourne in late February. I wasn’t quite sure beforehand whether this was going to be a search for information or an inquisition and was quite pleased that it was the former—with the main items discussed being extreme rainfalls and their links (or lack thereof) to climate change, as well as the critical importance of observations in supporting climate change assessments. Our previous President, Neville Nicholls, also gave evidence in support of a personal submission he had made, with a focus on heatwaves and human health. The Bureau, CSIRO and the ARC Centre of Excellence are yet to appear at the time of writing and will presumably appear at upcoming hearings in Canberra and Sydney. One of AMOS’s other annual activities is the weather tipping competition. This has just got under way, with those of us taking part having to try to work out what was likely to happen with Port Hedland’s sea breeze in the first round. This is one of a number of ways in which we can engage with the general weather enthusiast community, as well as involving our professional members. Improving engagement with the general weather enthusiast community is something I am keen to see us do more of. Another field in which there is potential for this is in finding ways to make greater use of observations from the public at large. To this end, AMOS is likely to be a partner of the Bureau in their plans to launch a publicsubmitted observations system, modelled on that which already exists in the UK. The Royal Meteorological Society has found this a very useful avenue for public engagement and I would hope that the same would be the case here, especially if we see (as I think we should) the scientific literacy of the general population as being one of our goals.
Blair Trewin
News
International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS) News Tom Beer
National IAMAS Correspondant
CCEC official website is now available The official website of the new Union Commission on Climatic and Environmental Change (CCEC, established by the IUGG) is now available1. IUGG scientists are welcome to register their membership of CCEC to receive news of CCEC activities. 1
http://ccec-iugg.org
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 18
CCEC was established by the Executive Committee of IUGG in 2012 in order to: t
Promote the advancement of scientific understanding of climatic and environmental change.
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Boost research in reducing uncertainties in climate and environmental models .
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Define criteria for collaborative trans-disciplinary research on climate and environmental change.
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Fulfill the objectives of IUGG and its associations, to provide an all-Union perspective on climatic and environmental change.
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Make available the knowledge and insights developed through scientific research to the benefit of society and planet Earth, including consideration of the science of global change, related vulnerability and impacts, and potential responses.
CCEC provides a focus for IUGG scientific expertise in climate and environment related areas across the breadth of all IUGG disciplines and associations. CCEC enables the breadth of IUGG expertise to be brought to bear at the
global level through collaborating with, and underpinning the work of the International Council for Science and other international organizations. It also enables the geographic spread of IUGG expertise to be brought to bear at the local level through involvement with national bodies in the organisation of meetings and other activities. To date, CCEC has interacted with the International Council for Science scientific unions and interdisciplinary bodies to scope possible activity in weather, climate and food security. CCEC will be running sessions on this topic at the American Geophysical Union Meeting of the Americas in Cancun in May, at the Asia Ociana Geosciences Society meeting in Brisbane in June, and at the International Union of Nutritional Science Conference in Granada on 15 September 2013.
CSIRO Media releases Craig Macaulay
CSIRO, Science Journalist, Marine and Atmospheric Research. Email: Craig.Macaulay@csiro.au
Ningaloo Niño—The story behind the massive 2011 WA marine heatwave Abnormal climatic conditions in the Indian and Pacific Oceans during the 2010–2011 La Niña event combined to create the extreme marine heatwave seen off the Western Australia coast in 2011, according to a paper published recently in Nature Scientific Reports. Lead author Dr Ming Feng, from CSIRO’s Wealth from Oceans Flagship, says the marine heatwave was driven by unusual features in the Leeuwin Current—a warm ocean current which flows southwards near the west coast of Australia, which was affected by extreme ocean and atmospheric conditions in the Pacific and Indian Ocean during the 2010–2011 La Niña. “Record easterly winds in the eastern Pacific and record northerly winds in the southeast Indian Ocean combined to produce an unseasonable surge of the southwardflowing Leeuwin Current and extreme ocean warming off the west coast of Australia,” Dr Feng said. Water temperatures were recorded by satellite, robotic Argo profilers and continental shelf moorings operated as part of Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System. During the heatwave, water temperatures were more than 3°C above long-term seasonal averages, climbing to 5°C above for a two-week period at the peak of the event, and causing widespread impacts on marine ecology, including fish kills and coral bleaching. Water temperatures affect the growth, survival, abundance and distribution of most marine species. Rapid short-term temperature rises can be harmful or even lethal to marine organisms, as in the case with coral bleaching and fish mortality, and have potentially catastrophic impacts on marine ecosystems throughout the world’s oceans. The seasonal sea surface temperature warming off the west coast of Australia has been termed a ‘Ningaloo Niño’, an analogy to other eastern continental boundary current Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 19
warming phenomena such as El Niño in the Pacific and the Benguela Niño in the Atlantic. “Understanding the factors that influence the formation of events like the 2011 Ningaloo Niño is a vital first step in preparing for impacts from extreme warming events in the future,” said Dr. Feng. Co-author, Dr Michael McPhaden of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA, said the research demonstrated the significance of far-away events to our own backyard. “Nature always finds a way to surprise us and the Ningaloo Niño is just the latest episode in this continuing saga. This is research that matters to society because it tells us that what happens in your backyard can be influenced by events happening in far away places and at times in the distant past,” Dr McPhaden said. The research findings published in Nature Scientific Reports were the result of a collaboration between Australian and United States oceanographers. Background information on the ecological impact of the 2011 marine heatwave can be found in a report prepared for the Western Australia fisheries department1. Feng, M., McPhaden, M.J., Xie, S. and Hafner, J., 2013, La Niña forces unprecedented Leeuwin Current warming in 2011, Scientific Reports, 3, 1277, DOI:10.1038/srep01277.
Landmark carbon assessment developed for Australia The Australian landscape soaked up one third of the carbon emitted by fossil fuels in Australia over the past twenty years, according to a new CSIRO study released in February. The study, which marks a significant milestone in Australian atmospheric science, also found that Australia www.fish.wa.gov.au/Documents/research_ reports/frr222.pdf 1
exported 2.5 times more carbon in fossil fuels in 2009– 2010 than was emitted from fossil fuels burned within Australia.
“It is important to know that carbon stored in the land during periods of high plant growth may disappear again during the next drought,” Dr Haverd said.
These results emerge from the three-year study, the Australian Terrestrial Carbon Budget, published in the journal Biogeosciences and outlined at the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network Symposium, Canberra in February.
“Understanding any trends and changes in fire regime or intensity, particularly in the savanna fires of Northern Australia, is important for quantifying the impact of fire on the net carbon balance,” she said.
In the study, scientists quantified how much land carbon is lost or gained through plant and soil ‘breathing’ in response to variable climate and rising carbon dioxide. Effects of fires, erosion and deforestation were also considered. All these processes together with fossil fuel emissions are critical to domestic carbon management and international reporting protocols. The project centres on the variability of carbon flows for the past two decades, and how this period compares with the past 100 years. Lead author, Dr Vanessa Haverd said the increase in plant production through carbon dioxide fertilisation is larger in the warmer regions of the continent. “For Australia as a whole, increased carbon dioxide has caused a 15 per cent increase in plant production over the last two decades, relative to pre-industrial times,” she said. Dr Haverd said study data will help the understanding of how carbon stored in the Australian landscape responds to climate variability—the swings between drought and flood.
Other results include: t
On average 2.2 billion tonnes of carbon is taken up by plants per year (1990–2011).
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Across Australia, grassy vegetation (dominant in dry and savanna regions) accounts for 56% of carbon uptake while woody vegetation accounts for 44%.
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In wet (high-growth) years, the Australian biosphere “breathes in” a vast amount of carbon from the atmosphere, exceeding the total of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, while in dry years, the biosphere “breathes out” a nearly equal amount of carbon back to the atmosphere—this variability is associated with Australia’s highly variable climate.
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Carbon uptake from 1990–2011 was high compared with the rest of the twentieth century due largely to carbon dioxide fertilisation.
The study is one of 14 regional and continental studies around the world, as part of the Regional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes (RECCAP).
Australia’s newest weather radar set to be all at sea Sarah Schofield1 and Danita Matusch2
Communication Advisor, CSIRO. National Media Relations Adviser, Bureau of Meteorology Email: sarah.schofield@csiro.au 1 2
Some of the big questions about weather, climate, and the atmospheric conditions in remote areas of the world’s oceans will now be able to be answered following the purchase of a dual-polarisation weather research radar to sit atop Australia’s new research vessel, Investigator. Investigator is a 93.9 m purpose-built research vessel currently under construction and due for delivery in late 2013 as the flagship of Australia’s Marine National Facility. The Executive Director for the Future Research Vessel Project, Toni Moate, said the two tonne weather research radar will be installed on the highest point of Investigator and will be able to collect cloud and weather data anytime, anywhere in the world’s oceans. “Data will be gathered from clouds towering 20 km over the tropical ocean to cold ice storms in the Antarctic, in a 150 km radius from the ship, and will have a broad range of research applications,” Ms Moate said. The dual-polarisation weather radar is part of a new generation of weather technology that is being compared to the difference in television between black and white to colour technology. The greater detail provided by the Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 20
state-of-the-art device will allow meteorologists to gather more information about the atmosphere than ever before, including clearly seeing the difference between rain and snow. Australia’s scientific community has been advising on the fit-out and design of Investigator since the inception of the project, providing recommendations on specialist equipment, like the weather radar, via a Technical Advisory Group. Dr Peter May from the Bureau of Meteorology and the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, together with his colleague Dr Alain Protat, are part of the Technical Advisory Group and it’s their expertise that has been central to the selection and installation of the weather research radar on the ship. “With Investigator we will be able to source weather data from places we have previously not been able to access, such as the deep Southern, Indian, and Pacific Oceans,” said Dr May. “This advanced radar will tell us not only how much it is raining but also the size of the drops, what mixtures of
water and ice are present in the clouds, and what types of ice crystals are present. “It will be a keystone for the study of cloud formations and contribute to improvements in numerical weather forecasting and climate prediction models over the vast areas of ocean surrounding Australia,” said Dr May. This kind of data is important to study cloud systems that represent key processes for weather and climate models. The high quality data collected from the radar will be an asset to the global weather and climate research community, contributing to a better understanding of tropical monsoons to polar cloud systems. There is a wide range of applications for the data that will be captured by this cutting edge technology. The successful tenderer to supply the radar is Environmental Systems & Services (ES&S), which is an Australian advanced technology company specialising in solutions in environmental and allied fields such as meteorology. The state-of-the-art research vessel Investigator will be owned and operated by CSIRO, which runs Australia’s Marine National Facility. It will replace the Facility’s 66 m research vessel Southern Surveyor. All Australian scientists and their international collaborators can apply for time onboard the Facility to conduct marine and atmospheric research. The Federal Government in 2009 committed A$120 million to the purchase of a new research vessel for
Australia’s Marine National Facility. The project is an initiative of the Federal Government’s Super Science Initiative and financed from the Education Investment Fund.
Cloud formations over the Pacific Ocean. Image: Richard Arculus.
Greenhouse 2013 Conference Chris Gerbing CSIRO
In 2013, Australia’s climate science community will gather for another important installment of the GREENHOUSE conference series. Sharing the latest climate science and research, learning from each other’s communication activities and developing new ideas will all be on the agenda at the GREENHOUSE 2013 conference, beginning on 8 October 2013 in Adelaide, Australia.
Researchers, communicators, government and nongovernment workers, industry professionals and students are encouraged to attend the conference to hear the latest on climate science. Topics covered will include climate extremes, sea level rise, atmosphere–ocean interactions, climate projections and national policy. Abstracts on these topics, amongst others, are now being accepted online.
This conference will be the world’s first international gathering of climate scientists and adaptation experts after the release of part one of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). Working Group One of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release its report, “The Physical Science Basis”, and its Summary for Policy Makers in late September 2013.
To be a part of this important conference or to find out more, visit www.greenhouse2013.com. You can also follow all the conference news on twitter @greenhouse2013.
IPCC Working Group One co-chair Dr Thomas Stocker will be at the conference to provide an overview of the latest knowledge of the science of climate change. Other speakers at the conference include South Australian Premier The Hon. Jay Weatherill; Professor Will Steffen, member of the Australian Climate Commission; Dr Pep Canadell, Executive Director of the Global Carbon Project; and Dr Rob Vertessy, Director of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 21
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News from the Centres
NSW Centre News Fiona Johnson Chair, NSW Centre
The NSW Centre recently held its first seminar for the year at the Climate Change Research Centre (UNSW), which was presented by Professor Jane McAdam (Faculty of Law, UNSW) on the topic of “Climate Change and Forced Migration: The Limits of International Law�. Jane gave a fascinating presentation looking at the difficulties of working within current international laws in assisting people displaced across borders by the impacts of climate change. The difference between disasters and the slowonset changes caused by anthropogenic climate change were discussed, as well as the opportunities to work within current legal frameworks and a new initiative led by Norway and Switzerland to develop a global guiding framework on the issues. The seminar was well attended and promoted extensive cross-disciplinary discussions and questions afterwards from attendees with climate backgrounds and those coming from law.
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 22
It was the first NSW AMOS seminar to be held on a Friday afternoon and with drinks and nibbles, it proved to be an enjoyable way to finish the week.
Guest speaker Professor Jane McAdam (centre) with NSW AMOS committee members Ian Macadam and Fiona Johnson. Image: Agata Imielska.
Brisbane Centre News Michael Hewson
Secretary, Brisbane Regional Centre The Annual General Meeting of the AMOS Brisbane Regional Centre was held at the offices of Katestone Pty Ltd where we had a very engaging lecture from Dr Kamal Puri, Senior Principal Research Scientist of the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research. Dr. Puri’s topic “The Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator” (ACCESS) was extremely interesting and well received by the twelve attendees at the seminar. We heard how ACCESS evolved, what components make up such a complex earth systems modelling environment, its operation and validation—and plans for the future of ACCESS. Clearly ACCESS is a key plank in Australian weather forecasting, climate research and engagement with bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Thanks to Andrew Wiebe for the use of Katestone facilities. The AGM, a gathering of seven members, discussed a range of topics affecting the centre. In his chairperson’s report, Associate Professor Hamish McGowan described the difficulty in getting a program for members to engage with—and the question was raised whether gathering together was seen as a key need for members. The meeting
Andrew Wiebe (left) and Dr Kamal Puri (right). Image: Michael Hewson.
felt that the single large seminar event similar to one organised by the Brisbane Regional Centre in 2011, open to the public and seeking wider stakeholder input into meteorological and oceanographic subjects, was worth pursuing. Accordingly such a seminar will be planned for the latter half of 2013. The new committee members of the Brisbane Regional Centre are as follows: t
Andrew Wiebe, Katestone Pty Ltd—Chairperson.
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Michael Hewson, The University of Queensland— Secretary.
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Associate Prof. Hamish McGowan, The University of Queensland.
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Rob Webb, The Bureau of Meteorology.
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Michael Gray, The University of Queensland.
As always, any feedback from AMOS members around Brisbane or in Queensland is welcome to m.hewson@uq.edu.au.
AMOS Brisbane Regional Centre in the AGM. Image: Michael Hewson.
Conference reports
AMOS National Conference 2013 11–13 February 2013, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne Mitchell Black and Damien Irving The University of Melbourne
The National Conference of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) was held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 11–13 February 2013. Themed “Sense and Sensitivity: Understanding our Weather and Climate”, the Conference was the largest stand-alone AMOS event to date with 394 papers presented to an audience of over 400 participants. The Conference commenced with the annual R.H. Clarke Lecture given by Prof. Julia Cole of the University of Arizona. Prof. Cole’s paper “Past climate change and future uncertainty: the case of the tropical Pacific”, expanded the audience’s view of recent climate variability as observed through a number of mediums—geological and biological Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 23
proxies, instrumental records and climate models—and set the scene for the diverse and interesting scientific themes explored throughout the Conference. A number of additional invited international speakers featured throughout the conference, including Prof. Jonathan Overpeck (University of Arizona), Dr. JeanBaptiste Salle (British Antarctic Survey), Dr. Isla Simpson (Columbia University) and Dr. Greg Wilson (the founder of Software Carpentry). Each presenter gave an interesting account of his or her respective areas of expertise, which covered a breadth of research interests from the depths of the ocean to the upper levels of the atmosphere.
Scientific excellence and leadership was evident across all aspects of the conference and was formally recognised during the conference dinner. Dr. Savin Chand was awarded the Uwe Radok PhD Award for his research into tropical cyclones, Professor Ann Henderson-Sellers was awarded the AMOS Medal (hereafter the Morton Medal) in recognition of her international leadership in climate science, and Dr. Noel Davidson was awarded the Christopher Taylor Award for his valuable contributions to operational forecasting. The guest speaker for the dinner, World Vision Australia CEO Tim Costello, provided a sobering yet inspiring account of his interaction with local communities feeling the impact of climate change, and concluded with a resonating thought: “who owns the sky?” A noteworthy aspect of the Conference was the high level of student engagement. Special congratulations go to Linden Ashcroft who was awarded the best student oral presentation for her talk on reconstructing temperature,
Conference Organising Committee Chair, Vaughan Barras speaking at the conference dinner. Image: Stewart Allen.
pressure and rainfall variations using historical data, and to Stephanie Jacobs who was awarded the best student poster presentation for her work on bio-comfort. On the two days following the conference, over 65 people participated in a Software Carpentry Boot Camp at the University of Melbourne, which was co-hosted by AMOS and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science. While the coffee wasn’t great, the standard of teaching from Greg Wilson, Mike Renzy and their team of tutors was of the highest calibre and was very much appreciated by all involved. As for all major events, the AMOS 2013 Conference was made possible through the hard work and contribution of a number of parties. Special thanks go out to the Conference Organising Committee (under the leadership of Dr. Vaughan Barras), Jeanette Dargaville (AMOS Administration Officer) and to the conference sponsors. The 2013 AMOS Conference was a great experience and we look forward to next year’s conference in Hobart.
Delegates networking at the conference dinner: Image: Ailie Gallant.
Science Meets Parliament 2012 17–18 September 2012, Canberra Roger Dargaville1 and Jo Brown2 The University of Melbourne Bureau of Meteorology
1 2
For the third year running, AMOS has sent two early/mid career scientists to the rarefied atmosphere of Canberra to participate in the event known as Science Meets Parliament. The event, run by Science and Technology Australia (STA), brings a broad range of scientists into direct contact with Federal Parliamentarians, training the scientists in how to get their message across to people who are very busy, not scientists, and probably distracted by whatever parliamentary committee meeting is next on their agenda. Before we (Jo Brown, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne and Roger Dargaville, The University of Melbourne) were let loose on the MPs, we were given a full day of training along with 150 colleagues from various other Australian science organisations. As well as fairly standard messages about how to make our science relevant, we received novel Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 24
training in how to use Twitter, a surprisingly inspiring speech from Sophie Mirabella (Shadow Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science) on her bipartisan approach to evidence-based science, and a chance to practice our 30-second spiel on our communication experts and fellow scientists. The Gala Dinner at Parliament House was a grand affair mixing Parliamentarians and scientists. Roger had the pleasure of sitting next to Steve Georganas (Labor MP, South Australia) and discovered that face-to-face, MPs tend to be charming and surprisingly engaging. The not overly inspiring dinner speech was given by Chris Evans, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research. A few lucky participants (not us) were invited onto the roof of Parliament for some star gazing with Nobel Laureate, astrophysicist and vigneron Professor
Brian Schmidt and the launch of the Parliamentary Friends of Science group.
funding for scientific research needs to provide continuity rather than focusing on short-term projects.
The second day saw us visit Parliament House again to have our meeting with our designated MP. Roger met with Alan Griffith, whose electorate of Bruce in Melbourne includes Monash University and the Synchroton, hence Alan seemed well equipped to understand his message of Renewable Energy modelling. Roger was a little surprised at the end of his spiel to be hit with the astonishingly honest “I don’t understand anything you said, but I’m sure it’s very important”.
Question time in Parliament is often quite amusing, but to see it live in the wings of the Lower House is quite a treat. The school playground antics of our politicians are comical if not embarrassing, and Sophie Mirabella traded inspiring for annoying to the point where she was ejected by the exhausted spokesperson (we lost count of the number of times we heard “The member for XX will resume his/her seat”).
Jo met with Mike Symon, MP for Deakin in Melbourne, who has a long standing interest in the Bureau of Meteorology and the development of forecasting due to his involvement in a Senate Inquiry and on the committee for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. Jo also met with Trish Crossin, Senator from the NT, who was interested in her research on the impact of climate change on small islands in the Pacific, as a number of islands in the nearby Torres Strait face similar issues. In between meetings, we were able to attend the National Press Club lunch address, which was given by Professor Brian Schmidt. He spoke articulately about the importance of science in guiding policy making, and also argued that
Obituary
The two days finished pleasantly with a cocktail reception hosted by the Australian Greens. Politicians attending included Christine Milne and Adam Bandt, who had earlier asked a question in Parliament regarding a proposed temporary freeze in National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Research Council funding. In conversation with scientists, Milne urged more outspoken discussion of the threat of climate change. Overall the experience of Science meets Parliament is invaluable and provides an extraordinary insight into the challenges of getting scientific messages to the highest level of decision making in the country. STA is to be commended for running the event, and AMOS members interested in being involved should look out for the call for nominations later this year.
Tim Gibson 1935–2013 Mike Pook and Bill Budd A stalwart of AMOS, Tim Gibson, died in February after a battle with cancer. He was 77. Tim was born in Melbourne in 1935 but received his early education in Tasmania where he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Tasmania. There followed a stint in North America where Tim obtained his Masters degree and worked as a forecaster for the United States Air Force and undertook a variety of tasks including regular television weather presentations for the staff. On his return to Australia in the mid-1960s Tim began his association with the University of Melbourne, lecturing in meteorology and weather forecasting. Tim’s research interests were very much centred on the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation and he carried out a series of experiments with a rotating tank with realistic equatorial heating and a simulated Antarctic heat sink in order to advance his understanding of the broad-scale flow. He became an expert in the structure and location of the major jetstreams, the subject of his PhD thesis in 1974. After obtaining his PhD under the supervision of Uwe Radok, Tim continued as a senior lecturer, providing lectures to undergraduate students and supervising a number of postgraduate students. He is particularly remembered for the practical training he provided on student field trips and at the University’s field station, where students learnt observational techniques to complement theory. He was also the originator of and a key player Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 25
in the weekly chart discussions held in the department and nurtured the interest of many budding synoptic climatologists. During this period, Tim developed an interest in techniques for the detection of climate change, an interest that continued after his retirement. In 1992, Tim moved to Hobart to take up a position in the newly formed Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) in the Polar Atmosphere Research Group under the leadership of Professor Bill Budd. In Hobart, Tim continued his research and became closely involved in the supervision of Honours and higher degree students in the Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies. He was also able to take part in a research cruise in the Southern Ocean, a highlight of his time at the CRC. The weather discussion late on Friday afternoons was a feature of the week at the Antarctic CRC. Attended by interested academics and students from around the University and, at least once, by a serving Governor of Tasmania, the session was led off by Tim’s summary of the broad-scale meteorological features around the Southern Hemisphere. In deep, resonant tones, Tim would present his painstakingly prepared hand-drawn analyses of the jet streams and the major areas of atmospheric blocking, his voice rising and falling in order to give the appropriate dramatic emphasis. Tim was a man of many talents. He had extraordinarily broad interests outside his profession. He had a great love
of singing across a range of musical types and performed in a number of musical theatre productions and recitals. He displayed a great love of language. He was adept at solving cryptic crosswords and renowned for his puns which were delivered in his deep bass with exquisite timing. And, of course, he was a one-eyed supporter of the North Melbourne Football Club.
of his 8 grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by his many friends and colleagues.
Tim had a strong commitment to education of the public about climate and the implications of climate change and provided lectures to groups such as the University of the Third Age. His contribution to public education was recognised by Tim’s appointment as an Al Gore Climate Ambassador. Tim had a great interest in the natural environment. He and his wife, Ros, immersed themselves in various pursuits such as bushwalking, bird watching and community work to protect native vegetation. A generous man, his annual Christmas letter overflowed with his love of Ros, his sons Colin, Malcolm and Nick, and brimmed with pride at the various accomplishments
Dr Tim Gibson. Image: Ros Gibson.
Online delivery system for one minute solar data
The Bureau of Meteorology has developed a publicly accessible online system for the delivery of one minute solar data recorded at its ground solar network stations. You may find the one minute solar data useful if you are involved in developing photovoltaic or concentrating solar power plants as it can help you: s UNDERSTAND THE SOLAR RESOURCE AND the likely power plant output at prospective sites
What are the solar parameters? The solar parameters include: s GLOBAL IRRADIANCE s DIRECT NORMAL IRRADIANCE s DIRECT IRRADIANCE ON A HORIZONTAL PLANE s DIFFUSE IRRADIANCE
s OPTIMISE PLANT DESIGN
s TERRESTRIAL IRRADIANCE
s BUILD A STRONGER CASE FOR PROJECT lNANCE
s SUNSHINE DURATION
s STUDY THE EFFECT OF THE POWER PLANT on the grid
For each quantity and each minute the AVERAGE MINIMUM MAXIMUM STANDARD DEVIATION AND AN ESTIMATE OF THE UNCERTAINTY ARE AVAILABLE
s MINIMISE THE AMOUNT OF EXPENSIVE and time-consuming measurements undertaken at the site of planned developments. What data are included? The data contain historical and recent solar statistics. These are supported with INFORMATION SUCH AS THE STATION NUMBER
DATE AND TIME OF OBSERVATION DATE OF LAST update of data and solar zenith angle at THE TIME OF OBSERVATION
Where do the data come from? The data are drawn from more than PAST AND PRESENT OBSERVATION STATIONS
INCLUDING EIGHT STATIONS ESTABLISHED IN AND FUNDED FOR TWO YEARS BY the Australian Government through Geoscience Australia. The resource LEVERAGES LONG TERM SOLAR EXPOSURE DATA along with infrastructure and topographic DATA PROVIDED BY THE "UREAU OF Meteorology and Geoscience Australia.
How do I access the data? 4O ACCESS THE DATA PLEASE REGISTER for a user name and password at www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/ oneminsolar/about-IDCJAC0022.shtml %ACH lLE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD CONTAINS ONE MONTH OF DATA FOR ONE STATION 4HE ENTIRE DATA SET IS AVAILABLE AT A COST RECOVERY CHARGE ON A 53" DRIVE
TOGETHER WITH THE CORRESPONDING AVAILABLE ONE MINUTE WEATHER DATA FOR EXAMPLE
temperature and wind speed). 4HE 53" DRIVE CAN BE REQUESTED VIA THE CLIMATE DATA FEEDBACK FORM ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE "UREAU S WEBSITE How do I provide feedback? The team from the Bureau has developed A SURVEY TO COLLECT VALUABLE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CURRENT AND EMERGING requirements for these and related data. Please complete the survey at http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/ oneminsolar/survey-solar-2012.shtml to help inform the development of this and other data products. AUSTRALIAN SOLAR INSTITUTE
0ROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
Images (left to right): Bureau of Meteorology technician Paul Freeman inspecting solar radiation monitoring equipment in Learmont West Australia; Solar halo caused by refraction of sunlight through ice crystals at Casey Station, Antarctica; Solar halo over Kangaroo Island, South Australia.
www.australiansolarinstitute.com.au
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 26
KEEPING AUSTRALIA AT THE FOREFRONT OF SOLAR ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
7635B
For more information contact: )AN -UIRHEAD n #LIMATE 7ATER $IVISION #LIMATE )NFORMATION 3ERVICES
#LIMATE $ATA 3ERVICES 3ECTION "UREAU OF -ETEOROLOGY T +61 3 9669 4082 E CLIMATEDATA BOM GOV AU
Meet a Member
Don White Where does this find you? In my office working on a detailed 4–5 day forecast or risk assessment for a filming company. What do you do? Provide value added weather information, short-term forecasts and seasonal outlooks to a range of private clients who require more detailed and more reliable information than provided through other sources. Why did you get into it? I was fascinated by the weather all my life from a small boy in rural Lismore and then Armidale in north-east NSW. Summer storms and lightning initiated this fascination and all I wanted for my fifth birthday was a rain gauge.
AMOS member Don White in northern Iceland. Image: Don White.
What is the best thing about what you do?
How do you relax?
Turning a hobby and interest into a profession—and the fact that my company, Weatherwatch (Aust), has survived for over 30 years when my principal competition (The Bureau of Meteorology) is mostly a free service.
Watching cricket, playing with grandchildren and eating in quality restaurants with friends and travelling to “weather interesting” locations—see the photo taken in 2011 in northern Iceland.
What did you want to be when you were 10?
What is your favourite holiday destination?
Surprisingly, a weather forecaster.
In Australia, Noosa; in the world, Paris.
windwaves second Australian
symposium
4-5 June 2013 • Bureau of Meteorology Head Office, 700 Collins St Melbourne The focus of the symposium spans modelling, analysis and observations of wind-generated waves. The symposium follows the first meeting held in 2010 on the Gold Coast, and aims to increase communication and collaboration within this field in the Australian research community. We invite abstracts from all in the Australian community with an interest in wind-waves research. The meeting will be conducted in plenary, with time reserved for discussion to identify key research questions within the community.
The symposium will take place over two days, and will encompass a number of research themes.
% Wave forecasting % Wave climate % Near-shore processes % Observations % Wave physics % Atmosphere-wave-ocean coupling Presentations may be limited in order facilitate discussion and debate. There is no registration fee, but participants will be expected to cover their own travel costs.
Organisers: Dr Alex Babanin, Dr Diana Greenslade, Dr Mark Hemer and Dr Graham Symonds • Swinburne University • The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research: A Partnership between the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO • CSIRO Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship.
Register your interest and/or submit abstracts to mark.hemer@csiro.au before Friday 26th April, 2013
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 27
Snapshot
Cumulonimbus at sunset 15 February 2013 Laura O’Brien
This photograph was taken at around 8 p.m. on 15 February 2013 looking north from South Wharf in Melbourne. The image shows a mature cumulonimbus incus cloud lit by the orange/red glow of the setting sun. Several storms were initiated on this day over the higher topography to the north of Melbourne following a warm and humid day. This cell was one of the larger ones to form during the evening. Notice the asymmetrical (through the centre of the image) structure of the anvil extending to the right of
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 28
the image, which is indicative of upper-level shear. This shear is likely to have helped to allow this storm to persist for more than an hour. If you have an image of the weather near you to share, send it to duncan.ackerley@monash.edu, or post it on the AMOS Facebook page. — Ed.
Charts from the Past with Blair Trewin
27 March 1913 March is not a time of year usually noted for significant cold outbreaks in southeastern Australia. Sea surface temperatures south of the continent are still near their summer peak and the subtropical ridge still close to its maximum poleward extent. Low temperatures and highland snow are generally more common in the summer month of December than they are in March. A notable exception occurred in late March, 1913. The first three weeks of the month had already been rather cool and wet in southeastern Australia. Rain events were especially frequent in Victoria, which went on to have its wettest March on record, although without any major events leading to significant flooding. (Melbourne had 23 rain days during the month, easily the highest on record for March). An easterly trough developed over inland southeast Australia during the 24th, bringing widespread rain to Victoria and inland New South Wales. By late on the 25th, a closed low formed over Victoria in the southern part of this trough, and moved to a location east of Tasmania on the 26th. A deep, unstable southwesterly airstream became established over Victoria and Tasmania on the western side of the low on the 27th, before extending north as far as southern Queensland the following day. By the 28th the low had moved rapidly southeast and become absorbed in the mid-latitude westerlies south of New Zealand. At the same time, a tropical low (possibly a cyclone) brought heavy rain to the Pilbara, including a daily total of 203 mm at Port Hedland on the 28th. Temperatures in the southwesterly flow were exceptionally low for the time of year, especially in Victoria. Melbourne’s maximum temperature on the 27th was 12.9°C, its second-
lowest on record for March, while Ballarat set a March record with 8.3°C. Bendigo only reached 12.8°C, and only in the Mallee did Victorian temperatures extend beyond the mid-teens. Metropolitan Melbourne experienced frequent heavy showers with hail, and high winds which disrupted shipping on Port Phillip. Substantial snow was reported on Mount Donna Buang and hills around Marysville and Alexandra. As is often the case in cold outbreaks of this type, temperatures in lowland Tasmania were moderated by föhn effects with Launceston and Low Head in the 14–15°C range. While some sites around and east of Melbourne had 20– 30 mm of rain (Melbourne itself had 10.4 mm), general falls during the cold outbreak were modest and totals above 5 mm were mostly confined to southern Victoria and western Tasmania. New South Wales felt the full effects of the cold the next day, with maximum temperatures below 20°C throughout the State except on the north coast; these low temperatures also covered parts of southern inland Queensland. Whilst the air had lost most of its moisture by the time it reached New South Wales, there were still light snowfalls as low as 700 m on the Southern and Central Tablelands, with numerous reports from around Cooma, near Goulburn and in the Crookwell-Taralga area. Sydney had a minimum temperature of 9.4°C, 0.1°C above its March record. The next day, as winds moderated, there were some very low minima in New England and southern Queensland, including March records of 1.5°C at Inverell and 5.0°C at Charleville. The month ended up as the fourth-coldest on record for maximum temperatures for Australia, and the second-coldest for Tasmania and Victoria.
Synoptic chart for 0900 AEST, 27 March 1913
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 29
The Research Corner with Damien Irving
Getting credit for the work you do Many of us working or studying in the weather/climate sciences primarily spend our days undertaking research. This research is typically published in peer review journal articles, which means that our output as scientists is usually judged by the number of articles that we’ve published, in addition to other factors like the prestige of the journals that the articles appear in and the number of citations that they generate. Given this reality, it is important to ensure that when a future employer or collaborator searches your publication history, all relevant articles are captured. If your surname is something like Smith, Brown, or Wang, then this is not a trivial problem. A search on Google Scholar or Web of Science might bring up thousands of articles matching your surname and first initial. In an attempt to address this problem, a number of Unique Author Identifier systems have been launched, based on the simple idea of giving every researcher their own unique barcode. This idea is much like the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which is used to uniquely identify objects such as written documents (e.g. journal articles, books) and datasets. However, while the use of DOIs in identifying such objects is widespread and universally accepted, the same cannot be said for unique author identification. A number of systems exist, and the practice is not yet widely used (Fenner, 2011). Which system, if any, should you use then? Well, as discussed in a couple of recent Nature articles (Butler, 2012; Editorial, 2009), the system that appears most likely to become universally accepted is the Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID). It’s therefore probably a worthwhile exercise to create an ORCID account for yourself (e.g. I’ve done that here1). However, since much 1
www.orcid.org/0000-0003-1258-5002
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 30
of the functionality on ORCID author pages is not yet available, I wouldn’t advise using that page as the primary advertisement for your research just yet. Instead, I’d stick to a site like ResearcherID2 until the ORCID pages undergo further development, which is a fantastic alternative that has been around for quite a while now. OK, now you’ve got an ORCID and/or ResearcherID account, so your publication history is covered. ORCID will eventually have the functionality to list research grants, so that’s covered too. But what about getting credit for the other things you do as a research scientist? Well, an exciting development in this area relates to the journal Nature, whereby reviewers can now download a statement of the number of papers they have refereed for the journal (Editorial, 2013). If, in a given year you referee three or more papers, you even receive a formal letter acknowledging your contribution and a free journal subscription. Hopefully, this practice will spread to other journals soon, because not all of us are regularly invited to review Nature papers! Butler, D., 2012, Scientists: your number is up, Nature, 485, 564. Editorial, 2013, In search of credit, Nature, 493, 5. Editorial, 2009, Credit where credit is due, Nature, 462, 825. Fenner M., 2011, Author identifier LIBREAS. Library Ideas, 18, www.libreas.eu/ausgabe18/texte/03fenner.htm
2
overview, 24–29,
e.g. www.researcherid.com/rid/A-1479-2012
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):
t
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. t
t
4.
An abstract is not required; however, should the author(s) wish to produce one it 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:
t
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. t
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.26 page 31
Web sites:
Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2012, Bushfire history - Major bushfires in Victoria, www.dse. vic.gov.au/fire-and-other-emergencies/major-bushfiresin-victoria/ 7.
We recommend that the author(s) make at least two suggestions for referees to undertake the peer-review.
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.
2. Method 4. Conclusions
Theses:
Trewin, B., 2001, Extreme temperature events in Australia. PhD Thesis, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia.
1. Introduction 3. Results
Book chapter:
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).
Calendar
2013
8–12 Davos Atmosphere and Cryosphere Assembly (DACA-13) Air, Ice and Process Interactions. Davos, Switzerland.
June 4–5 2nd Australian Wind Waves Symposium, Melbourne, Australia. 8–13 Chapman Conference: Communicating Climate Science: A Historic Look to the Future, Snow Mountain Ranch, Grandby, Colorado, USA. 17–21 AMS, 19th Conference on Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics, Newport, Rhode Island, USA. 17–21 AMS, 17 Conference on the Middle Atmosphere, Newport, Rhode Island, USA. th
24–28 Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) 10th annual meeting, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia. 24–28 Chapman Conference: Crossing the Boundaries in Planetary Atmospheres: From Earth to Exoplanets, Annapolis, Maryland, USA. 24–28 19th International Conference on Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols, Fort Collins, CO, USA. 26–28 Second Conference on Weather Warnings and Communication, Nashville, TN, USA.
July
September 16–20 EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference & 19th AMS Satellite Meteorology, Oceanography, and Climatology Conference, Vienna, Austria. 16–20 36th Conference Breckenridge, CO, USA.
on
Radar
Meteorology,
26 Expected release of IPCC Working Group I 5th Assessment Report.
October 8–11 Greenhouse 2013, Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, SA. 15–17 10th Symposium on Fire and Forest Meteorology, Bowling Green, KY, USA.
2014 February 2–6 94th AMS Annual Meeting, Atlanta, USA. 12–14 20th AMOS National Conference, Hobart, Australia.
5–6 Measurement Problems in Ice Clouds Workshop, Zurich, Switzerland.
Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Journal
Articles — Vol 62 No. 4, December 2012 Puri. The Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator, ACCESS: Scientific justification and options.
Taylor et al. Modelling low-level boundary layer structure in complex terrain: verification of TAPM meteorological predictions in the Canberra region.
Irving et al. Climate projections for Australia: a first glance at CMIP5.
Chubb et al. Orographic influence on clouds and precipitation in the Brindabella Ranges.
Ashcroft et al. Temperature variations of south-eastern Australia, 1860–2009.
Le Marshall et al. The Application of Radio Occultation Observations for Climate and Weather Monitoring and Numerical Weather Prediction in the Australian Region.
Jovanovic et al. Climate Variations and Change evident in high-quality climate data for Australia’s Antarctic and remote island weather stations. Durrant and Greenslade. Spatial Evaluations of ACCESS Marine Surface Winds using Scatterometer Data. Bodman et al. Observational constraints on parameter estimates for a simple climate model.
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol.26 page 32
Regular features: Webb. Seasonal climate summary Southern Hemisphere (Summer 2011–2012). Wu. Quarterly numerical weather prediction model performance summary—April to September 2012.
2013 AMOS Council Executive
President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer Past President
Blair Trewin Todd Lane Damien Irving Ian Watterson Neville Nicholls
Ordinary Members John Allen Andrew Klekociuk Robin Roberston Sandra Schuster Richard Wardle Perry Wiles
03-8344 9596 03 6232 3382 02-6268 8289 02-9272 8025 03-9905 4411 03-9669 4664
AMOS Administrative Officer
Jeanette Dargaville GPO Box 1289, Melbourne VIC 3001 (attn: AMOS admin officer) Phone 0404 471 143 E-mail: admin_officer@amos.org.au
03-9669 4623 03-8344-6516 03-8344 6911 03-9239 4544 03-9902 0111
Sub-Committee Convenors Public Relations Awards 2014 Conference Education Membership
Centre Chairs NSW Hobart Melbourne ACT Perth Darwin Brisbane Adelaide
Vacant Mark Williams Andrew Marshall Phillip Riley Michael Hewson
0419 519 440 03-6232 5184 03-9669 4530 0408 379 373
Fiona Johnson Kelvin Michael Andrew Ballinger Clem Davis Merv Lynch Hakeem Shaik Andrew Wiebe Andrew MacKinnon
02-9385 9769 03-6226 2977 04-3554-8981 02-6254 2861 08-9266 7540 08-8920 3814 04-5046 0676 08-8313 3875
Representatives AMOJ Science & Technology Australia
David Karoly
03 8344 4698
Steven Phipps
02-9385 8957
AMOS is represented on the relevant Australian Academy of Science committees..
2013 Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society ISSN 1035-6576
Editor
Duncan Ackerley Monash Weather and Climate School of Mathematical Sciences Monash University VIC 3800 Phone: 03-9902 4900 Fax: 03-9005 4403 Email:duncan.ackerley@monash.edu
Editor-in-chief
Stewart Allen Email: Stewart.Allen@bom.gov.au
Assistant Editors Diana Greenslade Blair Trewin Linden Ashcroft
Regional Sub-editors Michael Hewson (Brisbane) Caecilia Ewenz (Adelaide) Nicholas Tyrrell (Melbourne) Fiona Johnson (NSW) Clem Davis (ACT)
Contributors Blair Trewin Damien Irving
Advertising Manager Please contact the Admin. 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 24 May 2013. 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