The IUGG Electronic Journal Volume 13 No. 6 (1 June 2013)

The IUGG Electronic Journal Volume 13 No. 6 (1 June 2013)

Contents
1. News from the IUGG Secretariat
2. ICSU Meeting of International Scientific Unions
3. ICCL 2013 Expert Assessment Workshop on “Decadal Climate Variability and Cross-Scale Interactions”
4. International Forum on Polar Data Activities in Global Data Systems
5. Awards and Honors
6. IUGG-related meetings occurring during June – August

1. News from the IUGG Secretariat
The Opening ceremony of the IUGG Secretariat will take place on Friday, June 7th, at 15:00 at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences on Telegrafenberg in Potsdam, Germany (Room 10.32 of Building A 17). The event will give the opportunity to learn more about the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) and its Secretariat which is hosted by GFZ’s Department 1: Geodesy and Remote Sensing. The ceremony will include a presentation about the Union and its recent activities by Alik Ismail-Zadeh, the IUGG Secretary General. It will introduce Franz Kuglitsch, the IUGG Executive Secretary / Assistant Secretary General, and Harald Schuh, the Director of Department 1 and IAG Vice President. Finally, it will offer room for discussion in a relaxed atmosphere with snacks and refreshments included.

2. ICSU Meeting of International Scientific Unions
The meeting of the International Scientific Unions of the International Council for Science (ICSU) was held at the Institut d’astrophysique in Paris, France, on 29-30 April and chaired by Prof. Yuan Tseh Lee, President of ICSU and Nobel-Prize winner in Chemistry 1986. The ICSU Executive Director Dr. Steven Wilson presented the scope and the aims of the meeting and gave a brief overview of the ICSU strategy and activities after the 2011 ICSU General Assembly in Rome, Italy. Al so he presented the activities on the ICSU 10year major programme “Future Earth”. Deputy Executive Director Dr. Carthage Smith discussed the importance of science education, and Ms. Denis Young talked about the communication between ICSU and Scientific Unions. After the talks, all participants were split into three thematic groups to discuss (i) the Future Earth Program, (ii) Science education, and (iii) the communication between ICSU and Scientific Unions. At the end of the first day, all participants gathered for a plenary meeting to hear reports from break-outs and to discuss the results. The second day was dedicated to (iv) the ongoing ICSU Program “Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR)” cosponsored by UNISRD and ISSC (the report was given by Jane Rovins, IRDR Executive Director); (v) the new ICSU program “Urban Health and Well-being”; (vi) new interdisciplinary horizons; and (vii) open-access to data and information. Similarly, four talks were followed by intensive discussions by four break-out groups, which later gathered together for the plenary meeting to discuss findings with others. A concluding discussion was dedicated to new opportunities, particularly, related to the enhancement of the ICSU’s visibility, to a recognition program, to strengthening the links between ICSU and its Unions with U.N. bodies, policy makers and the media. The IUGG President Harsh Gupta and Secretary General Alik Ismail-Zadeh attended the ICSU meeting.

3. ICCL 2013 Expert Assessment Workshop on “Decadal Climate Variability and Cross-Scale Interactions”
The International Commission on Climate (ICCL), one of 10 commissions of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS), organized the Expert Assessment Workshop on “Decadal Climate Variability and Cross-Scale Interactions” in Beijing, China on 16-17 April, 2013. The workshop’s keynote speakers from five countries, including Australia, China, Germany, UK, and USA, delivered themed lectures. About 50 faculty and postgraduate students from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the National Climate Center (NCC) attended the workshop. ICCL Executive Secretary and co-chair of the workshop, Jianping Li from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), CAS, presided over the opening ceremony. ICCL President and co-chair Neil Holbrook from the University of Tasmania gave some opening remarks. He outlined the missions of ICCL and introduced the aims of the workshop: (i) to assess and document key issues and knowledge gaps associated with decadal-scale climate variability and cross-scale interactions in a warming world, and (ii) to ask key questions for future research, which was closely related to the upcoming Fifth Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5) to be released in 2013.
The workshop was organized in four sessions: (i) Is the Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation a real and dynamic feature of the climate system? (ii) Cross-scale interactions between El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), decadal variability and anthropogenic climate change. (iii) Unambiguous detection and attribution of anthropogenic climate change above natural decadal to multi-decadal climate variability – how best to do this? (iv) Decadal modes on regional climates. The keynote talks were given by leading scientists in the field of decadal climate variability, including Matthew Collins (Coordinating Lead Author of IPCC AR5 WG1), Mojib Latif, Thomas Knutson, Emanuele Di Lorenzo, Feifei Jin, Ronghui Huang, Guoxiong Wu, Chognyin Li, Neil Holbrook, and Jianping Li. Scott Power (CLA of IPCC AR5 WG1) gave his talk remotely by phone from Australia. The talks were very well received and initiated intensive discussion after each session. Another highlight of the workshop was that the discussion followed the way IPCC is working, including the assessment and documentation of literature. Speakers and participants agreed on generating potential outcomes in international journals. The workshop was hosted by the ICCL and organized by the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modelling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (LASG/IAP, CAS). Ruiqiang Ding from the IAP was the chair of the Local Organizing Committee.
The workshop was co-sponsored by the National Natural-Science Foundation of China (NSFC), China Association of Science and Technology (CAST), LASG/IAP, CAS, National Basic Research Projects, CNC-IUGG, IUGG, and IAMAS. The participants all agreed that the workshop was inspiring and fruitful. It provided a unique platform for exchanges, not only for ICCL members but also for decadal climate variability research communities outside the commission.  

4. International Forum on Polar Data Activities in Global Data Systems
The Forum will take place at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, Japan on 15–16 October 2013. The Forum will address effective polar data management at the international level, including submission, stewardship, and long-term preservation of metadata and data, as well as sharing data to facilitate new interdisciplinary science. To manage the considerable data legacy of the International Polar Year (IPY), National Antarctic Data Centres under the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) initiated several dedicated data-services. To construct an effective framework for long-term stewardship, data must be made available promptly, and adequate technologies should be employed (e.g., a repository service, such as the Polar Information Commons). In addition to activities conducted within the communities of SCAR and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), stronger links must be established in the post-IPY era with other cross-cutting scientific data-management bodies such as ICSU-WDS. To this end, SCAR’s Standing Committee on Antarctic Data Management (SCADM), the WDS Scientific Committee (WDS-SC), and IASC are planning a Joint International Forum on Polar Data Activities in Global Data Systems (http://www.polar-data-forum.org/). To ensure the IPY data legacy, presentations on the successes and challenge encountered during IPY will highlight not only the best practices but also the shortcomings.  
This event is open to all scientific disciplines, and interdisciplinary data management topics are especially encouraged. A significant outcome of the Forum will be the development of a new strategy and structure for the Arctic Data Network under the auspices of the Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks process, IASC, and the Arctic Council. Discussions involving the different communities will provide a strong foundation to forge interdisciplinary connections and explore new horizons for polar data management. In particular, an updated plan for polar data archives, including the PIC cloud system, will be discussed.

5. Awards and Honors
Tamaz Chelidze, President of the Georgian National Committee for Geodesy and Geophysics was elected a Full Member (academician) of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences at the annual meeting of the academy.
Ibrahim Guliev, President of the Azerbaijan National Committee for Geodesy and Geophysics, was elected a Vice President of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences at the annual meeting of the academy. At the same meeting, Fakhraddin Kadyrov, IAG Correspondent of the National Committee, was elected a Full Member (academician) of the academy.  
James Screen (Exeter University, UK) is awarded the 2013 IAMAS Early Career Scientist Medal. The Medal will be presented to him at the Opening Session of DACA-13 in Davos on 8 July 2013.

6. IUGG-related meetings occurring during June – August
A calendar of meetings of interest to IUGG disciplines (especially those organized by IUGG Associations) is posted on the IUGG website (http://www.IUGG.org/calendar). Specific information about these meetings can be found there. Individual Associations also list more meetings on their websites according to their disciplines.
June
- 3-7, IAHS, Koblenz, Germany, Water and Environmental Dynamics - VI International Conference on Water and Environmental Research. Web: http://www.water-environment.org/frontend/index.php.
- 9-12, IAMAS, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 8th Antarctic Meteorological Observation, Modeling, and Forecasting Workshop.  Web: http://amrc.ssec.wisc.edu/meetings/meeting2013/.  
- 10-13 IAHS, The Hague, The Netherlands, International Conference on Land Use and Water Quality: Reducing Effects of Agriculture. Web: http://www.luwq2013.nl.
- 12-14, IAG, Ottawa, Canada, GNSS Precise Point Positioning Workshop: Reaching Full Potential. Web: http://pppworkshop2013.apps01.yorku.ca/.
- 17-21, CTBTO, Vienna, Austria, CTBTO Science and Technology Conference.  Web: http://www.ctbto.org/specials/snt2013/.
- 17-21, IAG, Rome, Italy, VIII Hotine-Marussi Symposium.  Web: http://w3.dicea.uniroma1.it/hotine-marussi-2013/.
- 23-28, IAMAS, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, 19th International Conference on Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols. Web: http://chem.atmos.colostate.edu/icnaa/.
- 24-28, AOGS/AGU/EGU/IUGG, Brisbane, Australia, Asia Oceania Geosciences Society Annual Meeting. Web: http://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2013/public.asp?page=home.htm.

July
- 1-3, IAHS, Wageningen, The Netherlands, IPC11 - 11th International Precipitation Conference. Web: http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/show/11th-International-Precipitation-Conference.htm.
- 1-4, IAG, Shanghai, China, International Symposium on Planetary Sciences (IAPS2013). Web: http://202.127.29.4/meetings/iaps2013/.
- 5-6, IAMAS, Zurich, Switzerland, Workshop on Measurement Problems in Ice Clouds. Web: http://www.daca-13.org/wsl/daca13/program/SympC2/ICCPWorkshopIceClouds.
- 8-12, IAMAS, IACS, Davos, Switzerland, DACA-13 (Davos Atmosphere and Cryosphere Assembly 2013). Web: http://www.daca-13.org.
- 20-24, IAVCEI, Kagoshima, Japan, IAVCEI General Assembly - 2013: Forecasting Volcanic Activity: reading and translating the messages of nature for society.  Web: http://www.iavcei2013.com/. - 22-26, IAHS, IAPSO, IASPEI, Gothenburg, Sweden, IAHS-IAPSO-IASPEI Joint Assembly: Knowledge for the Future. Web: http://iahs-iapso-iaspei2013.com/.  

August
- 29 July - August 1, IAMAS, Leeds, UK, 11th International workshop on Layered Phenomenon of the Mesopause Region (LPMR). Web: http://www.lpmr.leeds.ac.uk.
- 29 July - August 2, IMU, IUGG, IUTAM, Guanajuato, Mexico, Workshop on Mathematics of climate change, related hazards and risks. Web: http://www.mca2013.org/en/workshop-on-mathematics-of-climate-change.html
- 26-31, IAGA, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, 12th Scientific Assembly (IAGA 2013). Web: http://www.geociencias.unam.mx/iaga2013/

September
- 01-06, IAG, Potsdam, Germany, IAG Scientific Assembly 2013. Web: http://www.iag2013.org
- 09-11, IAG, Nottingham, UK, 2nd Joint International symposium on Deformation Monitoring (JISDM). Web: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/engineering/conference/jisdm/index.aspx
- 11-20, IAG, St. Petersburg, Russia, Terrestrial Gravimetry: Static and Mobile Measurements (TGSMM-2013). Web: http://www.elektropribor.spb.ru/tgsmm2013/eginf

End of IUGG Electronic Journal Volume 13 Number 6 (1 June 2013)