89th Annual Meeting Call for Papers and Descriptions

Phoenix, AZ
11—15 January 2009

AMS 89th Annual Meeting, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix Civic Plaza Convention Center, Phoenix, Arizona
     The theme for the 2009 AMS Annual Meeting is “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and the Future.” The relevance and timeliness of the urban theme cannot be overemphasized. Recent events – Hurricane Katrina; urban floods in Europe and China; heat waves in London, Paris and Chicago; homeland security concerns and industrial chemical accidents; to name a few – point out the vulnerability of urban populations to high-impact weather of all types. In the U.S. today, approximately two-thirds of the population live in cities that occupy less than two percent of the U.S. land mass. This past year, the global population may have reached a tipping point with the world’s urban population equaling its rural population; by 2030, the urban population fraction is predicted to surpass 60% globally and exceed 82% in the more developed countries. Most of the urban population growth results from migration from the rural areas as birth rates tend to decline in the urban areas. The nexus of urbanization and population growth, coupled with anthropogenic urban weather influences and global climate changes, portend an impending ‘perfect storm’ for the urban environment.
      The 2009 Annual Meeting aims to highlight advances and challenges in urban-related science, applications, observations, modeling and operations. The specialty conferences, symposia and special sessions that comprise the annual meeting will focus attention on six cross-cutting urban themes: (a) measurement systems and networks; (b) modeling and forecasting; (c) observations and studies of high-impact weather; (d) geographic influences on urban weather and climate; (e) human and environmental impacts; and (f) implications of climate change and population growth. “High-impact” weather is considered in its broadest sense, and includes severe weather, high wind events, precipitation, floods, icing, lightning, poor visibility, adverse air quality, and temperature extremes.
      The meeting will also feature workshops and short courses, numerous town hall meetings, the Sunday WeatherFest, a Monday Presidential Policy Forum on the role of weather and climate in urban affairs, and two special named symposia honoring Prof. Timothy Oke and the late Dr. Tony Hollingsworth. Calls for Papers follow for the various specialty conferences, symposia and special sessions. For additional information on the organization of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting, please contact meeting co-chairpersons Sue Grimmond, King’s College London (Sue.Grimmond@kcl.ac.uk) or Rita Roberts, National Center for Atmospheric Research (rroberts@ucar.edu). (2/08)

Announcement

The Eighth Annual AMS Student Conference and Career Fair, 10–11 January 2009
Phoenix, Arizona
      Join us for the Eighth Annual AMS Student Conference and Career Fair, “Weathering Your Career—Now and in the Future”, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, 10–11 (Sat–Sun) January 2009 as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (www.ametsoc.org) in mid-September 2008. A registration fee of $25 has been set for this conference.

     In addition to presentations and group discussions featuring both noted professionals and fellow students, we encourage students to submit papers about a wide range of topics. All accepted abstracts will be scheduled as a poster. Students should create a poster (reference the AMS “Poster Presentation” guidelines here: http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/speakersupport.pdf) that will be up for display during the Sunday evening poster session. Students will not need to formally present their poster but they are encouraged to stand by their poster and answer questions during the ‘formal poster-viewing hours’, which will be released at a later date."

     Abstracts for this conference should cover a wide range of student interest and activities. Suggested topics include overviews of ongoing student research projects and/or student applications of emerging technologies. We expect to have plenty of space so you can anticipate for your abstract to be accepted and receive significant visibility as a poster!

     The student conference is intended for junior and senior undergraduates and all graduate students, and will focus on interdisciplinary topics and wide-ranging opportunities in the atmospheric and related sciences. Important eligibility requirement: You must be an AMS member or student member in order to attend the conference.
      Sessions will include invited speakers from the private, academic, and government sectors. A career fair and networking evening is scheduled to provide a forum for students to personally interact with professionals who represent potential employers and graduate institutions. In addition to the conference sessions, Dr. David Schultz, Chief Editor, Monthly Weather Review and Professor, University of Helsinki and Finnish Meteorological Institute, will offer a Writer's Workshop. The workshop will provide valuable guidance on writing a better scientific document, whether for a class project, journal article, or a dissertation. Topics will include: how to attract an audience; organizing a paper for maximum readability; combating writer's block; six tips to improve the flow and content of your writing; shortening your writing and increasing its clarity; ten rules for effective figures, and writing meteorological papers.

     Please submit your abstract electronically via the Web by 15 October 2008 (refer to the AMS Web page at www.ametsoc.org for instructions). There is no abstract fee for the student conference. When completing the submission form, please note payment by purchase order, and indicate “Student Conference” in the box marked “Purchase Order Number”. This will allow you to proceed with your submission without payment information. Authors of accepted presentations will be notified via e-mail in late-October.
      For additional information please contact the program chairpersons Kathy Strebe, kstrebe@weather.com, Kim Klockow, kklockow@ou.com, or Scott Mackaro, mackaro@nsstc.uah.edu. (6/08; r11/08)

Announcement

AMS Short Course on the Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data and accessibility, 11 January 2009, Phoenix, Aizona
      The AMS Short Course on The Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data and accessibility will be held on Sunday, 11 January 2009 preceding the 89th Annual Meeting in Phoenix AZ. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/) in late-September 2008.
      Retrospective-analyses (or reanalyses) have been established as an important tool in weather and climate research over the last decade. As computer power increases, the data assimilation and modeling systems improve and become more advanced, the input data quality increases and so reanalyses become more reliable. In 2008, NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office began producing a new reanalysis called the Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). The initial data from MERRA has been made available to the community and should be complete through 30 years (1979–present) by fall of 2009.
MERRA has taken advantage of the advancement of computing resources to provide researchers more data than available in previous reanalyses. The native spatial resolution is nominally ½ degrees and the surface two dimensional data are one hourly frequency. In addition to the meteorological analysis data, complete mass, energy and momentum budget data and also stratospheric data are provided. The eventual data holdings will exceed 150Tb. In order to facilitate user accessibility to the data, it will be stored in online hard drives (not tape storage) and available through several portals. Subsetting tools will also be available to allow users to tailor their data requests.
      The goals of this short course are to provide hands on users of reanalyses instruction on MERRA systems and also interactive experience with the online data and access tools. The course is intended for students and research scientists who will be actively interested in accessing and applying MERRA data in their weather, climate or applications work.
The course has three parts. There will be an overview of the MERRA system, the validation of the system and the native data format. Second, instructors will provide examples of weather and climate data analysis using various software packages (primarily GrADS) as well as the online access tools for subsetting and download, as well as visualization (e.g. Giovanni). This will also include examples on changing the data format to fit user’s preferences and also to regrid the data for comparisons to other reanalyses and observational data. Lastly, there will be time set aside for participants to have hands on access to the data and software while interacting with the instructors and other developers.
      The course convener is Michael Bosilovich, NASA/GSFC Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). He will be joined by several GMAO, Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) and Software Integration and Visualization Office (SIVO) staff.
      A luncheon will be provided during the short course. Computers and wireless network access will also be provided for the hands on session of the course. Both the luncheon and cost for the wireless network will be sponsored by NASA/GSFC.
      Information on the MERRA project can be found at: http://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/merra/. Contact Michael Bosilovich at NASA GSFC Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, Mail Code 610.1, Greenbelt MD 20771, 301-614-6147, Michael.Bosilovich@nasa.gov for information on the short course. (10/08)

Announcement

AMS Short Course on Online Visualization and Analysis of Atmospheric Processes Utilizing NASA Satellite Data in Giovanni
      The AMS Short Course on “Online Visualization and Analysis of Atmospheric Processes Utilizing NASA Satellite Data in Giovanni” will be held on Sunday, 11 January 2009 preceding the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (www.ametsoc.org) in late-September 2008.
      The past fifteen years have seen a dramatic increase in the amount of remote sensing data relevant to meteorology and climate processes. Earth-observing satellites of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and international partners provide data on cloud cover and cloud properties, aerosols, atmospheric temperature and sea surface temperature, precipitation, atmospheric chemistry, and atmospheric dynamics. These data products facilitate investigation of such phenomena as hurricanes and severe storms, extreme precipitation events, droughts, dust and aerosol transport, ozone depletion, and recurrent processes such as the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation and El Niño/Southern Oscillation events.
      In order to increases the usage and usefulness of NASA remote sensing data, the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) has developed the innovative “Giovanni” (Goddard Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure) system. Giovanni provides a Web-based, readily accessible, simple-to-use interface for exploration and analysis of remote sensing data. The analytical capabilities of the current Giovanni system include area plots, time-series plots, Hovmöller plots, data overlay, multiple data set time-series, and image animation. Giovanni allows output of data in HDF, ASCII, or KMZ format (Google Earth).
      Giovanni facilitates analysis of meteorologically-relevant data from several NASA missions, including the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and sensors on the Terra, Aqua, and Aura Earth Observing System satellites. Other missions and sensors include Cloudsat, CALIPSO, and SeaWiFS. The mission data is augmented with model data, including NASA’s GOCART model, and supplementary data products such as the Environmental Protection Agency AirNOW PM25 (2.5 μm particulate matter) data product.
      The goals of the course are to familiarize interested users with the meteorologically-relevant data products available in the Giovanni system, and to introduce users to basic strategies for effectively utilizing Giovanni’s analytical capabilities in meteorological and climate research. The morning sessions of the course will cover the remote sensing data products and Giovanni analytical functions. The afternoon sessions will provide case studies of effective Giovanni analyses and will also cover some of the common pitfalls and errors that users may encounter. The afternoon session will provide time for guided examples in the use of the Giovanni system. Course participants will also be acquainted with online documentation and educational resources that will broaden the topic coverage of the course.
      A luncheon will be not provided during the short course. While course participants will not be required to bring laptop computers, their use is strongly encouraged. Internet access will be available during the course to allow interactive use of the Giovanni system.
For information please contact Steven Lloyd, NASA GSFC, Code 610.2, Greenbelt, MD 20771, steven.a.lloyd@nasa.gov, 301-614-5229. (10/08)

Announcement

AMS Short Course on Statistics of Extreme Events, 11 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The AMS Short Course on Statistics of Extreme Events will be held on Sunday, 11 January 2009 preceding the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. The course is being organized by the AMS Committee on Probability and Statistics. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (www.ametsoc.org) in late-September 2008.
     Extreme weather and climate events, like drought, flood, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc., produce the greatest social impacts. Analysis and prediction of extreme events advanced significantly in the recent years with growing public concerns and more application studies made in this area. Understanding of extreme event statistics, analysis practices and prediction methods is crucial for meeting societal expectations for the most adequate meteorological, hydrological and climate services.
      The goal of the course is to provide sufficient background information statistical methods used for defining, forecasting, and assessing extreme events. The course goals are to inform climate researchers, forecasters and stakeholders from public and private sectors of recommended methods for analysis of extreme events. The course will include a review of extreme value theory, Poisson regression, quantile regression, measures of performance in rare event situations, and interpretation of ‘fat’ tails in probability distributions.
      The course is intended for climate researchers, forecasters and stakeholders from public and private sectors, water managers, broadcast meteorologists, and students with majors in Physical Sciences, like Meteorology, Hydrology, Geology, Geography, etc.
The course format consists of one day of lectures including one and half hours of hands on practice session with exercises that can be completed any time during the conference. The course will be instructed by several instructors from academia, and national research and operational institutions.
      Wireless internet access will be provided. Several computers may be available, but students are encouraged to bring their own laptops. The short course will make use of the open source software "extRemes". For those who bring their own laptop, please download and install the open source statistical programming language R (http://www.r-project.org/) ahead of time. Within R, also install the package "extRemes" ahead of time (an internet connection is required). For instructions, see http://www.isse.ucar.edu/extremevalues/evtk.html. No prior knowledge of R is required, because the “extRemes” package includes a graphical user interface.
      For more information please contact Marina Timofeyeva, UCAR and NOAA NWS, 1325 Eastwest Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (tel: 301 713 1970 ext. 131l email: Marina.Timofeyeva@noaa.gov ) and Cécile Penland, NOAA OAR ESRL, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305-3328, (tel: 303-497-6234; email: cecile.penland@noaa.gov) (10/08)

Announcement

Ninth AMS Presidential Forum: Urban Weather and Climate—Now and the Future, 12 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The American Meteorological Society’s 89th Annual Meeting will open in plenary session on Monday morning, 12 January 2009, with the Presidential Forum. In keeping with the theme of the annual meeting, Urban Weather and Climate—Now and the Future, the Presidential Forum will explore some important future urban issues that until recently have received only cursory attention. Specifically the Forum will focus on what may be called the “quadruple convergence of urbanization, population growth, climate change and coastalization—a perfect storm?” A number of different and challenging physical and societal issues will be presented and discussed by four thought-provoking global leaders in the field: Dr. Susan Avery, President, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Mary Glackin, NOAA Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere; Professor Julian Hunt, University College London and Lord of Chesterton; and Dr. Kai Lee, Science and Conservation Program Officer, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Some of the many critical issues that they will address include:

• The climate change outlook, particularly as it relates to coastal and inland cities and the compounding effects of rapidly expanding urban centers throughout the world
• Issues and challenges of coastal processes and impacts—especially as they relate to coastal cities
• Changing urban impacts on the environment and the counterpoint issue of the impacts on the cities and their inhabitants from changing weather, climate and urban demographics
• The need for urban weather services and how they may change in the face of growing cities and a changing climate.

     The Forum will be chaired and moderated by Dr. Rosina Bierbaum, Dean and Professor, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan and co-author and co-director of the World Bank’s World Development Report 2010, which will focus on climate change and development. Briefly, the organization of the Forum will be along the following lines:

Features: a single, plenary session with no parallel oral or poster sessions, or exhibits; as such, we expect an audience of about two thousand
Mechanism: a panel session with distinguished experts in each of four areas: climate change, urban weather services, urban demographic and societal changes, and coastal risks
Approach: each expert-panelist will first give a fifteen-minute keynote presentation that, after the final speaker, will be followed by a thirty-minute discussion among all panelists of major issues and challenges
Theme: what will or should be the role of the weather and climate enterprise (broadly defined) in a changing—and more urban—world, both in the developed and the developing nations?
Questions: A Forum Hotline has been established at AMS (amsforumhotline@ametsoc.org) where members and friends can send in advance questions for the panel. The hotline will open in conjunction with the posting of the speakers’ presentations – a few weeks before the Forum. Selected questions will be posed to the speakers during the Forum.

     For additional information, please contact AMS President Walter F. Dabberdt: e-mail, amspresident@ametsoc.org . (10/08)

Announcement

25th Conference on International Interactive Information and Processing Systems (IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The 25th IIPS Conference, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Executive Committee, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in mid-September 2008.

     The 2009 Annual Meeting is being organized around the broad theme of “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and the Future.” The relevance and timeliness of the urban theme cannot be overemphasized. Recent events – Hurricane Katrina; urban floods in Europe and China; heat waves in London, Paris and Chicago; homeland security concerns and industrial chemical accidents; to name a few – point out the vulnerability of urban populations to high-impact weather of all types. In the U.S. today, approximately two-thirds of the population live in cities that occupy less than two percent of the U.S. land mass. This past year, the global population may have reached a tipping point with the world’s urban population equaling its rural population; by 2030, the urban population fraction is predicted to surpass 60% globally and exceed 82% in the more developed countries. Most of the urban population growth results from migration from the rural areas as birth rates tend to decline in the urban areas. The nexus of urbanization and population growth, coupled with anthropogenic urban weather influences and global climate changes, portend an impending ‘perfect storm’ for the urban environment. The specialty conferences, symposia and special sessions that comprise the annual meeting will focus attention on six cross-cutting urban themes:

(a) Measurement systems and networks;
(b) Modeling and forecasting;
(c) Observations and studies of high-impact weather;
(d) Geographic influences on urban weather and climate;
(e) Human and environmental impacts; and
(f) Implications of climate change and population growth.

     Papers for this conference were solicited on all aspects of IIPS related to Global Meteorological and Hydrological Service Updates; International Applications; Satellite IIPS and Applications; Radar IIPS and Applications, including Multifunction Phased Array Radar (MPAR); Interactive Processing Systems; Applications in Meteorology, Oceanography, Hydrology and Climatology; GIS Applications; Internet Applications and Cyberinfrastructure; Challenges in Data Access, Distribution, and Use; and Advances and Applications in Transportation Weather, Surface and Aviation. A special session will address recent developments in Virtual Globe technology and applications.
      The 25th IIPS will feature five joint sessions as follows.

• One with the 13th Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS) Conference a session related to global environmental observing systems including, but not limited to, the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), and Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS). Abstracts for this session may be submitted either to the IIPS or to the IOAS-AOLS conference.
• One with the 18th Symposium on Education.
• One with the 21st Conference on Climate Variability and Change titled "Distributed Earth Science Information Systems." Abstracts for this session may be submitted either to the IIPS or to the Climate Variability and Change Conference.
• A new one in conjunction with the Policy & Socioeconomic Research Committee on Transportation issues
• Another new one with the Satellite committee on Virtual Globe applications; this new joint session will be in addition to the standalone Virtual Globes sessions that IIPS will continue to host

     There are also two special sessions for this year as follows:
• In 2007 and 2008, IIPS has hosted a session on the Linked Environments for Atmospheric Discovery (LEAD). However, this year the LEAD session is evolving into an exciting new session entitled Cyberinfrastructure for Mesoscale Research. Recent advances in information, computing and networking technologies have produced an array of cyberinfrastructure and conceptual frameworks to enable /real time, on-demand, and dynamically-adaptive/ nature of mesoscale weather analysis, prediction and research; the complexities associated with its disparate, high volume data sets and streams; and the immense computational demands of numerical models and data assimilation systems. Innovative approaches have been developed for collecting, managing and providing access to large amounts of data, as well as new computing paradigms and information frameworks for the design, execution of modeling and assimilation systems to predict and understand multi-scale atmospheric processes, mine and visualize observations and model output, and provide novel opportunities for integrating such approaches in education and outreach. This session on invites papers that will present the status and results from ongoing efforts in this nascent area of information technology, and provides a forum to share and discuss ideas and common issues.
• Finally, a special retrospective half day session celebrating the 25th anniversary of the IIPS Conference will be held which will provide a review of significant accomplishments over the past quarter of a century that have occurred with respect to advancements in IIPS applications and services.
     In an effort to improve the formal poster viewing experience there will be two distinct poster series, each two days long. The first is Sunday evening through Tuesday morning and the second is Wednesday morning through Thursday evening. All posters must be removed at the end of the first series in order to set posters for the second series. More information will be available once the program has been finalized.

     The deadline for abstracts has passed. Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late-September 2008. As begun in 2008, no preprint CD-ROM will be prepared. However, authors of invited and accepted papers will still be asked to contribute to the web-based proceedings of the conference. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web. Instructions for formatting extended manuscripts for the extended abstract will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically to AMS 7 January 2009. Furthermore, beyond the abstract fee of $90 there will be no charge for the extended abstract. All extended abstracts and presentations will be freely available on the AMS Web site.

     For additional information please contact the program co-chairpersons, Howard Diamond, NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, 301-427-2475, howard.diamond@noaa.gov; or Ward Seguin from NOAA/Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 301-734-1198, ward.seguin@noaa.gov. (2/08; r7/08; r9/08)

Annoucement

23rd Conference on Hydrology, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
    The 23rd Conference on Hydrology, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Committee on Hydrology, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in late-September 2008.
      Papers for this conference were solicited on advances in hydrology and hydrometeorology, both from a scientific and operational perspective. Topics of interest include:

1) Hydrologic forecasting, in particular the development and operation of weather and climate forecasts in end user sectors; the conveying and presentation of risk in hydrologic forecasts to the public; and hydrologic forecast verification.

2) Drought prediction, monitoring and mitigation, in particular novel approaches for the early detection of drought using remotely sensing and/or hydrologic modeling; the implementation of effective drought mitigation procedures, and the development of modeling and/or analysis techniques to improve the forecasting of drought conditions. Submissions describing activities associated with the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) are particularly encouraged.

3) Remote sensing, in particular applications of GEOSS to the hydrological cycle (see below); remote sensing of high impact hydrometeorological events; validation of remotely sensed hydrometeorological observations; and the state of the art in radar precipitation estimation.

4) Hydrological impacts of land use change, both at a local scale as well as regional scale impacts.

5) Data assimilation techniques and their applications to land surface state and parameter estimation in hydrology, in particular advances in bias, error and parameter estimation in the coupled land-atmosphere system.

     In addition, we are considering joint sessions in the following areas:

1) Advances in atmospheric reanalysis, in particular the study of extreme events in reanalyses, as well as hydrometeorological research with reanalyses (joint with the AMS Committee on Climate Variability and Change).

2) Water in the West (joint with the 4th Symposium on Policy and Socio-Economic Research).

3) Remote sensing applications of GEOSS to the hydrological cycle (joint with the 16th Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography).

4) Applications of artificial intelligence techniques in hydrology (joint with the 7th Seventh Conference on Artificial Intelligence and its Applications to the Environmental Sciences).
Finally, the AMS Committee on Hydrology co-organizes the Symposium on Urban High Impact Weather jointly with the AMS Committee on Radar Meteorology and the AMS Committee on Severe and Local Storms. This symposium will be held during the 89th Annual Meeting in Phoenix. See the Symposium’s Call for Papers for details.
     The Hydrology Committee will host a student paper competition. We will make awards for exemplary student poster and oral presentations.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed.The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      Authors of accepted presentations will be notified (via e-mail) by late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the program chairperson(s), Bart Nijssen, 3TIER, 2001 Sixth Avenue, Suite 2100, Seattle, WA 98121, (P) 206 708 8424, (F) 206 708 8425, bnijssen@3tiergroup.com. (2/08); r7/08; r9/08)

Announcement

21st Conference on Climate Variability and Change, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The 21st Conference on Climate Variability and Change (CVC), sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Committee on Climate Variability and Change, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hotel information will be posted to the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in the spring; registration and general information will be posted starting over the summer; and the preliminary programs will be posted in late-September 2008.
      The theme for the 2009 AMS Annual Meeting is “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and the Future.” The relevance and timeliness of the urban theme cannot be overemphasized. Recent events – Hurricane Katrina; urban floods in Europe and China; heat waves in London, Paris and Chicago; homeland security concerns and industrial chemical accidents; to name a few – point out the vulnerability of urban populations to high-impact weather of all types. In the U.S. today, approximately two-thirds of the population live in cities that occupy less than two percent of the U.S. land mass. This past year, the global population may have reached a tipping point with the world’s urban population equaling its rural population; by 2030, the urban population fraction is predicted to surpass 60% globally and exceed 82% in the more developed countries. Most of the urban population growth results from migration from the rural areas as birth rates tend to decline in the urban areas. The nexus of urbanization and population growth, coupled with anthropogenic urban weather influences and global climate changes, portend an impending ‘perfect storm’ for the urban environment.
      Papers for this conference are solicited on:

* Climate and weather extremes affecting urban areas (the symposium on urban high impact weather lists urban climate as one of its themes but the example is "urban heat island effect on storm phenomena)

* Prediction of climate on seasonal to decadal timescales

* Observed seasonal-interannual variability

* Global climate modeling: new frontiers

* Regional climate modeling, especially with urban applications

* Detection and attribution of climate changes

    The following joint sessions are being planned for this year: 23rd Conference on Hydrology on reanalyses. Reanalyses have provided a valuable source of data for water cycle climate and variability. This year, the reanalysis session will focus on the study of extreme events in reanalyses, as well as hydrometeorological research with reanalyses. Joint Sessions are also planned; 25th Conference on International Interactive Information and Processing Systems (IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology: Distributed Earth Science Information Systems; and Seventh Conference on Artificial Intelligence and its Applications to the Environmental Sciences: Applications of artificial learning techniques in climate variability, especially as it relates to the urban environment. Named sessions will be developed and suggestions are welcome.
      The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. Authors of accepted presentations will be notified (via e-mail) by late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the Climate Variations and Change Committee chairpersons, Phil Mote (e-mail: philip@atmos.washington.edu); David R. Easterling (e-mail: David.Easterling@noaa.gov); or Ed Olenic (e-mail: ed.olenic@noaa.gov). (2/08; 5/08; r7/08; r9/08)

Announcement

18th Symposium on Education, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The 18th Symposium on Education, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Commission on Education and Human Resources, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hotel information will be posted to the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in the spring; registration and general information will be posted starting over the summer; and the preliminary programs will be posted in late-September 2008.
      Papers for this conference are solicited on all aspects of educational outreach in the atmospheric, oceanic and hydrologic sciences, including topics on K-12, university, informal, and professional education. There will be a special session on the educational activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In addition, there will be a joint session with one of the scientific sessions with an emphasis on the education applications of that scientific specialty (topic to be announced later).
      The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) by late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the program chairperson(s), David R. Smith, Oceanography Dept., United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD 21402 (tel: 410-293-6553; fax: 410-293-2137; email: drsmith@usna.edu) or Rajul Pandya, UCAR/SOARS, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 (tel: 303- 497- 2650; fax: 303-497-8629; email: pandya@ucar.edu). (2/08; r9/08)

Announcement

16th Conference on Air-Sea Interaction, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The 16th Conference on Air-Sea Interaction, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society and organized by the AMS Committee on Air-Sea Interaction, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hotel information will be posted to the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in the spring; registration and general information will be posted starting over the summer; and the preliminary programs will be posted in late-September 2008.
      The 89th Annual Meeting is being organized around the broad theme of “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and in the Future,” with an emphasis on the vulnerability of urban society to high-impact weather of all types. Relevant events include Hurricane Katrina, urban floods in Europe and China, and coastal homeland security. Three integrating sub-themes to be highlighted are “Modeling and Forecasting Urban Areas,” “Observations and Studies of High-Impact Weather,” and “Geographic Influences on Urban Weather and Climate.”
      In terms of air-sea interaction, coastal areas in the U.S. include some of the most developed areas in the nation. The narrow coastal fringe that makes up 17 percent of the nation’s contiguous land area is home to more than half of its population. Coastal air-sea interaction processes thus mesh well with the broad theme of the Annual Meeting.
Papers for this conference are solicited on all aspects of air-sea interaction across a wide spectrum of time and spatial scales. General sessions for the conference will be based on the number and topics of abstracts received. Although not an exhaustive list, we welcome abstracts covering the following topics:
• Remote sensing applied to air-sea interaction
• In situ turbulent air-sea flux measurements, including gas exchange
• Development and use of global air-sea data sets
• Laboratory studies of air-sea exchange processes
• Air-sea interaction research transitioned to operational capabilities
• Sea-surface physics, including waves, whitecaps, and aerosol generation

• Air-Sea interaction over eddies
• Air-sea interaction over tropical and Southern Hemisphere fronts
• Coupled ocean-atmosphere interactions and their contribution to climate variability on all time scales
• Ocean-atmosphere interactions and influences on tropical and extratropical storms
• Ocean-atmosphere interactions and predictability in the climate system
• High-latitude air-sea coupling in the presence of sea ice and results from the International Polar Year

In addition to these general sessions, we are considering special or joint sessions that address the Annual Meeting theme of urban weather and climate. Potential sessions might address some of the following:
• Coastal mesoscale circulations in the atmosphere and ocean
• Near-shore scatterometry
• Sea-level issues
• Ocean wave processes at the shoreline
• Basin-scale forcing of synoptic weather patterns
• Ocean wave, current, and temperature effects on the shoreline recreation industry

     Participants with additional suggestions for general, special, or joint sessions are encouraged to contact the program chairpersons. To encourage interdisciplinary interaction among attendees, an invited talk as an introductory overview is planned for each session.
      As usual, the Air-Sea Interaction Conference will host a student paper competition. We will make awards for exemplary student poster and oral presentations. Also, we traditionally give students who enter this competition a complimentary copy of the AMS Glossary of Meteorology or a comparable AMS book.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. This $90 abstract fee will now cover the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation, which will all be archived on the AMS Web site. Because we will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, we can extend the deadline for authors to submit extended abstracts.
Authors of accepted presentations will be notified (via e-mail) by late September 2008 and asked to submit an extended abstract (up to 3 MB) by 7 January 2009. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically via the Web; instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. All abstracts, extended abstracts, and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost. There is also no cost for color graphics in the abstract or the extended abstract.
      For additional information, please contact the program chairperson or the co-chairs: Will Perrie (chairperson); Bedford Institute of Oceanography; Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2Y 4A2, Canada (tel: 902-426-3985; fax: 902-425-3985; email: perriew@dfo-mpo.gc.ca). Ed Andreas (co-chair); NorthWest Research Associates; Lebanon, NH (tel: 603-448-3555; e mail: eandreas@nwra.com). Ralph Foster (co-chair, for the student competition); University of Washington, Applied Physics Laboratory; Seattle, WA (tel: 206-685-5201; e-mail: ralph@apl.washington.edu). (2/08; 9/08)

Announcement

16th Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, 11 January–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
     The 16th Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Committee on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS) in late-September 2008.
      Papers for this conference are solicited on all aspects of satellite meteorology and oceanography. General session topics include 1) Retrievals; 2) Cloud Products; 3) Climatology and Long-Term Satellite Studies; 4) Environmental Applications and Decision Support Systems; 5) Operational Products and the Transition from Research to Operations; 6) Data Assimilation; 7) New and Future Sensors, Applications, and Systems; 8) Use of Virtual and Digital Globes for Visualizing Satellite Data and “Mashups”; 9) Critical Aspects of Satellite Observations and Information in Emerging Systems of Systems; and 10) Education. Joint sessions are also planned with the 15th Conference on Interaction of the Sea and Atmosphere, the 25th Conference on Interactive Information Processing Systems (IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography and Hydrology, the 13th Symposium on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS), the 5th Symposium on Future of National Operational Environmental Satellites (NPOESS), 18th Symposium on Education, and Fourth Symposium on Policy and Socio-economic Research.
      The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation that will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009 to AMS Headquarters. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact a program chairperson, Philip Ardanuy, Chief Scientist, Raytheon Information Solutions, 12220 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20191-3402 (Tel: 301-785-6026; email: philip_e_ardanuy@raytheon.com) or Wayne Feltz, Research Scientist, SSEC/CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1225 W. Dayton St, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706 (Tel: 608-265-6283; email: wayne.feltz@ssec.wisc.edu). (2/08; r6/08; r9/08)

Announcement

13th Conference on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS), 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The 13th Conference on Integrated Observing and Assimilation Systems for Atmosphere, Oceans, and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS), sponsored by the American Meteorological Society will be held 11–15 January 2008, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hotel information will be posted to the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in the spring; registration and general information will be posted starting over the summer; and the preliminary programs will be posted in late-September 2008.
      The IOAS-AOLS Symposium recognizes that observing the atmosphere, ocean, and land surface is crucial for understanding the interactions among all three and that assimilation of the observed information into models is crucial for weather and climate monitoring and forecasting. The symposium cuts across several allied disciplines and encourages interaction and collaboration among specialists in each. Papers emphasizing integrating aspects will be given preference, namely: How does a particular observing system mesh with others? What purposes does it serve uniquely? What other systems complement its capabilities? How does it advance environmental understanding, monitoring, and prediction? What assimilation methods ensure that the observational data will be fully exploited in numerical weather prediction models? What can assimilation and prediction systems tell us about the impact of current and future observing systems on forecast accuracy?
      Sessions will be organized around the following topics. 1) Ocean observations: How does a particular observing system complement other systems and contribute to a viable composite observing system appropriate for the ocean environment? What do the observations tell us about the ocean environment? 2) Atmospheric observations, in situ and remote, including from satellites: Advantages and shortcomings compared with other observing systems. 3) Land-surface observations, including urban areas: surface characteristics, surface fluxes and their effect on boundary layer depth; applications in public health, transport models, and emergency response. 4) Assimilation of observations (ocean, atmosphere, and land surface) into models: assimilation methods; minimization techniques; forward models and their adjoints; incorporation of constraints; error statistics; 5) Experiments involving observations, real or hypothetical: data impact tests (sensitivity of forecasts to a particular source of observations); observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs); and 7) Field experiments: observational results from past field experiments; potential relevance of the field observations to operational prediction.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the program chairpersons, Robert Atlas, NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, 4301 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami FL 33149 (tel: 305-361-4300; email Robert.atlas@noaa.gov) or Eugenia Kalnay, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, 3431 CSS Building, College Park, MD, 20742-2425 (tel: 301-405-5370/5391; email: ekalnay@atmos.umd.edu). (2/08; r9/08)

Announcement

12th Conference of Atmospheric Science Librarians International (ASLI): Taking the Temperature: Understanding Library Microclimates, 14–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      Much as the weather is subject to regional and seasonal variations, so too are libraries. Libraries vary in the populations they serve, the materials they collect and provide access to, their physical facilities, the expertise of their staff, and the services they provide. Each library has its own unique microclimate that works to support the needs of its user community. The purpose of this meeting, to be held on 14–15 January 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona, is to highlight some of the variations in how the library community is responding to the changing needs of the meteorological community vis a vis information resources and services of all types, from data curation to digital reference.
      We invite proposals for papers describing library microclimates, covering topics such as specialized library services, tools or collections, liaison and training programs, marketing and outreach programs, assessment and management tools, and innovative library spaces (physical or virtual). Submissions should include full contact information, a title, and brief abstract of less than 250 words. Poster submissions are also accepted as are proposals for a ‘lightning round’ session, consisting of back-to-back 5-minute talks on tips or tools of interest to the attendees. Students are particularly encouraged to submit proposals.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. For additional information, please contact Linda Musser, ASLI Chair-elect, 105 Deike Bldg, University Park PA 16802 USA; 814-863-7073; Lrm4@psu.edu. (7/08)

Announcement

11th Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The 11th Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Committee on Atmospheric Chemistry, will be held during 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in late-September, 2008.
      The theme for the 2009 AMS Annual Meeting is “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and the Future.” The relevance and timeliness of the urban theme cannot be overemphasized. Recent events—Hurricane Katrina; urban floods in Europe and China; heat waves in London, Paris and Chicago; homeland security concerns and industrial chemical accidents; to name a few—point out the vulnerability of urban populations to high-impact weather of all types. In the U.S. today, approximately two-thirds of the population live in cities that occupy less than 2% of the U.S. land mass. The nexus of urbanization and population growth, coupled with anthropogenic urban weather influences and global climate changes, portend an impending ‘perfect storm’ for the urban environment. The 2009 Annual Meeting aims to highlight advances and challenges in urban-related science, applications, observations, modeling and operations. The specialty conferences, symposia, and special sessions will focus attention on six cross-cutting urban themes: (a) measurement systems and networks; (b) modeling and forecasting; (c) observations and studies of high-impact weather; (d) geographic influences on urban weather and climate; (e) human and environmental impacts; and (f) implications of climate change and population growth. “High-impact” weather is considered in its broadest sense, and includes severe weather, high wind events, precipitation, floods, icing, lightning, poor visibility, adverse air quality, and temperature extremes. The meeting will also feature workshops and short courses, numerous town hall meetings, the Sunday WeatherFest, a Monday Presidential Policy Forum on the role of weather and climate in urban affairs, and two special named symposia honoring Prof. Timothy Oke and the late Dr. Tony Hollingsworth.
      Papers are solicited on all aspects of Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Quality including field and laboratory measurements, theoretical studies, and multi-pollutant and multi-dimensional modeling from urban to global scales for regular sessions. We are particularly interested in hosting special field study results and results aimed at urban megacity impacts upon atmospheric chemistry and air quality. Sessions will be organized for the following topics: the effects of urban areas upon atmospheric chemistry and air quality; field, laboratory, and modeling studies of air quality; air quality and climate change; air quality forecasting; air pollution in mega cities in the world; the effects of meteorology on air quality; the use of surface and remote sensing measurements for air quality model evaluation; polar atmospheric chemistry; agricultural air quality and lightning, atmospheric chemistry, and air quality.
      Depending on the availability of external funds, the Atmospheric Chemistry Committee will support travel awards for post-doctorates, graduate students, and undergraduates to attend and participate in the conference. To apply for the travel award, please visit the AMS web site. Graduate and undergraduate students are highly encouraged to submit an abstract describing your research. Best student oral presentations and poster papers will be selected and awarded at the meeting.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. The $90 abstract fee will include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS web site. CD-ROM will no longer be produced.
      Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the web. Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts, and presentations will be available on the AMS web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the program chairpersons, Dr. Yang Zhang, Dept. of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 8208, Raleigh, NC 27695-8208, (919) 515-9688, yang_zhang@ncsu.edu, and Dr. Brian Lamb, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2910, (509) 335-5702, blamb@wsu.edu. (2/108; r4/08; r7/08; r8/08; r9/08)

Announcement

Eighth Symposium on the Urban Environment, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Eighth Symposium on the Urban Environment, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Board on the Urban Environment, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in late-September 2008.
      Papers and posters are invited on all subjects dealing with urban atmospheres, including observational, modeling, theoretical, forecasting, and applied studies.
      Joint plenary-sessions with the Oke Symposium are planned on the topics of the urban climate system, urban energy balance and urban heat islands. Authors planning to submit abstracts in these topic areas should indicate if their work is related to Tim Oke’s legacy and if they want to have their abstract considered for the Joint Sessions with the Oke Symposium. Regular abstract submissions (not intended as being part of the Oke Symposium) in these topic areas are also strongly encouraged.
      A joint session on weather and climate in coastal areas is planned together with the Eighth Conference on Coastal Atmospheric and Oceanic Prediction and Processes. Additionally, joint sessions are planned with the Boundary Layers and Turbulence Committee on modeling and measurements of urban boundary layers and turbulence, with the Atmospheric Biogeosciences Committee on urban ecological monitoring networks, and with the Committee of Meteorological Aspects of Air Pollution on dispersion and air quality in cities (including emergency response). We also plan to offer a session co-sponsored by the Board on Societal Impacts focusing on the societal and economic impacts of urbanization, including weather and climate hazards in the urban environment. Joint Sessions on urban weather impacts on energy demand and atmospheric modeling tools for urban/complex terrain energy production are planned together with the Energy Committee.
      Other planned session-themes include: energy and water balances; urban canopy and roughness sublayers, global climate change and urbanization, biometeorology and public health in urban areas; precipitation; weather forecasting for urban areas; and urban planning. Persons with additional program suggestions are encouraged to contact the program chairs.
      The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. An abstract fee of $90 (payable by credit card or purchase order) is charged at the time of submission (refundable only if abstract is not accepted).
      Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the program chairpersons, Anthony Brazel (abrazel@asu.edu), Petra Klein (pkklein@ou.edu) and Julie Lundquist (lundquist1@llnl.gov). (2/08; r4/08; r9/08)

Announcement

Eighth Conference on Coastal Atmospheric and Oceanic Prediction and Processes, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Eighth Conference on Coastal Atmospheric and Oceanic Prediction and Processes, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Committee on Coastal Environment, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in late-September 2008.
      Papers for this conference are solicited for both basic and applied research issues involving the understanding, analysis, and prediction of the coastal atmosphere and ocean, with a special emphasis on coupling of atmospheric and oceanic processes and their effects on biological response, coastal urban effects, ocean and air quality, climate analysis and predictions, interdisciplinary field programs, remote sensing and in-situ observational networks, and advances in modeling and forecasting. A special session on Tsunami research with application to forecasts and warnings for coastal regions is also planned.
      At the AMS annual meeting in January 2009 a joint session is planned between the "8th Conference on Coastal Atmospheric and Oceanic Prediction and Processes" and the "8th Symposium on the Urban Environment". Invited presentations and topics for the session entitled “Weather and Climate in Coastal Urban Areas” will focus on all aspects of urban meteorology and oceanography in coastal regions, including:
- Observations and predictions of coastal urban heat islands
- Remote sensing of urban parameters and urban change in the coastal zone
- Operational and hindcast simulations and observations of coupled ocean-atmosphere processes impacting coastal cities
- Transport and dispersion datasets and modeling studies in coastal cities (including LES)
- Synoptic meteorology of urban coastal areas
- Air pollution studies focused on coastal urban corridors
- Coastal urban planning in future climates (e.g., high heat days and their impact on the population)

At the AMS annual meeting in January 2009 a joint session is planned between the "8th Conference on Coastal Atmospheric and Oceanic Prediction and Processes" and the "21st Conference on Climate Variability and Change". Invited presentations and topics for the session will focus on all aspects of climate change in coastal regions, including:
- Observations and predictions of climate change in coastal regions
- Climate variability at the land-ocean interface along coasts
- Long-term trends in storm systems in coastal areas
- Predicted effects of future sea level rise
- Climate change and coastal hazards
- Effects of climate change on the biological cycle in the coastal zone
- Climatological trends in polar coastal zones.
At the AMS annual meeting in January 2009 a joint session is planned between the "8th Conference on Coastal Atmospheric and Oceanic Prediction and Processes" and the "16th Conference on Air-Sea Interaction". Invited presentations and topics for the session will focus on all aspects of air-sea interaction in coastal regions, including:
- Ocean-atmosphere interactions and predictability in the climate system
- Development and use of global air-sea data sets
- Parameterizations of sea-surface physics, including waves, whitecaps, and aerosol generation
- Remote sensing applied to air-sea interaction
- Air-sea interaction research transitioned to operational capabilities
- Coupled ocean-atmosphere interactions and their effects on marine biology
- Laboratory and modeling studies of air-sea exchange processes
- Ocean-atmosphere interactions and influences on tropical and extratropical storms
- High-latitude air-sea coupling in the presence of sea ice and results from the International Polar Year
- In situ turbulent air-sea flux measurements, including gas exchange
      The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. An abstract fee of $90 (payable by credit card or purchase order) is charged at the time of submission (refundable only if abstract is not accepted).
      Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the program chairpersons, Darko Koracin (Darko.Koracin@dri.edu) or Julie Pullen (Julie.Pullen@nrlmry.navy.mil). (2/08; r3/08; r7/08; r8/08; r9/08)

Announcement

Eighth Communication Workshop: Communication—Moving Toward a Better Understanding of a Complex Process, 12 and 14 January, 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      Communication is the process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Through the process, we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process requires a vast repertoire of skills in intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating. The process gets even more complicated when communicating scientific information to a variety of stakeholders.
      This two-part Communication Workshop seeks to peel back some of the social, psychological, and linguistic roots of communication and provide practical tools and advice. The Monday morning session will explore linguistics and the psychology behind communication in order to explore and better understand what is known about how people are informed, how people's attitudes are shaped, and what influences behavior. Invited speakers include John Krosnick, Frederic O. Glover Professor in Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of Communication, Political Science, and Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
      The Wednesday morning session will investigate the role of the media in the communication puzzle, delve into the current media landscape, and offer practical advice for scientists when navigating media interviews. Invited speakers include Ken Weiss, Los Angeles Times science reporter; Tom Rosensteil, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, Washington, D.C.; Edward Maibach, director of the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.
      For additional information, please contact Stephanie Kenitzer, (e-mail: kenitzer@ametsoc.org). (10/08)

Announcement

Seventh Conference on Artificial Intelligence and its Applications to the Environmental Sciences, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Seventh Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its Applications to the Environmental Sciences, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Committee on Artificial Intelligence and its Applications to Environmental Sciences will be held 11–15 January 2009 as part of the 89th Annual Meeting of the AMS in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in late-September 2008.
      The 2009 AI Conference will be two-pronged. The first part is a general conference that emphasizes joint sessions with other co-organized conferences. The second portion is a Precipitation Type Forecasting Contest. The submission procedures for the two portions are different, so please read the following paragraphs carefully.
      Submissions to the general conference will emphasize applications of artificial intelligence techniques to problems of interest to AMS members. Short abstracts (one page or less) should be submitted electronically by 8 August, 2008. An abstract fee of $90 (payable by credit card or purchase order) will be charged at the time of submission (refundable only if abstract is not accepted). Authors of accepted presentations will be notified (via e-mail) by late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web. Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009 (no additional charge). All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost. Papers are particularly solicited for joint sessions with: 1) Applications of Air Pollution Meteorology, 2) 23rd Conf on Hydrology, 3) 21st Conference on Climate Variability and Change, and 4) general applications of Artificial Intelligence in Environmental Science.
      The second portion of the AI Conference will be a Precipitation Type Forecasting Contest. We expect that there will be a cash prize. See the instructions at the committee website: http://nws.met.psu.edu/ai including links to the radar data. Individuals or teams are invited to train the technique of their choice to reproduce and forecast the training data. Techniques may be statistical in nature or emphasize artificial intelligence or a combination of both. A second test data set of the same type is posted to the same website, but without the predictand. The forecasting portion of the conference will consist of an introductory session explaining the data set and introducing the rationale for forecasting. Then participants will present their technique and the results of their forecasts. The committee will judge how close each participant is to the actual values of the predictand and described in the instructions. To submit a paper to the forecasting contest, send an email of intent to Kim Elmore (Kim.Elmore@noaa.gov) by 30 September 2008 to reserve a speaking slot.

   The deadline for abstracts has passed . The abstract fee of $90 will apply. Results are due to Kim Elmore by 20 December 2008. Extended abstracts regarding the technique are due 7 January 2009. For information on funding for student presenters to the contest, contact S.E. Haupt.
      For additional information, please contact the program chairperson, Sue Ellen Haupt, at seh19@psu.edu. (4/08; r7/08; r9/08)

Announcement

Seventh Users Forum on Weather and Climate Impacts, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The AMS Board on Enterprise Economic Development (BEED) of the Commission on the Weather and Climate Enterprise (CWCE) is excited to announce the Seventh AMS Users Forum, which will be held during the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hotel information will be posted to the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in the spring; registration and general information will be posted starting over the summer; and the preliminary programs will be posted in late-September 2008.
      The Users Forum will provide an opportunity for AMS members to hear from a variety of distinguished invited speakers from companies and organizations that are highly dependent on weather and climate information to support their operations. We plan to focus the discussion on topics relevant to the urban environment consistent with the theme of the Annual Meeting.
      This is an excellent opportunity for attendees to: a) learn how industry utilizes weather and climate information, b) hear about industry’s needs and unmet needs for weather information, c) learn about recent successes and failures in the use of products, and d) discuss various aspects of products and services as they relate to end users and decision makers. The discussion will focus on how weather impacts business continuity and how organizations incorporate weather and climate information into their operations. The speakers will be asked to challenge the audience to address their unmet needs.
      For additional information please contact the program chairperson, Pam Emch, by e-mail at pam.emch@ngc.com, or by telephone at 310-814-1227. (2/08)

Announcement

Seventh Presidential History Symposium, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Seventh Presidential History Symposium sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS History Committee, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hotel information will be posted to the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in the spring; registration and general information will be posted starting over the summer; and the preliminary programs will be posted in late-September 2008.
      Papers for this conference are solicited on environmental history and the history of atmospheric sciences (broadly conceived). Papers addressing historical aspects of observational and modeling efforts, hurricanes and their societal impacts, climate change and its impacts, and science policy as it pertains to atmospheric, oceanographic, and hydrological issues are especially welcome.
      The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. An abstract fee of $90 payable by credit card or purchase order) is charged at the time of submission (refundable only if the abstract is not accepted). Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web; Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the program chairperson, Sepi Yalda, History Committee Chair, Department of Earth Sciences, Millersville University, P.O. Box 1002, Millersville, PA 17551. E-mail: Sepi.Yalda@millersville.edu. Office phone: (717) 872-3293/Fax: (717) 871-4725. (2/08; r9/08)

Announcement

Sixth Symposium on Space Weather, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Sixth Symposium on Space Weather, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in late-September 2008.
      The 2009 Annual Meeting theme is “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and the Future.” Recent events, like hurricanes, floods, heat waves, homeland security concerns, to name a few, point out the vulnerability of urban populations to high-impact weather of all types. In particular, space weather can have severe impact on the infrastructure of urban environments (electric power, aviation, GPS, etc.). The nexus of urbanization and population growth, coupled with weather influences, portend an impending “perfect storm” for the urban environment.
      With the increased influence of space-based systems in industry, commerce and society in general, the importance of space weather applications and operational products is growing steadily. The Sixth Space Weather Symposium will provide a forum to share recent results in space weather research and applications and will highlight the societal benefits of continuing improvements in these areas. Papers are solicited for the following sessions: 1) looking forward to the next solar maximum, 2) coupling between the lower and upper atmosphere, 3) economic and social impacts of space weather, 4) new data sources and products, 5) developments in data assimilation, 6) new developments with physics-based forecast models, and 7) general space weather contributions.
      The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. An abstract fee of $90 (payable by credit card or purchase order) is charged at the time of submission (refundable only if abstract is not accepted).
      Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the program chairperson, Bob McCoy (703-696-8699; email: bob.mccoy@navy.mil) or Genene Fisher (email: fisher@ametsoc.org). (2/08; r5/08; r9/08)

Announcement

Fifth Annual Symposium on Future National Operational Environmental Satellite Systems-NPOESS and GOES-R, 13–14 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Fifth Annual Symposium on Future National Operational Environmental Satellite Systems-National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R-Series (GOES-R), sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the NPOESS and GOES-R Symposium Committee will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, 13–14 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hotel information will be posted to the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in the spring; registration and general information will be posted starting over the summer; and the preliminary programs will be posted in late-September 2008.
      The 89th Annual Meeting is being organized around the broad theme of “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and in the Future,” with an emphasis on the vulnerability of urban society to high-impact weather of all types. High-impact weather is considered broadly and includes severe weather (e.g., hurricanes), precipitation, floods, lightning, and poor visibility. Space-based remote sensing significantly contributes to three cross-cutting themes of the Annual Meeting: measurement systems and networks; modeling and forecasting; and observations and studies of high-impact weather.
      This two-day symposium during the 89th AMS Annual Meeting will consist of invited oral and poster presentations with emphasis on how NPOESS and GOES-R will enhance our nation’s ability to: understand and predict weather; detect severe weather events and other hazards that impact urban communities; and monitor climate. The symposium will address expected performance of NPOESS and GOES-R sensors and algorithms, environmental data products, end user applications, and benefits of NPOESS and GOES-R to the international user community and society. Sessions will focus on use of NPOESS and GOES-R data to improve: numerical weather prediction and short-term nowcasting and forecasting; applications for natural hazards detection; and climate monitoring. The symposium will highlight ongoing training and education that is preparing forecasters to use NPOESS and GOES-R data and products as soon as the new systems launch. The NPOESS and GOES-R symposium will be held jointly with the 16th Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography and the 18th Symposium on Education.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. An abstract fee of $90 (payable by credit card or purchase order) is charged at the time of submission (refundable only if abstract is not accepted). The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation that will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web. Instructions for formatting extended manuscripts for the extended abstract will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009 to AMS Headquarters. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS web site at no cost. Authors of invited and accepted papers and posters are encouraged to contribute to the web-based proceedings of the conference.
      For additional information please contact one of the co-chairs of the NPOESS and GOES-R Symposium Committee: Gary McWilliams, NPOESS Integrated Program Office, 8455 Colesville Road, Suite 1050, Silver Spring, Maryland 20920 (Tel: 301-713-4808; e-mail: gary.mcwilliams@noaa.gov); Rick Ohlemacher, Civil Systems, Northrop Grumman, 1000 Wilson Blvd, Suite 2300, Arlington, Virginia 22209-3901 (Tel: 703-741-7722; e-mail: rick.ohlemacher@ngc.com); Michael Jamilkowski, Manager, East Coast Office, NPOESS Program, Raytheon Company, 8455 Colesville Road, Suite 950, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-3115 (Tel: 301-562-5276; e-mail: mljamilkowski@raytheon.com); James Gurka, Goddard Space Flight Center, GOES-R Program Office, Mail Code 417, Bldg 6, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 (Tel.: 301-286-1364; e-mail: james.j.gurka@nasa.gov);or Dick Reynolds, Goddard Space Flight Center GOES-R Program Office, Mail Code 417, Bldg 6, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 (Tel.: 410-268-5630; e-mail: dick.reynolds@noaa.gov) (5/08; 9/08)

Announcement

Fourth Symposium on Lidar Atmospheric Applications, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
     A Symposium on Lidar Atmospheric Applications, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society and organized by the AMS Committee on Laser Atmospheric Studies, will be held 11-15 January 2009 as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in late-September.

     Lidar probing of the atmosphere has progressed for more than 50 years and is contributing important discoveries in atmospheric research. Lidar-based research in fundamental measurements of aerosols, clouds, water vapor, temperature, trace gas chemistry, wind and process-based studies have become part of the standard meteorological instrumentation. In addition, the basic technologies have matured and their applications have started to emerge as ground-based networks and space-based long-term monitoring tools to aid in climate-related research. This symposium is intended to bring together and review recent advances in lidar-based atmospheric application programs and activities. Lidar-based papers that address the theme of the 89th AMS Annual meeting – “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and the Future” – and its six cross-cutting urban themes. The lidar community would have a strong contribution in all the six sub-themes: a)measurement systems and networks; (b) modeling and forecasting; (c) observations and studies of high-impact weather; (d) geographic influences on urban weather and climate; (e) human and environmental impacts; and (f) implications of climate change and population growth.

     The meeting will consist of a number of invited review talks and contributed papers and posters. The scope of this symposium is lidar application studies, and in particular those that are process-based applications that contribute to studying the state and composition of the atmosphere, including the clouds, aerosols, radiatively important gases and thermodynamic structures of the troposphere and stratosphere. Papers that address this general theme of lidar atmospheric applications and in particular process-based applications are solicited. Sessions are anticipated on lidar networks, space borne lidars, automated operational lidars, long-term climate observations, air pollution applications, lidar data assimilation in numerical weather models, and emerging lidar methods in addressing atmospheric issues (multiple scattering and associated benefits in lidar application). The general AMS 89th theme of “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and the Future” is very well suited to discuss lidar measurement advances, lidar observing networks and space-borne lidar data. Of particular interest is the use of lidars in conjunction with other instrumentation (e.g. radar-lidar techniques) in pollution, climate and weather studies, and use of lidar measurements and instrument simulators for model evaluation. Participants with additional suggestions for the program are encouraged to contact the program chairperson.

     The deadline for abstracts has passed. The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.

     For additional information please contact the program chairpersons, Belay Demoz, Howard University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, 2355 6TH Street, NW, Washington, DC 20059 (tel: 202-806-6256; e-mail: bbdemoz@howard.edu, Jennifer Comstock, PNNL, PO Box 999 MSIN K9-24, Richland, WA 99352 (tel: 509-372-4244; e-mail: jennifer.comstock@pnl.gov) or Andreas Behrendt, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany (tel: 49 711 4592 2851; e-mail: behrendt@uni-hohenheim.de). (5/08; r6/08; r9/08)

Announcement

Fourth Symposium on Policy and Socio-Economic Research, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Fourth Symposium on Policy and Socio-Economic Research, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in late-September 2008.
      The theme for the 89th Annual Meeting is “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and the Future.” In support of this, the Fourth Symposium on Policy and Socio-Economic Research will include discussions to highlight the complex interaction between the environment and society, particularly in how knowledge generated by the meteorological, climate and related sciences can contribute to enhancing sustainability of urban areas.
      As a large metropolitan area in an arid region, Phoenix represents many of the challenges in providing resources needed to sustain an economy while protecting and preserving the natural environment. The role in which weather and climate information can enhance understanding of these interactions, improve operational decisions, and inform policy to reduce conflict over demands for scarce resources will be featured in the Symposium.
      The AMS Symposium on Policy and Socio-Economic Research provides a forum for scholars (i) to share their policy and socio-economic research results and report on recent progress to other scholars in this field, (ii) to converse with scientists about these results, and (iii) to dialogue and engage with policy makers, practitioners, and federal agency officials in this area. This Symposium therefore allows for better coordination, iteration, and direction of the field, as well as an assessment of the body of knowledge designed to inform existing decision-making processes.
      Papers for this symposium are solicited on: 1) policy and socio-economic aspects of urbanization, including sustainability; 2) communicating, interpreting, and using uncertainty in weather and climate forecasts; 3) societal dimensions of weather and climate hazards; 4) evaluation and use of decision-support systems; 5) socio-economic research methods and their applications; 6) policy issues, challenges, and research methods; and (7) socio-economic aspects of surface transportation and weather/climate.
      The $90 abstract fee includes the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site.

     The deadline for abstracts has passed. An abstract fee of $90 (payable by credit card or purchase order) is charged at the time of submission (refundable only if abstract is not accepted).
      Authors of accepted presentations will be notified (via e-mail) by mid-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information, please contact the program co-chairpersons, Mark Shafer (tel: 405-325-3044, email: mshafer@ou.edu), Genevieve Maricle (tel: 303-735-4174; email: genevieve.maricle@colorado.edu), Julie Demuth (tel: 303-497-8112; email: jdemuth@ucar.edu), or Sheldon Drobot (tel: 303-492-8143; email: drobot@colorado.edu). (2/08; r4/08; r9/08)

Announcement

Fourth Conference on the Meteorological Applications of Lightning Data, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Fourth Conference on the Meteorological Applications of Lightning Data, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Committee on Atmospheric Electricity, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Preliminary programs, registration, hotel, and general information will be posted on the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in late-September 2008.
      The 2009 AMS Annual Meeting is being organized around the broad theme of “Urban Weather and Climate: Now and in the Future.” Four cross-cutting themes to be highlighted in the lightning conference are: 1) observations and studies of high-impact weather in urban regions, 2) modeling and forecasting urban areas, 3) measurements in the urban environment, and 4) human and environmental impacts (on, by or in the urban region).
      Papers for the Fourth Conference on the Meteorological Applications of Lightning Data are solicited on all applications of lightning data in the atmospheric sciences. General session topics include: 1) the utility of lightning data in operational warning and decision making processes, 2) recent advances in lightning technology and transfer of that technology from research to operations, 3) assimilation of lightning data into numerical models, 4) lightning warning and prediction using observations and models, 5) the effect of the urban environment on lightning and thunderstorms, and 6) general applications of atmospheric electricity and lightning data in the atmospheric sciences.
      In addition to these general sessions, there will be three special joint sessions. In collaboration with the AMS Committee on Aviation, Range and Aerospace Meteorology, we invite papers on the use of lightning data in aviation, range, and aerospace operations, including documentation of lightning impacts and efforts to mitigate these impacts through improved forecasting and warning. In cooperation with the AMS Committee on Atmospheric Chemistry, we also invite papers for a joint session on lightning, atmospheric chemistry, and air quality. Finally, in conjunction with the AMS Commission on Education and Human Resources, we encourage papers for a joint poster session addressing lightning safety and protection, including applications in the urban zone.
      Awards will be given for the best oral and poster papers presented by student first authors at the lightning conference. Registrants should indicate their eligibility for student paper awards when submitting their abstracts.
      The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. An abstract fee of $90 (payable by credit card or purchase order) is charged at the time of submission (refundable only if abstract is not accepted).
      Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the program chairpersons, Lawrence Carey (larry.carey@nsstc.uah.edu) or Timothy Lang (tlang@atmos.colostate.edu).
(6/08; r8/08; r9/08)

Announcement

Second Annual CCM Forum, 14 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Second Annual CCM Forum, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Board of Certified Consulting Meteorologists, will be held 14 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hotel information will be posted to the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in the spring; registration and general information will be posted starting over the summer; and the preliminary programs will be posted in late-September 2008.
      Papers for this conference are solicited on the role of the CCM in a) Modeling and measurement of adverse urban air quality; b) Planning for “High-Impact” weather events; and c) Adaptations of alternate energy planning and operations resulting from climate change and population growth.
      The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. An abstract fee of $90 (payable by credit card or purchase order) is charged at the time of submission (refundable only if abstract is not accepted).
      Authors of accepted presentations will be notified (via e-mail) by late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the program chairperson(s), Certified Consulting Meteorologist Forum Committee: Gerry Mulvey, Northrop Grumman Corporation (tel: 310-812-5196: e-mail gerry.mulvey@ngc.com or Irish69th@msn.com). (2/08; 9/08)

Announcement

Symposium on Urban High Impact Weather, 11–15 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Symposium on Urban High Impact Weather is sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, and organized by the AMS Committee on Radar Meteorology, the AMS Committee on Hydrology and the AMS Committee on Severe Local Storms, will be held 11–15 January 2009, as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hotel information will be posted to the AMS Web site (http://www.ametsoc.org/meet/annual/) in the spring; registration and general information will be posted starting over the summer; and the preliminary programs will be posted in late-September 2008.
      The occurrence of severe weather in urban areas holds special challenges for emergency managers. Currently, the global urban population equals its rural population; by 2030, the urban population fraction is predicted to surpass 60% globally and exceed 82% in the more developed countries. The urbanization of previously rural areas increases the probability that densely populated areas will be impacted by severe weather. This has implications for public safety, but intelligent policy and improved warnings may be able to meet the increased demands from emergency managers. Better and earlier warnings may be aided by the implementation of advanced regional atmospheric observations, forecasts and predictions of hazardous weather.
      The program committee seeks contributions related to the above themes as follows: (a) advanced radar technology and regional networks suitable for the urban environment (e.g., CASA, terminal Doppler, TV station radars) and their integration with existing observing systems; (b) severe storm impacts on urban infrastructure (electrical power generation and distribution systems, telephone lines, transportation systems, etc); (c) high resolution NWP and advanced data assimilation with applications for severe storms affecting urban areas; (d) hydrological forecasts and nowcasts for urban flooding; (e) urban climate (e.g., heat island effect on storm phenomena); and (f) unique warning, communication, and human response issues in urban areas.
      The $90 abstract fee will now include the submission of your abstract, the posting of your extended abstract, and the uploading and recording of your presentation, which will be archived on the AMS Web site. We will no longer be producing a CD-ROM, allowing us to extend the deadline date for extended abstracts.
      The deadline for abstracts has passed. An abstract fee of $90 (payable by credit card or purchase order) is charged at the time of submission (refundable only if abstract is not accepted).
      Authors of accepted presentations were notified (via e-mail) in late-September 2008. All extended abstracts are to be submitted electronically and will be available on-line via the Web, Instructions for formatting extended abstracts will be posted on the AMS Web site. Manuscripts (up to 3MB) must be submitted electronically by 7 January 2009. All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations will be available on the AMS Web site at no cost.
      For additional information please contact the organizing committee consisting of Steve Weiss (tel; (405) 325-2073; email: steven.j.weiss@noaa.gov, Pavlos Kollias (tel: (514) 398-1500; email: pavlos.kollias@mcgill.ca) and Bart Nijssen (tel: (206) 325 1573; email: bnijssen@3tiergroup.com). (2/08; r9/08)

Announcement

Workshop on Eloquent Professional Communication: Customer-Oriented Writing and High-Impact Presentations, 14 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      The Workshop on Eloquent Professional Communication: Customer-Oriented Writing and High-Impact Presentations will be held on Wednesday, 14 January 2009 as part of the AMS Annual Meeting. The workshop is sponsored the AMS Professional Affairs Commission and will be taught by David M. Schultz, Chief Editor, Monthly Weather Review and Professor, University of Helsinki and Finnish Meteorological Institute.
Do you communicate with coworkers, customers, and clients? Would you like to be more effective and eloquent? Among the topics discussed in this workshop, attendees will learn about: how to prepare documents that place the reader first; six tips to improve the flow and content of your writing; shortening your writing and increasing its clarity; writing effective e-mails that are more likely to get answered; delivering high-impact presentations; and avoiding Death-by-Powerpoint in your presentations.
      For additional information, please contact David Schultz (e-mail: david.schultz@fmi.fi) (12/08)

Announcement

Impacts of 2008's Weather: Major Stories of the Year, 13 January 2009,
Phoenix, Arizona
     What will be the top weather stories of 2008 both in the United States and around the world? What are some of the marine events that produce major impacts in coastal regions? How do severe weather events impact our urban areas? Regardless, you can expect to hear about it during the Impacts of 2008's Weather: Major Stories of the Year session at the 2009 AMS Annual Meeting.
     The first morning session will be focused on worldwide high impact weather events, ranging from a global overview, the devastating Myanmar Cyclone, coastal flooding throughout the Federated States of Micronesia, to weather experienced during the Beijing Olympics. The second morning session is designed to emphasize what causes various high impact marine events - such as hurricane-force winter storms, severe gap winds, rip tides, and the Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" - and how to forecast their effects.
     The first afternoon session is jointly sponsored by the Symposium on the Urban Environment and explores various high impact events in our urban communities, ranging from fires, severe convection, lake breeze fronts, tornadoes, and storm surges. The second afternoon session wraps up the Impact Weather Symposium with presentations on U.S. weather events. A focus in these will be on the Iowa floods, U.S. winter weather, the California fires, the Atlantic hurricane season - including the large storm surge and rainfall impacts from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and the U.S. tornadoes.
     For additional information, please contact the chairperson of the program, Joseph Schaefer (e-mail: joseph.schaefer@noaa.com) or Chris Landsea (e-mail: Chris.Landsea@noaa.gov). (5/08; r12/08)

Call for Exhibitors

WeatherFest, 11 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona
      WeatherFest, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, will be held on Sunday, 11 January 2009 from 12-4 p.m., as part of the 89th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix.

       WeatherFest is an interactive four-hour science and weather fair free to the public designed to instill a love for math and science in children of all ages and to spark a young person’s interest in this area so they may consider a career in these and other science and engineering fields. This popular event, which promotes science and mathematic literacy and well as weather safety through an understanding of meteorology and oceanography, typically draws more than 2500 visitors from the local community. Families and individuals will enjoy a wide variety of hands-on experiments and booths by teachers and scientists from government, university, television, radio and private industry. WeatherFest will feature nearly 60 cool and interactive science exhibits including hands-on experiments, educational information, career guides, door prizes and much more. Interactive experiments are encouraged. WeatherFest booths are free of charge for teachers, sponsors, and those exhibiting during the AMS Annual Meeting main exhibition. The cost for commercial organizations is $250.

    The deadline for applications has passed. For additional information see contact the program chairpersons, Ron Gird (ron.gird@noaa.gov) or Jill Hasling (