EGU 2015, my first scientific conference

I've been living in Austria for 5 years now, living a mere
2 hour drive from Vienna, but somehow I've never come around to visiting the European Geophysical Union's annual general assembly. This year I've decided to make that drive to the Austria Center Vienna and attend EGU 2015, a decision made much easier by the kindness of the EGU Press Team to provide me with a press pass. Thank you, EGU!

Mind you, I won't be going every day, just on the day that matters most to the Arctic Sea Ice Blog, coming Thursday, as that's when most of the Arctic action will be taking place. Here are the presentations I plan to attend:

Polar Climate Predictability and Prediction (link)

• Uncertainties in the Arctic sea ice cover in ocean reanalyses: are current ice-ocean reanalyses suitable for initializing sea ice forecasts?
• An Inter-Annual Oscillation in the Western Arctic Associated with a Non Stationary Seasonally Lagged ENSO Signal
• Influence of freshwater input on the skill of decadal forecast of sea ice in the Southern Ocean
• Decadal predictability of SST in the Atlantic domain of the Nordic Seas in three CMIP5 models
• Stochastic sea ice parameterizations and impacts on polar predictability
• Impact of the assimilated sea ice data product on seasonal climate predictions with MPI-ESM

That one's in the morning. In the afternoon I'll be going to:

Rapid changes in sea ice: processes and implications (link)

• Changing summer sea ice roughness modifies momentum transfer into the Arctic Ocean
• On the Role of Sea Ice Deformations in Arctic Climate Change
• Using pan-Arctic, springtime, surface radiation observations to quantify atmospheric preconditioning processes that impact the sea ice melt season
• Influence of ice thickness and surface properties on light transmission through Arctic sea ice
• Impact of melt ponds on Arctic sea ice in the HadGEM3 global coupled climate model
• Drivers of inorganic carbon dynamics in first-year sea ice: A model study

I still have to figure out what to do between these two sessions, but I'll probably prepare for the poster session with the following posters having grabbed my attention most so far:

Blue posters (link & link)

• Effects of Arctic warming on Eurasian climate
• The impact of the Arctic Sea Ice retreat on extratropical cyclones and anticyclones over Northern Eurasia: atmospheric model simulations
• Links between North Atlantic atmospheric blocking and recent trends in European winter precipitation
• Arctic moisture source for Eurasian snow cover variations in autumn
• European weather sensitivity to Barents-Kara sea-ice variability
• Regional Arctic sea ice variations as predictor for winter climate conditions
• Modifying the current sea ice thickness initialization in CFSv2 to improve prediction of Arctic surface sea ice
• Modelling the impacts of a dipole-like climatic state over the Arctic
• The forcing of Arctic Sea Ice extent anomaly on atmosphere circulation of northern hemisphere
• Determination of Arctic sea ice variability modes on interannual timescales via nonhierarchical clustering
• Future availability of Transarctic Sea Routes- a model study

Yellow posters (link, link & link)

• AIRS satellite data reveal a warmer and wetter Arctic between 2003-2013
• The impact of refreezing of melt ponds on Arctic sea ice thinning
• No slowing down of Jakobshavn Isbræ in 2014: Results from feature-tracking five Greenland outlet glaciers using Landsat-8 data and the ImGRAFT toolbox
• ICESat-2: the next generation laser altimeter mission for polar research
• Sea ice, erosion, and vulnerability of Arctic coasts

Red posters (link)

• Scientists' Views about Attribution of Global Warming

That's a lot of posters, taking place on different levels in the building, in just one hour and a half, so I'll probably be wearing my jet pack. Or at least put on my Usain Bolt signed running shoes. ;-)

But seriously, like I said, it's my first scientific conference, and so I'll just see how things go and report afterwards. Let me know if there's anything you would like me to try to do and/or ask.

PS A couple of months ago Arctic Sea Ice Blog commenter Steve Bloom offered to go to the US counterpart of this conference organized by the American Geophysical Union, but due to circumstances, unfortunately, he hasn't been able to write up his experiences and share them here.

Comments

[Shared Humanity]

Congrats on being recognized by the EGU press team. It certainly is a statement on how this blog is seen in the ongoing discussion of AGW.

Also, many of the poster sessions sound like the discussions we have here and on the ASIF. You are doing the world a service.

[Shared Humanity]

Also, a suggestion....

When you report back, it would be wonderful if you could initiate discussions on the ASIF on topics you feel this community would benefit from and contribute to. I would prefer this as opposed to you having to take on the monumental task of reporting on this amazing list of topics. It would be easier, I think, for you to introduce the topics with a short take-away and links.

[Shared Humanity]

One final comment.....

From the poster sessions, it would seem that the scientific community is rapidly establishing links between Arctic sea ice loss and dramatic changes in northern hemisphere weather. This is a tremendous development as the scientific community will now be able to communicate the sometimes horrific effects to the world community which can only build a consensus that....

SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!!!!!!!

[VaughnA]

Neven, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to really gather the information to put climate change in proper perspective(Not that you don't do a great job already!) Hopefully you will reconsider going to more than just one day.

I have been to two Nation Science Teachers of America symposiums...one in Portland, Oregon USA and the other in San Jose, California USA. That was a few years ago(circa 2001-2003) but I consider attending these to be high points in my life. The volume of information scientists were publishing at that time about recent different studies and research was truly overwhelming.

http://www.nsta.org/

The American Chemical Society had a few presentations about atmospheric and oceanic effects of man-made greenhouse chemicals and how they were working to reduce the use of these. What I came away with from them was about things I didn't even know that I didn't even know existed about the monumental and subtle effects of some of these chemicals on earth's climate.

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en.html

One other important thing I brought from these symposiums was the effects of so many seemingly innocuous things and how they affect climate. The sheer volume and variety of information helped me put a few things together quickly which otherwise may have never happened at all.

One suggestion: Take pictures of the posters if allowed. If you run out of time looking at all of them you can look at the pictures later.

[Ac A]

Neven,

if you meet Brad Werner, send him a greetings ;-)

AGU Scientist Asks, ‘Is Earth F**ked?’

Alex

[Espen Olsen]

Very interesting: Just have one question for the
"No slowing down of Jakobshavn Isbræ in 2014: Results from
feature-tracking five Greenland outlet glaciers using Landsat-8 data and
the ImGRAFT toolbox"
presentation?

Why is there no mention about Zachariae Isstrøm? (more important than most of the other glaciers observed, at least compared to 79?)

[Boa05att]

Hey Neven,

I'm going to be there too! I'm intending to sit in on the Polar Climate Predictability and Prediction session as well.

Who knows maybe we'll bump into each other.

If you can make it you would probably like this session on Wednesday afternoon:

CL2.6
Arctic climate change: governing mechanisms and global implications

http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2015/orals/17048

[Neven]

If you can make it you would probably like this session on Wednesday afternoon:

I hadn't even seen that one. Too bad I can't go on Wednesday too.

Who knows maybe we'll bump into each other.

That'd be fun. I have only meet two ASIB commenters so far. I've shaven my head yesterday, not completely, still 13 mm of hair. So now you know what to look for, and my badge, of course. ;-)

I would prefer this as opposed to you having to take on the monumental task of reporting on this amazing list of topics. It would be easier, I think, for you to introduce the topics with a short take-away and links.

I don't know yet what I'll report. I'm going there for the experience mostly.

if you meet Brad Werner, send him a greetings ;-)

AGU Scientist Asks, ‘Is Earth F**ked?’

I will, but what do I tell him? ;-)

Neven, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to really gather the information to put climate change in proper perspective(Not that you don't do a great job already!) Hopefully you will reconsider going to more than just one day.

Thanks, Vaughn. Maybe I'll go two days next year.

[Tor Bejnar]

Thanks for mentioning Steve Bloom; I've wondered what happened. Whatever the challenges, I wish him well.

I went to a couple Int. Geol. Congresses (Prague 1968, Sydney 1976) and learned a lot (including the affect Russian tanks have on different types of pavement).

Have a grand time, Neven. So much will come your way, I suspect, that jotting or recording notes to remind you of highlights that might get lost under subsequent highlights might help.

[wayne]

Very educational subjects Neven,

but none more if data comes strait from the sea ice itself, perhaps all these experts may be interested in knowing we can literally see when sea ice starts to melt:

http://eh2r.blogspot.ca/2015/04/first-high-arctic-underside-melt-2015.html

I like it a lot when nature draws a significant line.

[Kevin McKinney]

Hope you have a great time at the conference, Neven. I know you'll be letting us know what was most striking in due course!

[Neven]

I've just returned from Vienna, and it was as awesome as I had hoped it would be. But intense too! I was so focused on the Arctic sea ice stuff, that I was overwhelmed when I saw all those people and hundreds of posters. My first thought, when coming out of the garage into the main hall, actually was: "Why are there so many people here? Are they all here for the Arctic sea ice?". ;-)

I'll write a short summary of what I've seen and heard (and some news I'm allowed to divulge, although the BBC gets the exclusive ;-) ) this weekend. It was great fun and well worth the drive.

Cryospheric science rocks!!!

[Boa05att]

Hi Neven,

Sorry I missed you. I'm glad you had a good time. It is a bit overwhelming isn't it!

Is this the BBC scoop you were mentioning? :-)

'3D Cryosat' tracks Arctic winter sea ice
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32348291

[Neven]

Hi, Boa05att,

Unfortunately I missed the morning session because my wife had a doctor appointment she couldn't postpone. Maybe next time we should make more of an effort to meet. ;-)

Yes, that's the scoop. CryoSat now has maps!

[Andy Lee Robinson]

Good job Neven!
Damn! I didn't notice this post in time otherwise I would also have paid a visit - Vienna is also a couple of hours away from Budapest.
Next time!

[Neven]

Maybe next year, Andy. :-)

Here's a long summary of my impressions that I've just posted.