Conference Scientific Themes

The Conference will have six interrelated sessions; each addressing one of the following scientific themes.

1. The role of clouds and their effects on radiation budget in climate prediction.

One of the most challenging issues facing climate science involves the analysis and simulation of the effects of clouds and their contributions to climate variability and change. This session focuses on a review of the leading effects of clouds on the Earth's radiation budget, particulary,  how they alter the radiative forcing for the atmospheric and oceanic circulations on scales ranging from mesoscale to global and diurnal to interannual.  In addition to papers assessing how accurately we can determine cloud radiative properties and their effects on the radiation budget with current observations and what might be done with new observations, contributions are invited that discuss key open questions, such as the interaction of 3-D radiation with turbulence in the cloudy atmospheric boundary layer, the effects of cloud vertical structure on the radiative forcing for mesoscale convective and synoptic-scale weather systems (including the roles played by different cloud types) and how the high frequency (space and time) modulation of surface insolation by clouds affects the forcing of the oceanic circulation and the operation of land surface hydrological processes (including cold land processes). 

2. Use of predictions of water cycle variables in water management.

The Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) is committed to providing tools for facilitating the use of climate predictions in hydrologic predictions for water management. This session will review the products that GEWEX can provide to the water resource community, the steps being taking by GEWEX to improve operational hydrologic services and to facilitate the application of climate information for more efficient water resource decisions. Papers are invited that deal with the linkages between climate predictions, hydrological predictions and water management, and demonstration projects, particularly with the Continental Scale Experiments and the Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period.

3. Data and analysis for the role of land fluxes in water and energy budgets.

The coupling between the land and the atmosphere affects the response of the atmosphere to the natural variability of the surface, as well as land use change.  In semiarid and arid regions, evaporative fluxes to the atmosphere are a critical component for the demand for surface water.  These fluxes have proven to be very sensitive to surface heterogeneity and, therefore, difficult to estimate on an areal basis.  Papers are invited that focus on the factors controlling surface fluxes and methods, including flux measurement and surface data assimilation for determining surface fluxes on local, regional (including oceans) and global basis.

4. The role of modeling in predictability and prediction studies.

A major goal within GEWEX has been the extension of prediction capabilities for water and energy cycle variables to time scales of months, seasons and years. This problem has been approached by looking at the factors, such as soil moisture, that contribute to the predictability of water cycle variables on longer time scales on a regional and, even, a global basis. Papers are invited that will demonstrate what is known about predictability, particularly over land areas, the relative contributions in improvements in defining initial and boundary conditions, and the extent to which this knowledge can be used to enhance the ability of models to forecast precipitation, cloudiness and soil moisture on time scales from months to interannual.

5. New strategies for characterizing and predicting energy and water budgets.

GEWEX, through its global data set development, modeling activities and Continental Scale Experiments continues to emphasize the characterization of energy and water budgets at regional scales. This session will review the progress that has been made in characterizing regional and global water and energy budgets, using satellite data and products, surface observations, including radioisotopes and reanalysis products. Papers are invited that deal with new approaches to representing these budgets and to extending this work from its current focus from analysis to prediction.

6. Measuring and predicting precipitation.

The Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) has led to a hope by many that space borne radar can improve global measurements and predictions of precipitation events.  Some suggest that there are less costly ways to estimate precipitation by enhancing existing networks and developing better algorithms and estimation techniques.  It can also be argued that the key to better predictions lies more in improving model parameterization rather than focusing on better measurements.   Others argue that our problems are more fundamental and that measurement and prediction problems can only be properly addressed through a better understanding of the physical precipitation formation processes.   Papers are invited that review the current state of precipitation measurement systems and demonstrate advances that can lead to a better definition of both present and predicted precipitation fields.