Conference on meteorological and climate forecasting

Conference on meteorological and climate forecasting

An upcoming conference at Victoria University of Wellington will explore aspects of meteorological and climate forecasting, and the research underpinning weather prediction.

More than 80 research papers and posters will be presented at the New Zealand Meteorological Society conference, being held at Victoria’s Kelburn campus from 19 to 21 November. Topics range from ice sheets and sea-level rise, to gravity waves, severe weather events and air quality.

Each day will open with a 30-minute keynote presentation, including one from Professor Tim Naish, Director of Victoria’s Antarctic Research Centre. “I’m looking forward to the conference and hearing the latest developments in forecasting New Zealand’s climate,” says Professor Naish, who will focus on the challenge of predicting future sea-level rise.

Other presentations at the conference, titled Forecasts: From minutes to decades, include:
· Recent developments in physical climate modelling (Professor Dave Frame, Victoria University)

· The latest climate change scenarios for New Zealand (Brett Mullan, NIWA)

· Was climate change implicated in the very warm winter of 2013? (Sue Rosier, NIWA)

· Southern Ocean/Antarctic climate and sea ice trends (various presenters)

· The latest in weather prediction technology (various presenters)

· Extreme events from tornadoes to record frosts to climate change effects (various presenters)

“The conference is shaping up to be a very vibrant affair, with contributions from researchers and practitioners across the country,” says Dr James Renwick, from Victoria’s School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, and Wellington Vice-President of the Meteorological Society.

He adds that the conference will be of interest to scientists in universities and Crown Research Institutes, policy-makers in central and local government, and to those in weather- and climate-sensitive sectors of the economy.

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