IARC SUMMER SCHOOL 2003

Project Scientist: John Walsh, IARC

We conducted an IARC summer school for graduate students and first year post-doctoral fellows on July 14-25, 2003, by inviting top-level researchers as lecturers for the topics.

This tutorial or "mini-course" was targeted at graduate students and recent graduates, including postdoctoral fellows, with the goals of (1) informing young scientists about the scientific challenges and opportunities in arctic modeling, and (2) actively entraining some of the participants into the next generation of arctic modelers. The need for young scientists in arctic modeling has become apparent in our recent search for such scientists to fill the Climate of the Arctic: Modeling and Processes (CAMP)- and Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA)-related positions at IARC. Tutorial participants visited the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center (ARSC) at UAF, where an NEC SX-6 computer has been installed. Since the Earth Simulator is equivalent to 350 SX-5s, the use of the NEC SX-6 at ARSC is a first step toward familiarizing ourselves with the Earth Simulator.

In spite of our original plan to have 10 students, we received 140 applications. The final number of students was 20; some came with their own funds.

The format of the tutorial was a series of presentations by leading arctic modelers during the mornings, followed by hands-on experimentation and analysis of model output by the attendees during the afternoons. Depending on the backgrounds and expertise of the participants, the hands-on activities were combinations of (1) studying archived model output in graphical and/or digital form, and (2) reviewing the published literature relevant to the material covered in the tutorial. The following list of topics were covered:

1. arctic atmosphere
2. arctic ocean and sea ice
3. terrestrial simulation (hydrology, snow, permafrost)
4. vegetation, ecosystems and biogeochemistry
5. coupling and feedback simulation

As indicated by this listing of topics, the arctic terrestrial component was a key part of the workshop. This emphasis is based on our perceived need for an acceleration of activity in arctic terrestrial modeling within a "system framework." The invited lecturers were:

V. Kattsov, Main Geophysical Observatory, Russia
S. Manabe, Princeton University
D. McGuire, IAB, UAF
A. Proshutinsky, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
I. Simmonds, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (Australia)
M. Steele, University of Washington
B. Weatherhead, NOAA
J. Weatherly, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory