Deliverable No. 8.5 Report from US CLIVAR working group meeting including recommendations for adjustments to the WP3 part of the APPLICATE numerical experimentation plan

The US CLIVAR Working Group on Arctic Change and Possible Influence on Mid-Latitude Climate and Weather has been established to further the understanding of the coupling between Arctic variability and mid-latitude climate and weather. Its aims relate strongly with those of APPLICATE WP3, i.e., to advance our understanding of the mechanisms by which mid-latitude weather and climate cold respond to Arctic climate change.

The Working Group convened an international workshop at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, on 1-3 February 2017, to assemble experts across the fields of atmosphere, ocean, and cryosphere sciences to assess the rapidly evolving state of understanding and to identify consensus on knowledge and gaps in research, and to develop specific actions to accelerate progress within the research community.

APPLICATE coordinator Thomas Jung (AWI) and WP3-leader Doug Smith (MetOffice) participated in the workshop on behalf of the APPLICATE Consortium to strengthen the link with the working group and to gather recommendations for the WP3 numerical experimentation plan.

The workshop found that our understanding of Arctic amplification (AA) is incomplete, Arctic- midlatitude linkages aren’t yet well understood, and observations and analysis are currently incomplete.

Recommendations for the modelling community included the creation of a modelling task force to coordinate MIP experiments drawing from the initial planning and discussions of the US CLIVAR Working Group and planned modelling element of the European Horizon 2020 projects (APPLICATE, Blue Action, and PRIMAVERA).