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Arctic Midlatitude Working Group

The US CLIVAR Working Group on Arctic Change and Possible Influence on Mid-latitude Climate and Weather was formed in May 2015. The intent of the working group is to further the understanding of the coupling between Arctic variability and mid-latitude climate and weather by synthesizing ongoing efforts, coordinating research to fill out key gaps, and providing specific recommendations for accelerating scientific progress.

Main objectives of the working group

  1. Assess and synthesize existing knowledge on the links between Arctic climate change and mid-latitude weather variability including weather extremes;
  2. Identify key questions and knowledge gaps, with a particular attention on physical processes and scale interactions considering the relatively short time period and multiple components included in the hypothesized linkages;
  3. Propose or recommend targeted measurements that will allow better understanding of Arctic climate variability and surface-atmosphere coupling;
  4. Provide a preliminary assessment of the ability of current models to reproduce the correct relationship between Arctic and mid-latitude weather and climate variability. Small sample size in the observations remain a challenge, therefore modeling studies are needed to test for significance;
  5. Coordinate our efforts with those of other national and international programs, such as SEARCH (Study of Environmental Arctic Change), CliC (Climate and Cryosphere), and IASC (International Arctic Science Committee), by including their members among our WG, in teleconferences, and possibly joint meetings; and
  6. Inform funding agencies through US CLIVAR Interagency Group and the IARPC (Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee) of opportunities for advancing scientific understanding of Arctic influences on mid-latitude climate.

 

Arctic Mid-latitude Working Group
Judah Cohen, co-chair Atmospheric and Environmental Research
Xiangdong Zhang, co-chair University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Elizabeth Barnes Colorado State University
Uma Bhatt University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Dim Coumou Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Clara Deser National Center for Atmospheric Research
Steven Feldstein Penn State University
Jennifer Francis Rutgers University
Dorothy Hall University of Maryland
Thomas Jung Alfred-Wegener Institut
Arun Kumar NOAA Climate Prediction Center
Ron Kwok NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Cal Tech
Gudrun Magnusdottir University of California, Irvine
Wieslaw Maslowski Naval Postgraduate School
James Overland NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Yannick Peings University of California, Irvine
Ignatius Rigor University of Washington
James Screen University of Exeter
Julienne Stroeve National Snow & Ice Data Center
Stephen Vavrus University of Wisconsin-Madison
Timo Vihma Finnish Meteorological Institute
Muyin Wang University of Washington
Simon Wang Utah State University