Climate, space climate, and couplings between

July 6-17, 2015

NCAR - Boulder, Colorado, USA

NCAR Organizers:

Chair - Sarah Gibson

Dan Marsh, Hanli Liu, Art Richmond, Giuliana de Toma, Rebecca Centeno-Eliott, Bette Otto-Bliesner, Wiebke Deierling, Jean-Francois Lamarque

University of Colorado Organizers:

Cora Randall, Peter Pilewskie

SUMMARY

The ASP Summer Colloquium will bring together graduate students from both Atmospheric Science and Solar & Space Physics programs to study the interrelated subjects of terrestrial and space climate, in particular regarding the response of both to long-term solar variability. We aim to include a roughly even number of students from each discipline, and a similar mix of lecturers. The program will begin by laying a foundation of shared knowledge through basic subject tutorials on both sides. It continues with synthesis talks to explore concepts related to connections between these fields, and with focused research talks to build a picture of current hot topics and subjects of debate related to solar variability and climate/space climate research. 

MOTIVATION AND TIMELINESS

Terrestrial climate science is a mature science, with well-developed community models and observations. However, although the effect of long-term solar variability on climate is not expected to be large, uncertainties remain in particular regarding sensitivities to short wavelength radiation from the Sun. Space climate, which includes the long-term variability in the Earth's space environment and upper atmosphere, is far more sensitive to changes in solar drivers. Many questions remain as to how changes at the Sun over solar cycle (11 years) and longer time periods will affect space climate, and what the implications will be for technological systems that have become increasingly vulnerable to space weather. Finally, the two regimes cannot be considered in isolation, since they are linked through couplings between the upper and lower terrestrial atmosphere. Progress towards these open questions requires a broad approach that takes into account the entire Sun-Earth System.