2008 ARM Science Team Meeting Sails Off into the Sunset

 
Published: 31 March 2008

After a long day, participants at the 2008 ARM Science Team Meeting could enjoy Norfolk's waterside paths, mermaid sculptures, and nautical history.

Set against panoramic river views in Norfolk, Virginia, the Eighteenth Annual ARM Science Team Meeting on March 10-14 brought together 270 ARM researchers, ARM infrastructure members, and leading scientists from 10 countries around the world, including China; Japan; Australia; Niger, Africa; France; and Germany. The meeting provided ample opportunities to review progress on climate research, organize field campaigns, and plan future directions for ARM research.

Forrest Hoffman (third from left) shares his award-winning poster with interested poster session attendees. With 178 posters to choose from, 20 received the acclaimed [http://www.arm.gov/science/meetings/2008/posters][Chief Scientist] award and 3 received the coveted [http://www.arm.gov/science/meetings/2008/posters][People's Choice] award—Hoffman being the first People's Choice gold recipient.

The meeting began on Monday with the Chief Scientist’s ARM orientation, overviews of the various ARM components, and in-depth working group breakout sessions. Plenary sessions and poster presentations were held on Tuesday and Wednesday, with opening remarks given by Dr. Kiran Alapaty, ARM Science Director, and Dr. Warren Wiscombe, ARM Chief Scientist. Dr. Alapaty announced the new Associate Director for the DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Dr. Anna Palmisano, then provided his prognosis for the ARM science budget in fiscal years (FY) 2009 and 2010. He also reminded participants to watch for the FY 2009 solicitation for ARM research in early April after sharing news that 28 proposals were funded in FY08, with 10 new recipients (all to be added to the ARM website soon). He concluded with a reminder to keep sharing ARM research highlights for possible inclusion in the weekly news notes at BER.

Dr. Wiscombe summarized ARM’s accomplishments since the last meeting, including publication of seven papers in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, or BAMS; the formation of three new focus groups-vertical velocity, longwave/microwave, and surface fluxes; joining the National Science Foundation’s Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere, or CASA; and participation in the first radar-lidar conference during the American Meteorological Society’s annual meeting.