The World Weather Open Science Conference 2014 (WWOSC2014) - "The Weather: what's the outlook?"

MONTREAL, July 31, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - "The Weather: What's the Outlook," is the theme of the World Weather Open Science Conference 16-21 August, bringing together the entire weather science and user communities for the first time. 

More than 1000 participants from meteorological services, governments, industry, the user community and academia are expected at the conference in Montreal. It is organized jointly by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the International Council for Science (ICSU), Environment Canada, and the National Research Council, Canada.

"The World Weather Open Science Conference will review the latest developments in weather science and it's applications; it will debate the future directions that successful scientific enterprise needs to address in order to enable society to cope with extreme weather and its impacts," said International Organizing Committee co-chair Alan Thorpe (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts).

Speakers include:

• Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General, WMO
• Alan J. Thorpe, Director-General, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)
• Professor Julia Slingo, OBE, Chief Scientist, Met Office
• Dr. Alberto Troccoli, Head of the Weather and Energy Research Unit, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)
• Dr. Melvyn A. Shapiro, Visiting Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
• Rowan Douglas, Chairman, Willis Research Network, Willis Group
• Emma E. Porio, Ph.D., Professor of sociology, Ateneo de Manila University

There will be special sessions on high-impact weather such as heat-waves and droughts, cold spells, extreme rainfall and flooding, tornadoes and tropical cyclones.

Other sessions will focus on weather impacts on energy and transport systems; urban meteorology; the roles of insurance and weather information in managing risk; and collaboration between the public and private sectors and academia in the weather enterprise.

Polar predictions, seasonal to sub-seasonal predictions, and interactions between the cryosphere (frozen water), ocean and atmosphere are among the other topics.

The overarching theme of WWOSC2014 is seamless prediction and this refers to both predicting the meteorology of the atmospheric system with a similar approach on all time-scales and to predicting non-meteorological aspects of the system such as atmospheric composition and flooding in an integrated way. Referring to this as seamless meteorology is to contrast with the modern fashion to instead use the phrase "weather and climate".

According to Michel Béland, International Organizing Committee co-chair (former President of WMO Commission for Atmospheric Sciences), "Predicting the weather accurately and reliably saves lives, avoids costs and provides economic opportunities. WWOSC2014 will review the latest science and it's applications to determine the opportunities for improving the skill of such forecasts."

A full-service Media Centre will be available at the Conference and onsite media will have access to press conferences, scrums and one-on-one interviews.

Complimentary registration to the conference will be given to all members of the news media who are awarded accreditation.

For those who will not be able to attend the Conference, we will have, on site communications facilities, allowing interviews with the spokesperson or the scientists present at the WWOSC 2014 Conference. However, you still must complete the accreditation form. Please request this form from Mr. Jacques Lavigne, Media Relations – WWOSC 2014 at [email protected] or [email protected]

(Également disponible en français)
For more information, visit the Conference website here.

SOURCE: The World Weather Open Science Conference 2014

For further information: Mr. Jacques Lavigne, Media Relations - WWOSC 2014, Améthyste communications, Email: [email protected], [email protected], Telephone: [phone], Fax: [phone] | Sylvie Castonguay, [email protected], Telephone : [phone]