INSIDE THIS ISSUE

ICAS STAFF TO HOST TWO MAJOR

SCIENCE MEETINGS

UK Composition Climate Event

Boundary Layers and

Turbulence Symposium

RESEARCH AWARD WINNER

Andy Shepherd

POSTGRADUATE RESEARCHER

PUBLICATION PRIZE WINNERS

James Atkinson and Catherine Scott

LEAF

New Research Centre opened

INCOMPASS

Research grant to investigate the

dynamics of the Indian Monsoon

CHALLENGE SEMINARS

Introducing ICAS Challenge Seminars

INTRODUCING THE ICAS NEWSLETTER Welcome from the new ICAS Director

I'm delighted to take over as Director of this exciting institute.

ICAS has an energy and creativity that rivals any institute I know

internationally. It's a pleasure to help steer it into the future. Our

strategy is simple: create an exciting and cooperative research and

teaching environment, appoint and nurture the best scientists, and the

rest will follow.

Prof Ken Carslaw

ICAS Newsletter Issue 1 May 2014

Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science SCHOOL OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT

www.see.leeds.ac.uk/research/icas/ Twitter@ICASLeeds

FIFTH ANNUAL COMPOSITION-CLIMATE MEETING

ANDY SHEPHERD WINS WOLFSON RESEARCH MERIT AWARD

BOUNDARY LAYERS AND TURBULENCE SYMPOSIUM

9–13 JUNE 2014

Queens Hotel, Leeds

The 21st Symposium on Boundary

Layers and Turbulence will be held

in Leeds, organised by Professor

Ian Brooks. It is sponsored by the

American Meteorological Society

(AMS) and organised by the AMS

Committee on Boundary Layers

and Turbulence.

The themes of

the symposium are:

Coastal, marine and

polar boundary layers

Boundary layer processes,

observations and modeling,

including interactions with the

land surface and biosphere

Renewable energy applications

of boundary layer physics

Boundary layer clouds

Observations and modeling

In complex and urban terrain

Boundary layer

parameterizations in models

at all scales

Theoretical and practical

issues associated with

multi-scale simulations

Morning and afternoon

transitional behaviour of the

boundary layer

Recent field experiments

Congratulations to Professor Andy Shepherd, who has been appointed a

Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award holder for his work on assessing

how polar ice sheets contribute to global sea level rise.

Professor Shepherd is one of 28 new award holders in subjects ranging from

radar-tracking the movement patterns of bees to the development of machine

learning for precision medicine.

The scheme, which is jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), aims to

provideuniversities with additional support to enable them to attract science

talent from overseas and retain respected UK scientists of outstanding

achievement and potential.

Andy is also Director of the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling

(CPOM), one of two NERC-funded centres for studying the Earth from space

hosted at Leeds. You can read more about CPOM and COMET, the Centre

for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics,

here: www.see.leeds.ac.uk/news/.

The Fifth Annual Composition-

Climate meeting, supported by

NCAS and the Met Office, will take

place on 25 and 26 March 2015 at

the University of Leeds hosted by the

Institute for Climate & Atmospheric

Science.

The meeting aims to bring together

UK scientists from both ac.uk and the

Met Office working on all aspects of

atmospheric composition and the

interaction with climate and the Earth

system, including atmospheric

chemistry, aerosols and land surface

interactions. It will provide an

opportunity to discuss the tools that

are being used as well as the

scientific problems being tackled.

Invited and open presentations will

cover new science with the UKCA

model, other relevant components of

Earth system models, as well as

other chemistry-climate models.

There will also be a poster session.

More details to follow.

ICAS WINS TWO OUT OF THE THREE SCHOOL POSTGRADUATE RESEARCHER PUBLICATION PRIZES

The School of Earth and

Environment held its Annual

Postgraduate Researcher Publication

Prize giving ceremony on Monday 28

April 2014.

The Competition, in its fourth year,

had 26 entries from which 3 winners

(2 in ICAS) were selected by the

School Research Committee. The

standard was high with the winning

publications being of at least 3* REF

quality:

James Atkinson

Atkinson JD, Murray BJ, Woodhouse

MT, Whale TF, Baustian KJ, Carslaw

KS, Dobbie S, O'Sullivan D, Malkin

TL (2013) The importance of feldspar

for ice nucleation by mineral dust in

mixed-phase clouds. Nature 498

(7454):355-358. doi:10.1038/

nature12278.

Since the early days of ice nucleation

research the clay minerals were

identified as being the component of

mineral dust which makes it an

effective ice nucleus. Jim’s work has

shown that this was wrong, instead a

mineral group many atmospheric

scientists had never heard of, the

feldspars, is actually

responsible. This changed the way

in which our community looks at ice

nucleation by desert dusts and how

experiments will be performed in the

future. This discovery also allowed

us to model the distribution of mineral

dust ice nuclei on a global scale

using GLOMAP. Jim initiated the

global modelling work done in the

GLOMAP team by approaching Matt

Woodhouse. Carslaw and I now have

a joint post-doc (Browse) and a PhD

position funded as part of the EU

BACCHUS project to expand on this

work. Hence, Jim’s work has had

significant impact on our research

programme.

James was the first person to

systematically study the ice

nucleating properties of the individual

minerals present in mineral dust

using well characterized mineral dust

samples. Jim showed that many clay

samples which people had used in

the past contained significant

amounts of feldspar and it was this

feldspar ‘impurity’ that controlled the

ice nucleating ability of those

samples.

James was the person who identified

feldspar as the key ice nucleating

material very early on in his PhD. He

came up with this hypothesis on the

basis of a limited number of

experiments in combination with

literature data. He then designed an

experiment, rebuilt an instrument and

carried out a sequence of

experiments the results of which

supported his hypothesis. He very

much drove the direction of his

research and fully deserves this

prize.

Catherine Scott

Scott, C. E., Rap, A., Spracklen, D.

V., Forster, P. M., Carslaw, K. S.,

Mann, G. W., Pringle, K. J., Kivekäs,

N, Kulmala, M., Lihavainen, H. and

Tunved, P. (2014). ‘The direct and

indirectradiative effects of biogenic

secondary organic aerosol.’ Atmos.

Chem. Phys., 14, p.447-470.

There has been a consensus in the

literature and media that planting

trees in the tropics is better for

mitigating climate change, than in

boreal regions. Trees in both regions

remove CO2 from the atmosphere,

cooling the climate. However, during

snowy periods, trees in boreal

regions make the Earth’s surface

less reflective and therefore warm

the climate. Cat’s paper is the first to

evaluate a third effect of trees on

the climate: airborne

particles formed by vegetation

interact with sunlight in the

atmosphere, and increase the

brightness of clouds, cooling the

climate.

This occurs because the reaction

products of gases emitted by

vegetation are able to stick to

particles in the atmosphere,

helping them grow larger. This is

important because particles must

reach a certain size before they are

able interact with radiation in the

atmosphere, or form cloud

droplets.

The reaction products of biogenic

gases may also participate in the

very first stages of new particle

formation. The formation of new

particles is inherently difficult to

observe directly; only recently have

experimental limitations been

overcome, allowing the

composition of the initial clusters to

be determined, and the role of

biogenic compounds confirmed. In

this study I show, for the first time,

that the radiative impact of

biogenic compounds is far greater

(up to 11 times) if they are helping

to form new particles in the

atmosphere.

Since publication in ACP on the 14

January 2014, the paper has been

viewed over 700 times (including

260 downloads).

Each of the winners gave a twenty

minute presentation before being

awarded their prizes.

IN THE NEXT ISSUE Focus on our

Partnerships:

NCAS, the Met Office

and KIT

LEAF COMES TO LEEDS

The Leeds Ecosystem, Atmosphere and Forest (LEAF) research centre has

opened at the University of Leeds.

The Centre led by ICAS’s Dom Spracklen and coordinated by Cat Scott

brings together forest-related research being conducted across campus. By

linking researchers across faculties, LEAF will strengthen existing

collaborations and encourage new inter-departmental partnerships,

establishing the University of Leeds as a leading national centre in forest

research.

LEAF will host regular workshops and maintain an active online presence,

providing researchers with opportunities to disseminate the findings of their

work.

Importantly, LEAF will also act as a means for the end-users of forest

research (e.g. NGOs, charities and businesses) to be in touch with the

academics that produce it. This will ensure that research conducted at the

University of Leeds has a tangible and beneficial impact on the world’s

forests and their communities.

The official launch event for LEAF takes place on 1 October 2014. Further

information can be found at: http://leaf.leeds.ac.uk/.

INCOMPASS — INVESTIGATING THE DYNAMICS OF THE INDIAN MONSOON

NEW CENTRE FOR POLAR OBSERVATION AND MODELLING COMES TO ICAS

Leading the way in Earth

observation research

The UK Natural Environment

Research Council (NERC) has

awarded the University of Leeds

£2.6 million to host and lead a

national centre for studying the

Earth from space.

The Centre for Polar Observation &

Modelling (CPOM) moves to the

University of Leeds on 1 April 2014.

Scientists in CPOM are gearing up

to analyse the first images to be

acquired by the European Space

Agency's Earth observation

satellite Sentinel-1A, which is due

to be launched on 3 April 2014.

The images, expected in the

coming weeks, will give scientists

the first glimpse of how the polar

ice sheets have changed since the

demise of EnviSat — Europe's last

environmental satellite mission —

in 2012.

Professor Andy Shepherd from the

School of Earth and Environment at

the University of Leeds and

Director of CPOM, said: “This is an

exciting time for Leeds to be taking

the driving seat in Earth

observation, with the upcoming

launch of the Sentinel-1A satellite.

We will soon have unprecedented

views of our planet from space that

will allow us to detect millimetre-

scale movements of the Earth's

crust and ice fields as they change

over time.

“Glaciers in Antarctica and

Greenland are flowing faster today

than at any time in the satellite era,

and the measurements we have

acquired from space since the

1990s have transformed our ability

to study the impacts of climate

change. We’re confident that

Sentinel-1A will provide a step

change in our ability to detect these

changes, as it is the first mission

designed with collecting

observations of ice motion in mind.”

ICAS’ Doug Parker and John

Marsham have won a major research

grant as part of a joint UK-Indian

consortium studying the dynamics of

the Indian Monsoon.

The INCOMPASS project will involve

a large-scale field campaign in India

and over the adjacent oceans, in the

year 2016, and a programme of

computer modelling, with the specific

aim of improving predictions of the

monsoon.

The Indian Monsoon is one of the

most significant climate systems on

Earth. The seasonal changes in the

monsoon winds, which bring the

annual rainfall to most parts of India

in the summer, are one of the most

intense and robust patterns in our

climate system. However, computer

models show very large errors for

this region, whether predicting the

weather a few days in advance, or

representing the current climate of

India. Climate projections for future

Indian rainfall also have significant

uncertainties.

The INCOMPASS project aims to

explain the physical processes which

lead to these errors in models, and to

derive strategies to represent the

processes more accurately. In

particular, the project will explore the

ways in which the land surface, and

the patterns of land-use, lead to

responses in the regional climate.

Institute of Climate and Atmospheric Science

School of Earth and Environment

Institute Director, Professor Ken Carslaw

Earth and Environment Building

Leeds LS2 9JT

Telephone: 0113 343 2846

www.see.leeds.ac.uk/research/icas/

Twitter@ICASLeeds

University of Leeds

Leeds, United Kingdom

LS2 9JT

www.leeds.ac.uk

EL NIÑO OFFERS A NEW WAY TO PREDICT POOR HARVESTS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE

Scientists have announced the

findings of the first study on the

connection between the El Niño and

global crop yield fluctuations,

providing a new tool for adapting

food security to climate change.

Study co-author Professor Andy

Challinor, from the School of Earth &

Environment at the University of

Leeds, said: “The IPCC Fifth

Assessment Report highlighted that

we expect a decrease in the year-to-

year stability of our food supply and

that we need to act now to safeguard

food production in the future.

“This new work tells us that we can

predict when the bad years will be,

ahead of the harvest.”

Previously, the reliability of seasonal

crop yield forecasts had been

insufficient for mid- and high-latitude

regions due to weaker influences of

the tropical oceans and because

some crops in these areas are more

greatly influenced by soil water

content than temperature.

As the prediction of El Niño and the

lesser known La Niña – a warming

and cooling, respectively, of the sea

surface temperatures in the tropical

Pacific – are highly accurate, they

could be used to improve the harvest

forecast of crops in those areas.

In the new study, which is published

today in the journal Nature

Communications, an international

team of researchers found that in

both El Niño and La Niña years, the

global mean yield of corn, rice and

wheat is much lower than normal.

The response of the soybean yield in

La Niña years is unclear, but the

study found an increase in El Niño

years.

The research also shows that the

region in which the yield of crops is

negatively affected by La Niña is

smaller than the region affected by El

Niño; the negative impacts of La

Niña affect 9-13% of harvested areas

worldwide, compared to 22-24% for

El Niño.

However, unlike El Niño years, the

area that is affected in a positive way

in La Niña years is much smaller

than the region that is affected

negatively – only 2-4% of harvested

areas worldwide.

Study lead author Dr Toshichika

Iizumi, from the National Institute for

Agro-Environmental Sciences in

Japan, said: “The El Niño remains a

concern for regions where crop

production is negatively affected, but

we need to pay more attention to La

Niña from a food trade point of view.”

Professor Challinor concluded: “The

study shows that measures need to

be taken to safeguard food supply in

bad years and also to make the most

of good years. Actions range from

targeted crop management through

to crop insurance and management

of food storage.”

NEW ICAS "CHALLENGE SEMINARS"

ICAS has introduced a new style of

seminar that will enable staff and

students to showcase an exciting

research area for the benefit of

PhD/Postdoc interest as well as

strategic planning of research and

teaching. Challenge seminars will

be organised on an ad hoc basis by

groups of staff and research

students. The aims are to:

Define and address the big

science questions and be ‘horizon

scanning’ rather than focusing on

current projects

Cut across and integrate research

areas by involving several people

in the preparation and

presentation

Describe the state of the science

and the major current and

anticipated developments in the

field

Evaluate current ICAS capability,

contributions and potential in

emerging research areas.

The topic, mode of delivery and

participants are entirely up to staff

and students, who will self-

organise.

The first seminar will take place

on 10 July, led by Andy Challinor,

John Marsham and Doug Parker.

The topic will be how new

convection-permitting models

open up a whole new area of

weather and climate impacts

research.