Update from the GEWEX Hydroclimate Panel
by Jason Evans (GEWEX)
This is a short note to provide an update on various activities in and related to the GEWEX Hydroclimate Panel (GHP).
The recent launch of the new GEWEX News issues has given it a much needed facelift, and while the site content is still being expanded it promises to be a dynamic hub of useful information.
The 36th session of the Joint Scientific Committee of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) took place in April. The relatively new WCRP leadership used the meeting to discuss future WCRP research particularly research on dataset collections and climate projections, as well as new initiatives in climate and information services.
A number of GEWEX activities play a role here including proposed activities within the 6th Phase of the Coupled Modelling Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). Most relevant for GHP are the Land Surface, Snow, and Soil Moisture Model Intercomparison Project (LS3MIP); the Land Use Model Intercomparison Project (LUMIP); the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP); and Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment phase 2 (CORDEX2). Keep your eyes open for more information concerning these initiatives in coming months.
Within GHP a number of activities have been progressing. One of our senior Regional Hydroclimate Projects MAHASRI had a symposium in March to plan the concluding phase of the project and begin consideration of a follow-on project. The Hydrology of Lake Victoria (HyVic) Hydroclimate project has received significant funding through the UK providing a great platform to build a comprehensive program. The proposed Panonnian RHP is moving forward with a first planning workshop in October. A number of new cross-cut projects are starting up including “Precipitation near 0ºC”, mountain hydrology (INARCH) and mountain precipitation with conference sessions and the like being organised. Meanwhile the sub-daily precipitation cross-cut project (INTENSE) has published a review article in Reviews of Geophysics exploring our current knowledge of sub-daily precipitation extremes and how they are changing.
The plans for the next OzEWEX workshop are being developed and promises to be another great opportunity for the OzEWEX community to come together to advance environmental water and energy research in Australia. I look forward to seeing you there.
More information on some of these updates can be found in the regular GEWEX News issues.
