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SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

The Atmosphere Flagship Programme in Ny-Ålesund: Activities in 2016-17. A project description.

Awarded: NOK 0.32 mill.

The Ny-Ålesund Flagship is evolving, building on the SSF workshops in 2008 and 2014, and many discussions during the last year, in particular during the 2015 Ny-Ålesund Symposium. The current flagship activities focus on those fields, where several institutes or groups can contribute, thereby allowing making more progress jointly, than individually and achieving results, which cannot be reached individually. The proposal fosters coordinated work to achieve scientific progress beyond the possibilities of the individual institutes. In particular several work groups will cooperate among the network of locations along the west coast of Spitsbergen; Ny-Ålesund, Barentsburg and Hornsund. This application includes 6 work groups with dedicated topics and participants from several institutes and more than one location. It does not cover all of the Atmosphere flagship topics listed in the new Ny-Ålesund Science Plan, leaving aside those, which are mainly covered by individual institutes only (like e.g. stratospheric ozone, air quality, or ionospheric research.) Still, the activities proposed here are by no means exclusive; rather all scientists working on the topics are invited to the suggested meetings. This proposal comprises the following six work groups: 1. Clouds, local to regional short term processes 2. Long-term observations and trends in temperature, precipitation, clouds and radiation 3. Boundary layer meteorology 4. Aerosols (black carbon) and snow, including snow albedo feedback 5. Atmospheric aerosols 6. Variability in surface UV irradiance and ozone column The planned activities call for small work group meetings during the next two years and shall culminate in the next Ny-Ålesund Seminar, which is foreseen to take place in the fall of 2017. Additionally, support is requested to facilitate scientific exchange between researchers at different institutes and also between the locations of Ny-Ålesund, Barentsburg, and Hornsund.

Funding scheme:

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum