Wednesday 6 July 2022
Science for Society

In-person meeting
The first of three Atmospheric Science Conference meetings will take place in-person on Wednesday 6 July 2022, at the Mercure Piccadilly Hotel, Manchester - bringing together atmospheric scientists from across the UK.
For this first meeting, we have now opened registration and the call for abstracts for poster presentations. The deadline for abstract submission is Monday 6 June at 5pm.
Agenda
Registration and Networking Breakfast
08.30am BST
Registration and Networking Breakfast Welcome Reception
09.15am BST
Welcome and Opening Address
Dr Ella Gilbert, Climate Scientist, British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
Session 1
09.30-10.30 BST
Reflections on COP26 and Looking Ahead to COP27 and Beyond
Room: International Suite (Ballroom)
Chair:
David Warrilow, RMetS Climate Change Advisor
Panellists:
Melanie Hutchinson, Defra
Jennifer Allan, Cardiff University
Alyssa Gilbert, Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment
Rosalind Cornforth, University of Reading
Rowan Sutton, NCAS
Facilitators:
Hannah Mallinson and Helen MacIntyre
COP27 is taking place in a few months in Egypt. This session will provide an opportunity to hear expert discussion on some of the key points for COP27 and beyond, as well as provide an opportunity to reflect on what has been learned since COP26, what actions have taken place, and what this means for the atmospheric science community in terms of driving forward research and development to support future COPs
Atmospheric Science in "the Private Sector"
Room: Park Suite
Chair: Alcide Zhao
Speakers:
Claire Burke, Climate X
Chris Webber, Aon Reinsurance Solutions
Alec Bennett, Biral (Pre-recorded)
Several short talks by atmospheric scientists from the private sector, focusing on how they made the transition from academia to private industry. They will share their experiences and have an opportunity to answer questions from the attendees.
Atmospheric Science Benefitting Society
Room: Senate Room
Facilitator: Geoff Wykurz
This workshop provides you with an opportunity to offer an idea for how an atmospheric science initiative will benefit society and explore how to engage stakeholders and the wider community. This could be an aspect of your current work or a new proposal. Whether you have an initiative in mind or are intrigued to hear new ideas and support your colleagues to develop an idea, come along with your creative mind. This workshop promises to be a stimulating interactive experience.”
Participants will work in small groups. Presenters will have just two minutes to share their idea from their current or future work. In response, the rest of the group will discuss each idea and how the wider community could help shape its direction.
Morning Coffee Break
10.30am BST
Refreshments and Networking
Session 2
11.00-12.00 BST
Attribution of Extremes
Room: Park Suite
Chair: Beena Balan Sarojini
Speakers:
Dr Fraser Lott, Met Office
Prof Dann Mitchell, University of Bristol
Nick Leach, University of Oxford
Every time there is an extreme weather event, climate scientists are asked if it is linked to Climate Change. There is clearly an increasing need for further clarity on how we attribute extremes to climate change. This session will explore what can and should be done to improve the way we can respond to questions on attribution of extremes.
Science for Society
Room: International Suite (Ballroom)
Chair: Luke Abraham
Group 1:
Tom Faherty, Will Drysdale, Jessica Slater, Jake Vallow, Florence Brown
Group 2:
Natalie Ratcliffe, Emilia Bushrod, Rhianna Evans, Floortje van den Heuvel, Zihao Wang
A session of lightning talks based on the themes of Air Quality, and Chemistry & Aerosol. Presented by NCAS training course alumni, who during covid times have not had the opportunity to network and present in person. This session is open to all attendees of the conference, who are invited to hear and discuss a rich mixture of 4 minute presentations covering current work in atmospheric science and its contribution to society, social justice and environmental sustainability.
Atmospheric Science Benefitting Society (2)
Room: Senate Room
Facilitator: Geoff Wykurz
This workshop provides you with an opportunity to offer an idea for how an atmospheric science initiative will benefit society and explore how to engage stakeholders and the wider community. This could be an aspect of your current work or a new proposal. Whether you have an initiative in mind or are intrigued to hear new ideas and support your colleagues to develop an idea, come along with your creative mind. This workshop promises to be a stimulating interactive experience.
Lunch
12.30pm BST
Lunch and Networking
Session 3
13.30-14.30 BST
Effective Communication for Atmospheric Science
Room: Park Suite
Facilitators:
Helen MacIntyre, UK Health Security Agency
Hannah Mallinson, Royal Meteorological Society
Harriett Richardson, NCAS
Ella Gilbert, British Antarctic Survey
Cat Scott, University of Leeds
Helen Roberts, Met Office
How we communicate our atmospheric science is becoming more important than ever. This session will provide a forum for discussion on novel ways of communicating our science with society, with a particular focus on effective examples that we can share and learn from.
Can Dynamical Models be Replaced by Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning?
Room: Ballroom
Facilitators:
Jesper Dramsch, ECMWF
Alcide Zhao, University of Reading
As advances are made in Artificial Intelligence/Machine learning, the question often gets raised: can this replace dynamical modelling? This session will explore this question and see what advances have already been made, and what is in the pipeline.
Atmospheric Science Benefitting Society (3)
Room: Senate Room
Facilitator: Geoff Wykurz
This workshop provides you with an opportunity to offer an idea for how an atmospheric science initiative will benefit society and explore how to engage stakeholders and the wider community. This could be an aspect of your current work or a new proposal. Whether you have an initiative in mind or are intrigued to hear new ideas and support your colleagues to develop an idea, come along with your creative mind. This workshop promises to be a stimulating interactive experience.
Afternoon Tea Break
14.30pm BST
Refreshments and Networking
Session 4
15.00-16.00 BST
Forgotten Impacts of Climate Extremes
Room: Park Suite
Chair: Vikki Thompson
Speakers:
Eunice Lo, University of Bristol
Emily Vosper, University of Bristol
Nathanael Melia
Climate extremes such as heatwaves, droughts, or tropical cyclones, have far-reaching impacts. In this session we will think about some of these – such as storm surge contaminating aquifers, cholera cases increasing due to flooding, and how a single heatwave could eradicate an entire species. We’ll discuss how impacts could change into the future, and how climate science can help with mitigation and adaptation.
Science for Society
Room: International Suite (Ballroom)
Chair: Ioana Colfescu
Group 3:
Phoebe Noble, Amethyst Johnson, Eliza Duncan, Lorrie Jacob, Cordula Wittekind
Group 4:
MD Rabiul Awal, Mira Adhikari, Victoria Bessonova, Alexander Kurganskiy
A session of lightning talks based on the themes of Modelling & Machine Learning, and Climate Change & Climate Science. Presented by NCAS training course alumni, who during covid times have not had the opportunity to network and present in person. This session is open to all attendees of the conference, who are invited to hear and discuss a rich mixture of 4 minute presentations covering current work in atmospheric science and its contribution to society, social justice and environmental sustainability.
Atmospheric Science Benefitting Society (4)
Room: Senate Room
Facilitator: Geoff Wykurz
This workshop provides you with an opportunity to offer an idea for how an atmospheric science initiative will benefit society and explore how to engage stakeholders and the wider community. This could be an aspect of your current work or a new proposal. Whether you have an initiative in mind or are intrigued to hear new ideas and support your colleagues to develop an idea, come along with your creative mind. This workshop promises to be a stimulating interactive experience.
Closing Address
16.00pm BST
Closing Address
16.15pm BST
Conference Close
*Programme subject to change
