The two-week summer school will bring graduate students and young scientists together with academic specialists in climate science and decision makers from both the public and private sectors. It is specifically designed to immerse a new generation of scientists in the
opportunities and challenges of climate modeling. Alaska and the Arctic will serve as test-beds for regional downscaling, although the methods will be suitable for applications elsewhere.
The main focus of the summer course will be on how to apply available observations and global and regional model output to meet user needs at the local and regional scales. Introductory overviews of major components of the climate system, including features unique to the Arctic, will be followed by details of how those observations and modeling efforts can be made useful to stakeholders. Dialog with individuals from government agencies, industry, and local communities will help foster understanding of the problem of communicating climate
science to society.
The summer school will consist of lectures and technical sessions in the mornings, and mini-projects and informal discussions in the afternoons. Mini-projects will be performed in collaboration with faculty members and lecturers. All participants will give short presentations on their mini-projects at the end of the two-week period. Because one of the goals of the summer school is to bridge observations and modeling with 'real-world' applications, classroom lectures will be complemented by field trips to research sites around interior Alaska.
The summer school will be offered as a two-credit UAF summer graduate course. Hosted by UAF and sponsored by the Department of Interior's (DOI) Alaska Climate Science Center, the course will be coordinated by Vladimir Alexeev, John Walsh, Scott Rupp, and Stephen Gray. Opportunities will be provided for students and scientists from different regional DOI Climate Science Centers to interact and share experiences. Summer school participants will also include graduate students from outside of the Climate Science Center Network, with
several participants drawn from the international scientific community.
Application packages must include a curriculum vitae and a letter of interest. Applications should be submitted electronically to Tohru Saito (saito [at] iarc.uaf.edu) no later than Tuesday, 15 May 2012.
Important: All applicants need to secure their own funds to participate in this opportunity, including airfare to Fairbanks, meals, and lodging.