Chris Fairall named Chair of newly formed working group

Contact: Christopher Fairall

Dr. Christopher W. Fairall of NOAA's Environmental Technology Laboratory has been appointed Chair of the newly formed World Climate Research Program (WCRP) Working Group on Surface Fluxes (WGSF). At its 24th meeting, held in Reading, United Kingdom, March 2003, the WMO Joint Scientific Committee for WCRP decided to establish the WGSF and in June 2003, Dr. D. J. Carson (Director, WCRP Programme Department, Geneva, Switzerland) announced the selection of Dr. Fairall as Chair.

This new working group is a follow up to a temporary Working Group on air-sea fluxes previously chaired by Dr. Peter K. Taylor (Southhampton Oceanography Centre) and Dr. Sergey Gulev (Shirshov Institute of Oceanography). The committee is charged with reviewing and coordinating requirements of the various WCRP programs for air-sea fluxes (initially) and air-land fluxes (in a few years), promoting research in air-sea fluxes, and facilitating communication of research advances.

Specific objectives include: developing flux data sets; improving measurement technologies and parameterizations ; and assessments of sensitivity of climate models and limits of predictability associated with errors in flux parameterizations. The WGSF will also serve as a bridge between WCRP and the Surface Ocean - Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS). SOLAS is an international program with the goal of achieving understanding of key biogeochemical-physical interactions between the ocean and atmosphere. Examples include how deposition of airborne iron-bearing dust affects oceanic biological productivity and how biologically-produced sulphur gases affect clouds. Dr. Fairall's first task will be appointing a dozen scientist to serve on the working group.

This working group is important to NOAA as two of NOAA's major climate research projects, the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) and the Climate Variability and Prediction (CLIVAR), are part of WCRP. There are also links to NOAA's contribution to the Carbon Cycle Science Initiative and the Climate Observations research program.

NOAA Office of Global Programs