ISSN 0111-1736 Meteorological Society Of New Zealand (Inc.) NEWSLETTER 120 MARCH 2010 Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter - March 2010 - Page 2 Meteorological Society Of New Zealand (Inc.) NEWSLETTER 120 MARCH 2010 PO Box 6523, Marion Square, Wellington 6141, New Zealand Please forward contributions to Bob McDavitt, [email protected] CONTENTS Page Regional Reports 3 ANZ Climate conference 4 MoRST Update 5—8 Summer 2010 9-16 Summer – in the media 17-45 Your Committee President Kim Dirks [email protected] Immediate Past President Mike Revell Auckland VP Jennifer Salmond [email protected] Wellington VP James Renwick [email protected] Christchurch VP Vacant Dunedin VP vacant Secretary Sam Dean [email protected] Treasurer Cliff Revell [email protected] Circulation Manager Sylvia Nichols [email protected] Journal Editor Brian Giles [email protected] Newsletter Editor Bob McDavitt [email protected] Wed Editor Peter Knudsen [email protected] Hydrological Society Liaison Charles Pearson [email protected] General Committee Jim Salinger [email protected] Stacey Dravitzki (to be confirmed) [email protected] Katrina Richards [email protected] Sally Garrett [email protected] Gareth Renowden [email protected] Simon Kjellberg Views and endorsements expressed in this newsletter are those of the contributors and advertisers, and not necessarily those of the Meteorological Society of New Zealand. The mention of specific companies or products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the Society. Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter - March 2010 - Page 3 RECENT WELLINGTON SEMINARS (available to met soc members) Communicating Global Climate Change using Simple Indices by Frank Drost School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010 Australia [email protected], [email protected] Given Friday 26 February 2010 at NIWA Greta Point The most common indicator of global scale climate change is the global mean surface air tem- perature, of which graphs are shown in almost every report and talk on climate change and its causes. There are several additional indices of global scale temperature variations that are useful for distinguishing natural internal climate variations from anthropogenic climate change (Karoly and Braganza 2001, Braganza et al. 2003). These include the contrast between the average temperatures over land and over oceans, the meridional temperature gradient, and the magnitude of the annual cycle of average temperatures over land. They are nearly in- dependent of the global mean temperature for natural internal climate variations at decadal time scales and represent different aspects of the climate system, yet they show common re- sponses to anthropogenic climate change (Braganza et al, 2004). In this presentation, Frank discussed some of the results of those previous studies followed by an extended analysis that includes the last ten years of observational data and the CMIP3 climate model simulations analysed for the IPCC AR4. Twentieth Century SAM Variability from reconstructions, observations and model simula- tions by Dr Julie Jones, University of Sheffield, UK http://www.shef.ac.uk/geography/staff/jones_julie/index.html Given Thursday 18 March 2010 at NIWA Greta Point Seasonal reconstructions of the Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode (SAM) index back to 1865 have been derived, using principal component regression with station sea level pres- sure (SLP) data as predictors. The reconstructed SAM indices were used to evaluate the SAM in simulations from 17 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) models from 1865-2005. The models capture the recent (1957-2005) positive SAM trends in austral summer, which recon- structions indicate is the strongest trend during the last 150 years; ozone depletion is the dominant mechanism driving these trends. Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter - March 2010 - Page 4 Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter - March 2010 - Page 5 From committee member Gareth Renowden: A little something for the weekend: a wonderful picture of wind farm wakes — clouds forming in the wakes behind the front row of the Horns Rev wind farm (http://www.hornsrev.dk/index.en.html), 14km off the coast of Denmark. Pic- ture comes from http://ict-aeolus.eu/index.html . Report of the Crown Research Institute Taskforce: From MoRST UPDATE 2010 Government is considering these recommendations. Any ac- tions taken as a result will be part of a wide range of changes to the science system. The aim is to improve how the system delivers for New Zealand, particularly in increasing business innovation through R&D, a key part of the Government’s pro- gramme to lift the nation’s economic performance. A science system that is simpler, less bureaucratic and more responsive to the needs of business will be a better driver of innovation and a better place for scientists to do quality research. Other pieces of the package of changes to the science system have been introduced or are coming together: · Last December new priorities for research, science and technology funding were ap- proved. These new investment priorities include research outcomes and other areas, such as the Marsden Fund and research infrastructure. These priorities reflect a refocusing of the Government’s goals for research, science and technology. They also place more emphasis on the outcomes of research, rather than the programmes used to fund it, and so more clearly link with the Government’s goals. · MoRST, the Foundation, the Health Research Council and the Royal Society are simplify- ing the system , to reduce costs for applying for and using Government funding. · We have been considering ways to directly encourage and support businesses to do R&D, and to improve transfer of technologies and ideas from science institutions to businesses. De- tails of this package of measures are likely to be announced in the Budget in May. · As part of the commitment to strengthen the capability of the science system a Research Infrastructure Strategy is being developed. This will assist Government to support the large, national infrastructure vital to enabling science to meet the Government's goals. It will also Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter - March 2010 - Page 6 allow Government to align its investment in research infrastructure with economic outcomes and open doors to better international science collaborations for New Zealand research teams. · Science is playing an increasingly important role in international relations. To increase the impact of New Zealand science in the international arena, MoRST has developed a strategy that is aligned with the Government’s new funding priorities and identifies the key nations New Zealand wants to establish and strengthen partnerships with. We have merged various funding schemes into a new fund directed by our international strategy: the International Re- lationship Fund. This will improve the ability of scientists to establish new relationships with overseas science partners. These changes will make New Zealand a more attractive place for entrepreneurial businesses to start and grow firms, and for researchers to do ground-breaking work. Dr. Helen Anderson, Chief Executive of MoRST, from MoRST UPDATE March 2010 Report of the Crown Research Institute Taskforce : How to enhance the value of New Zealand’s investment in Crown Research Institutes http://www.morst.govt.nz/Documents/work/cri-taskforce/Report-of-the-Crown-Research-Institute-Taskforce.pdf Executive Summary CRIs play a pivotal role in New Zealand’s innovation system Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) matter to New Zealand. Their importance is increasing as science plays an ever more critical role in the nation’s economic development. Research and the other services provided by CRIs help address New Zealand’s most pressing issues: achiev- ing economic growth by making the tradable sector more productive; improving the sustain- able use of natural resources; and managing exposure to risks that could otherwise destabi- lise society, the environment and the economy. Research and development generates profound and enduring benefits for New Zealand soci- ety. Ongoing government investment is essential. The Government established CRIs to im- prove the economic, environmental and social wellbeing of New Zealand, and they are deliv- ering substantial benefits. However, the evidence received and our deliberations have led us to conclude that CRIs can and should contribute much more. CRIs have the potential to be powerful engines of economic growth, forging national and in- ternational collaborations at the cutting edge of research and science. CRIs already attract in- ternational attention because of their strong links to business, government and other science organisations. We believe, however, that through greater collaboration CRIs can perform much better. Such collaborations will, the Taskforce believes, become more important in de- livering benefits to New Zealand. What needs to change so that CRIs contribute more to New Zealand? We do not believe changing the number of CRIs, their ownership status, or their employment arrangements will significantly improve their contribution to New Zealand. The question is not how many CRIs New Zealand should have, but what structures will best provide research services that address the problems and opportunities New Zealand faces. It is our opinion that the main factors impeding CRI performance relate to their funding, ownership and govern- ance arrangements, as follows: Currently, it is not clear if a CRI’s objective is to create value for itself, as a company, or to gen- erate value for New Zealand. Current ownership arrangements seem to place undue emphasis on research and development that produces outputs that individual CRIs can capture in their statements of revenue and balance sheets, rather than on research that contributes to the wellbeing and prosperity of New Zealand. This can reduce quite significantly the overall im- pact of government investment in CRIs. There are multiple lines of accountability that dilute the CRIs’ sense of purpose and direction.