EOS VOLUME 90 NUMBER 26 30 JUNE 2009 Rain on Snow cont. from page 221 spatial distribution of ROS events is still quite limited, it is possible to estimate how the characteristic climatic conditions that lead TRANSACTIONS to currently detected ROS events will change AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION in the future. Results from a fully coupled The Newspaper of the Earth and Space Sciences global climate model under the Intergovern- Editors mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) A1B climate scenario [IPCC, 2000] suggest a sig- Anny Cazenave: Laboratoire d’Etudes en nificant increase in the area and frequency Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales, of ROS events in the next 40 years [Rennert Toulouse, France; [email protected] et al., 2009] (Figure 2). John W. Geissman: Department of Earth and Planetary Science,University of New Mexico, ROS Research Challenges Albuquerque, USA; [email protected] The current maps and statistical analyses Wendy S. Gordon: Texas Parks and Wildlife of ROS events are based on limited detec- Department, Austin, USA; wendy.gordon@tpwd .state.tx.us tion by a surface weather network that is especially sparse in the north. The existing Manuel Grande: University of Wales, data lack direct evidence of some of the Aberystwyth; [email protected] largest known ROS events [e.g., Putkonen, Hassan Virji: START, Washington, D. C., USA; 1998; Rennert et al., 2009], which suggests [email protected] that many more events may have escaped detection. Currently, the greatest need is to Interim Editor in Chief create a database for the frequency and dis- tribution of past and present ROS events. Robert T. Van Hook: AGU, Washington, D.C., USA; eos_ [email protected] This could be produced by reprocessing the archived satellite microwave data with Fig. 2. Number of ROS events per winter (a) in the European Centre for Medium- Range Weather Forecasts’ (ECMWF) Forty- Year European Re- Analysis (ERA40) of the Global Atmosphere for the the aid of the recently developed detection Editorial Advisory Board period 1980–1999 and (b) for the same period using version three of the Community Climate method by Grenfell and Putkonen [2008] for System Model (CCSM3) general circulation model. ROS events are defined as a minimum of M. Lee Allison Earth and Space Sciences ROS events. Informatics 3 millimeters of rain falling on a minimum of 5 millimeters of snow water equivalent. (c) The One of the most immediate challenges difference between current and projected ROS frequencies per winter for the same thresholds Roni Avissar Global Environmental Change is to develop automated equipment that for the period 2040–2059 in the CCSM3 under the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios’ can reliably detect ROS events in the field A1B climate scenario [IPCC, 2000] and for the 1980–1999 period under ERA40. If a given area Roland Bürgmann Tectonophysics without becoming incapacitated or con- is forecasted to receive exactly the same amount of ROS in the future as it receives today, the founded by melting snow or freezing water. map shows white in that area; an area forecasted to receive more ROS in the future than today Noah S. Diffenbaugh Atmospheric Sciences Such measurement capability would pro- is shown in darker shades of gray, dependent on the magnitude of the increase; and areas fore- John E. Ebel Seismology vide much needed surface observations casted to receive less ROS in the future than today are shown in lighter shades of gray. The future against which the satellite record could be scenario indicates increased frequency of ROS events in much of northwestern North America, Michael N. Gooseff Hydrology compared. which is the habitat for several types of caribou. Decreases in ROS events shown are broadly due Major ROS events strongly affect the lives to projected decreases in snowpack in the model, not to a decrease in rain events. Reprinted with Stephen Macko Education and fates of wildlife, ecosystem, and people permission from Rennert et al. [2009]. in northern snow- covered regions. Without Stefan Maus Geomagnetism and a clear understanding of the processes that Paleomagnetism Special Report of Working Group III of the Inter- Arctic, J. Clim., 22(9), 2302–2315, doi:10.1175/ lead to ROS events, and without knowledge governmental Panel on Climate Change, Working 2008JCLI2117.1. Jerry L. Miller Oceanography of past spatial distributions and frequencies Group III, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, U. K. Russell, D. E., R. G. White, and C. J. Daniel (2005), of ROS events, it is impossible to chart the Grenfell, T. C., and J. Putkonen (2008), A method Peter Olson Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior Energetics of the Porcupine caribou herd: A com- impending changes in ROS characteristics for the detection of the severe rain- on- snow event puter simulation model, Tech. Rep. Ser. 431, Michael Poland Geodesy and gauge the implications for the Arctic on Banks Island, October 2003, using passive 64 pp., Can. Wildlife Serv., Ottawa, Ont., Canada. environment in general. The use of the tech- microwave remote sensing, Water Resour. Res., Paul R. Renne Volcanology, Geochemistry, niques described in this article, in conjunc- 44, W03425, doi:10.1029/ 2007WR005929. and Petrology tion with modern global climate modeling, Putkonen, J. K. (1998), Soil thermal properties Author Information offers the potential to anticipate and allevi- and heat transfer processes near Ny Alesund, Jeffery J. Roberts Mineral and Rock Physics northwestern Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Polar Res., Jaakko Putkonen, Department of Geology and ate the impact of ROS events on northern 17, 165- 179. Geological Engineering, University of North Dakota, John B. Rundle Nonlinear Geophysics ungulates and ecosystems and the people Putkonen, J. K., and G. Roe (2003), Rain on snow Grand Forks; E-mail: Jaakko . putkonen@ und . edu; who live there. events impact soil temperatures and affect ungu- Thomas C. Grenfell, Kevin Rennert, and Cecilia Bitz, Susan E. H. Sakimoto Planetary Sciences late survival, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(4), 1188, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of References doi:10.1029/ 2002GL016326. Washington, Seattle; Paul Jacobson, Department of Sarah L. Shafer Paleoceanography and Rennert, K., G. Roe, J. Putkonen, and C. Bitz Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Paleoclimatology Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2009), Soil thermal and ecological impacts Seattle; and Don Russell, Canadian Wildlife Service, (2000), Special Report on Emission Scenarios: A of rain on snow events in the circumpolar Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada David G. Sibeck Space Physics and Aeronomy Maribeth Stolzenburg Atmospheric and The Siberian home of the Polaris Project, Space Electricity A Field Course in the Siberian Arctic: the Northeast Science Station, near Chers- 30 Days, 20 People, 3 Continents, 1 Barge kiy, is at 68ºN, just 80 kilometers south of the Jeffrey M. Welker Biogeosciences Arctic Ocean on the Kolyma River. The sta- Staff tion has access to a wide variety of ecosys- As environmental change accelerates regard, the Siberian Arctic provides a criti- tem types, including mountainous uplands, Editorial: Barbara T. Richman, Executive Editor; boreal forests, tundra, lakes, streams, rivers, Randy Showstack, Senior Writer; Mohi Kumar, in the Arctic, the international scientific cal, under- studied field laboratory to inves- Science Writer/Editor; Ernie Tretkoff, Writer/ community is struggling to keep up with tigate the ecological and biogeochemical Editor; Melissa Tribur, Production Coordinator; research efforts. To help with this, an inno- ramifications of climate change. Field Course cont. on next page Liz Castenson, Editor’s Assistant; Don Hendrick- vative project aims to create a new cohort son, Copy Editor; Faith A. Ishii, Hardcover Pro- duction Coordinator of Arctic researchers by uniting U.S. and Russian undergraduate students and early- Advertising: Rebecca Mesfin, Advertising Assistant; career scientists through the Polaris Project, Tel: +1-202-777-7536; E-mail: [email protected] a focused effort to investigate the impacts of Composition and Graphics: Valerie Bassett, Carole climate change in the Siberian Arctic. Saylor, and Nancy Sims, Electronic Graphics Specialists Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation as part of the International ©2009 American Geophysical Union. Material Polar Year (IPY), the Polaris Project (http:// in this issue may be photocopied by individual scientists for research or classroom use. Permis- www . thepolarisproject .org) began in Janu- sion is also granted to use short quotes, figures, ary 2008 with Arctic- focused under graduate and tables for publication in scientific books courses at seven participating institutions and journals. 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