Earth System Physics Spotlight

New features of an integrated regional climate model, monsoon variability, climate and health, earthquakes, and the ionosphere of Mars were just some of the topics presented by ICTP scientists at this year's European Geosciences Union's General Assembly, which ran from 3 to 8 April in Vienna, Austria.

Several members of ICTP's Earth System Physics (ESP) section, along with members of the Centre's Aeronomy and Radiopropagation Laboratory (ARPL) and the Applied Physics sections, took part in the week-long event.

At a standing-room-only session on regional climate modelling and impacts, ESP section head Filippo Giorgi presented the latest version of the regional climate model system RegCM. He outlined the new features of the model, which include a tropical band version, coupling with a regional ocean model, inclusion of full gas-phase chemistry, upgrades of some physics schemes (convection, PBL, cloud microphysics) and development of a non-hydrostatic dynamical core.

In separate sessions, ESP scientist Fred Kucharski spoke on the 'Contribution of east-west thermal heating contrast to the South Asian Monsoon and consequences for its variability', while ICTP Applied Physics scientist Julian Chela Flores talked about 'Evolutionary biomarkers on the icy Galilean satellites: from bacteria to metazoans'.

The oral presentations were complemented by a rich array of poster sessions, where ESP was represented by several staff scientists, as was the ARPL section.

For more details about the meeting, visit the EGU General Assembly website.