BAMOS
June 2017
Contents
4
3
President’s report
5 News
10
Regional centre updates
14
Conference Report: PAGES Open Science
Meeting
15 Obituary: Jim Davidson
16
Article: Can art put us in touch with our
feelings about climate change? By Joelle
Gergis and Penny Whetton
18
Article: Can Regional Climate Models
simulate heatwaves for New South
Wales and the Australian Capital
Territory? By Mia Gross
22
Article: Weather, climate and warfare:
the impacts of weather and climate on
deaths in the Australian Military by Clem
Davis
27
Weather in literature quiz with Matthias
Tomczak
28 Research Corner with Damien Irving
30 Charts of the Past with Blair Trewin
31 Calendar
31
Latest JSHESS content
ISSN 1035-6576
Editor: Linden Ashcroft
Editor-in-Chief: Damien Irving
Assistant Editors: Diana Greenslade, Melissa Lyne and Blair
Trewin
Regional Sub-Editors: Sarah Perry (VIC)
Design: Jeanette Dargaville
Publisher: AMOS, GPO Box 1289, Melbourne VIC 3001,
Australia
Submission deadline for next issue: 28 August 2017
Contact and submit pieces: [email protected].
Submission guidelines available online.
Cover image: Stratocumulus cloud streets over Melbourne
2 June 2017. Image: Andrew Watkins.
This page: Stratocumulus cloud streets over Melbourne
2 June 2017. Image: Merryn Coutts.
Linden Ashcroft
Editor
The Extreme Issue
Our second issue for 2017 — just like our future climate projecions
— seems to be all about extremes.
Firstly, extremes of the meteorological kind. Heatwaves in New
South Wales and the ACT have the potential to be fatal for
exposed sections of the community. Mia Gross summarises her
recent work on how regional models capture these events.
Extreme ends of the human condition are also discussed in this
issue: art and war. Clem Davis has used his time as a volunteer
at the Australian War Memorial to collect some thoughts on the
impact of weather and climate on casualties in war. Meanwhile,
Joëlle Gergis and Penny Whetton share their experiences with a
recent art exhibition on climate change.
FInally, we welcome a new research Centre of Excellence into
the community in this issue: The Centre for Climate Extremes
(CLEx). As Alvin Stone explains, the new Centre will be a home to
continue and expand the, well, excellent work done at the Centre
of Excellence for Climate System Science (ARCCSS). Coupled
with the recent announcements of funding to support extreme
forecast research at the Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau),
this marks a significant investment across the country to study
the component of climate change that will most affect people
and agriculture. I look forward to seeing what valuable research
and services can be provided by members of our society to the
Australian community.