4
BAMOS
Jun 2019
President’s report
Andrew Marshall, June 2019
Much of our attention has turned to warmer climates this month
for our 2019 annual meeting in Darwin, run in conjunction
with the International Conference on Tropical Meteorology
and Oceanography. We were thrilled to receive around
400 registrations this year—a wonderful outcome for the
Society's first annual conference in Australia's Top End! AMOS-
ICTMO2019 delivered a special program of tailored workshops,
thematic sessions and outreach events that highlighted the
latest research in areas including tropical oceanography and
meteorology, climate extremes and high-impact weather.
Community engagement was a strong focus with a Deckchair
Cinema event, Education and Outreach session, and a visit by
local secondary school students for an interactive Q&A panel
event on careers in science. These events resonated strongly
with the AMOS mission to improve climate science outreach
across Australia.
A particularly enjoyable aspect for me early in the week was
Dr Ro Hill's plenary lecture on the opening morning, and
the half-day Indigenous weather and climate session that
followed, both of which showcased Indigenous knowledge and
engagement opportunities for understanding and adapting
to climate change. The focus of these talks complemented the
theme for this year's National Reconciliation Week (27 May to
3 June): Grounded in Truth—walk together with courage, with
both events highlighting the importance of truth-telling and
working towards a unified future grounded in understanding,
value and respect. Organised by Mandy Hopkins (NESP Earth
System and Climate Change Hub Indigenous Engagement
coordinator) and Nigel Tapper (Monash University), the special
conference session was an exciting start for our new Special
Interest Group on Indigenous Weather and Climate as their first
major contribution to the AMOS events program.
Towards the end of the week, Associate Professor Jochen
Kämpf presented a moving tribute to the life of Professor
Matthias Tomczak. The AMOS community was very sad to learn
of Professor Tomczak's passing on Friday 31 May 2019 and
he will be sorely missed by many. Professor Tomczak was the
supervisor and mentor of many Australian oceanographers
and holds the honour of having a special Deep Sea Research
volume denoted to him. As a highly respected Fellow of AMOS,
he promoted the AMOS mission for many years, serving as a
member of the awards sub-committee for the AMOS Priestley
Medal and Meyers Medal until early this year. Professor Tomczak
was also an AMOS Morton Medal awardee, in 2004, for his
substantial contribution over many years to the advancement
of oceanography through leadership, mentoring and research
management. He was, in Jochen's words, "one of the giants of
oceanography, a mountain of a personality, and a philosopher,
who always shared his insights and wisdom with others."
I extend my sincerest thanks and congratulations to the AMOS-
ICTMO2019 conference convenors Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick,
Johanna Speirs, Matthew Wheeler and Roger Smith, to the
organising committee, and to all who worked hard behind the
scenes to make this a highly successful and exciting event. A
special mention goes to Darwin Regional Centre Chair Ian
Shepherd for all his work to get the ball rolling in the initial
stages of planning, and of course to our Executive Officer and
conference manager Jeanette Dargaville who works tirelessly
for the society. Not many people know that, whilst planning for
Darwin, Jeanette was also busy planning logistics for AMOS2020
in Fremantle!
Finally, I wish to congratulate CSIRO scientist and Leader of
the NESP Earth System and Climate Change Hub, David Karoly,
on recently becoming a Fellow of the Australian Academy
of Science, in recognition of his career-long contributions to
Australian science. This year has seen some of our leading
scientists recognised for their outstanding service to science,
and this prestigious award celebrates David's world-leading
research into global climate change, detection and attribution
of extreme climate events, and communication of climate
research to decision makers and the Australian community. He
was involved in the 2001, 2007 and 2014 Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports and was awarded
the 2015 Royal Society of Victoria Medal for Scientific Excellence
in Earth Sciences. David has made major contributions to the
AMOS disciplines over many years and has been recognised
accordingly—as an esteemed Fellow of AMOS, R.H. Clarke
Lecturer at our annual conference in 1999, and winner of the
AMOS Morton Medal in 2014. Congratulations David on this
outstanding new award!