DRI:
Drought Research Initiative
NOAA's 33rd Climate Diagnostics and Prediction Workshop (CDPW) will be held jointly with a US CLIVAR Drought Workshop in Lincoln, NE, on 20-24 October 2008. The workshop will be hosted by the National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; and co-sponsored by the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction / NOAA and the U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability (US CLIVAR) Program. The AMS is a cooperating sponsor.

The workshop will focus on the status and prospects for advancing climate monitoring, assessment and prediction, with major emphasis on drought. This includes three major themes: (i) improving climate predictions / predictability, (ii) understanding and attribution of drought and its impacts, and (iii) incorporating climate predictions / projections in the development and delivery of drought products. Note that in a departure from past years, the 2008 CDPW will address drought across multiple time scales (weekly through decadal to centennial and longer) and for multiple regions (North America, South America, Africa, Asia, etc.). Thus, papers that assess the role of ocean, land, and seasonal cycle in multi-year droughts as evidenced in coupled models (especially from IPCC CMEP-3 runs) to complement DRiCOMP and US CLIVAR drought working group research results, and that link drought research and societal needs (e.g. the NIDIS program) are strongly encouraged. The results from DRiCOMP investigations and the US CLIVAR Drought Working Group will also be presented and discussed. The Workshop will feature focused oral sessions with a mix of invited and submitted presentations, thematic poster sessions (including an evening reception), and a drought Town Hall discussion. The majority of contributed papers will be presented in poster sessions. The primary focus areas for the workshop will include:
  1. A review of recent climate conditions and forecasts for week-2 to seasonal time scales.
  2. A review of prediction practices, predictability, and forecast verification assessments for time scales from week-2 to seasonal, and for lead times from zero to 12 months.
  3. Status and prospects for improvements in observing, monitoring and simulating drought
  4. Advances in understanding and predicting present and future droughts, including the contributions of natural and human-induced forcings.
  5. Drought impacts, products and meeting societal needs.
The outcome of this year's workshop will be an assessment of our current understanding and ability to predict drought, including identifying opportunities for advances, and exploring new products to support regional decision making.

Instructions on submitting your abstract will be posted on the Workshop webpage. The abstract deadline is "AUGUST 4, 2008". Meeting information, including lodging, registration and other information will also appear on the Workshop webpage:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outreach/meetings.shtml

To sign up to receive future announcements about the 33rd CDPW, see https://lstsrv.ncep.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/ncep.list.cpc-cdworkshop