group photo of the winter school
CHESS leaves the stage with the successful conclusion of the H2O winter school. This school was the last activity of the research school CHESS before its conclusion by the end of the year. The school also marked the transition of organising such an annual PhD school to the Norwegian Geophysical Society (https://geofysikk.org/), which co-organised this year’s winter school.
The school focused on water in all its phases (vapour, liquid, solid) in all spheres of the climate system (atmosphere, cyrosphere, hydrosphere and ocean, litosphere). Specific topics revolved around the role of the water cycle and its paths through the different phases and spheres. For example, the hydrological cycle dominated by evaporation, precipitation, and runoff, as well as the water cycle on longer timescales involving the formation and melting of sea ice and ice shelves and their interactions with the ocean and climate. The winter school focused on both theoretical understanding, modelling, and observations, as well as practical exercises, where particular focus was on the usage of Earth System model output.
The 12 PhD participants were kept busy with a total of 31 lectures given by the 11 lecturers that generously committed their time to this school. Each PhD also had to prepare and present a poster based on their own research. It was a truly engaging week, with enthusiastic PhDs and ample time for discussions among all participants and lecturers. The entire group was very well taken care of by the staff at Wallemtunet near Kvamskogen, spoiling us with homemade meals for the entire week. Quite likely that we will return to this lovely place for the next school organised by the Norwegian Geophysical Society.
Text and photos: Thomas Spengler