Photo from the workshop websiteThe workshop on "Frontiers in ocean-atmosphere exchange: Air sea interface and fluxes of mass and energy" was held from 15-18 May 2017 in Cargèse, Corsica, France. It focused on Theme 2 of the Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) 2015-2025 Science Plan and Organisation; Theme 2: "Air-sea interface and fluxes of mass and energy".
The scientific basis behind this theme is that ocean-atmosphere fluxes of momentum, heat, freshwater, gases, and aerosols play a critical role in the regulation of climate and uncertainties in these fluxes constrain our ability to understand and model our changing climate. All exchanges between the ocean and atmosphere must cross the air-sea interface and it is through these fluxes that the ocean and atmosphere communicate. The problem of adequately describing air-sea fluxes is complex, and simplistic parameterizations are not sufficient to represent the fluxes in models.
Motivated by the scientific questions underpinning Theme 2, a workshop was held at the Institut d'Etudes Scientifiques de Cargese (IESC) in Corsica which is a unique facility for the hosting of scientific workshops and summer schools. This workshop was also important because it is widely recognised that a full understanding of the processes at the air-sea interface will only come about through interdisciplinary efforts, and therefore 12 invited speakers from different communities presented their science in such a way as to make it accessible to all participants. The programme was developed to promote the strongest interaction between the participants and invited speakers, with the presentations in the morning and interdisciplinary breakout sessions in the afternoon each led by two invited speakers. This was followed by poster presentations by the participants, largely made up of PhD students and early career scientists. Further details on the workshop can be found on the associated website.