The 3^rd NCAS Summer School on Climate Modelling will be held at Cambridge University from 11^th - 23^rd September 2011.

Target audience

This intensive 12-day course is aimed at advanced PhD students and post-doctoral researchers, working in the natural sciences wishing to become experts in climate modelling. A poster for the school is available here  Climate School Poster - please feel free to download it to distribute at your institute. 

Course content & output

Run by international climate modelling experts, the course will include:

• A background to the theory of climate models, the workings of the climate system, and current challenges in climate modelling

• Practical training on how to design, run and evaluate climate models

A typical day will consist of lectures in the morning, practical sessions in the afternoons and evening activities e.g. seminars from leading climate scientists. At the end of this course, participants should be able to understand:

• The fundamental principles of the science contained in the models
• How the different areas of science in modern climate models are interconnected
• How models are implemented and operated on modern supercomputers
• How to assess the quality of the model results and how to perform high-level analysis
• How climate science is used for policy making.

More about the summer school

Climate models are fundamental tools for learning about our planet, assisting scientists and governments in assessing current and future risks and vulnerabilities. The reality of today’s climate modelling landscape, with ever more complex numerical models, running on the world’s largest supercomputers, requires a high degree of competence and efficiency, which must be instilled in scientists at the early stages of their careers. This type of highly specialised training is virtually absent in the UK's traditional academic approach.

The NCAS Summer School 2011 will be the third bi-annual climate modelling school that NCAS intends to offer regularly to the UK community. The UK-Japan Climate Collaboration was launched in 2005 and provided an opportunity to link the UK capability to provide climate models which cover hundreds of years, providing a robust estimation of variability over time, and the Japanese models, which have a very high spatial resolution. This collaboration resulted in the first Climate Modelling Summer School - a joint UJCC-NCAS collaboration. The UK scientific community has continued to push the limit of today’s climate modelling frontiers and has therefore generated a high level of expertise. This knowledge will be passed onto students through the continuation of the climate modelling summer school.

The Summer School will focus on providing skills that can bring scientists from different disciplines in touch with the state-of-the-art modelling and technology.

This will be achieved through exposure to advanced theoretical lectures and seminars, strengthened daily with hands-on work on methods and practicals. Students must have a strong interest in:

• becoming experts in climate modelling
• acquiring the know-how needed for designing and operating modern climate models
• critically analysing climate model results

Eligibility and Cost

This summer school is intended primarily for UK (NERC-funded) students/postdocs. Places will be funded on a competitive basis.

Non NERC-funded students/postdocs are invited to apply. However in these cases, costs will not be provided and will need to be met via independent means. Success will be subject to availability of places.

NERC funded PhD students are reminded that their places are subsidised by NCAS - this covers the full cost of the summer school excluding travel to and from the school.

Application procedure

You are advised to read details on the Summer School before applying.

Please use the online application form to submit the following items by 27th May 2011 (please do not make direct contact, as we expect a large number of applicants):

• A one-page CV, including any peer-reviewed publications
• Two letters of recommendation
• A one-page statement, detailing the skills or knowledge you particularly wish to attain through participation in the summer school and the connections with your current work

Registration deadline: 27th May 2011

Sponsors: National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS).