Atmospheric Blocking Workshop (Sep. 2021)

The Atmospheric Blocking Workshop organized by W2W took place from 27-29 September 2021 on Qiqochat. The focus of this workshop was set on the understanding of dynamics and physical processes in atmospheric blocking, with special focus on:

• the role of dry and moist dynamics in the formation, maintenance and decay of blocking,
• teleconnections and external forcing associated with blocking, and
• model representation and predictability of blocking dynamics and physical process-es.

Nearly 60 abstracts were submitted by scientists from all parts of the world and with more than 170 participants, the workshop was a great success.

The 3-day program of the workshop consisted of seven oral sessions, two poster sessions and two breakout group discussions dedicated to the topics mentioned above. The talks and poster presentations were of very high quality and stimulated very fruitful discussions. Overall, the workshop went really smoothly without technical difficulties, and although the program was very dense, there was enough time for further exchange during the coffee breaks. We would like to thank all the participants for their active participation that led to exciting discussions.

Regarding the content of the discussions and breakout sessions, the major takeaway was that blocking is a very complex phenomena with a range of different processes involved. There is not one process dominating, but strong interactions and case-to-case variability in pathways to blocking. Recent studies, which were presented at the workshop, contribute to an improved understanding of the dynamics of blocking. It remains our duty as a community to map out the variability of pathways that lead to the formation and maintenance of blocking and to further raise awareness of its complexity in the more general science community.

Thank you to Franziska Teubler, Daniel Steinfeld and Seraphine Hauser for initating and organizing this workshop!

More detailed information about the workshop can be found on the workshop website.

Remote participants of the workshop