AGU Chapman Conference on The Width of the Tropics: Climate Variations and Their Impact; Santa Fe, New Mexico; July 26-31, 2015

在过去十年中，科学界越来越关注地球表面和地表以上热带气候的具体方面，以及热带和热带以外地区的边界位置。越来越多的文献讨论了Hadley环流、急流和纬向平均大气环流的位置和强度变化的可能性。这些变化可能表现为地表气候的变化，特别是降水量的变化，并产生重要的社会和生态后果。一些研究已经确认了热带和热带以外地区的边界向极移动;这种现象被称为“热带加宽”或“热带扩张”。“这次查普曼会议将汇集来自广泛背景的科学家，探索和总结科学的现状，并确定与热带扩大问题相关的未来研究方向。将特别强调这一问题的多学科性质，目标是使与会者所代表的广泛的气候科学分专题之间能够相互促进。为了促进这一点，以下四个会议主题计划：是什么决定了热带的宽度？2.热带宽度在过去是如何变化的，为什么会变化？3.热带宽度在未来会如何变化以及为什么会变化？4.对海洋、冰冻圈、水文循环、人类社会和生态系统有什么影响？研讨会将于2015年7月26日至31日在新墨西哥州圣达菲举行。NSF的资金将用于支持大约15名研究生和早期职业科学家。

The past decade has witnessed increasing scientific focus on detailed aspects of tropical climate, at and above the Earth's surface, and on the location of the boundary between the tropical and extratropical zones. A growing body of literature addresses the possibility of changes in the position and strength of the Hadley cell, jet streams, and zonal mean atmospheric circulation. These changes could manifest as changes in surface climate, particularly precipitation, and have important societal and ecological consequences. A number of studies have identified poleward movement in the boundary between tropical and extratropical zones; this phenomenon has been referred to as "tropical widening" or "expansion of the tropical belt."This Chapman Conference will bring together scientists from a wide range of backgrounds to explore and summarize the state of the science and identify future research directions relevant for the problem of tropical widening. A particular emphasis will be on the multi-disciplinary nature of the problem with the goal of enabling cross-fertilization among the wide range of climate science subtopics represented by the participants of the conference. To facilitate this, the following four session topics are planned: What determines the width of the tropical belt? 2. How and why has the tropical width changed in the past? 3. How and why might the tropical width change in the future? 4. What are the impacts for the oceans, cryosphere, hydrologic cycle, human society, and ecosystems?The workshop will be held July 26-31 2015 at Santa Fe, New Mexico. NSF funds will go towards support of approximately 15 graduate students and early career scientists.