Workshop Scope

The Bureau of Meteorology Annual R&D Workshop 2019 will provide a forum for national and international researchers, including researchers from across the Bureau, CSIRO, industry and our university partners, to communicate innovations and advances in sciences related to weather, water, ocean and climate services.

Environmental forecast services range from routine daily weather forecasts for the public to seasonal outlooks and climate projections aimed at informing decisions by agriculture and water managers. Emergency managers rely on highly customised services during times of extreme weather such as fires, floods, heatwaves and tropical cyclones. Industry-specific advice on the influences of climate variability and change enables society to deal with the challenges posed by our unique climate, both today and in the future.

In order to meet the increasing demands of users and deliver greater impact and value, service providers are transforming the way in which they work. This transformation process requires significantly enhanced capability in science and technology. Key advances that enhance our abilities to forecast from hourly to decadal scales include:

• developments in Earth system modelling and high-performance computing,
• improving our ability to use an increasing diversity and number of observations,
• extended forecast automation,
• the application of machine learning,
• the development of impact-based forecasting,
• improvements in the communication and use of uncertainty information, and
• closer engagement with social and economic sciences.

The workshop aims to bring together experts from across these fields to discuss ways we can work together to provide the Australian and international community with improved services and improved decision-making abilities, resulting in greater impact and value. The workshop comprises invited speakers only but is open to all to attend.