In 2016 the Swiss Society for Meteorology (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Meteorologie, SGM) celebrates its 100th anniversary. Compared to other meteorological societies it is not among the oldest ones. Nevertheless, meteorology has gone through such a remarkable evolution in the past 100 years that it is worthwhile to take a look back and recapitulate the developments of both science and SGM – and to reveal their interaction. The idea of this book is to give an overview of what has happened in the field of atmospheric sciences in Switzerland since the first systematic long-term meteorological observations until today.

As climate has warmed over recent years, a new pattern of more frequent and more intense weather events has unfolded across the globe. Climate models simulate such changes in extreme events, and some of the reasons for the changes are well understood. Warming increases the likelihood of extremely hot days and nights, favors increased atmospheric moisture that may result in more frequent heavy rainfall and snowfall, and leads to evaporation that can exacerbate droughts. Even with evidence of these broad trends, scientists cautioned in the past that individual weather events couldn't be attributed to climate change. Now, with advances in understanding the climate science behind extreme events and the science of extreme event attribution, such blanket statements may not be accurate. The relatively young science of extreme event attribution seeks to tease out the influence of human-cause climate change from other factors, such as natural sources of variability like El Niño, as contributors to individual extreme events. Event attribution can answer questions about how much climate change influenced the probability or intensity of a specific type of weather event. As event attribution capabilities improve, they could help inform choices about assessing and managing risk, and in guiding climate adaptation strategies. This report examines the current state of science of extreme weather attribution, and identifies ways to move the science forward to improve attribution capabilities.

Advances in computer power and observing systems has led to the generation and accumulation of large scale weather & climate data begging for exploration and analysis. Pattern Identification and Data Mining in Weather and Climate presents, from different perspectives, most available, novel and conventional, approaches used to analyze multivariate time series in climate science to identify patterns of variability, teleconnections, and reduce dimensionality. The book discusses different methods to identify patterns of spatiotemporal fields. The book also presents machine learning with a particular focus on the main methods used in climate science. Applications to atmospheric and oceanographic data are also presented and discussed in most chapters. To help guide students and beginners in the field of weather & climate data analysis, basic Matlab skeleton codes are given is some chapters, complemented with a list of software links toward the end of the text. A number of technical appendices are also provided, making the text particularly suitable for didactic purposes. The topic of EOFs and associated pattern identification in space-time data sets has gone through an extraordinary fast development, both in terms of new insights and the breadth of applications. We welcome this text by Abdel Hannachi who not only has a deep insight in the field but has himself made several contributions to new developments in the last 15 years. - Huug van den Dool, Climate Prediction Center, NCEP, College Park, MD, U.S.A. Now that weather and climate science is producing ever larger and richer data sets, the topic of pattern extraction and interpretation has become an essential part. This book provides an up to date overview of the latest techniques and developments in this area. - Maarten Ambaum, Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, U.K. This nicely and expertly written book covers a lot of ground, ranging from classical linear pattern identification techniques to more modern machine learning, illustrated with examples from weather & climate science. It will be very valuable both as a tutorial for graduate and postgraduate students and as a reference text for researchers and practitioners in the field. - Frank Kwasniok, College of Engineering, University of Exeter, U.K.

This book compiles available knowledge of the response of mountain ecosystems to recent climate and land use change and intends to bridge the gap between science, policy and the community concerned. The chapters present key concepts, major drivers and key processes of mountain response, providing transdisciplinary orientation to mountain studies incorporating experiences of academics, community leaders and policy-makers from developed and less developed countries. The book chapters are arranged in two sections. The first section concerns the response processes of mountain environments to climate change. This section addresses climate change itself (past, current and future changes of temperature and precipitation) and its impacts on the cryosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and human-environment systems. The second section focuses on the response processes of mountain environments to land use/land cover change. The case studies address effects of changing agriculture and pastoralism, forest/water resources management and urbanization processes, landscape management, and biodiversity conservation. The book is designed as an interdisciplinary publication which critically evaluates developments in mountains of the world with contributions from both social and natural sciences.

The International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering, Science and Technology (ICETEST) was held at the Government Engineering College, Thrissur, Kerala, India, from 18th to 20th January 2018, with the theme, “Society, Energy and Environment”, covering related topics in the areas of Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electronics & Communication Engineering, Computer Science and Architecture. Conflict between energy and environment has been of global significance in recent years. Academic research needs to support the industry and society through socially and environmentally sustainable outcomes. ICETEST 2018 was organized with this specific objective. The conference provided a platform for researchers from different domains, to discuss and disseminate their findings. Outstanding speakers, faculties, and scholars from different parts of the world presented their research outcomes in modern technologies using sustainable technologies.

In recent decades, science has experienced a revolutionary shift. The development and extensive application of computer modelling and simulation has transformed the knowledge‐making practices of scientific fields as diverse as astro‐physics, genetics, robotics and demography. This epistemic transformation has brought with it a simultaneous heightening of political relevance and a renewal of international policy agendas, raising crucial questions about the nature and application of simulation knowledges throughout public policy. Through a diverse range of case studies, spanning over a century of theoretical and practical developments in the atmospheric and environmental sciences, this book argues that computer modelling and simulation have substantially changed scientific and cultural practices and shaped the emergence of novel ‘cultures of prediction’. Making an innovative, interdisciplinary contribution to understanding the impact of computer modelling on research practice, institutional configurations and broader cultures, this volume will be essential reading for anyone interested in the past, present and future of climate change and the environmental sciences.

Frontiers in Earth Science is an open-access journal that aims to bring together and publish on a single platform the best research dedicated to our planet. This platform hosts all the rapidly growing and continuously expanding domains in Earth Science, involving the lithosphere (including geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and geography), the hydrosphere (including hydrology and cryospheric, marine and ocean sciences, complementing the existing Frontiers journal on Marine Science) and the atmosphere (including meteorology and climatology). As such, Frontiers in Earth Science focuses on the countless processes operating within and among the major spheres constituting our planet. In turn, the understanding of these processes provides the theoretical background to better use the available resources and to face the major environmental challenges (including earthquakes, tsunamis, eruptions, floods, landslides, climate changes, sea level rise, extreme meteorological events): this is where interdependent processes meet, requiring a holistic view to better live on and with our planet. Within this volume are included the Grand Challenge papers for the Earth Science field, authored by the Field Chief Editor, and several of the 16 online specialty sections, authored by the respective Chief Editors. These articles identify and describe the crucial challenges for Earth Science at the dawn of the 21st century.