IUGG 2007 – Our changing planet.
Perugia , Italy July 1-13th, 2007
I attended the International Union of Geophysics and Geodessy (IUGG) meeting in July 2007, generously supported by the Quantitative Marine Science program, and the International Association for Physical Sciences of the Ocean (IAPSO).
IUGG meetings are held every 4 years, and attract 3-5000 attendees. A broad range of geophysical sciences are covered from volcanology and geomagnetism to oceanography and seasonal weather prediction. It is attractive to many scientists due to its broad scope, allowing many cross disciplinary discussions, and its truly international (as opposed to North American or Europe centric) nature.
I gave a talk in session JPS001, “Interannual and decadal climate variability”. My talk was titled “Understanding the anatomy and drivers of low frequency variability in the South Pacific gyre”. The session was well attended by some key figures in the field and my talk was well received. I was able to get some useful feedback and ideas from scientists present, including the session convenors. Talks in this session focussed on all kinds of climate variability from ENSO to Atlantic meridional overturning. While few talks focussed on the South Pacific (one of the least studied of the major ocean basins), experiences from those studying variability in other basins was certainly transferrable
The meeting itself was not organised at all well, and it was difficult to work out what was going on where. However, the geography of Perugia , being a small hill top town, meant it was easy to bump into people in the cafes and restaurants in the evenings and discuss work while enjoying the Italian ambience.