This session will honor the wide-reaching impacts of the career of Dr. Mark Cane, who recently turned 80. Dr. Cane’s pioneering scientific work and transformative contributions have not only advanced climate science but have also directly benefited society through improved models, better climate predictions, and the integration of climate and society, both in his research works and through his leadership in launching new educational and research programs. Aligning with the AMS 2025 theme, ‘Towards a Thriving Planet: Charting the Course Across Scales’, Dr. Cane’s work has advanced climate science across timescales, from interannual to paleoclimate, as well as spatial scales, from global to regional to individuals, always directed at research that matters, to the planet and to society. 

 

We welcome contributions that draw from Mark Cane’s legacy and pioneering work in many areas of climate science, including but not limited to dynamical oceanography, coupled interactions across timescales, natural vs. anthropogenic signals in regional climate, the intersection of climate and society, innovative uses of paleoclimate studies, and the role of the tropics, among others. Dr. Cane has always urged colleagues, students, and mentees to find the most meaningful problems that matter to society and the planet. Hence for this session, we encourage participants to reflect on the future of climate science: What are the problems we should be working on?