An American in Copenhagen: Reflections on the EMS (European Meteorological Society) Annual Meeting 2019

The EMS--European Meteorological Society--hosted its annual meeting in Copenhagen from 9 - 13 Sep 2019. Like the AMS meetings, the EMS conference aimed at fostering exchange and cross-fertilization of ideas in the meteorological, climatological, and related communities. This year's program placed special emphasis on changes in polar regions. Surface temperature, sea-ice, glaciers, freshwater, soils, permafrost, precipitation and river discharges into the Arctic Ocean have shown dramatic changes. These have impacted the ecology and societies of the Arctic. Such Arctic amplifications may affect mid-latitudes, possibly with more extreme weather events. As a long-time American educators, I was interested in how the Educational sessions at EMS 2019 sought to address all aspects of education in atmospheric sciences. Sessions explored the role and place of meteorology, climatology and related sciences in national curricula at pre-college levels. At the university level, they sought comparisons of content and methods of curricula in atmospheric sciences and related fields to assess different European approaches. New educational technologies (web-oriented materials, e-learning courses, etc.) and lifelong education strategies were explored. I shared experiences of the American Meteorological Society's DataStreme and other educational programs. I also gave a presentation about the U,S, "Next Generation Science Standards" and what could be of value in European schools. Such cross-cultural and cross-organizational exchanges provide fertile grounds for future international learning opportunities.