Everyone presenting (both oral and poster) and/or attending the 96th AMS Annual Meeting must register and wear a badge. Early registration rates are valid through Tuesday, 1 December 2015. Registrations forms faxed or mailed to AMS Headquarters will be accepted until 15 December 2015. Online registrations will be accepted throughout the conference. Preregistration forms must be accompanied by one of the following forms of payment: check (personal/business/traveler's), money order, purchase order, or credit card number (MasterCard/VISA/American Express). Foreign checks must be drawn on a U.S. bank and made payable in U.S. dollars. Confirmation of registration will be sent once the form is processed. Refunds (less a $25 processing fee) will be granted only for cancellations received before 22 December 2015. Click here for more information on registration.

This year’s Presidential Forum reflects upon the American Meteorological Society (AMS) annual meeting theme, "Earth System Science in Service to Society" that provides participants a better understanding of living through extreme events. Our society continues to experience the effects of more and more extreme events like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and drought, some as a result of our changing climate and others as a result of our expanding population. The AMS needs to continue to address lessons learned, and more importantly, identify what future actions it will take to help mitigate the impact of these devastating life-changing events. To highlight this, we’ve invited an outstanding panel of speakers – Admiral Thad Allen, United States Coast Guard (ret), Executive Vice President Booz Allen Hamilton; Max Mayfield, Director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Hurricane Center (ret); Dr. Kerry Emanuel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Dr. Shirley Laska, Professor Emerita, and founding past Director of the Center for Hazards Assessment, Response and Technology, University of New Orleans. Moderator Maureen McCann, News 13 Orlando, will lead a discussion of the panelists' personal experiences during Hurricane Katrina and Deepwater Horizon. The panel will also address AMS’s current activities that encompass research and forecasting of events and inspire our members to embrace a renewed sense of purpose as they direct our Society in the coming years.

Over the last few years, significant advances have been made in both in situ and remote sensing technologies for measuring greenhouse gases (GHGs). The successful launch of global observing systems such as the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2), the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) missions as well as deployment of localized surface networks and aircraft campaigns such as the Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) and the Megacities Carbon Project, is starting to yield more information on both natural and anthropogenic sources than ever before. While these multiple observational platforms provide a significant potential for the monitoring of GHG emissions, more and more uncertainties are coming to light regarding our understanding of the global and regional budgets of GHGs, errors due to deficiency in atmospheric transport modeling (especially related to convection and vertical mixing), and identification and quantification of climate feedback sensitivities. This session solicits abstracts that address these uncertainties using models and observations and provide new insights on understanding GHG dynamics at various spatial (local to global) and temporal (sub-diurnal to decadal) scales. We encourage contributions on current and prospective observation technologies for GHGs, modeling studies to quantify budgets and/or uncertainties in GHG flux estimates, and evaluation and benchmarking of GHG estimates from Earth System Models using contemporary observations. We also encourage studies of perturbations to the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems in response to climate variability and change, especially as they combine models and observations or pertain to carbon-climate feedback. In addition, we seek contributions on improved quantification and understanding of underlying GHG emissions at the urban scale, policy issues related to GHG monitoring and regulation, and how the current state of the science is informing policy decisions.

Please join other attendees for the Opening Reception of the 2016 Annual Meeting, sponsored by the exhibiting companies. Local government officials and other dignitaries will be present for the ribbon-cutting event.

Large uncertainties exist in the effects of atmospheric gases and aerosols on weather and climate which impair our predictive capabilities. This session will focus on studies showing new developments and assessing these effects on multiple spatial and temporal scales. Studies including, but not limited to, aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions, ozone and chemistry impacts, and effects of performing data assimilation for atmospheric composition will be considered. Studies based on observations, models and both are welcome.

How does our community expect to continue to improve climate services to help society mitigate and adapt to climate variability and change? (NIDIS, IPCC, lessons learned from high impact events)

Adapting to Climate Variability and its Impact on Energy Sector Resilience Part 2

Across the U.S., and globally, there is an ever-increasing availability of immense quantities of climate data. This data reveals how our climate has been shifting and also projects changes on the horizon. However, making climate data accessible to businesses, decision-makers, and the public remains a challenge. Visualizing climate data in easy-to-understand and compelling ways helps people understand the changes taking place around them, and can help them better plan for the future. This session will bring together specialists in climate data and visualization in service of many different audience. The discussion will focus on best practices and tools for data visualization, considering your audience when designing visualizations, reviewing remaining challenges and future opportunities with climate data.