8th GHRSST-PP Science Team Meeting

Last Updated:  Helen Beggs, 1 May 2007

 

Dates: Monday 14 May to Friday 18 May, 2007 (Note date change)

Location: Bureau of Meteorology Head Office, 700 Collins St, Docklands, Melbourne, Australia

Registration: Please download form and return to Helen Beggs at h.beggs@bom.gov.au by 1 April 2007.  Up to date registration list with all booked dinners/excursions is available from here.  Please check and email Helen Beggs with corrections by 1 May 2007.

Abstracts Due: 25 March 2007.  Attendees to provide a 2-4 page summary of their presentation for the proceedings prior to the meeting.  Please provide your extended abstract by 25 March 2007 using the template (here) for inclusion in the Proceedings document.

Goals:  The aim of the Eighth Science Team Meeting is to review progress made within the GHRSST-PP since the last Science Team meeting and prioritise coordination and application activities for the next inter-sessional period.

Topics:  Particular topics to be addressed at the meeting include:

·         Considering Sea Ice (concentration and extent) and SST in the marginal ice zone in more detail

·         Better single sensor error statistics (SSES)

·         Implementation of improved schemes to account for diurnal variability in a way that provides users with a useful and error-bound product

·         Requirements of our user community in the light of product application tests and trials

·         Development of new data streams and data products (gridded L2 or composite L3 SST products?)

·         GHRSST-PP L4 inter-comparison project and ensemble analyses

·         Reanalyses and climate data records

·         GHRSST-PP Diagnostic Data Set (DDS) and Match-Up Data Base (MDB) systems

Format: The first day will cover reports from the GHRSST Project Office, Regional and Global Data Assembly Centres, Technical Advisory Groups and Working Groups as an overview of the progress made since the last Science Team Meeting in March 2006.  Following days will have plenary discussions and keynote talks to identify key issues, followed by break-out groups which may involve further specialist presentations and discussion. 

 

Meeting Agenda: The final agenda is available here.

 

Extended abstracts:  The final extended abstracts is available here.  Black and white copies will be available at the meeting but if you would like a colour copy you will need to bring one with you.

 

Accommodation: All participants are requested to make their own hotel arrangements. A block of 35 rooms has been reserved for the GHRSST-PP Meeting at the Vibe Savoy Hotel for the nights of 12-18 May 2007.  The rooms will be kept until 1 April 2007.  The Vibe is a 4-star hotel within easy walking distance of many restaurants and attractions, and is located on the corner of Spencer Street and Little Collins Street two city blocks from the Bureau.  The Bureau of Meteorology has negotiated a special rate of A$125 per night, or A$140 including breakfast.  Extra nights can be booked at the same rate subject to availability.  To get this special rate you must contact them directly (do not use the internet booking form) and fax or email them the booking form (here). Contact details for the Vibe Savoy are:
            E-mail:  vhsm@vibehotels.com.au
            Phone:  +61-3-9622-8888
            Fax: +61-3-9622-8818
            Address:  630 Little Collins St, Melbourne, VIC 3000  Australia

There are many other hotels and apartment hotels located within a short distance of the Bureau if you are interested in exploring other accommodation options.  For people who want to stay in a serviced apartment (to save money by sharing or for an extended stay) you may wish to try a very attractive, cosy and newly renovated hotel/serviced apartments a block away from the Vibe Savoy Hotel.  It's the Alto Hotel on Bourke (636 Bourke Street, Melbourne, http://www.altohotel.com.au/). The serviced apartments are very nice and the government rates are the following: 

1 bedroom apartment: AUD160/night daily rate (AUD150/night weekly rate)

2 bedroom apartment (1 bathroom): AUD220/night daily rate (AUD200/night weekly rate)

2 bedroom apartment (2 bathrooms): AUD240/night daily rate (AUD220/night weekly rate)

3 bedroom apartment (3 bathrooms): AUD290/night daily rate (AUD270/night weekly rate).

See brochure (here) for corporate/government rates in May 2007 and full details on Alto Hotel serviced apartments.

 

Outings: There will be an afternoon outing on Wednesday May 16th (12:30 pm) to the Healesville Animal Sanctuary so you can view Australia's unique animals up close. This will be followed by a visit to Riverstone Estate Winery in the nearby Yarra Valley for wine tasting and dinner. The cost is A$94 (inc sack lunch, bus, entry to Animal Sanctuary, wine tasting and 2-course dinner). Please indicate your interest in attending this outing on the registration form.  Payment can be made at the workshop. Click here to view more information.

 

Following the end of the meeting on Friday 18 May there will be a one hour sunset cruise on Port Phillip Bay to see the Little Penguins at St Kilda Beach (http://www.penguinwaters.com.au/cruises.html).  The cost of the Penguin Cruise is A$40/head.  The Penguin cruise vessel leaves from St Kilda Pier at 5 pm (see map) and we can catch a No. 112 tram from Tram Stop 1 in Collins Street (a block from the Bureau of Meteorology Building – see map) between 3:45 pm and 4 pm to St Kilda Beach. 

Please email h.beggs@bom.gov.au or indicate on the registration form if you would like to attend either or both of these excursions by 1 May 2007.

 

How to Get to Melbourne: Melbourne Airport (MEL) is serviced by regular flights from most major cities.
     Shuttle Bus from Melbourne Airport to downtown (recommended):  Skybus shuttle buses to downtown Melbourne depart every 15 minutes from the Melbourne airport. The cost is A$15 one way or A$24 return and includes free shuttle service between the downtown bus terminal and your hotel.  The Skybus terminates in the Southern Cross Railway Station complex in Spencer Street immediately across the road from Vibe Savoy Hotel and around the corner from the Bureau of Meteorology Building.  See http://www.skybus.com.au/ for more information.
     Taxi from Melbourne Airport to downtown:  Taxis are available from the ground floor level of Melbourne Airport, outside the International Terminal and both domestic Terminals. Expect to pay around A$35 to A$40 for the 25-minute trip into the centre of Melbourne.

 

IMPORTANT VISA INFORMATION: All non-residents of Australia and New Zealand require a visa or Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) to enter Australia. The easiest way to apply is via the Australian Electronic Travel Authority web site; otherwise please contact your nearest Australian Visa Office. Since the primary purpose of your travel is to attend the workshop you should get a Short Stay Business Visa rather than a tourist visa.

 

Local Information: Melbourne is the capital city of the state of Victoria in southeastern Australia. Frequently touted as one of the world's most "livable" cities it has a population of about 3 million and a Mediterranean climate.  Autumn temperatures in early May typically range from 9°C overnight to 17°C in the afternoon.
For more information about Melbourne see http://www.bcl.com.au/melbourne/wotson-may.htm or http://www.visitvictoria.com/.
Click here to download a map of Melbourne showing the location of the Bureau of Meteorology and the conference hotels and dinner venues.

 

Getting Around Melbourne:  Both the Vibe Savoy and Alto Hotels are within a short walk (2-3 city blocks) of the Bureau of Meteorology Building and all dinner venues are within one city block of both hotels as is rail and tram transport.  Unless you wish to travel outside of Melbourne there is therefore no need to hire a car during your stay.

 

Tourist Information: If you have time either side of the meeting you may like to visit the following sights/trips:

1.       Self-drive tour of the world-famous Great Ocean Road (west of Melbourne) – see http://www.greatoceanroad.org/

2.       Day-trip by train from Southern Cross Station (across the road from the Vibe Savoy Hotel) to Ballarat to visit the replica gold-mining town of Sovereign Hill (http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/?id=goldrushspecial) (Highly recommended!).  V/Line Goldrush Special train leaves Southern Cross Station for Ballarat each Saturday at 9:08 am returning 5:27 pm, Sunday at 9:28 am returning 5:26 pm.  You will need to pre-purchase your rail ticket at Southern Cross Station.

3.       Melbourne claims to be the sports capital of the world!  If you’re a sports lover then you might like to either attend an Aussie Rules Football match at nearby Telstra Dome (immediately adjacent to the Bureau of Meteorology Building) on either Saturday 12 May or Sunday 13 May or go on a Sports Lovers Tour of Melbourne (http://www.melbournesportstours.com.au/city_sports_tours.html).

4.       Visit the historic Queen Victoria Market (a short walk from the Vibe Savoy Hotel).  It’s a cultural and culinary experience! – see http://www.qvm.com.au/home.php

5.       Go on a self-guided walk of Melbourne CBD starting from Federation Square – obtain a free map from the Federation Square Visitors Centre (http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=94&pa=756&pg=956)

6.       Hire a bicycle and cycle through Docklands and along the Yarra River bike path (http://www.rentabike.net.au/hire.htm)

7.     Visit the Melbourne Museum in Fitzroy (a short train or tram ride from the Vibe Savoy Hotel) to see the world’s only surviving intact first-generation computer (CSIRAC 1949-1964) – see http://melbourne.museum.vic.gov.au/

8.     Visit Melbourne’s two art galleries both in the centre of Melbourne – see http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/

Additional information:

Getting to the meeting and building access:  The Bureau of Meteorology is marked on the attached map. To get there from the Vibe Savoy Hotel (corner of Spencer and Little Collins go south on Spencer Street toward the Southern Cross train station and the Yarra River. Turn right onto Collins Street and continue over the bridge to the building labeled "Medibank Private". The Bureau of Meteorology is co-located in this building but has not yet mounted its logo on the outside. Once in the building, take the low-rise elevators up the 6th floor, which is where the workshop will be held in Meeting Rooms 1, 2 and 3.  Follow the GHRSST Meeting signs through the glass doors to the registration desk where you will need to sign in and receive your conference name badge.  This badge will serve as security identification for the week of the meeting.  You will need to sign in at the start of each day at the registration desk.  The 6th Level doors to the meeting room area will be unlocked between 8:15 am and 4:30 pm each day of the conference.  Outside of these hours you will need to ask a Bureau staff member to let you into the conference area.

Presentation equipment:  The workshop will have a dedicated PC laptop. You can load your presentation onto this machine from memory stick or CD, or e-mail it to me ahead of time. Alternatively, you may bring a laptop to connect to the data projector. If your presentation was created on a Macintosh this may be the safest option as it may not always "play" correctly on a PC. If you have another type of presentation needs please let me know as soon as possible.

Internet access:  One or two PCs will be available for guests to access the internet from within the Bureau. Wireless and broadband access for laptop computers will also be available. The Vibe Savoy also provides broadband internet access from hotel rooms at $5.50 for half hour or $11.00 per hour. To use the internet from the hotel rooms they tell us that you should bring your own cable.

For more information contact:
                            Helen Beggs
                            Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre
                            GPO Box 1289
                            Melbourne, VIC 3001
                            Australia
                            Tel: +61-3-9669-4394
                            FAX: +61-3-9669-4660
                            Email: h.beggs@bom.gov.au

GHRSST-PP Project Office:
                            Craig Donlon (UK Met Office) email: craig.donlon@metoffice.gov.uk

Local organizing committee:

Helen Beggs, BMRC, Melbourne, Australia

Val Jemmeson, BMRC, Melbourne, Australia
Meryl Wiseman, BMRC, Melbourne, Australia
Margaret Hughes, BMRC, Melbourne, Australia


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