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Abstract
This special issue of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters (AOSL) commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Nansen-Zhu International Research Centre (NZC) at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). NZC was set up on 3 November 2003, on the initiative of IAP/CAS, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, University of Bergen, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (a predecessor of the Norwegian Research Centre AS), and Peking University. Since then, NZC has successively incorporated three more partners during the past 20 years, including Nanjing University, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, and Fudan University. NZC focuses mainly on the tropical and high-latitude regions and their interactions, innovating knowledge on the past, present, and future climate. The overarching goal of NZC is to become an internationally acknowledged center for climate research and training.
NZC has delivered great achievements in scientific innovation, especially in the field of climate variability and climate change, climate predictability and prediction, and regional climate and climate extremes.
l In the field of paleoclimate, the members of NZC for the first time determined the age of the Sahara Desert and the driving mechanisms, and proposed the two-stage evolution of the Pacific Walker circulation during the Cenozoic. They have provided a comprehensive picture of global climates during the mid-Holocene and the Last Glacial Maximum.
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l With regard to climate extremes, NZC scientists for the first time revealed the timing and mechanisms of the establishment of modern tropical cyclone patterns, and found enhanced tropical cyclone intensity during past warm periods. They were also the first to reveal how reduced Arctic sea ice in autumn can intensify winter haze pollution over eastern China, which attracted more attention to be paid to the links between climate change and variability and air pollution. Furthermore, pioneering work by NZC researchers provided a deep explanation regarding the linkages between the variations of Eurasian climate extremes (e.g., heatwaves, heavy rainfall, snow storms, and dust storms) and high-latitude climate system anomalies, as well as detected and quantified the contributions of anthropogenic activities to these climate extremes.
l In research on climate prediction, NZC members have developed a series of new physical–empirical statistical and hybrid statistical–dynamical prediction methods (e.g., the interannual increment and tropical analog methods). These methods have been widely examined in their application to studies on regional temperature, precipitation, dust, and typhoon frequency prediction, demonstrating significantly higher skill than other traditional approaches. A dynamic climate prediction system has also been developed and used in several real-time operational prediction platforms. NZC scientists have also developed a multiscale dynamic and statistical landslide model, which has been applied in landslide forecasting, prediction, and projection.
Additionally, NZC emphasizes transformation and application of research achievements and has completed several scientific reports and suggestions, which have served national strategies and the practical needs of disaster prevention and mitigation.
Over the past 20 years, NZC has published more than 1200 papers in international peer-reviewed journals, including 14 papers in Nature, Science, Nature Geoscience, Nature Climate Change, Nature Communications, and PNAS. More than 170 graduate students defended their theses, including 118 PhD students. NZC has also received the National Natural Science Award, the HO LEUNG HO LEE Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress, and the First Prize of Progress in Meteorological Science and Technology from the Chinese Meteorological Society. Professor Huijun Wang was elected as the academician of CAS in 2013. Additionally, five excellent researchers have been recognized as Distinguished Youth Scholars by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and five young researchers have been recognized as Outstanding Youth Scholars. Furthermore, two students have received the Special Award from the President of CAS.
More importantly, NZC has become one of the best examples of Chinese–Norwegian research collaboration. It has contributed significantly to advancing climate research, as well as training, education, and exchanges of young students in China and Norway. Specifically, NZC has collaborated with Norwegian partners in more than ten international projects; and there have been over 370 personnel exchanges between China and Norway. Furthermore, NZC has organized eight summer schools, which is a biennial event taking place alternately in China and Europe with the aim to help young researchers develop skills in collaboration/communication and build a strong early-career scientific network. Given these achievements, NZC was recognized as an excellent model of collaboration between China and Norway by Mr. Yaping Zhang (Vice President of CAS) and Ms. Iselin Nybø (Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education).
To celebrate the 20th anniversary, the Editorial Board of AOSL and the Advisory Board of NZC agreed to compile this special issue to disseminate the latest scientific developments at NZC. The invited papers are from the partners of NZC and institutions/universities in China. All submitted manuscripts were peer-reviewed. In this regard, special appreciation is given to all the referees for their constructive reviews.
The special issue includes 19 papers covering past, present, and future climates, climate extremes in China, climate teleconnection, tropical cyclones, short-term climate prediction, and machine learning optimization. The editors would like to thank all the authors for their contributions to this special issue commemorating 20 years of NZC.
Prof. Huijun Wang, Co-Chief Editor of AOSL
Prof. Jianqi Sun, NZC
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