Work package leader: Thor Erik Nordeng (met.no)
Background
The ICSU/WMO Joint Committee (JC) for the International Polar Year 2007-2008 clustered a number of expressions of Interest (EOI’s) under the leadership of the “Polar THORPEX” initiative. “Polar THORPEX” as submitted from met.no and consisted of partners from Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark,Germany and the UK. Twenty research plans from the EoIs were merged into the “full proposal”; THORPEX-IPY (attached), which was endorsed by JC as an IPY cluster project (endorsement letter attached). In March 2006 a THORPEX-IPY workshop was held at the University of Reading, UK, and in the first week of May THORPEX-IPY was discussed at an Executive Council of THORPEX. Subsequently, a workshop among the cluster participants was organized by met.no in Oslo, Norway on 15 - 16 June 2006.
Research plan
The international THORPEX-IPY operational research plan is still being developed as national commitments become increasingly clear. At the upcoming Second THORPEX International Scientific Symposium in Landshut, Germany on 4-8 December 2006 there will be several presentations by participants in the international THORPEX-IPY cluster, and we will present the status of the overall cluster organization.