In between but close to the other shore might
be an appropriate snapshot of the current state
of MAP. The field measurements are already far
behind, the first wave of overview and introductory
papers has surfaced in the peer reviewed
journals, and a large number of articles are currently
in the review process: almost forty alone
in the planned special issue of the Quarterly
Journal (see QJRMS Special Issue on MAP-SOP
results on page 9). Others are already embarking
on new journeys (see MEDEX: Outline of
the project, links to MAP on page 5 and see
News from FACT on page 13).
This year marks the first time that an annual
MAP meeting will literally reach the other shore.
Judging from the program, the meeting in Park
City, which is combined with the AMS Mountain
Meteorology Conference, will be the chance to
step back from one's particular styptics) of the
field phase data, fit it like a puzzle piece into the
larger whole of orographically modified atmospheric
flow, and regain the big picture.
All, who periodically visit the MDC website, will
have noticed that even more than two years after
the SOP new data keep arriving. This reflects
on the great efforts involved in collecting data
from a multitude of providers while simultaneously
ensuring good quality of the data. Inga
Groehn reports in this issue on some of the
quality control efforts within MAP.
A MAP SOP reanalysis has begun at the ECMWF
to provide the community with one unified data
set for the numerical modeling efforts. An improvement
of the forecasting capabilities in the
Alps and other mountains around the world has
always been a central raison d'être for MAP.
The autumn issue of the MAP newsletter will
break with tradition by not containing extended
abstracts from the annual MAP meeting. Instead
we will focus on taking stock of the MAP SOP
data set and provide an overview of data from
the from the various target areas, large observational
platforms, and the before mentioned reanalysis.
Georg Mayr
