SHORT CONFERENCE REPORT ON THE ICAM/MAP 2005

Branka Ivancan-Picek, Meteorological and Hydrological Service, Zagreb, Croatia
Branko Grisogono, Geophysical Institute, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia

This ICAM/MAP2005 in Zadar, Croatia, was a special blend of events. Namely:

• 28th ICAM conference after the first meeting in Northern Italy, 20-23 September 1950;
• return to Croatia after 21 years (18th meeting in Opatija, 25-29 September 1984);
• 2nd joint meeting with MAP community (after first trial in Brig 2003 and shift to odd years);
• presentation of final results of the Mesoscale Alpine Programme just 10 years after its official start (at 1st MAP meeting, 28-30 June 1995, Bad Tölz, Germany).

The conference was hosted by the Meteorological and Hydrological Service of Croatia, Andrija Mohorovicic Geophysical Institute (Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb) and Croatian Meteorological Society.

The conference was successful in a number of ways. 17 solicited presentations, 49 contributed talks and 155 poster presentations provided the scientific substance of the conference. The International Scientific Programme Committee tried to interlink presentations from the MAP community with those of the more traditional ICAM topics while following current trends. The latter also includes a moderate shift in interests with respect to some former ICAM structures. Thus, applications of basic research in numerical weather prediction techniques should become as obvious as links between investigations of dry flow and those containing moisture and precipitation (rain and snow) or even flooding, or the close relation of weather regimes and climatological observations. Oceanographic side of alpine processes is stressed thus emphasizing interactions between mountain and coastal meteorology and climatology. The educational effect for young scientists working hard for their theses is considered important via e.g. prizes and distinctions. Future educational collaborations are also conceived.

Conference proceedings with extended abstracts have been published in Croatian Meteorological Journal, Vol 40, 2005, pp 1-718. Extended abstracts are available on CD too. Slides of part of the oral presentations are available online at the http://meteo.hr and at the MAP Data Centre www.map.ethz.ch. Also, a special issue of the Meteorologische Zeitschrift is in preparation. Moreover, the MAP community is targeting yet another special issue of QJRMS.