Events

Introduction meeting for new Bjerknes members. Contact the administration for more information.

Date: Friday 13 March 2026

Time: 10:00-12:00

Place:

      In person: Bjerknes lecture room 4020 (Jahnebakken 5, top floor)

      Online: Zoom

Program:

10:00-10:20 RA1: Robinson Hordoir (IMR): Barents Sea atlantification driven by a shift in atmospheric synoptic timescale

10:20-10:40 RA3/RA4: Marianne Williams-Kerslake (NERSC): Can we predict marine heatwaves up to multi-year time scales in the Nordic Seas?

10:40-11:00 RA3: Lukrecia Stulic (University of Bologna): Partitioning uncertainty in Antarctic sea ice projections

11:00- Mingling and Open Agenda (for those who wish to share or discuss) 

*RA stands for Research Area 

This informal discussion space is open to all Bjerknes members and guests.

Please feel free to join us and we welcome contributions from all.

Abstract

The global-scale meridional overturning circulation (MOC) plays an important role in the climate system by transporting heat, salt, nutrients, and other tracers across latitude circles. While waters are near the surface, air-sea fluxes exchange heat, water, carbon, and other tracers between the ocean and atmosphere, influencing weather and climate. Once removed from the surface, many of these tracers are nearly conserved following the flow, thus the MOC is an effective means to transport properties across global scales. Our understanding of the overturning circulation has developed in recent decades from both global and local perspectives. The focus of this talk will be on the local physics that concentrate vertical transports near boundaries, and non-local physics that connect surface forcing with those vertical transports. Idealized models, simple theories, and observations will be used to demonstrate these processes. Basic conservation principles are used to provide insight into the controlling physics and how the overturning in both depth space and density space depends on atmospheric forcing and environmental conditions.

Speaker information

BS, MS 1980, 1982, Mechanical Engineering, Clarkson College of Tech.
PhD 1988, Applied Mathematics, Harvard University
Visiting Scientist National Center for Atmospheric Research, 1988-1990
WHOI, 1990-present
Scientific interests: Application of idealized numerical and theoretical calculations to understanding
mean and low frequency variability of the general ocean circulation. Particular interests include marginal seas, mesoscale variability, Arctic Ocean.

Join Zoom Meeting 
https://uib.zoom.us/j/68304284910?pwd=2IgsDMWHuJlQw3XFHSTo3OoGBsRrhz.1

Meeting ID: 683 0428 4910
Password: 7pwZK4mG

Bjerknes Proposal Writing Workshop 2026

From idea to project: Writing successful project proposals

19.05.2026: 9:00 – 16:00 

20.05.2026:  9:00 – 15:30 

Registration deadline: 24.04.2026

Link for registration: Bjerknes Proposal Writing Workshop 2026 – Fill out form

Venue: UiB Læringsarena, Nygårdsgaten 5, Bergen

Workshop leaders: Friederike U. Hoffmann, Research coordinator at GFI and EU expert evaluator; Nadine Goris, Researcher and Research Adviser at NORCE; Catherine Downy, Research Coordinator at NERSC 

Credit point: 1 (ECTS)

Maximum number of participants: 15 

For questions, please contact Friederike.Hoffmann@uib.no

The target group is early career scientists (postdocs, early career researchers, PhDs) in climate sciences with little or no experience in proposal writing. The workshop targets both those who already have a concrete project idea and a plan to submit a proposal, and those who want to gain general proposal writing and project development skills.

The workshop will enable you to apply for external funding for your own research. You will obtain the necessary skills through a mix of short lectures, group work, and plenary presentations, during which the research ideas of 3 participants will be developed into proposal concepts. 

You will learn about:

the central elements of a project proposal

how successful research proposals are developed, structured, and presented

the most relevant funding opportunities for early career scientists

You will learn how to:

present a project idea briefly and concisely (pitching)

develop the central components of a research proposal

structure these components into a convincing project concept

draft a project budget

In case the workshop is overbooked, Bjerknes members and scientists with own project ideas will be prioritized. For PhD students: this workshop makes the most sense if you are in the 3rd (or 4th) year of your PhD. PhD students in their 1st or 2nd year will not be prioritized. 

References:

General information about the workshop: Proposal writing training at Bjerknes Center

Publication about the course concept: Proposal Writing Training and Idea Development for Early‐Career Researchers Based on Constructive Alignment, Co‐Creation and Active Learning Strategies - Hoffmann - 2025 - Ecology and Evolution - Wiley Online Library

Topic: Modeling the Polar regions - what do we have and what are we missing?

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