The American Meteorological Society (AMS) has elected 28 of its members to the prestigious rank of AMS Fellow. Dr Anton Beljaars is included in recognition of his fundamental contributions to the observation, understanding and model parametrizations of atmospheric turbulence, and land and ocean surface processes.
As Principal Scientist and Head of the Physical Aspects Section at ECMWF, Anton has played a major role in developing parametrization of atmospheric and surface processes used in ECMWF’s Integrated Forecasting System (IFS). In particular, he has developed new ideas about turbulence under very stable and unstable conditions and on the interaction between turbulence and land surfaces. These insights enabled him to develop improved turbulence parametrizations that are widely used.
Anton has played a major role in international research programmes. His studies of land-surface interactions provided one of the scientific underpinnings for the success of GEWEX (Global Energy and Water Exchange Experiment). Anton’s work on ocean–atmosphere interactions inspired some aspects of TOGA-COARE (Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere-Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment), which brought together meteorologists and oceanographers. He has also served on a variety of key international committees, including a review committee on the experimental study of atmosphere–surface interaction over the Amazonian rain forest.
Speaking about the Fellowship, Anton said: "Model development is a team effort, and I see the award as recognition of the work that has been done in the Physical Aspects Section over the years by many talented scientists. It has always been a pleasure and a privilege to be part of such a strong and dedicated team."
The AMS has about 14,000 members from academia, government and the private sector in various countries. Each year, the Council of the AMS elects as Fellows no more than 1 of every 500 of the Society’s members. Fellows are nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions over many years to the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and applications.
The new Fellows will be honoured formally in January 2015 at the 95th AMS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.
More information
A list of AMS Awards, Fellows and Honorary Members is available on the AMS website.