Following the Public Call announced by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation in September 2008 regarding the funding of a Summer School to be held in 2009 in the field of the "Environment", it is announced that the evaluation process for the 18 submitted proposals has been completed, and that, on recommendation by the competent scientific committee, the Foundation’s Executive Board decided that funding will be granted to the proposal entitled "Environment: Climate – Climate Change – Impacts". The proposal was submitted by teaching staff of the Department of Meteorology and Climatology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in cooperation with the National Observatory of Athens.

Organisation Committee

• President: Christina Anagnostopoulou, Lecturer, Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki;
• Member: Konstantina Tolika, Lecturer, Department of Meteorology and Climatology, National Observatory of Athens;
• Member: Christos Giannakopoulos, Principal Researcher, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens;
• Member: Efi Kostopoulou, Assistant Researcher, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens;
• Member: Ioannis Tegoulias, PhD Candidate, Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Object and Purpose of the Summer School 2009

The possible climate variations and changes concerning both average and extreme conditions, as well as their impact on the environment/ecosystems and on a multitude of human activities, are a subject of great interest to both the general public and the scientific community. As a result, climate change, both on global and regional scale, are now studied by many researchers. In view of the above, the Department of Meteorology and Climatology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in cooperation with the National Observatory of Athens, gives the opportunity to young researchers to gain a comprehensive knowledge on topics related to the climate and its characteristics, by organising a Summer School entitled "Environment: Climate – Climate Change – Impacts", which is funded by the John Latsis Public Benefit Foundation.

The subjects that will be presented during the Summer School are the following:

• Climatology, climatic parameters, global climate situation, Mediterranean and European climate;
• New statistical techniques in the climate analysis of meteorological and climatological data;
• Use of new databases to study the parameters and mechanisms of climate change;
• Climate change, impact of the Greenhouse effect;
• General circulation climate models;
• Extreme weather events;
• Dynamic and statistical downscaling;
• Impact of climate change on the ecosystem, the environment, agriculture, hydrology, tourism and other human activities.

The guest speakers, who will participate in the Summer School, are distinguished scientists from renowned European Universities and Research Centres, the work of whom has gained global recognition. The guest speakers’ long-standing research experience in climatology, climate change and their impact will give students the opportunity to:

• Enrich their knowledge in topics related to climatology, climate change and their impact;
• Learn about new software (working groups will be organised under the supervision of specialised scientists);
• Participate in meetings on climatology with distinguished scientists; and
• Present part of their research work to a scientific audience.

The Summer School will be held from 8 to 15 July 2009 at the Foundation’s premises, "Pallas Athena" building, 59 Diligianni Street, Kifisia. The participants will be Greek and foreign postgraduate or doctoral students (30 in total).

More Information

More information on the organisation of the Summer School is available on our website.