The absorption of energy by water vapour keeps the average temperature on Earth at a level that makes life possible. However, the average temperature increased in recent decades due to increased greenhouse gas emissions. This anthropogenic increase is amplified by the water vapour feedback. Water vapour is further an important component of the water cycle and indirectly of the energy cycle. The role of water vapour in these cycles in a changing climate needs to be fully understood and quantified. Thus, high-quality observations of water vapour and the characterisation and validation of associated uncertainties are of high importance for climate applications. Topics covered around atmospheric water vapour include, among others, retrieval development, data records, uncertainty characterisation and validation, inter-comparisons, climate applications, and model validation.

This special issue originates from the GEWEX Water Vapor Assessment (G-VAP, http://gewex-vap.org) and is open for all submissions within scope, not just from G-VAP.

Ice nucleation is a particularly hot topic at the moment in atmospheric sciences, with profound implications for the hydrological cycle and climate. However, the detailed links between the atmospheric aerosol chemical and physical character, ice-nucleating particles (INPs), and the ice nucleation processes in different temperature regimes remain open (e.g. Hoose and Möhler, 2012, Knopf et al., 2018). We performed a comprehensive field study in Hyytiälä, Finland, during 2018 (HyICE campaign) with a clear focus on characterizing the INP concentrations in different temperature ranges with a suite of ice nucleation counters (online and offline). The work was complemented with thorough measurement of physical (size distribution 1 nm–10 um, bioaerosol concentrations) and chemical characteristics (high-resolution AMS) of the atmospheric aerosols from nanometre scale to super-micron sizes done at the Station for Measuring Ecosystem – Atmosphere Relations II (SMEAR II) site. The location provides an excellent facility to study INPs as we can compare our data to the 20-year data set already available at the site. The observation period started in February, with the most intensive INP measurements in March–May 2018. We operated a suite of online ice nucleation counters (SPIN, PINE, PINCII) and performed filter sampling at the ground level, above the canopy, and onboard a research aircraft. We continue the filter sampling providing understanding of the seasonality of INP concentrations in the boreal environment. In SMEAR II we have also the weather radar and lidar capacity to address the cloud microphysics within the clouds. These activities enable us 1) to perform an intercomparison between the ice nucleation chambers, 2) to assess the vertical variability of INPs inside the boundary layer and in the free atmosphere, 3) to connect the observed INP concentrations to physical and chemical parameters and aerosol source apportionment and 4) seasonal variability of the INPs in the boreal context, 5) to connect the ground-based INP measurements to the cloud processes aloft, and 6) to develop parameterizations based on our observations and utilize them in models of various scales.

The prediction of the winter weather over complex terrain is quite challenging due to the highly variable nature of winds, visibility, and snowfall. As a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) World Weather Research Program (WWRP) Research Demonstration Project (RDP) and Forecast Demonstration Project (FDP), ICE-POP 2018 (International Collaborative Experiments for PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic winter games) was held in the PyeongChang region from November 2017 to April 2018 with contributions from 29 agencies from 12 countries. The region was quite unique for observing winter weathers that are influenced by cold air and warm ocean interaction, sudden uplifting by steep terrains near the coast, and modulation by complex terrains. The main scientific goal was to understand the precipitation processes in this unique region during the cold season and to evaluate/improve forecasting from numerical models based on intensive observations. Dense observational networks of upper air observation (eight soundings, two wind profilers, shipborne sounding, and dropsonde), remote sensing (three X-Pol radars, one Ku/Ka-Pol radar and three S-Pol, one S-band, two C-band, and three Doppler lidars), microphysical observation (2DVD, MASC, PIP, Parsivel, MRR, POSS, Pluvio), and surface stations (64 stations) were implemented, in particular, to observe the evolution of precipitation along and across atmospheric flows. The field experiment and real-time forecast demonstration ended and the second phase of the experiment has started for better understanding of the microphysical processes, their better representation in the numerical modeling, and further improvement of winter weather prediction through various international collaborations.

The main purposes of the special issue are

1) to document the scientific findings on the winter weather during the forecast demonstration project

2) to share scientific knowledge on processes of winter weathers that have been investigated with unprecedented dense observational networks,

3) to share current status and improved knowledge of forecasting of winter weathers, and

4) to document new retrieval and quality control methods of the operational and advanced instruments.

The special issue will include all manuscripts related to observational data, products, NWP modeling, researches on observational instrumentation, process/mechanism study, reanalysis, integration of observation and numerical modeling, and prediction of the winter weathers.

Fire is an essential feature of terrestrial ecosystems and plays an important role in the Earth system. Fires are regulated by climate, vegetation characteristics, and human activity and also feedback to them in multiple ways. For example, fires can shape vegetation composition and structure; adjust land carbon, nutrient, water, and energy cycles; change atmospheric composition, chemistry, and physics; and affect air quality and human health. Elevated fire activity in 2019 across the arctic, Amazon, and other regions underscores the urgency of a quantitative understanding of fire as an Earth system process that interacts with vegetation, climate, and humans. The EGU2020 B3.17 session on the role of fire in the Earth system received the most abstracts in the Biogeosciences division this year and was highly attended during the live chat. The abstracts cover several aspects of interactions between fire and the biosphere, atmosphere, and humans across various temporal and spatial scales using modelling, field and laboratory observations, and remote sensing. Given that the topic is highly interdisciplinary and overarching, we propose an inter-journal (ESD/BG/ACP/GMD/NHESS) special issue for this session with ESD as the lead journal, and we also encourage the submission of topic-related studies outside the EGU fire session. The special issue will bring together new advances in understanding the feedbacks and interactions between fire and other components of the Earth system at all temporal and spatial scales using various methods, including (1) impacts of fire on weather, climate, and atmospheric chemistry; (2) interactions between fire, the biogeochemical cycle, vegetation composition and structure, and land water and energy budgets; (3) influence of humans on fire and vice versa; (4) fire characteristics (e.g., fire duration, emission factor, emission height, smoke transport); (5) spatial and temporal changes of fires in the past, present, and future; (6) fire products and models, their validation, and error/bias assessment; and (7) analytical tools designed to enhance situational awareness among fire practitioners and early warning systems, addressing specific needs of operational fire behaviour modelling.

The 2019 Raikoke eruption emitted an estimated 1.5±0.2 Tg of volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO₂) into the atmosphere, which makes it the largest volcanic SO₂ perturbation in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere since the 2011 eruption of Nabro. The 2019 Raikoke eruption triggered numerous discussions among scientists involved in the SPARC Volcano Response (VolRes) initiative and provides an excellent opportunity to test our understanding of processes involved in the formation, growth and removal of volcanic aerosols in the atmosphere. Remote sensing measurements from geostationary and low-orbiting satellites with ultraviolet, visible, and infrared sensors (HIMAWARI-8, OMPS/NPP, OMI/Aura, TROPOMI/SP5, IASI/MeteopA-B-C, AIRS/Aqua, CALIOP/CALIPSO, SAGE III/ISS) provided a wealth of information on the SO₂ concentration, ash and sulfate aerosol particle optical properties from the initial injection through to the growth and removal of aerosols. This eruption therefore provides an excellent opportunity to inter-compare satellite observations and validate the different retrievals for SO₂ and volcanic aerosol properties from new satellite sensors such as TROPOMI. After the initial injection into altitudes up to 15–16 km, the plume reached 25–26 km altitude in late 2019, which corresponds to a fast vertical ascent that appears unusual compared to previous eruptions. The fast vertical ascent of the 2019 Raikoke plume may suggest an influence of smoke aerosol from large wildfires that took place in Canada and Siberia around the time of the eruption. The veil of aerosol particles from Raikoke 2019 has noticeably reduced the transparency of the stratosphere and detailed information and measurements on the aerosol properties will be useful to constrain atmospheric and climate model simulations.