International Symposium on Tropical Ocean and Climate was held in Qingdao, China, from June 15 to June 17, 2015, by the Qingdao Innovative Collaboration Center of Marine Science and Technology and the Key Laboratory of Physical Oceanography, MOE, with contributions from the Qingdao National Oceanography Laboratory. Present at the opening session were REN Jianguo, director of the No. 4 Office of the Division of Earth Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC), and YAN Ju, vice president of the Ocean University of China (OUC). 

The symposium functions as a high-level platform for the exchange of views and concepts in regard to cutting-edge issues of tropical ocean and climate by integrating world-renowned senior scientists in this field, namely, George PHILANDER, father of El Niño research and Knox Taylor Professor of Geosciences, Princeton University, Mark CANE, G. Unger Vetlesen Professor of Earth and Climate Science, Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), Toshio YAMAGATA, Director of Application Laboratory, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, and Gabriel VECCHI, head of Climate Change, Variability and Prediction Group, NOAA – Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, US, as well as participants from marine-related institutions of home and abroad. The event focused on mechanism and prediction on changing of El Niño under global warming, and response of tropical ocean to monsoon and typhoon, as well as the modulation of tropical ocean on global warming rate. Participating scientists also discussed developing trend of tropical ocean and climate research.

The success of the symposium marked the significant position CIMST held in the area of tropical ocean and climate, and provided scientific support for implementing more effective measurements to solve the problems of regional climate change and extreme climate events caused by variations in tropical ocean as well as to upgrade prediction capabilities. In addition, it would inject vitality in research on El Niño and climate change of global community.