The CLIVAR Pacific Region Panel (PRP) held a telecon on 19 November 2021 mainly to discuss candidates for the PRP membership and the options for a possible PRP in-person meeting. Nine PRP members attended the telecon.

The discussion on the candidates included considerations on gender and geographic balance, as well as the candidates’ fit into the future activities of the panel. Currently, the panel is in good shape in terms of gender balance (F:M = 7:8), but the panel intends to address the last-year suggestions from the CLIVAR Scientific Steering Group about engaging Early Career Scientists (ECSs) and increasing South American participation. To that end, the focus of the discussion was on the ECSs applicants from South America. Those candidates were linked to some key panel activities, e.g. the implementation of TPOS2020, TPDV WG, ENSO Conceptual Model Working Group and ENSO metrics, Ocean extremes and coastal impacts, as well as the WCRP Lighthouse Activities on Explaining and Prediction Earth System Change and My Climate Risks, etc. The choice of the 1st and 2nd candidates was based on the projection of the candidates’ expertise on those panel activities. It was also agreed that the final decision needs to be properly communicated to the non-selected candidates, by emphasizing that the decision should not be interpreted as due to limitations in their expertise, but only as a result of the current needs of the panel.

The panel then discussed the possible options for organizing an in-person meeting in 2022, which may include: EGU 2022 (April 3-8, Vienna, Austria); AOGS 2022 (June 5-10, Honolulu, US) or EBUS Conference (September 19-23, Lima, Peru). Meanwhile, the ENSO Summer School is now being scheduled for a two weeks period during July 18 - August 5, 2022, in Trieste, Italy. The panel members will be requested to mark their preferences for the in-person meeting via google doc after the telecon.