Solar atmospheric abundances in space and time

Elemental abundances provide a powerful diagnostic of the physical mechanisms and processes that heat the solar atmosphere and drive the solar wind. The first ionization potential (FIP) effect and its inverse (IFIP) are observed both on the Sun and other stars; however, the underlying fractionation mechanisms, their dependence on the magnetic field topology and the role of wave dynamics and turbulence in the chromosphere are not entirely understood. To address these challenges, a focused team, including observers, theorists, modellers and instrument scientists, spanning a range of career stages and institutions, came together for the Royal Society Theo Murphy meeting ‘Solar atmospheric abundances in space and time’. As a result of this meeting, the team worked in collaboration to produce 16 publications for this special issue. These publications are introduced here, including a discussion of the open questions and future directions in the context of advances in numerical modelling and current and upcoming solar and stellar missions. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Solar atmospheric abundances in space and time’.