date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 21:26:57 +0100 from: Eystein Jansen subject: URGENT ACTION NEEDED FOR FWP6 to: Laurent Labeyrie , Gerald Ganssen , rschneid@uni-bremen.de, N.McCave@uib.no, Keith Alverson , Rick Battarbee , keith.alverson@pages.unibe.ch, Keith Briffa , jerome@glaciog.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr, domraynaud@glaciog.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr, martin.miles@geol.uib.no, barnola@glaciog.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr, didier.paillard@lsce.cnrs-gif.fr, Anne-Marie Lézine , Martin Claussen , jean jouzel Dear friends, Things looked quite bright for the paleo-aspects of FWP 6 until October 18. However in the most recent version I have seen (dated Oct. 25), there is no longer an Integrated project nor Network of Excellence in our field, and Topic I.3.c - novel paleoreconstruction methodologies is now only an indicative topic for 2004, whereas it was for 2003 in the previous version. It now reads: I.3. Climate dynamics and variability */Research efforts should be concentrated on climate dynamics, climate variability, the hydrological cycle, feedback processes and rapid climate changes. Significant physical, chemical and biological processes as well as their interactions with the oceans, cryosphere, land and biosphere need to be quantified and be included in modelling work. Past climate variations, events and forcing factors should be investigated. Climate and environmental conditions should be reconstructed for periods that are relevant for the understanding of climate change and of climate system dynamics. The understanding of fundamental modes in the coupled climate system, in particular the ocean-atmosphere system (e.g. ENSO, NAO) is essential and should be advanced further. /Indicative topic for Network of Excellence or Integrated Project to implement* in 2004 */I.3.a)* Hot spots in the earth system*. Dynamics and processes in regions of particular importance and sensitivity (e.g. Polar, tropicaland Mediterranean areas) should be better quantified. The focus will be on processes responsible for climate variability regionally and on larger scales (e.g. the drivers of the thermohaline circulation, feedback processes between atmosphere and biosphere, solar variability). /Indicative topics for STREPs and Co-ordination Actions to implement* in 2004 */I.3.b)* Coupled climate system.* Improving the understanding of the coupled climate system, in particular the coupled ocean-atmosphere system and dynamics of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). I.3.c)* Novel palaeoreconstruction methods.* Development of novel palaeoreconstruction methodologies and multidisciplinary approaches for past climate conditions and climate dynamics. I have been strongly adviced to ask people in our community to put pressure on our national representatives in the Programme Comittee, and our contacts in Brussels. The task should be to redo the document so that the contents in the Oct. 18 version are put back again. The key meeting of the Programme Comittee is Nov. 12, and it is urgent that we react fast. This means: 1. To insert into Topic I3. the following text in 1.3.a: Topic for Network of Excellence or Integrated Project to implement in 2003: Past climates and its dynamics. Reconstruction and modelling of past climatic conditions and climatic events. Their analysis in a framework of climate variability and dynamics to significantly contribute to better climate change prediction. 2. To Move I3.c to 2003 rather thanjust being an indicative topic for 2004. The arguments are: 1. Withoud a more profound knowledge of climate variability over longer time scales, and under different climate forcing, it is very difficult to understand and predict how the system will react to future forcing. 2. We need to have better data to evaluate the likelihood for climatic surprises. 3. There is a large and well connected European community ready to act, which can provide major breakthroughs in our understanding of climate change. 4. recent deleopments in reconstructions and modelling makes it possible to integrate the observation and modelling communities and to provide climate records of decadal to annual resolution over several millennia, thus expanding the short period for which we have instrumental measurements by 1-2 orders of magnitude. 5. New methodological efforts headed by European consortia will be able to significantly improve the accuracy of climate reconstructions. I hope some joint pressure here can give our community back what seems to have vanished in the process. Cheers, Eystein -- ______________________________________________________________ Eystein Jansen Professor/Director Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research and Dep. of Geology, Univ. of Bergen Allégaten 55 N-5007 Bergen NORWAY e-mail: eystein.jansen@geol.uib.no Phone: +47-55-583491 - Home: +47-55-910661 Fax: +47-55-584330 ----------------------- The Bjerknes Training site offers 3-12 months fellowships to PhD students More info at: www.bjerknes.uib.no/mcts ----------------------------------------------------------------------------