BOULDER -- In a major agenda-setting conference that will guide much of the world's climate research for the next decade, representatives from over 60 countries will gather in Paris December 2-4 to examine questions relating to natural climate variability, the human role in global climate change, and the predictability of global and regional climate.
The Climate Variability and Predictability Study (CLIVAR) of the World Climate Research Programme is "the largest, most comprehensive international climate research program ever undertaken," according to Kevin Trenberth, co-chair of the CLIVAR scientific steering group. Trenberth will deliver a keynote address on CLIVAR's recently published implementation plan and on the evolution of CLIVAR science. He is also head of the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder. NCAR's primary sponsor is the National Science Foundation (NSF).
At the meeting, a large U.S. delegation, including representatives from NSF, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will outline the U.S. support and plans. The U.S. group is headed by Michael Hall (NOAA's Office of Global Programs), who will give the closing keynote address.
Attendees will define climate issues relevant to their own regions and map out collaborative efforts to answer the most pressing questions. Among the new research presented at the meeting will be
- The 1997-98 El Nino/La Nina--Ants Leetmaa, National Centers for
Environmental Prediction, United States
- Long-term climate variability and the detection and attribution of
anthropogenic effects--Suki Manabe, Japan
- Towards the prediction of monsoon variability--Victor Magana Rueda,
Mexico
- Decadal variability in the ocean-atmosphere system--Jurgen Willebrand, Germany.
Created in 1993, the 15-year CLIVAR program focuses on the interaction of the oceans and the atmosphere and their role in the earth's overall climate. CLIVAR's goal is to enhance scientists' ability to predict climate on both global and regional scales from a season to a century. Such predictions might warn Kenyan farmers of heavy El Nino-related rains that could drown crops, alert towns along the western Atlantic coast of the projected intensity of the brewing hurricane season as La Nina builds in the Pacific, or caution Indonesian brush burners of an expected fire-prolonging drought.
The meeting will be held at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) center in Paris. For more, please contact Anatta at 303-497-8604; anatta@ucar.edu.
NCAR is managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, a consortium of more than 60 universities offering Ph.D.s in atmospheric and related sciences.