News
15.06.2001 | General news
NCCR- ClimateStart up meeting informs about the primary goals
The NCCR Climate had its startup meeting on June 12 in Bern. The project leaders informed about the primary goals of the projects. One goal of the meeting was also to discuss research cooperations between the different projects and to interact on mutual data needs.
Primary goals of the NCCR Climate
The NCCR will pursue coordinated research on the climate system’s variability and its potential for change, and will encompass: reconstruction of past climate; study of key physical, chemical and ecological processes; and a concerted effort to develop procedures for seasonal forecasting and the forecasting of extreme weather events. This research will be conducted in close conjunction with research on the evaluation of the associated risks to the governmental and business sectors, and to society in general.
Structure
The NCCR Climate is directed by Heinz Wanner with deputy director Brigitta Ammann and scientific officer Martin Grosjean.
It consists of four complementary and inter-dependent Work Packages:
- Past climate – variability, trends and extreme events (coordinator Thomas Stocker)
With project leaders T. Stocker, Heinz Wanner, Brigitta Ammann. - Future climate – processes and forecastin. (coordinator Huw Davies)
With project leaders Atsumu Ohmura, Christoph Schär, Huw Davies, Niklaus Kämpfer. - Impacts of climate variability and change (coordinator Jürg Fuhrer)
With project leaders Martin Beniston, Jürg Fuhrer, David Newbery, Jean-Philippe Vial. - Risk assessment, risk hedging and socio-economic response (coordinator Alain Haurie)
With project leaders Alain Haurie, Beat Bürgenmeier.
Involved in the Project are groups from the following Universities and Centers: Universities of Berne, Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne, ETH Zürich, WSL, PSI, FAL/IUL, MeteoSwiss.
The overall goals are
- Acquire better understanding of climate system processes, variability and predictability, and the complex inter-relationships of climate, economic and societal driving factors.
- Adapt and refine scientific tools and acquired knowledge for Switzerland considering specific characteristics in physical, chemical, biological, geographical, economic and societal forcing factors.
- Transfer and apply the knowledge to assess the future cost and risks of expected climate change, and to provide a basis for adaptation strategies.
- Educate young scientist across all disciplines with an emphasis on the interdisciplinary process in order to prepare a young generation of decision-makers for the future. The leading house will establish a regular series of thematic Summer Schools and forms of participatory teaching.
- Investigations of new financial and economic tools to hedge against increased probability of extreme events.