World Climate Research Programme: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:18, 12 December 2017

Revision as of 14:43, 4 January 2018

Line 25:

|leader_name =

|main_organ =

|parent_organization = The [[World Meteorological Organization]], the [[International Council for Science]] and the [[Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission]]

|affiliations =

|num_staff =

Line 34:

}}

The '''World Climate Research Programme''' (WCRP) is an international programme that helps to coordinate global [[climate research]].<ref name=munn>{{cite book |last1=Munn |first1=R.E. |last2=la Rivière |first2=J.W.M. |last3=van Lookeren Campagne |first3=N. |date=1996 |title=Policy Making in an Era of Global Environmental Change |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media}}</ref> The WCRP was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of the [[World Meteorological Organization]] and the [[International Council for Science]], and has also been sponsored by the [[Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission]] of [[UNESCO]] since 1993.<ref name=agreement>{{cite web |url=https://www.wcrp-climate.org/about/WCRP_Sponsors'_Agreement_1993.pdf |title=1993 WCRP - Agreement beetween the World Meteorological Organization, the International Council of Scientific Unions and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission on the World Climate Research Programme |publisher=WMO, ICSU and IOC/UNESCO |date=1993}}</ref>

The '''World Climate Research Programme''' (WCRP) was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of [[International Council for Science]] (ICSU) and the [[World Meteorological Organization]], and has also been sponsored by the [[Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission]] of [[UNESCO]] since 1993. It is a component of the [[World Climate Programme]]. The objectives of the programme are to develop the fundamental scientific understanding of the physical [[climate]] system and climate processes needed to determine to what extent climate can be predicted and the extent of human influence on climate. The programme encompasses studies of the [[Earth's atmosphere|global atmosphere]], [[ocean]]s, [[sea ice]], land ice (such as [[glacier]]s, [[ice cap]]s and [[ice sheet]]s), and the land surface which together constitute the Earth's physical climate system.

The programme is funded by its three sponsors and additional contributions by nation states or other donors.<ref name=review>{{cite web |url=https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/13294 |title=ICSU-WMO-IOC-IGFA Review of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) |publisher=International Council for Science |date=2009}}</ref> WCRP uses these funds to organize science workshops or conferences and support collaboration between climate scientists at an international level. Its expert groups also develop international standards for climate data and propose future emphasis areas in international climate research, among others.

WCRP activities address issues of scientific uncertainty in the Earth's climate system including transport and storage of heat by the ocean, the global energy and [[Water cycle|hydrological cycle]], the formation of [[clouds]] and their effects on radiative transfer, and the role of the [[cryosphere]] in climate. These activities match the scientific priorities identified by the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]], and provide the basis for responding to issues raised in the [[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change]]. WCRP also lays the scientific foundation for meeting the research challenges posed in Agenda 21. Together with the [[International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme]] and the [[International Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Programme]], WCRP provides the international framework for scientific cooperation in the study of global [[climate change]].

== Mandate ==

Scientific guidance for the programme is provided by a Joint Scientific Committee consisting of 18 scientists selected by mutual agreement between the three sponsoring organizations.

WCRP's objective is stated as "a better understanding of the climate system and the causes of climate variability and change" and "to determine the predictability of climate; and to determine the effect of human activities on climate" <ref name="agreement" />. In practice, the programme aims to foster initiatives in climate research which require or benefit from international coordination and which are unlikely to emerge from national efforts alone.<ref name="munn" /><ref name=grassl>{{cite web |url=https://www.clisap.de/discover/reading-matter/climate-interviews/interview-with-hartmut-grassl/interview-with-hartmut-grassl-page-1-2/ |title=Interview with Prof. Hartmut Graßl, former WCRP Director |publisher=CLISAP}}</ref> The programme does not fund climate research directly, but may at times exchange views with research funding agencies on global research priorities.<ref name="munn" /><ref name="grassl" />

==Major Projects==

* http://www.sparc-climate.org/ [[Stratosphere-troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate]] (SPARC)

== Structure ==

* http://isccp.giss.nasa.gov/ [[International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project]] (ISCCP)

* http://clic.npolar.no/ Climate and Cryosphere (CliC)

The largest group of contributors to WCRP are several thousands of climate scientists from around the world who offer their expertise and time as volunteers to, for example, help organize workshops in key areas of research, lay out avenues for future research in [[white paper]] articles, and serve on WCRP science or advisory boards.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Asrar |first1=G.R. |last2=Hurrell |first2=J.W. |last3=Busalacchi |first3=A.J. |editor1-last=Asrar |editor1-first=G.R. |editor2-last=Hurrell |editor2-first=J.W. |title=Climate Science for Serving Society |publisher=Springer Netherlands |date=2013 |pages=1-12 |chapter=The World Climate Research Program Strategy and Priorities: Next Decade}}</ref> Official scientific guidance for the programme is provided by a Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) consisting of 18 volunteer scientists selected by mutual agreement between the three sponsoring organizations. <ref name=review2017>{{cite web |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0025/002562/256218e.pdf |title=Report of and update on the WMO-IOC-ICSU World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and its review by its sponsors |publisher=IOC/UNESCO Information Document |date=2017}}</ref> Everyday operations are supported by a secretariat of around 8 full-time staff, hosted by the [[World Meteorological Organization]] in Geneva.

* http://www.clivar.org/ Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR)

* http://www.gewex.org/ Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment ([[GEWEX]])

==Major Activities and Projects ==

WCRP's largest activities are its four "Core Projects" (called [[Stratospheric Processes And their Role in Climate|SPARC]], [[CLIVAR]], [[CliC]], and [[GEWEX]])<ref name="review2017" />, which support climate research on the global atmosphere, oceans, the cryosphere, and the land surface (together constituting the Earth's physical climate system) as well as interactions and exchanges between them. Each Core Project again has a structure similar to that of WCRP itself, namely contributing scientists, a scientific steering group, and a secretariat ("international project office") hosted by individual countries.

The programme further maintains topical working groups and advisory councils on climate data, climate modelling, subseasonal-to-decadal climate prediction, and regional climate modelling.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dkn-future-earth.org/data/mediapool/wcrp_implementation_plan.pdf |title=The World Climate Research Programme Implementation Plan 2010-2015 |publisher=World Meteorological Organization |date=2017 |number= WMO/TD-No. 1503}}</ref> Additional "Grand Challenges" target specific questions of societal interest within climate science.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wcrp-climate.org/grand-challenges/grand-challenges-overview |title=Overview of the WCRP Grand Challenges}}</ref>

One particular output by a WCRP task team is the [[Coupled Model Intercomparison Project]], which standardizes and coordinates regular comparisons of the world's climate models<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pcmdi.llnl.gov/mips/cmip/about-cmip.html |title=About the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP)}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Eyring |first=V. et al. |date=2016 |title=Overview of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) experimental design and organization |journal=Geoscientific Model Development |volume=9 |pages=1937-1958 |url=https://www.geosci-model-dev.net/9/1937/2016/}}</ref> and which provides an important basis for the IPCC Assessment Reports' climate projections.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pachauri |first1=R.K. |last2=Dahe |first2=Q. |last3=Stocker |first3=T.F. |editor1-last=Stocker |editor1-first=T.F. et al. |title=Climate Change 2013 The Physical Science Basis Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |publisher=Springer Netherlands |date=2013 |chapter=Foreword |url=http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/}}</ref>

==See also==

*[[World Meteorological Organization]] (WMO)

*[[Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project]] (AMIP)

*[[International Council for Science]] (ICSU)

*[[David Carson (climatologist)]]

*[[Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission]] (IOC/UNESCO)

*[[Jenny Baeseman]], former executive director, WCRP Climate and Cryosphere

*[[Coupled model intercomparison project]] (CMIP)

*[[Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere program]] (TOGA)

*[[Global Climate Observing System]] (GCOS)

*[[Future Earth]]

*[[Group on Earth Observations]] (GEO)

*[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC)

== References ==

<!--- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes on how to create references using <ref></ref> tags, these references will then appear here automatically -->

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* [http://www.wcrp-climate.org www.wcrp-climate.org]

* [http://www.clivar.org/ Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR)]

* [http://www.gewex.org GEWEX]

* [http://www.sparc-climate.org SPARC]

* [http://www.climate-cryosphere.org CliC]

<!--- Categories --->

==External links==

[[Category:Research]]

[[Category:Climate institutions and programs]]

[[Category:International organisations based in Switzerland]]

[[Category:International scientific organizations]]

[[Category:Scientific organizations established in 1980]]