scholarly journals The Art of Data Sharing: key in future climate science

PAGES news ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-93
Author(s):  
Aurora Elmore ◽  
F Lehner ◽  
J Franke
Keyword(s):  
Data Sharing ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Climate

Assessing the quality of climate information for adaptation.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Baldissera Pacchetti ◽  
Suraje Dessai ◽  
Seamus Bradley ◽  
David A Stainforth
Keyword(s):  
Regional Climate ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Data Models ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Climate Information ◽  
Standard Quality ◽  
Assess Quality ◽  
The Relationship

<p>There are now a plethora of data, models and approaches available to produce climate information intended to inform adaptation to a changing climate. There is, however, no analytical framework to assess the epistemic issues concerning the quality of these data, models and approaches. An evaluation of the quality of climate information is a fundamental requirement for its appropriate application in societal decision-making. By integrating insights from the philosophy of science, environmental social science and physical climate science, we construct an analytical framework for “science-based statements about future climate” that allows for an assessment of their quality for adaptation planning. We target statements about local and regional climate with a lead time of one to one hundred years. Our framework clarifies how standard quality descriptors in the literature, such as “robustness”, “adequacy”, “completeness” and “transparency”, rely on both the type of evidence and the relationship between the evidence and the statement. This clarification not only provides a more precise framework for quality, but also allows us to show how certain evidential standards may change as a function of the purpose of a statement. We argue that the most essential metrics to assess quality are: Robustness, Theory, Completeness, Adequacy for purpose, Transparency. Our framework goes further by providing guidelines on when quantitative statements about future climate are warranted and potentially decision-relevant, when these statements would be more valuable taking other forms (e.g. qualitative statements), and when statements about future climate are not warranted at all.</p>

The challenges of aligning the scales of urban climate science and climate policy in London and Manchester

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam James Heaphy
Keyword(s):  
Urban Climate ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
City Region ◽  
Urban Buildings ◽  
Building Standards

The longevity of our urban buildings and streetscapes means that they will need to perform to a satisfactory standard in a context of climate change, with an increasing propensity for higher temperatures and extreme weather events accentuated by the urban heat island. Research funded to explore future climate in cities is frequently required to work directly with stakeholders to co-produce useful knowledge and tools. This study considers the relationship between a suite of projects linking future climate to the city, neighbourhood and building scales and the policy contexts of London and Manchester. It is contended that successful knowledge translation is aided by multi-scalar, strategic approaches to urban climate, and on the clear designation of the desired policy outcomes and supporting evidence and resources required. This, in turn, highlights the role of sustained government support for city-region spatial planning and building standards to facilitate successful translation into policies.

Understanding climate-related risks to infrastructure in Chinese cities, Climate Risk Assessment of Infrastructure Tool

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Sunyer ◽  
Louise Parry ◽  
Oliver Pritchard ◽  
Harriet Obrien ◽  
Astrid Kagan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Climate Risk ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Infrastructure Systems ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Resilient Infrastructure

<p>Climate resilient infrastructure is essential for the safety, wellbeing, sustainability and economic prosperity of cities. An understanding of current and future climate risks is an essential consideration for the planning, design, delivery and management of new and existing resilient infrastructure systems. While there is a growing number of tools which focus on assessing specific components of climate risk there is a need for tools which help bridge the gap between climate science, resilience practitioners, infrastructure owners and policy makers.</p><p>The Climate Risk Infrastructure Assessment Tool developed within the Climate Science for Service Partnership China (CSSP China) aims to help planners and policy-makers understand how climate change may impact a city’s infrastructure systems. CSSP China seeks to bring together climate practitioners in China and the UK, and to forge links between climate scientists and industry practitioners to develop practical tools that translate the science into valuable insights for policymaking, planning and design. The development of this tools builds on earlier work carried out with the Shanghai Met Service and the British Embassy in Beijing to develop a qualitative tool to guide the assessment of climate risks for infrastructure.</p><p>The tool guides the user through a semi-quantitative climate risk assessment for a section of an infrastructure system. At present it uses ensemble data from global climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) to estimate and visualise future climate change projections helping cities understand the current and future likelihood of weather events. The tool then enables cities to assess the overall impact of severe weather on infrastructure by determining its vulnerability and criticality. Risk is estimated as a combination of event likelihood and impact. For key risks, guidance on implementing appropriate adaptation measures is provided to support planners and policy-makers to consider what action is needed.</p>

Dynamical influences on European climate: an uncertain future

2010 ◽  
Vol 368 (1924) ◽  
pp. 3733-3756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Woollings
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Unique Challenge ◽  
European Climate ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
European Sector

Climate science is coming under increasing pressure to deliver projections of future climate change at spatial scales as small as a few kilometres for use in impacts studies. But is our understanding and modelling of the climate system advanced enough to offer such predictions? Here we focus on the Atlantic–European sector, and on the effects of greenhouse gas forcing on the atmospheric and, to a lesser extent, oceanic circulations. We review the dynamical processes which shape European climate and then consider how each of these leads to uncertainty in the future climate. European climate is unique in many regards, and as such it poses a unique challenge for climate prediction. Future European climate must be considered particularly uncertain because (i) the spread between the predictions of current climate models is still considerable and (ii) Europe is particularly strongly affected by several processes which are known to be poorly represented in current models.

scholarly journals Overview of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) experimental design and organization

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1937-1958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Eyring ◽  
Sandrine Bony ◽  
Gerald A. Meehl ◽  
Catherine A. Senior ◽  
Bjorn Stevens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Climate Model ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Model Intercomparison ◽  
Intercomparison Project

Abstract. By coordinating the design and distribution of global climate model simulations of the past, current, and future climate, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) has become one of the foundational elements of climate science. However, the need to address an ever-expanding range of scientific questions arising from more and more research communities has made it necessary to revise the organization of CMIP. After a long and wide community consultation, a new and more federated structure has been put in place. It consists of three major elements: (1) a handful of common experiments, the DECK (Diagnostic, Evaluation and Characterization of Klima) and CMIP historical simulations (1850–near present) that will maintain continuity and help document basic characteristics of models across different phases of CMIP; (2) common standards, coordination, infrastructure, and documentation that will facilitate the distribution of model outputs and the characterization of the model ensemble; and (3) an ensemble of CMIP-Endorsed Model Intercomparison Projects (MIPs) that will be specific to a particular phase of CMIP (now CMIP6) and that will build on the DECK and CMIP historical simulations to address a large range of specific questions and fill the scientific gaps of the previous CMIP phases. The DECK and CMIP historical simulations, together with the use of CMIP data standards, will be the entry cards for models participating in CMIP. Participation in CMIP6-Endorsed MIPs by individual modelling groups will be at their own discretion and will depend on their scientific interests and priorities. With the Grand Science Challenges of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) as its scientific backdrop, CMIP6 will address three broad questions: – How does the Earth system respond to forcing? – What are the origins and consequences of systematic model biases? – How can we assess future climate changes given internal climate variability, predictability, and uncertainties in scenarios? This CMIP6 overview paper presents the background and rationale for the new structure of CMIP, provides a detailed description of the DECK and CMIP6 historical simulations, and includes a brief introduction to the 21 CMIP6-Endorsed MIPs.

Making sense of future climate: Bridging the gap between climate science and local perceptions of change

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (57) ◽  
pp. 572045
Author(s):  
Grete K Hovelsrud ◽  
H Amundsen ◽  
H Dannevig ◽  
S Rybråten ◽  
J West
Keyword(s):  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Local Perceptions ◽  
Making Sense

What are we Doing about Climate Change?

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Helen M. Cox
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
The Press ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Future Climate Projections

Climate change is the most important contemporary environmental problem that the world faces, yet it is the subject of many misconceptions. Climate science has been used for political ends and distorted in the press, both intentionally and through ignorance. This article presents an overview of what is known about global warming and what is controversial, about future climate projections and their impacts, and about the emissions responsible for climate change and policies to limit them.

Bridging climate science to adaptation action in data sparse Tanzania

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVAN H. GIRVETZ ◽  
ELIZABETH GRAY ◽  
TIMOTHY H. TEAR ◽  
MATTHEW A. BROWN
Keyword(s):  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Adaptation Planning ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Current Conservation ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Adaptation Action ◽  
Climate Adaptation Planning

SUMMARYIn the face of an already changing climate, conservation practitioners and local communities face the major challenge of how to plan for a future climate. In data-sparse areas of the world, where action is often most needed, the daunting scope of the problem can lead to inaction. This paper shows that climate adaptation planning can be accomplished successfully with publicly and globally available data by linking science and stakeholders through a facilitated process. Working with local stakeholders in the western Tanzanian Greater Mahale and Greater Gombe Ecosystems, future climate projections produced using Climate Wizard and analyses of literature provided an understanding of the climate vulnerabilities of local ecosystems and human livelihoods. Facilitated workshops enabled local stakeholders to use this information to develop conceptual models and hypotheses of change for these systems, and to identify possible modifications to conservation plans. Here, climate change planning required the modification of most current conservation strategies, developing some new strategies and abandoning others. The paper indicates that climate adaptation planning is achievable even in data-sparse rural and developing areas, but requires appropriate scientific analyses, engaged stakeholders and a facilitated process.

scholarly journals Conversations About Climate Risk, Adaptation and Resilience in Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 147-162
Author(s):  
Declan Conway ◽  
Katharine Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Climate Risk ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Climate Events

AbstractThis book contributes to previous and ongoing action to initiate and inform conversations about climate risk and the need for adaptation and resilience building. This involves blending insights from climate science about what the future climate will look like with experiences of the social science of response through adaptation, based on practical applications in a variety of contexts. In this chapter, we reflect on these conversations and what they mean for the growing adaptation agenda. We consider who needs to be involved in conversations about adaptation, how such conversations can be structured and the need to assess their outcomes. We profile important considerations relevant for tailoring climate information to make adaptation decisions and discuss the outcomes of different types of conversations. We conclude by noting the significance of recent major climate events and the rapidly evolving risk landscape in sub-Saharan Africa, and arguing that the need for these conversations is ever more evident. The experiences outlined in this book provide a starting point for conversations about adaptation that aim to inform future action.

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