Abstract. The European Climate Research Alliance (ECRA) is an association
of leading European research institutions in the field of climate research
(http://www.ecra-climate.eu/, last access: 6 December 2018). ECRA is a bottom-up initiative and helps to facilitate
the development of climate change research, combining the capacities of
national research institutions, and inducing closer ties between existing
national research initiatives, projects and infrastructures. ECRA works as an
open platform to bring together climate researchers, providing excellent
scientific expertise for policy makers and of societal relevance. The ECRA
Board consists of representatives of ECRA partners and decides on governance,
scientific priorities, and organisational matters. Currently organized into four Collaborative Programmes, climate scientists
share their knowledge, experience and expertise to identify the most
important research requirements for the future, thus developing a foresight
approach. The CPs cover the topics: (1) Arctic variability and change,
(2) Sea level changes and coastal impacts, (3) Changes in the hydrological cycle
and (4) High impact events. The CP activities are planned in workshops and
participation is open to all interested scientists from the relevant
research fields. In particular, young researchers are actively encouraged to
join the network. Each CP develops its joint research priorities for shaping
European research into the future. Because scientific themes are
interconnected, the four Collaborative Programmes interact with each other,
e.g. through the organization of common workshops or joint applications. In
addition, the Collaborative Programme leads attend the Board meetings. The different formats of ECRA meetings range from scientific workshops to
briefing events and side events at conferences to involve different groups
of interests. This facilitates the interaction of scientists, various
stakeholder groups and politicians. A biennial open ECRA General Assembly
that is organised in Brussels represents an umbrella event and acts as a
platform for discussion and contact with stakeholders. This event is an
excellent opportunity to jointly discuss research priorities of high
societal relevance.
Making Cyclone Tracking accessible to end users for Climate Research and Applications
