Download Interaction between Climate Change and the Cryosphere

Top-level Research Initiative
NordForsk
Top-level
Research
Initiative
Interaction between
Climate Change and
the Cryosphere
Interaction between
Climate Change and
the Cryosphere
Interaction between Climate Change and the Cryosphere
In the autumn of 2008, the Nordic countries joined forces
on their largest joint research and innovation initiative to
date. The Top-level Research Initiative (TRI) will involve
various Nordic organizations and national institutions.
The TRI will last for five years, and the first calls for
proposals opened in 2009. The initiative consists of six
sub-programmes, one being Interaction between Climate
Change and the Cryosphere (ICCC).
research programmes within this field. The knowledge
produced by such a research programme is relevant not
only for the Nordic region, but also in a global perspective.
Programme periode 2010-15.
The three Nordic Centres of Excellence
within the NCoE ICCC programme:
NCoE SVALI
• Stability and Variations of Arctic Land Ice
The TRI has funded three Nordic Centres of Excellence
(NCoE) within the ICCC sub-programme with a total of 96
million NOK. These centres aim to increase the scientific
quality, efficiency, competitiveness and visibility of Nordic
research through enhanced collaboration between Nordic
countries.
The overarching objectives of the programme are to:
•reinforce Earth System research cooperation in
the Nordic region and beyond
•improve our understanding of cryospheric stability
and dynamics
•specify cryosphere parameters in Earth System models
•fund research on scientific issues of great interest to
society, science, industry and/or national infrastructure
The cryosphere refers to the part of the Earth System
where water occurs in its frozen form. Extensive at high
latitudes but also occurring in elevated areas at lower
latitudes, the cryosphere is characteristic of the Arctic and
sub-Arctic areas and seasonally extends across most of
the Nordic region. Snow and sea ice cover vast areas and
play a critical role in solar reflection and ocean circulation
globally. The permafrost affects the soil moisture content
and vegetation of huge areas. Glaciers and ice caps are
especially sensitive to climate change since they react
relatively rapidly, with consequences for ecosystems,
human activity at the regional level, and interactions with
and feedback on ocean currents.
Temperature rise due to changing climate is more
pronounced in the Arctic and sub-Arctic areas than at
lower latitudes and has a pronounced effect on the
stability and dynamics of the cryosphere in these regions.
However, even a modest temperature rise can have a
major impact on the cryosphere in other Nordic regions.
The absence of winter ice in the Baltic Sea and snow cover
over the boreal zones will influence the environment both
directly and by way of feedback into the Earth System.
The changing cryosphere will have a direct impact on
Nordic society and industry.
Given the geographical proximity of the region and
its long historical connection to the Arctic, the Nordic
countries are especially suitable for carrying out joint
Aim: How fast is land ice volume in the Arctic and NorthAtlantic area changing, and why? Will these processes continue
to accelerate? What are the consequences for sea level and
ocean circulation, and what are the implications for society?
The NCoE SVALI aims to answer these key questions.
Researchers will study basic processes using remote sensing,
airborne and in-situ measurements, and carry out advanced
Earth System Modelling with a focus on glaciers in the Arctic/
North Atlantic area.
Participating institutions:
• Norwegian Polar Institute
• CSC - IT Centre for Science Ltd
• University of Copenhagen
• Centre for Ice and Climate NBI
• Danish Meteorological Institute
• DTU – Space
• GEUS
• Uppsala University
• Norwegian University of Life Sciences
• University of Oslo
• UNIS - University Centre in Svalbard
• Finnish Meteorological Institute
• Icelandic Meteorological Office
• Institute of Earth Sciences - University of Iceland
• University of Lapland
• Climate Research Centre in Greenland
• Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration
• University of Stockholm.
Project leader: Professor Jon Ove Hagen,
University of Oslo, Norway.
Ilulissat Ice Fjord, Greenland. Mlenny Photography/iStockphoto
Top-level
Research
Initiative
Aim: The ongoing changes in the Arctic climate and the
cryosphere are both linked to radiative forcing, Arctic warming,
society and human activities, and feedback into the climate
system. The accepted wisdom has been to explain the
enhanced warming of Arctic areas with the ice-albedo feedback
mechanism.
The NCoE CRAICC will go beyond this conventional thinking to
include the roles of society and associated human activities as
part of the interactions and feedback mechanisms acting on
the Arctic climate system. The NCoE CRAICC will focus on the
role of short-lived pollutants and aerosol-cloud interactions and
their links to cryospheric changes.
Participating institutions:
• University of Helsinki
• Finnish Meteorological Institute
• University of Eastern Finland
• University of Stockholm
• University of Uppsala
• University of Gothenburg
• Lund University
• University of Copenhagen
• Aarhus University
• University of Oslo
• Norwegian University of Science and Technology
• Norwegian Polar Institute
• Norwegian Meteorological Institute
• Norwegian Institute for Air Research
• Centre for International Climate and Environmental
Research (CICERO)
• Institute of Earth Sciences – University of Iceland.
Project leader: Professor Markku Kulmala,
University of Helsinki, Finland.
NCoE DEFROST
• Impacts of a changing cryosphere:
depic­ting ecosystem-climate feedbacks
from permafrost, snow and ice
Aim: The climatic feedback mechanisms from a changing
cryosphere are complex. They vary over space and time,
and are generally poorly understood. The NCoE DEFROST
seeks to improve our understanding of Arctic terrestrial
and shallow sub-sea permafrost interactions with climate.
The NCoE DEFROST will assemble internationally
recognised experts with the goal of understanding how
changes in the cryosphere caused by climate change
influence the ecosystem/geospheric processes which
directly affect climate. The Centre seeks to bridge existing
gaps between climate modelling, cryospheric science, and
Arctic ecosystem science.
Participating institutions:
• Lund University
• University of Helsinki
• University of Eastern Finland
• Stockholm University
• the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS)
• Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
• Aarhus University
• Greenland Institute of Natural Resources
• SMHI
• Danish Meteorological Institute.
Project leader: Professor Torben R. Christensen,
Lund University, Sweden.
Permafrost. Photo: iChip/iStocphoto
• Cryosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
in a Changing Arctic Climate
Photo: Christopher Walker/iStockfoto
NCoE CRAICC
Top-level Research Initiative
NordForsk
Magnus Friberg, The Swedish Research Council
Chairman of Programme Committee
[email protected], +46 8 546 44 122
Michael Andersson, NordForsk, Secretary of Programme Committee
[email protected], +47 941 68 547
From March 2012-August/September 2012:
Marianne Røgeberg, NordForsk, Secretary of Programme Committee
[email protected], +47 905 37 041
The Top-level Research Initiative
- A major Nordic venture for climate, energy and the environment
The Top-level Research Initiative (TRI) is a joint effort on
the part of the Nordic countries to find solutions to global
climate challenges - the largest-ever Nordic venture of its
kind.
The Nordic countries have created a platform for cooperation with central players from research, innovation, business and industry.
The TRI is one of the Globalisation initiatives ­declared by
the Nordic Prime Ministers in 2008, intended to increase
competitiveness and promote the Nordic region as a pioneer
in tackling globali­sation. With a programme budget of 53
million Euro, the initiative currently funds 31 Nordic projects
amounting to a collective value of some 94 million Euro.
Joint governance across sectors
Three Nordic institutions - NordForsk, Nordic I­ nnovation
and Nordic Energy Research – act as secretariat for the
initiative, contributing with their combined competencies
in the fields of research, innovation and technology. The
three organisations are all under the auspices of the Nordic
Council of Ministers.
TRI is governed by a Management Board consisting of 15
members representing public financing bodies for r­ esearch
and innovation, as well as the private sector.
The various funded activities involve participants from the
whole Nordic region and a range of ­sectors. Expertise within
research, education and innovation is brought together and
coordinated in collaboration projects with hundreds of participants from all the Nordic and Arctic countries.
The Top-level Research Initiative
addresses six primary thematic areas:
• Climate (ADAPT) = Effect Studies and
Adaptation to Climate Change
• Cryo = Interaction between Climate Change
and the Cryosphere
• Nano = Energy Efficiency with Nanotechnology
• Wind = Integration of Large-scale Wind Power
•Bio = Sustainable Bio-fuels
•CCS = CO2 Capture and Storage
Within the framework of these areas, the initiative
also includes:
Overall objectives
• To promote the Nordic region as a pioneer within climate,
energy and the environment
• To ensure research and innovation of excellent quality by
joining the strongest Nordic environments
• To promote Nordic business
• To promote professional environments across sectors and
enhance mobility of competence
• To create platforms for international cooperation and to
strengthen the Nordic region within EU programmes
Content and results
The TRI has established six Nordic Centres of E
­ xcellence
(NCoE), one Nordic competence centre, 11 integrated
­research and innovation projects and 13 thematic networks within climate and energy issues. The projects
contribute to enhancing society’s knowledge about climate change and to better prepare us for them, such as
through technology development and sustainable energy
solutions.
Participation from industry
One-third of all the TFI projects have active business participation. This participation gives an opportunity to realise long-term investments and to build strategic networks.
International perspectives and dialogue with the EU
Through various projects and networks, the TRI links research, innovation and industry together, by acting as a
platform for further international collaboration. Examples
of such collaboration are a project dealing with the continuation of the International Polar Year (IPY) and Arctic
issues and involvement in the Joint Programming Initiative
(JPI Climate) Connecting Climate Knowledge for Europe.
Result-oriented
The Top-level Research Initiative aims to obtain results
through effective plans, organisation and processes,
and evaluations are carried out in order to document its
­results.
Outreach and communication
Communication and dissemination of results through various channels is a priority. The initiative participates on
various arenas in Europe, and o
­ rganises a large annual
conference gathering many categories of professionals
and receiving international attention.
–Advanced climate modelling
–Social sciences and humanities
–Focus on the Arctic
See www.toplevelresearch.org for more
information about the initiative.
Photo: James Balog/Aurora Photos. Design: jnd.no/2012
More information: www.toplevelresearch.org