Oceans play a key role in regulating the Earth’s climate and weather, and in buffering the effects, future trends and extremes of climate change. At the same time, oceans are affected and their health compromised by climate change. While these interrelationships are commonly recognized by the international scientific and policy community, there are still uncertainties and knowledge gaps in the understanding and quantification of key climate-ocean interactions and the ocean’s buffering capacities.
Aiming to address these uncertainties and ultimately improve the performance of climate models, in 2019 JPI Climate and JPI Oceans partners launched the joint call « Next Generation Climate Science in Europe for Oceans”, looking for research proposals focusing on interactions between oceans and climate by analysing model simulations and observational data. The call resulted in the selection of four research projects:
- MEDLEY | MixED Layer hEterogeneitY | Coordinator: Dr Anne Marie Tréguier, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, France.
- ROADMAP | The Role of ocean dynamics and Ocean-Atmosphere interactions in Driving cliMAte variations and future Projections of impact-relevant extreme events | Coordinator: Dr Daniela Matei, Max-Planck- Institut für Meteorologie, Germany.
- EUREC4A-OA | Improving the representation of small-scale nonlinear ocean-atmosphere interactions in climate models by innovative joint observing and modelling approaches | Coordinator: Prof. Sabrina Speich; L'École normale supérieure - Laboratoire de météorologie dynamique (ENS-LMD), France.
- CE2COAST | Downscaling Climate and Ocean Change to Services: Thresholds and Opportunities | Coordinator: Prof. Richard Bellerby, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Norway.
The virtual joint kick-off of the four projects was attended by over 50 participants. The meeting provided an opportunity for all projects to introduce themselves, coordinate their activities, discuss common challenges and identify synergistic opportunities. The meeting also allowed funding partners to express their hopes and expectations. These include that the research will help to inform adaptation policies and eventually lead to increased adaptation and resilience in vulnerable regions, in particular in coastal and low island settings.
On occasion of the kick-off meeting, the JPI Oceans and JPI Climate secretariats are pleased to jointly publish the new information booklet “Next Generation Climate for Oceans – Research projects 2020-2023”. The booklet provides a brief overview of the scope and objectives of each project, as well as details on the respective partner consortia.