Responding to a need for better understanding and quantification of key climate-ocean interactions and the ocean’s buffering capacities for absorbing heat and CO2, JPI Climate and JPI Oceans partners had launched a joint call for research proposals. This resulted in the selection of two research projects in October 2019. Following their selection, the Call Board decided to explore the potential for funding two additional projects, echoing the high relevance of understanding the ocean-climate nexus. A generous increase in research funding from several of the participating funding agencies has now allowed us to select two additional projects:
- EUREC4A-OA | Improving the representation of small-scale nonlinear ocean-atmosphere interactions in Climate Models by innovative joint observing and modelling approaches | Coordinator: 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: Richard Bellerby, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Norway.
EUREC4A-OA will focus on ocean dynamics and the atmospheric boundary layer at relatively small spatial scales ranging from 20 m to 1000 km, useing innovative observations and a hierarchy of model simulations. The aim is to advance the knowledge of the processes of air-sea interactions and small-scale non-linear oceanic processes. The ultimate objective is to provide improved model metrics and parameterisations of diurnal and small-scale processes for integration in operational prediction systems and Earth System Models.
CE2COAST’s primary novelty will be an observation-driven synthesis of downscaling methodology. The purpose is to provide process resolution and system representations that are tailored to regional and coastal domains and their specific pressures and services. The project will compile and analyze marine observation datasets of ocean climate, biogeochemistry and ecological indicators. In addition, existing Earth System Model simulations will be downscaled for hindcasting and for projecting physical and biogeochemical fields in regional and coastal ocean settings.
A capacity to understand and predict impacts on regional seas and coasts is essential for developing robust strategies for adaptation and mitigation. The results of the two projects will thus have the potential to help inform adaptation policy for increasing resilience especially in coastal and low island areas.
A joint kick off meeting for the projects will be organized probably in June 2020 in Brussels by the two JPIs together with the projects to facilitate exchange and synergies.
Funding for the research projects was awarded through a competitive call process based on assessments by a scientific evaluation committee.
In December 2015, 195 countries adopted the UNFCCC Paris Agreement, which sets out a global action plan to limit global warming to well below 2°C. The Joint Call launched by JPI Climate and JPI Oceans is responding specifically to Paris Agreement which asks all undersigned parties to “strengthen their cooperation on enhancing action on adaptation… incl. Strengthening scientific knowledge on climate, including research, systematic observation of the climate system and early warning systems, in a manner that informs climate services and supports decision-making.”
For this joint call for research proposals research funding organisations from Belgium, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway and Portugal, allocated funding.
- Belgium | Belgian Science Policy Office, BELSPO
- France| National Research Agency, ANR
- Germany | Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF
- Iceland | The Marine and Freshwater Research Institute MFRI & Meteorological Institute, MO
- Ireland | Marine Institute, MI
- Italy | Ministry of Education, University and Research, MIUR
- Latvia | Ministry of Education and Science, IZM
- Norway | Research Council of Norway, RCN
- Portugal | Science & Technology Foundation, FCT