The MEDCLIVAR metadata base initiative: synergies with DARE national and regional missions across

the Mediterranean countries.

Ricardo García Herrera on behalf of the MedCLIVAR SCMEDARE workshopTarragona, Nov 28-30, 2007

MedCLIVAR MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE

VARIABILITY AND PREDICTABILITY MedCLIVAR

May 2006 – May 2011

MedCLIVAR is an international program which aims to coordinate and promote the study of the Mediterranean climate.

MedCLIVAR’s scientific priorities are: • description of climate past evolution, • assessment of climate variability, • understanding the mechanisms

responsible for it, • identifying trends and providing

climate prediction in relation to future emission scenarios.

ESF Research Networking Programmes are principally funded by the Foundation’s Member Organisations on an à la carte basis. The ESF MedCLIVAR Programme is supported by:

Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Austria Research Promotion Foundation, Cyprus National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) - National Institute for

Earth Sciences and Astronomy (INSU), France German Research Society (DFG), Germany National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), Greece Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Israel Ministry for the Environment and Territory, Italy Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Spain The Swiss National Science Foundation for the promotion of scientific

research, Switzerland Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK),

Turkey Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), United Kingdom

MedCLIVAR-ESF sponsors

Austria: Reinhard Böhm

Cyprus: Kyriakos Theophilou

France: Laurent Li

Germany: Uwe Ulbrich

Greece: Alexander Theocharis

Israel: Pinhas Alpert

Italy: Piero Lionello & Filippo Giorgi

Portugal: Ricardo Trigo & Fatima Abrantes

Spain: Ricardo Garcia Herrera

Switzerland: Jürg Luterbacher

Turkey: Temel Oğuz

UK: Mikis Tsimplis

MedCLIVAR-ESFSteering committee

MedCLIVAR : Scientific objectives

To reconstruct the past climate variability by using amultiproxy approach of available instrumentalobservations (whose dense network includes someof the longest existing time series worldwide),documentary evidence and natural archives; toexplore the physical mechanisms and address theimportance of different forcing factors of pastvariability at different time and space scales usingcoupled-paleoclimate model runs.

To investigate the connections betweenMediterranean and global climate variability,considering the influence of both the mid-latitudeclimate patterns (e.g. the North Atlantic Oscillation,the Eastern Atlantic pattern and otherteleconnection patterns) and the tropical climatepatterns (e.g. El Niño Southern Oscillation, theAsian and African Monsoons). This includes alsothe study of the role of these patterns on theoccurrence of extreme events in the Mediterraneanarea.

To understand the mechanisms responsible for theMediterranean Sea circulation, for sea level trendsand variability, for long-term as well as abruptchanges of water mass characteristics, forvariability of dense water formation processes andof vertical stratification.

To identify the environmental and climatic effectscaused by the strong anthropogenic influence atregional scale to which the Mediterranean regionhas been exposed since ancient time due to heavydemographic pressure. This topic includes thecompilation of a list of critical parameters formonitoring the evolution of the present climate;identification of possible gaps of currently deployedmonitoring networks and suggestions for theirimprovement and extension.

To understand and predict the response of theMediterranean climate to the increase of radiativelyactive gases and aerosols. This includes theanalysis of the effects on the intensity of extremeand hazardous events (e.g. heat waves, cold spells)

MedCLIVAR ActivitiesMedCLIVAR Activities • To assist scientists in developing coordinated research

projects

• To favour the exchange of information, data and expertise

• To establish a network of European, Middle-East and North African institutes and scientists actively involved in regional climate studies

• To favour the exchange of information and expertises

• To provide a source of information to assist governs and local authorities

• To provide material and documentation to help public to reach a well formed and substantiated opinion on climate issues.

5 WORKSHOPS

2 SCHOOLS (targeting Phd students and post-docs)

SCIENTISTS EXCHANGE grants (for young and established scientists)

PUBLICATIONS (workshop proceedings, journal special issues, book)

INFORMATION Exchange (web page with documentation, bibliography, data archives, sets of data, links to projects and ongoing activities)

MedCLIVAR-ESF Initiatives

www.esf.org/medclivar www.esf.org/medclivar andand www.medclivar.eu www.medclivar.eu

1. Reconstruction of Past Mediterranean Climate (Spain, 2006)

2. Connections between Mediterranean and Global Climate Variability (France, 2007)

3. Understanding the Mechanisms Responsible for the Mediterranean Sea Circulation and Sea level Trends (Greece, 2008)

4. Feedbacks of the Mediterranean Dynamics in the Global Climate System

5. Scenarios for Mediterranean Climate under the Increase of Radiatively Active Gases and Aerosols

Workshops

Open Proposals for an additional workshop please contact

P. Lionello (piero.lionello@unile.it) & R. Boscolo (rbos@iim.csic.es)

Introduction: Lionello, P. et al. (2006) The Mediterranean climate: an overview of the main characteristics and issues, pp. 1—26.Chapter 1: Luterbacher, J. et al. (2006) Mediterranean climate variability over the last centuries: a review, pp. 27—148.Chapter 2: Alpert, P. et al. (2006) Relations between climate variability in the Mediterranean region and the tropics: ENSO, South Asian and African Monsoons, hurricanes, and Saharan dust, pp. 149—177.Chapter 3: Trigo, R. et al. (2006) Relations between variability in the Mediterranean region and mid-latitude variability, pp. 179—226.Chapter 4: Tsimplis, M.N. et al. (2006) Changes in the oceanography of the Mediterranean Sea and their link to climate variability, pp. 227—282.Chapter 5: Artale, V. et al. (2006) The Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea as connected systems, pp. 283—323.Chapter 6: Lionello, P. et al. (2006) Cyclones in the Mediterranean region: climatology and effects on the environment, pp. 324—372.Chapter 7: Li, L. et al. (2006) Regional atmospheric, marine processes and climate modelling, pp. 373—397.Chapter 8: Ulbrich, U. et al. (2006) The Mediterranean climate change under global warming., pp. 398—415.

1st ESF Workshops on Reconstruction of Past Mediterranean Climate 9-11 November 2006, Carmona, Seville SPAIN

Netherlands 1

Switzerland2

Portugal4

Spain27

UK4

Austria2

Israel4

Italy6

Morocco1

France4

Algeria1

(USA)1

Turkey1

Tunisia1

Germany2

Algeria

Austria

France

Germany

Israel

Italy

Morocco

Netherlands

Portugal

Spain

Switzerland

Tunisia

Turkey

UK

USA

61 Participants from 15 Countries

To build a catalogue of documentary, early instrumental and natural archives available in the larger Mediterranean region.-        To build a database to support this catalogue and promote data interchange -        To build a network working towards:o     Improving documentary and natural data availabilityO Improving homogeneity and quality of early instrumental datao  Promoting multiproxy comparisons and the subsequent integration of documentary, natural proxies and model outputs

RECLIDO: www.ucm.es/info/reclido

Serie de presión y temperatura en Cádiz s.XIX

•Gallego, D., García-Herrera R., Calvo, N., Ribera, P.,2007. A new meteorological record for Cádiz (Spain) 1806-1854. Implications for climatic reconstructions.Journal of Geophysical Research, doi: 1029/2007JD008517.

Scientists exchange program, workshops and schools are strongly connected and are expected to greatly increase the value of

existing initiatives

Medclivar Biblio and meta-data archives

www.medclivar.euwww.medclivar.eu

NEXT STEPS:

Workshop: Extreme Climate Events of the Last 1000-2000 Years in the Greater Mediterranean Region and Their Impact on Cultural History (Istanbul, Turkey, September 2008)

Dissemination of the metadatabase