CLIMSEAS · Climate Change and Inland Seas: Phenomena, Feedback and Uncertainties. The Physical Science Basis

The overall aim of this proposal is to create an international network of scientists working on climate change in inland sea areas, which are sensitive environments capable of providing key information about global climate change. Although inland seas and large lakes are very vulnerable to anthropogenic and climatic stressors and require special attention, there is not a single, easily identifiable research centre in Europe dedicated to them, although many are working on it. Because the University of Girona (UdG), the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology (SIO) and the Russian Hydrometeorological Centre (RHMC) had already developed a collaborative relationship during a NATO study project on the Aral Sea, the IRSES scheme appeared to be a good context within which to strengthen the relationship of the UdG with the SIO and the RHMC – two regional leaders in their respective fields – and to study of inland seas in Central Eurasia, one of the most active regions for climate change according to the projection of surface temperatures for all four IPCC scenarios. However, there is still a need for research on historical data that collaboration with paleoclimatologists/limnologists from the Universities of Brunel and Liverpool could provide. The Arizona State University, which has had a relationship with the UdG since 1992 is joining with its own funds and offering its experience and laboratories to better develop the project, which focuses on the Physical Science Basis of Climate Change. Given the opportunities presented by these collaborations and the aims of the IRSES, activities such as seminars or research work analysing either existing or new data related to the sea, the vegetation and the atmospheric components of the climate system, and their interrelation are organised within this proposal. The proposal brings together experimental and numerical communities, which have been identified as important and is included in the FP7 (ENV.2009.1.1.4.1).