No. 62, June, 2005

The Global Change NewsLetter is the quarterly newsletter of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). IGBP is a pro- gramme of global change research, sponsored by the International Council for Science.

Compliant with Nordic www.igbp.net Ecolabelling criteria.

The so-called Anthropocene is generally considered to have began in the mid-18th century with the start of the 80 year Industrial China and Revolution in Great Britain, which trans- formed a largely agricultural rural population into an urban society supported by industrial factories. This industrialisation spread across Global much of Europe and North America during the 19th century and through other nations such as Russia during the first half of the Change 20th century. This process is now transform- ing China, but on a scale far larger than 200 years ago and at a much faster rate. The scale and pace of industrialisation and urbanisation in China is of course leading to rapid economic and social change, but is also having substantial environmental effects both regionally and globally. Water shortages, desertification, greenhouse gas emissions, particulate air pollution, and elevated sedi- ment and nutrient fluxes to the coastal seas are but some of the side effects of the rapid growth. These and other changes are inter- acting with consequent climate and oceanic effects that are likely to reverberate through- out the Earth System. In this issue of the Global Change Newslet- ter we present a series of articles highlight- ing aspects of current global environmental change research in China. These articles are based on presentations made at a workshop in Beijing, February 2005, on the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the SC-IGBP. The images to the left from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the NASA Terra satellite show an area of around 1,500 km x 1,500 km on Chinaʼs eastern coastal plain which is sur- rounded by mountain ranges. This region of China is home to nearly 25 million people in Beijing and Tiajin alone, with a similar number in other major urban centres. The images from 12 February 2005 (top) and 2 February 2005 (bottom) contrast conditions when pol- luted air is trapped in the bowl-like topography with clear days when regional air pollution is advected into the North Atlantic by the wind. The sediment plume of the Yellow River is clearly visible in the lower image. Contents Guest Editorials Science Features Chinese Global Change Research...... 5 Monsoon Asia: Climate, Humans and the Environment Monsoon Asia is a region characterised by change: civilisation here has a history of more than 5,000 years of change; in recent decades social, economic and environmental change in this region has been extremely rapid, and change will continue into the coming cen- GLOBEC-China...... 10 tury. Currently, the region has the highest population density of any region in the world and is home to 57% of world’s population. Human activities in the Mon- soon Asia region have had, and will continue to have, significant environmental impacts, not only regionally but also globally. For example, rapid industrialisa- tion and urbanisation in Asia are projected to lead to a doubling of greenhouse gas emissions in the next 20 years, and reach levels that exceed the combined emis- Over-summering Strategy sions of OECD countries. Asian cities are the “dirtiest” of Calanus sinicus...... 12 in the world in terms of air quality, having double the global average pollutant levels. Growth in greenhouse gas emissions and aerosol loadings in the Asian region must therefore be carefully accounted for in global cli- mate projections. The Asian monsoon climate plays a crucial role in the social and economic development of the region, and is also the primary determinant of the regional landscape Ecological Capital and ecosystems. The Asian monsoon climate is char- Assessment and Land Use Adjustment...... 13 acterised by strongly seasonal wind directions and air flows, distinct wet and dry seasons and high variability at inter-annual and decadal time scales. Meteorologically speaking, the Asian monsoon is a result of the combined forcings of seasonal variations in solar radiation, sea- sonal variations in land-ocean thermal contrasts and the dynamic/thermal dynamic effects of the Tibetan Plateau. The high variability of the Asian monsoon climate leads to frequent climate-related disasters including floods, Carbon Budgeting for the Terrestrial and droughts and heat waves, which have major social, eco- Marginal Sea Ecosystems of China...... 17 nomic and environmental impacts. But can the Asian monsoon climate be significantly altered by the human activities? Evidence indicates that increasing greenhouse gases concentrations in the atmo- sphere are increasing the amount and variability of summer monsoon rainfall in South Asia, weakening the winter mon- soon over continental Asia and causing an early onset of the Indian summer monsoon. Anthropogenic aerosols and large IMBER Science Plan and scale human-induced land cover change have also been shown to be affecting the Asian monsoon climate. However, 14 Implementation Strategy...... these preliminary studies do not quantify the extent and scale of Asian monsoon climate alteration caused by human New Roles and Faces...... 20 activities. A Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Study (MAIRS) IGBP and Related Global Change is being established to advance the understanding of these Meetings...... 24 regional-scale changes, in particular to investigate the extent to which human activities can alter the Asian monsoon Pin Board ...... 26 climate, and to determine how this changing climate will

Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 3 affect social and economic develop- ment in the Asian region. MAIRS will also study the extent to which humans can adapt regional climate change and achieve sustainable development via policy, legal and institutional change. The conceptual model that underpins MAIRS (Figure 1) adopts a coupled biogeochemi- cal-social system approach, as is being increasingly widely used for Earth System science more generally. Chinese global environmental change research of the type reported on in this issue of the Global Change Newsletter, will contribute to MAIRS and to improved understand- ing of regional change, human-environ- ment linkages and feedbacks, and options for sustainable development. Congbin Fu Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Figure 1. Conceptual model underpinning MAIRS Beijing, CHINA E-mail: [email protected]

China and the Challenge of interaction, between human society and the environ- Global Environmental Change ment, such as the perturbations to the water cycle and water resources in China, changes to the carbon cycle Global environmental change is now one of the big- in China, and palaeo-studies of the effects of environ- gest challenges facing humankind, and has captured mental changes on Chinese civilisation. Many of these the attention of scientists, policy makers and the wider issues, their inter-relationships and feedbacks, are being public. As a developing country with rapid industrial considered in the Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional and economic growth, China is experiencing widespread Study (MAIRS). Important global change research is environmental pressure due to the escalating demands also considering the environments of the Tibetan Pla- on its natural resources. Freshwater shortages, deserti- teau and the Loess Plateau in West China, which are not fication, soil degradation and other environmental only of great interest from a natural science perspective, problems are becoming increasingly common. These but also from a human society perspective. issues are mostly related to human activities, especially The global change research effort in China has industrialisation, and hence are likely to strongly affect three major goals: (i) advancing the understanding of social and economic sustainability in China. Importantly, the mechanisms of global environmental change, (ii) these environmental issues are not only regionally but providing advice to policy makers and environmen- also globally significant. In recognition of this situation tal managers, and (iii) increasing public awareness of several global environmental change programmes and global environmental change. Chinese research mainly projects have been established in China, and are con- focuses on understanding the complex mechanisms tributing to international global environmental change of regional environmental change induced by human programmes of IGBP, WCRP, IHDP and DIVERSITAS. activities, including feedbacks and impacts. The new These include the East Asia Monsoon Study and the knowledge obtained from this research should help South China Sea Drilling programme. policy makers modify unsuitable environmental poli- In the face of global environmental change human- cies so as to achieve social and economic sustainability kind is seeking to achieve sustainable development. – a harmony between humankind and the environment. Chinese scientists are making substantial contributions Recent investigations into “Environmental Questions of to the Chinese global environmental change research Exploitation in West China”, “Water Resources”, “Food effort with more than 9,000 scientists from 42 institu- Security” and “Human Health” have led to constructive tions, financially supported (US$151.3 million from policy advice to local and central governments. Addi- 1997–2003) primarily by the Chinese Academy of tionally, at an international level China will endeavour Sciences, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technol- to fulfill its obligations to implement the United Nations ogy, and the National Natural Scientific Foundation Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United of China. The Chinese global environmental change Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the programme is investigating important aspects of the Convention on Biological Diversity. To assist in meeting

Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 3 these obligations recent global environmental change scientific research. If research programs obtain public research priorities included: (i) potential public health recognition and support they are likely to maintain crises associated with extreme climate change, (ii) issues government funding, and thus ultimately achieve their of diplomatic negotiation on greenhouse gas reduction, goal of guiding sustainable development at the national, and (iii) issues of economics and trade conflicts. regional and global levels. In comparison with developed countries public Li Jiayang awareness in China of environmental management is Chinese Academy of Sciences low, suggesting Chinese scientists should not only study Beijing, CHINA E-mail: [email protected] global environmental change, but also take the responsi- bility for helping to raise public awareness of conserva- tion issues, global change advancing technologies and

4 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 5 Science Features

observation networks, and (iv) Chinese Global Change Research: computer databases. Progress and Prospects In the last decade China has developed its network of P. Chen, Q. Ge and X. Zhang national and open laboratories, and now has more than 40 key national and open laboratories closely related to GEC research. Humankind currently faces significant global environmental prob- In recent years, China has lems including climate change, shortages of clean and accessible developed a national spatial freshwater, ecosystem degradation, soil erosion and biodiversity information system, which loss. These problems all affect society and indeed are increas- provides valuable data from ingly central to human affairs. Consequently, scientists around space-based observations to the world are researching the nature and severity of global envi- support GEC research. Since the ronmental change (GEC) and the implications for our future. 1970s, China has successfully launched 17 returnable remote China lies in the East Asian and the Chinese Environment sensing satellites, five solar- monsoon region and is under- Protection Agency (CEPA). earth synchronous-orbit meteo- going a crucial period of very With generous support from rological satellites and two fast economic and population these scientific departments, high-resolution Earth resource growth. As a result, anthropo- national committees for the GEC satellites. Additionally, ground- genic environmental disturbance research programmes (IGBP, based receiving facilities have is considerable, providing many WCRP, IHDP, DIVERSITAS) been developed with powerful opportunities and challenges have been established. These data processing capabilities, for Chinese GEC research. In committees provide Chinese and an air-based comprehen- this article the extent, scope representatives to international sive Earth-observing platform and output of recent Chinese GEC research activities, promote has been established. Currently, GEC research is assessed, and international exchange and more than five million multiple- the prospects for the future are cooperation, and organise and period post-1950 aerial photos discussed. coordinate research and aca- covering the entire country and demic exchanges amongst rel- half a million post-1970 satellite Research Capacity evant Chinese departments. In images are available. addition, 16 national academic There are five national obser- There are close to 9,300 GEC societies and associations have vation networks. The first is the scientists in China, with around made tremendous contributions Chinese Ecosystem Research 85% based in scientific research to GEC research in China. Network of CAS, with 36 field departments and 15% based in Recent investment in new stations (representing different universities. Research depart- research facilities has played an ecosystems), five research sub- ments include those of the important role for GEC research centres and one synthesis centre. Chinese Association of Science in China, while GEC research The other four networks are: (i) and Technology, the Chinese has also greatly influenced how the Chinese Forest Ecosystem Academy of Sciences (CAS), the existing facilities are used. These Research Network consisting of Ministry of Science and Tech- research facilities include four 15 stations run by the State For- nology (MoST), the Ministry components: (i) national and estry Administration (SFA), (ii) of Education, the Ministry of open laboratories equipped the Oceanic Observing Network Agriculture (MoA), the National with modern instruments, (ii) consisting of 14 stations run by Natural Science Foundation of a national spatial information the State Oceanic Administra- China (NSFC), the China Meteo- system which provides data tion (SOA), (iii) the National rological Administration (CMA) from space, (iii) ground-based Meteorological Network con-

4 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 5 sisting of 640 stations run by mate, forest, soil, vegetation and on 240 projects for researchers the CMA, and (iv) the National wetlands. In 1988 China joined and project managers from over Environmental Monitoring Net- the World Data Centre (WDC) 50 research departments and work consisting of 120 stations of ICSU. universities (Figure 1). Funding under CEPA. allocation shows that the great- There are over 100 domes- Research Activity est investments were for research tic databases available (30% contributing to GLP (Figure 2). from universities; 70% from Since 1986, China has invested GEC research funding comes from the institutes under CAS, SOA, huge amounts of money in GEC national providers, with CAS CMA, SFA and MoA), with data research: incomplete statistics (US$48.7 million), MoST (US$76.0 on population, energy sources, for 1997–2003 show expendi- million) and NSFC (US$26.5 mil- water resources, land-use, cli- ture of over US$151 million lion) the three major providers.

Figure 1. Number of global change research projects by year.

Figure 2. Number of global change research projects by IGBP/ESSP project and associated funding level.

6 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 7 Increasingly, Chinese GEC many GEC research fields. Major Research Network” (China FLUX) scientists are joining inter- progress on past climate change has also been established. Future national organisations. For includes: (i) climate series for carbon cycle research is expected example, 26 Chinese scientists the Loess Plateau (and mid-east to consider: (i) spatio-temporal have served or are serving on China) from 2,500, 130 and 20 carbon budget changes and their committees of international GEC ka BP [13–21], (ii) high resolu- bio-geographical mechanisms change programmes. China has tion time series of temperatures in terrestrial and near-sea eco- participated in or is participating in China for the last 300, 1,000 systems, (ii) land-use and land- in 84% of the international GEC and 2,000 years based on ice core cover change impacts on carbon projects, and cooperates with data, tree-ring data and histori- sequestration and cycling in 39 countries on GEC research, cal documents [22–38], and (iii) terrestrial ecosystems over the last including via major partnerships deep-sea stratigraphic sequences 300 years, and (iii) technologies with USA, Germany, France, that have shed light on the evolu- for carbon sink promotion and UK, Netherlands, India, Japan, tion of the East Asian monsoon emission reduction. Brazil, Russia, Canada and Aus- and on the evolution of the South Hydrologic research has tralia. The number of academic China Sea [39–41]. Progress on encompassed: (i) the quantity and meetings held in China is con- contemporary climate dynamics the distribution of water resources tinuously increasing, and across has included: (i) development in China [46–49], (ii) water-heat a widening range of disciplines. of the Monsoon Asia Integrated transmission and assimilation of

Over the last five years, the Regional Study (MAIRS), (ii) CO2 in the soil–plant–atmosphere Chinese GEC research commu- construction of a dynamic climate system at site-scale [50–52], (iii) nity has organised an average of system model for East Asia, and evolution and sustainability of seven international conferences (iii) discovery of a mechanism for water resources in the Yellow related to GEC each year. some important climate abnormi- Basin [53–56], (iv) the complex ties which provided the scientific mechanisms of drainage water- Major Achievements foundation for the UN Frame- cycles in changing environments work Convention on Climate and water resource security Since 1997, Chinese scientists Change [42–45]. [57–59], and (v) remote sensing have published about 2,000 GEC In recent years several parameters for quantitative inver- research articles per year, cover- carbon cycle projects have been sion of land surface water/heat ing most aspects of GEC. Accord- launched, including “Carbon flux [60–64]. The history of spatial ing to a literature index database Budget Research on the Terres- patterns of Chinese land-use and (www.cqvip.com) 545 articles trial and Near-sea Ecosystems of land-cover change since 1700 has including the keywords “global China” and “Carbon Cycle and been established [65], and land- change” were published by Chi- Driving Mechanisms Research use models for different regions nese scientists in Chinese Jour- on the Terrestrial Ecosystems of are being developed – partly to nals between 1989–2004; for this China”. The “Chinese Terrestrial study rapid urban expansion and period 378 articles have “global Ecosystem Flux Observational economic growth. change” in the title (Figure 3). Chinese scientists have translated international reports and books for Chinese GEC researchers, including a book series on international global change development [1–6] and the IGBP Sci- ence Series No.4 [7]. Five Chinese GEC reports have been published in English [8–12]. In the past five years, significant achievements have been made by Chinese scientists, across Figure 3. Numbers of global change research articles in Chinese publications by year.

6 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 7 China is significantly affected including biogeochemical factors, biogeochemical cycles, (ii) marine by GEC, with observations [66– biophysical factors and human food webs and their interactions, 70] showing that: (i) during past dimensions, to provide synthe- and (iii) impacts from climate decades changes in temperature sised information to the public. change and human activities. and precipitation have made (a) C. Monsoon Asia Integrated H. Palaeo-environment changes northern China warmer – push- Regional Study (MAIRS). An and Chinese civilisation. ing the rice belt northward, (b) ESSP activity led by Chinese Research will focus on: (i) his- southwest China cooler, (c) the scientists, for which key issues torical environment changes in climate of the northwest change include: (i) Asian environmental China, (ii) environmental impacts from warm-dry to warm-wet change by 2050, (ii) the regional on Chinese society and the evolu- – with droughts affecting the impacts of these changes, and tion of civilisation [71], and (iii) North China Plain, (ii) anomaly (iii) the global significance of historical adaptation patterns. climate events have increased these changes. I. Policy relevance. GEC science in the last 20 years, especially D. Land-use and cover change must support the development in the Yangtze Basin which has and terrestrial ecosystems: (i) of national policies that underpin experienced increased flooding, cause, nature and impacts of land social well-being and guide dip- and (iii) historical environmen- system change and (ii) integrated lomatic negotiations on green- tal changes have greatly influ- analysis and simulation of land house gas emission reductions enced the evolution of Chinese sustainability. and other global environmental civilisation [71]. E. Human activities and aero- issues. sols. Anthropogenic aerosols are J. Humans in the Earth System. Research Prospects rapidly increasing in China and An information platform may already have deeply influ- for studying the interactions The future GEC research strategy enced the climate and air qual- between human activities and in China will be based on: (i) pro- ity. The source, distribution and the Earth System must be devel- moting inter-disciplinary studies impacts of aerosol including their oped, including: (i) improved under ESSP, (ii) establishing in climatic effects require serious basic research facilities, (ii) an the near future a joint GEC com- research based and international integrated observation system mittee from the Chinese IGBP, cooperation. for natural and social factors, (iii) IHDP, WCRP and DIVERSITAS F. Impacts and human adapta- sharing of data between natural committees, (iii) engaging social tion. Integrated evaluation of and social science disciplines, scientists in GEC research, (iv) GEC mitigation and adaptation and (iv) numerical Earth System promoting public awareness of options for East Asia is required, models that include human GEC, especially amongst policy including consideration of the activities and decisions, and their makers and young people, and effects on China’s development. impacts and feedbacks. (v) strengthening regional and Research on regional responses Panqin Chen international cooperation. and adaptation is an emerg- Bureau of Science and Technology for Research priorities for the ing field [72], and promotion Resources and Environment Chinese Academy of Sciences coming years include: of adaptation is important both Beijing, CHINA A. Water cycle issues: (i) water for developing the research E-mail: [email protected] cycle variations due to human on the impacts of global and Quansheng Ge and activities and environment fac- regional change, and for guiding Xueqin Zhang tors, (ii) mechanisms of human the responses of China to GEC Institute of Geographic Science and impact on the water cycle, and [73–75]. Natural Resources Research Chinese Academy of Sciences (iii) responses and adaptation of G. Marginal seas and the coastal Beijing, CHINA the water cycle to GEC. zone. Research on Chinese mar- E-mail: [email protected], B. Carbon cycle issues: (i) ginal seas and the land–ocean [email protected] terrestrial and marginal sea interface will include: (i) marine ecosystems, (ii) uncertainties in observations, processes, models, source reduction and Acknowledgement sink promotion, and (iii) theory For assisting in the preparation of this article manuscript we are and synthesis studies. This work indebted to the CNC-IGBP Secretariat, in particular to Fang will be underpinned by develop- Wang, Desheng Jin, Di Tian and Yanyu Tian. ment of an integrated framework

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(Chinese) evidence for rapid climatic changes over (2002) General characteristics of tem- of water renewability: case study of the the last 75 thousand years. Palaeogeog- perature variation in China during the Malianhe watershed in China. Proceed- 74. Qin DH. (2004) Climate change sciences raphy, Palaeoclimatology. Palaeoecol- last two millennia. Geophysics Research ings of the 1st International Yellow River into the 21st century: facts, impact and ogy. 130: 323–335. Letters 29: 381–384. Forum on River Basin Management. The strategies addressing climate change. Science and Technology Review 7: 4–7. 20. Sun DH, Liu TS and Cheng MY. (1997) 37. Zhang QB, Cheng GD and Yao TD. Yellow River Conservation Publishing (Chinese) Magnetostratigraphy and palaeoclimate (2003) A 2,326-year tree-ring record of House. Pp111-121. (Chinese) of Red Clay sequences from the Chinese climatic variability on the northeastern 56. Liu CM and Zheng HX. (2002) Fresh- 75. Ye DZ. (1999) Global change and Loess Plateau. Science in China, Ser D. Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Geophysical water resources management in China: sustainable development research in 40: 337–343. (Chinese) Research Letters 30: 1,739–1,742. case study of the Yellow River Basin. china. Advances in Earth Science 14(4): 317–318. (Chinese) 21. Sun DH, Shaw J and An ZS. (1998) 38. Tan M, Liu T and Hou J. (2003) Cyclic International Review for Environmental Magnetostratigraphy and paleoclimate rapid warming on centennial-scale Strategies 3(2). interpretation of a continuous 7.2 Ma revealed by a 2,650-year stalagmite 57. Kendy E et al. (2003) A soil-water-bal- Late Cenozoic aeolian sediments from record of warm season temperature. ance approach to quantify groundwater the Chinese Loess Plateau. Geophysical Geophysical Research Letters 30(12): recharge from irrigated cropland in the Research Letters 25(1): 85–88. 1,617–1,620. North China Plain. Hydrological Pro-

8 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 9 extent do biogeochemical pro- GLOBEC-China: Nutrient Dynamics cesses affect the carbon cycle and fisheries, for example, by altering in the Yellow and East China Seas food web structure, by changed J. Zhang nutrient limitation or by new and recycled production? During GLOBEC-China II implementation, nutrient spe- GLOBEC (Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics) research cies were monitored in the lower began in China in the 1990s with the “Ecosystem Dynamics of reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Bohai” project funded by the Natural Science Foundation were investigated in the adjacent of China from 1996–2000 [1], and the “Ecosystem Dynamics coastal waters to estimate the and Sustainable Use of Living Resources in the Yellow Sea fluxes from land-based activi- ties. Atmospheric dry and wet and East China Sea” project (GLOBEC-China II) funded by the depositions were determined for Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology from 1999–2004. nutrients and major components More recently, both the OCEANS Open Science Meeting (Paris, on the islands of the Yellow th 2003) and the 228 Xiangshan Forum (Beijing, 2004) have and East China seas, together helped to establish national-level links between GLOBEC and the with ship-board observations. new IMBER project of IGBP and SCOR. A specific focus of the Sediment-water interface nutrient GLOBEC-IMBER linkages in China will be a study of “Sustain- fluxes were estimated both byin able Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry in the Coastal Ocean” with situ incubation and pore-water the interactions between biogeochemistry and end-to-end food- measurements, and the effects of web as its core. In this article, some of the chemical aspects of shelf-Kuroshio Current interac- the GLOBEC-China investigation are described. tions on nutrient transfers were evaluated by model simulations One of the four foci of cross-boundary chemical transfers using field data. Nutrient dynam- GLOBEC-China II was “Cycling affect the ecosystems of the East ics in the Yellow and East China and Regeneration of Biogenic China and Yellow seas, including seas were studied using data from Elements”, which can sum- via altered elemental cycling and moorings and transects across the marised as (Figure 1): (i) how do nutrient budgets?; and (ii) to what shelf, together with mesocosm

Figure 1. Biogeochemical aspects of GLOBEC-China II (1999–2004).

10 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 11 and tracer-spike experiments in various cruises during 1999– 2004. Sediment-water inter- face fluxes show the patchy nature of the Yellow and East China seas. For example, the sediment to water diffu- sion flux for dissolved silicate is 0.02–0.7 mmol m-2 d-1 outside the Yangtze Estuary, 1.8–2.6 mmol m-2 d-1 in the coastal upwelling and 0.4–1.9 mmol m-2 d-1 in the Figure 2. Dispersal of terrestrial particulate organic matter based on δ13C, δ15N and mid-shelf at water depths of particulate organic carbon/nitrogen data from the Yangtze River in the East China Sea along the PN Section from Changjiang to the East China Sea. [3] 80–100 m, with considerable seasonal variations. Similarly, the water-soluble fraction of nutrients in aerosols demon- strate monthly variability in is nitrogen-limited [2]. Using Yellow Sea and the East China deposition flux, with ammonia the phosphorus isotopes 32P Sea is 0.040–06 kmol s-1. Atmo- exceeding nitrate and phos- (half-life 14.3 days) and 33P spheric dry and wet deposition of phate, which in turn exceeds (half-life 25.3 days) it is estimated dissolved inorganic nitrogen into dissolved silicate. Moreover, that the phosphate assimilation the East China Sea is approxi- the concentrations of the water- rate decreases from 0.03 d-1 in the mately 12 kmol s-1 in comparison soluble fraction of nutrients in coastal area to 0.01 d-1 in the mid- to the sediment-water exchange aerosols from the Yellow Sea are shelf, with a water-column resi- of approximately 1.0 kmol s-1. 0.05–0.25 nmol m-3 for phosphate dence time increase from 34 days The future collaborative and dissolved silicate, and to 10–15 days. This induces a work of GLOBEC and IMBER 10–80 nmol m-3 for ammonia particulate organic carbon export in China will investigate how and nitrate plus nitrite. In the East of approximately 70 mmol m-2 d-1 biochemical aspects of the Yellow China Sea aerosol concentrations from the Yangtze Estuary and and East China seas – such as of water-soluble ammonia and 10 mmol m-2 d-1 from the mid- those described above – affect nitrate plus nitrite can be double shelf [4]. and interact with marine food- these values. GLOBEC-China II results webs. The concentrations of dis- also improve our knowledge of Jing Zhang solved inorganic nitrogen have nutrient budgets for the rim of the Member, IMBER SSC dramatically increased in the Yellow and East China seas [5,6]. East China Normal University major rivers emptying into the For example, the flux of dissolved Shanghai, CHINA E-mail: [email protected] Yellow and East China seas; inorganic nitrogen between the notably the Yangtze River, which skews N:P ratios in the adjacent coastal waters with References strong phosphorus-limitation of 1. Su JL and Tang QS (Eds.) (2002) Study on Ecosystem Dynamics in Coastal Ocean photosynthesis [2]. The dis- II Processes of the Bohai Sea Ecosystem Dynamics. Science Press, Beijing. Pp445. persal of terrestrial particulate (Chinese). 2. Zhang J. (2002) Biogeochemistry of Chinese estuarine and coastal waters: nutrients, organic matter can be traced trace metals and biomarkers. Regional Environmental Change 3, 6576. from the Yangtze Estuary over 3. Wu Y et al. (2003) Isotope variability of particulate organic matter at the PN Section in a distance of approximately the East China Sea. Biogeochemistry 65, 3149. 300–400 km across the East 4. Zhang YH et al. (2004) The biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus in the upper ocean China Sea (Figure 2), with a of the East China Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 60, 359379. strong nutrient gradient in surface 5. Liu SM et al. (2003) Inventory of nutrient compounds in the Yellow Sea. Continental waters from eutrophic coastal Shelf Research 23, 1,1611,174. 6. Zhang J and Su JL (2004) Nutrient dynamics of the China Seas: The Bohai Sea, waters to oligotrophic open shelf Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea. In: Robinson AR and Brink KH waters where photosynthesis (Eds.), The Sea, Vol. 14. Pp637671.

10 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 11 cruises revealed that during Over-summering Strategy of March, the Calanus sinicus Calanus sinicus population begins to develop in the Yellow Sea coastal shal- S. Sun and G.T Zhang low water along the Shandong Peninsula and the Sudong Bank. April–May is a crisis period for Calanus sinicus reproduction, Calanus sinicus is an ecologically important copepod species and the number of the female found over shelf waters of the west North Pacific from Japan to adults, their body size, and egg Vietnam. It is the main food source of many commercially impor- production and hatching rates all affect reproduction. In June tant fishes such as anchovy and mackerel. In the Bohai, Yellow peak abundance is attained [4]. and East China seas, it is the dominant zooplankton species During July, when surface-water accounting for 80% of the total zooplankton biomass. Cala- temperatures exceed 23˚C in nus sinicus is the target species in the China-GLOBEC activity coastal areas, the Calanus sinicus “Marine Ecosystem Dynamics and Sustainable Utilisation of distribution centre begins to Biological Resources in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea”. move towards the deeper central Intensive research has been conducted on the Calanus sinicus part of the YSCWM. By August, life cycle and population dynamics, especially on its over-sum- Calanus sinicus are no longer mering strategy in the Yellow Sea [1,2]. present in the shallow coastal surface-waters where tempera- The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea most possibly results from tures exceed 27˚C. The distribu- between China and Korea, with the upward invasion of the tion centre is in the central part an average depth of 44 m. It is Kuroshio Warm Current and of the YSCWM, where water greatly affected by climatic and tidal mixing in shallow coastal temperatures are low and food geographical conditions. Fresh- areas [2,3]. concentrations very low. Here, a water is input from the west, the From 2001 to 2004 twelve special life strategy is adopted: Yellow Sea Warm Current and cruises were conducted to diurnal vertical migration almost the Kuroshio Current invade investigate the life cycle and ceases – occurring only for a few from the south, and the Yellow over-summer strategy of Calanus female adults, and not beyond the Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM) sinicus in the Yellow Sea. These thermocline. Most of the ani- exists in central areas in the summer for almost four months. Low water temperatures and a strong thermocline are the main features of YSCWM, which becomes established from July and dissipates after November. During this period surface-water temperatures increase from C) 23˚C (July) to 27˚C (August), o and then decrease again to 23˚C (September). Bottom-water

temperatures remain constant at (m) Depth 9–12˚C throughout this period. ( Temperature A very strong thermocline is found above the YSCWM with a maximum temperature gradi- ent of about 6˚C m-1. Bottom- water temperatures outside the YSCWM are usually 16–20˚C, Longitude and surface-water temperatures Figure 1. Annual migration cycle of Calanus sinicus in the YSCWM. The colour gradi- are 26–28˚C. Vertical mixing ent indicates water temperatures in June when the thermocline forms. in the south of the YSCWM

12 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 13 mals are distributed above the in Figure 1. Song Sun and Guangtao Zhang bottom, and the fifth life stage Comparing the life histories Institute of Oceanology, copepodite (CV) is the dominant of Calanus sinicus and Calanus Chinese Academy of Sciences life stage in the population. In finmarchicus, shows that both Beijing, CHINA E-mail: [email protected] situ experiments demonstrate of pass though a diapause, and that the combination of the low during this time, CV is the domi- temperatures and low food con- nant life stage in the population centrations limit Calanus sinicus [6]. The difference is that Calanus Editors Note to the CV stage, inducing a dia- finmarchicus over-winter in the This article was previously pub- pause. The abundance of Calanus deep water, while Calanus sinicus lished in the GLOBEC Interna- sinicus on the deep water side over-summer in the deep water. tional Newsletter, April 2005. of the YSCWM is much higher than in the shallow coastal areas. At the marginal edge of the YSCWM diurnal vertical migra- References 1. Uye SI et al. (1999) Geographical variation in the trophic structure of the plankton tion still occurs, and CV develop community along a eutrophic-mesotrophic-oligotrophic transect. Fisheries Ocean- to adults and produce eggs; ography 8, 227–237. but mortality is high and egg 2. Sun S. et al (2002) A preliminary study on the over-summering strategy of Calanus sinicus in the Yellow Sea. Oceanologia et Limnologia Sinica, Special Issue: Zoo- production hatching rates low, plankton Population Dynamics, 92–99. (Chinese with English abstract)

because of low food supply and 3. Pu XM et al. (2004) The combined effects of temperature and food supply on Cala- quality [2–5]. From September nus sinicus in the southern Yellow Sea in summer. Journal of Plankton Research 26, the distribution centre begins to 1,049–1,057. 4. Zhang GT, Sun S and Zhang F. (2005) Seasonal variation of reproduction rates and move to the coastal areas (China body size of Calanus sinicus in the Southern Yellow Sea, China. Journal of Plankton side). In October and November Research 27(2), 135143. the thermocline weakens, Cala- 5. Pu XM et al. (2004) Life history strategy of Calanus sinicus in the southern Yellow nus sinicus migrate to the coastal Sea in summer. Journal of Plankton Research 26, 1,059–1,068. areas, and the current system 6. Tande KS and Miller CB. (2000) Population dynamics of Calanus in the North Atlan- tic: results from trans-Atlantic study of Calanus finmarchicus. ICES Journal of Marine transports them to other areas. Science 57, 1,527–1,527. The annual cycle is summarised

flict, both between the humans Ecological Capital Assessment and Land and the environment and Use Adjustment: the Path to Sustainability amongst humans. Achieving this “harmony” requires under- S. Peijun, Y. Tao and C. Jing standing how humans affect the functioning of the Earth System. The second saying expresses the need to “syncretise” (that is, The ultimate goal of global environment change studies is to to reconcile and unite) humans understand the interactions of humans and their global envi- and nature. This recognises that ronment so as to achieve sustainable development. There are humans are part of the environ- two sayings in ancient Chinese philosophy which can assist ment and thus development is bound by natural laws; it sug- in understanding sustainable development; the first saying gests economic growth should considers “sky, earth, humans and harmony”, and the second be decoupled from the related considers “syncretising humans and nature”. environmental degradation while maintaining social cohe- In the first of these sayings players in this space influencing sion. The saying thus implies “sky” refers to the atmosphere land-atmosphere, land-ocean that resource development and “earth” to the Earth surface and ocean-atmosphere interac- and the environment must be – the land and oceans. “Sky” tions. “Harmony” is an ideal dynamically balanced. On one and “earth” constitute the state in which all creatures on hand human health and ecosys- space in which humans live, Earth live harmoniously; for tem health both improve (Figure and humans are the most active humans there would be less con- 1) [1,2], while on the other Continued on page 16...

12 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 13 Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry & Ecosystem Research Science Plan and Implementation Strategy IMBER (Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research) is a new IGBP-SCOR project focussing on ocean biogeo- chemical cycles and ecosystems. IMBER will build on the successes of the now-complete JGOFS and the ongoing GLOBEC project. The IMBER vision is to provide a comprehensive understanding of, and accurate predictive capacity for, ocean responses to accelerating global change and the consequent effects on the Earth System and human society. The IMBER Science Plan and Implementation Strat- egy can now be ordered or downloaded from www.imber.info. Here, an overview of the scope of the IMBER science agenda is provided.

Human activities are rapidly altering Earth System vesting. The major drivers of change considered are processes that directly and indirectly influence soci- physical dynamics, seawater CO2 (controlling ocean ety. Informed decisions require an understanding of pH), nutrients (with changing inputs to the euphotic which parts of the Earth System are most sensitive zone from the subsurface waters, sediments and to change, and the nature and extent of anticipated land), and intensive fish harvesting. This research will impacts. This requirement underlies the IMBER goal: fill the critical gap between short-term climate events to investigate the sensitivity of marine biogeochemi- (seasonal scale) and anthropogenic global change cal cycles and ecosystems to global change, on time (century scale). To address its goal IMBER is structur- scales ranging from years to decades. ing its research around four themes as follows: To achieve this IMBER will identify key interac- tions between marine bio- geochemical cycles and ecosystems, and assess how these interactions respond to complex natu- ral and anthropogenic forcings. Important forc- ings include large-scale climate variations, chang- ing physical and biologi- cal dynamics, changing carbon cycle chemistry and nutrient fluxes, and widespread marine har-

Figure 1. Depiction of processes that are unique to, or intensified at, ocean-continental boundaries. Many of these processes are sensitive to global change, with both local- and global-scale con- sequences for biogeochemical cycles and foods webs.

14 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 15 Theme 1: Interactions Between Biogeochemical Cycles and Marine Food Webs Key issues: (i) the transformation of organic matter in food webs, (ii) transfers of matter across ocean interfaces, and (iii) material flows in end-to-end food webs. Interac- tions between biogeochemical cycles and food webs are expected to differ between environments such as conti- nental margins associated with coastal upwelling (Fig.1), high latitude and polar regions, and tropical and subtropi- cal oligotrophic gyres. Comparison of different systems will provide new insights for identifying and understanding fundamental interactions between marine biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems.

Theme 2: Sensitivity to Global Change This theme will advance understanding of how marine bio- -1 Figure 3. Annual composite maps of ∆N2O at the sea surface (nmol l ). (a) geochemical cycles and ecosystems respond to the complex Pacific Northwest and Central American coast, (b) western coast of South suite of forcings associated with global change. Identifying America, (c) perimeter of the Arabian Sea, and (d) west coast of Africa. From components that respond directly to global change is a pri- Nevison et al. (2004). Global Biogeochemical Cycles 18, GB1018. mary concern. In this theme responses are partitioned into four major issues: (i) effects of climate-induced changes in the Theme 4: Responses of Society physical dynamics of the ocean, (ii) effects of increasing CO2 This theme will focus on interactions between human and levels and decreasing pH, (iii) effects of changes in macro- ocean systems. Its motivation stems from recognition that and micronutrient inputs to the ocean, and (iv) impacts of humans not only influence ocean systems, but that humans marine harvesting. For example, decadal climate modes and also depend on ocean systems for goods and services. The related teleconnections are likely to introduce signals into the theme goal is to promote an understanding of the multiple ocean system, such as variations in heat content (Fig. 2). feedbacks between human and ocean systems, and to clar- ify what human institutions can do, either to mitigate anthro- pogenic perturbations of the ocean system, or to adapt to such changes. A major challenge of this theme will be to bring together scientists from a wide range of disciplines, to identify areas of joint concern and interest, and to create an ongoing natural-social science marine research community.

Implementation IMBER will take advantage of new and innovative approaches to marine research ranging from new molecular techniques to sustained in situ and remotely sensed observations. The development of new sustained observation sites will be an important part of the implementation strategy complemented by targeted field-based process studies, in situ mesocosm Figure 2. Time series of yearly ocean heat content for the 0–700 m layer. studies, and field and laboratory experiments. A suite of From Levitus et al. (2005). Science 287(5,461), 2,225–2,229. hierarchical models will be developed to test hypotheses, analyse data and extrapolate in space and time, and iden- tify crucial knowledge gaps that require new observations. Theme 3: Feedbacks to the Earth System Extrapolation to the global scale will require integration and assimilation of data from basin-wide surveys. To support This theme will consider the present and future capacity modelling and synthesis, interconnected biological, geo- of the ocean to affect the climate system via ocean effects chemical and physical databases will be built, extended, and on atmospheric composition and ocean heat storage. Key updated in near real-time. issues: (i) the varying capacity of the ocean to store anthro- pogenic CO2, (ii) ecosystem feedbacks on ocean physics Answering the broad interdisciplinary questions will require and climate, and (iii) how changes in low-oxygen zones affect an effort much larger than any single nation can mobilise. the nitrogen cycle, especially transformations involving N2O. Multiple investigators spanning disciplines, and intercompar- For example, N2O emissions are not uniformly distributed isons of data across a range of systems will be needed. Inter- over the sea surface: the tropical upwelling zones containing facing the natural and social science communities to study O2-deficient mesopelagic waters make a disproportionately the key impacts and feedbacks between marine and human large contribution (Fig. 3). Modelling the potential feedbacks systems will be a major challenge. IMBER will encourage from marine biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems to the collaborative activities that will draw on the expertise of other Earth System will require detailed understanding of local and international research projects and programmes, including regional manifestations of global change in the ocean, and the Global Ocean Observing System, to avoid duplication their interactions with other parts of the Earth System. and to ensure a truly interdisciplinary approach.

14 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 15 capital [3].where EC is ecological capital, GDP is gross domestic product, ECP is EC per unit area, GDPP is GDP per unit area and t is time. Ps is therefore the ratio of EC to GDP in a given area, and the ratio of the rate of ecological capital development to social capital development assesses whether development is bal- anced. Values of Ps and Rp for each county in China have been calculated (Figures 3 and 4). The results of this assessment are worrying and indicate that ecological conservation should be paid higher attention, espe- Figure 1. Interactions between Earth System health and human health [2]. cially in the western provinces. In order to protect the vulner- able and critical ecological environment of western China, the government is implement- ing a development strategy that gives high priority to ecological conservation. The concept of “constructing ecology industri- ally and developing industry ecologically” has become widely accepted [4]. One of the more promising approaches to achieving “har- mony” is land-use adjustment. Effective land utilisation and sustainable development would be aided by “ecology-oriented” land-use planning: separating different land uses into pro- Figure 2. Interactions between nature and society. ductive land, living land and ecological land, and optimising the land-use pattern at differ- ...continued from page 13. an ecological capital assessment ent scales. ‘Productive land’ hand increases in social capital of China is presented using two provides society with material should not exceed the ecological new indexes: the first index products, and includes land capital carrying capacity (Figure – “harmony” (Ps) – is used to for industry, agriculture and 2). From this perspective it is assess the static equilibrium transport. ‘Living land’ is where only when the relationship of ecological capital and social people dwell, including resi- between humans and nature is capital, and the second index dential areas and public service harmonious and development – “syncretism” (Rp) – is used to land. ‘Ecological land’ provides is dynamically balanced that assess the dynamic equilibrium society with ecosystem services, development can be considered of ecological capital and social maintains ecosystem func- sustainable. tion and environment quality, Using this philosophy the and ensures the health of both relationship between ecologi- people and the Earth System. and cal capital and social capital On the local scale harmony provides an indicator of human- requires land-use adjustment environment interactions. Here, and landscape redesigning; on

16 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 17 Figure 3. Ps values for the year 2000. Figure 4. Rp values for the period 1995–2000.

the regional scale harmony requires optimisation of land-use patterns. References To build on this very preliminary study of 1. Costanza R and Jørgensen SE. (2002) Understanding and Solv- environmental “harmony”, future studies will focus ing Environmental Problems in the 21st Century: toward a new, integrated hard problem science. Elsevier. Oxford, England. on the impacts and feedbacks of land-use change, 2. Peijun S et al. (2004) The “Earth Health–Human Being Health” the optimisation of ecological and social capital and model of biological resources development and ecological con- ecologically-oriented land-use planning. struction. Resources Science 26(3), 2–8. 3. Peijun S. (2005) Ecosystem capital and regional sustainable Shi Peijun, Ye Tao and development. Journal of Beijing Normal University (Human and Chen Jing Social Science). In press. College of Resources Science and Technology 4. Peijun S and Xuemin L. (2004) Construct ecology industrially Beijing Normal University, and develop industry ecologically. Qiu Shi 4, 32–34 . Beijing. CHINA E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 5. Peijun S. (2005) Land use and ecological capital assessment of China. CJLUC Report. In press.

The Study on Carbon Budget Carbon Budgeting for the Terrestrial and in Terrestrial and Marginal Sea Ecosystems of China (CBTSEC) Marginal Sea Ecosystems of China is a US$8.5 million flagship proj- Y. Huang, G. Yu and P. Chen ect of the Knowledge Innova- tion Program, launched by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Around 150 scientists

Greenhouse gases – especially CO2 and CH4 – are intimately and more than 250 graduate connected to climate change, and their rapid increase is chal- and postdoctoral students from lenging the scientific community and policy makers. To predict 18 CAS institutes with differ- future climate change accurately and find ways to manage ent academic disciplines are involved in the project. From atmospheric CO concentrations, the processes and feedbacks 2 2001–2005 the project will that drive the carbon cycle must first be understood.

16 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 17 the carbon cycle, and (iv) options that can enhance carbon storage and/or reduce the carbon emis- sions from these ecosys- tems (Figure 1). Observations of carbon dynamics are a funda- mental component of attempts to understand the carbon budget. The ChinaFLUX network Figure 1. CBTSEC framework. (www.chinaflux.org) was established in 2002 to make systematic field investigate: (i) the geographical of carbon cycling in terrestrial and observations of carbon flux and and temporal patterns of carbon marginal sea ecosystems – both storage. The network covers sources and sinks, (ii) the driving natural and anthropogenic, (iii) sixteen ecological stations includ- processes and control mechanisms the likely future dynamics of ing forests, grasslands, croplands,

CERN ChinaFLUX Office

Figure 2. The ChinaFLUX network established by CBTSEC.

18 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 19 A base database has been established to provide tempo- ral and spatial information on climate, soil, land use and land cover, based on site-specific and up-scaled datasets. An example of the use of this database is the recent production of a 1:1,000,000 digital soil map of China (Figure 3) by the Institute of Soil Science, and its continuing efforts to com- pile an associated soil database (www.issas.ac.cn/english/soil_ database.htm). Each of the above themes provides essential pieces of the Figure 3: Example map from the digital soil map of China, showing percentage soil puzzle needed to understand the organic matter in the top 10 cm. carbon budget of the ecosystems of China. The CBTSEC provides a framework within which to wetlands and fresh water bodies carbon dynamics, the effects of assemble these pieces, and with (Figure 2). Eddy covariance is land use practices and ecosys- new work to fill gaps, to build a used for measuring net ecosystem tem management on the carbon coherent national picture. Mean- CO2 exchange and static chamber budget are also emphasised in while, the project will encourage and gas chromatography are used this theme. the exploration of new issues and for measuring emissions of CO2 A central challenge in this future pathways of the carbon and CH4 from soils and/or the carbon cycle research is to cycle that have not yet been envis- soil-plant system. Remote sensing synthesise the massive array of aged. is applied to identify land use and different measurements and case Because of the potentially land cover, and to estimate net study and process study results dire consequences of climate primary production and carbon into a single, internally consistent change, the Chinese government storage. Using these observations, framework. The CBTSEC project is examining ways to control direct measurements of carbon is applying a comprehensive greenhouse gases emissions in the assimilation and emissions are synthesis approach to achieve face of economic and population obtained, as well as information this objective, which combines growth pressures. The CBTSEC on the temporal and spatial pat- measurements and models within project will provide the necessary terns of carbon sources and sinks. a GIS. In essence, observations scientific information to guide Case studies and process (remotely sensed and in situ), pro- government policy makers. studies provide the fundamental cess and case studies, and models building blocks of mechanistic (ecosystem models and the Yao Huang knowledge essential for system- GCMs) are integrated within the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences level understanding. Case studies GIS to infer complete space-time Beijing, CHINA on the biogeochemical processes distributions of carbon budgets, E-mail: [email protected] will determine the interactions and to make reliable projections Guirui Yu of soil, climate, vegetation and of the response of China’s eco- Institute of Geographical Sciences and human activities. Research systems to global change. Carbon Natural Resources Research priorities for this theme are to models concerning weather Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, CHINA understand the mechanisms variables, soil parameters, plant E-mail: [email protected] that control exchanges of carbon species and human activities between the soil and vegetation, are being developed for differ- Panqin Chen Bureau of Science and Technology for between land and the atmo- ent ecosystems. Possible options Resources and the Environment sphere, and between marginal including land use practices and Chinese Academy of Sciences seas and the atmosphere. Because sustainable management of eco- Beijing, CHINA E-mail: [email protected] human activities are becoming systems for carbon sequestration more and more important in are also being investigated.

18 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 19 New Roles and Faces

IMBER Executive Officer Sylvie Roy has been DMSP (dimethylsulphoniopropionate) in the North Atlantic, appointed as the Executive and the effects of heavy metals on the productivity of the Office for IMBER (see Cen- phytoplankton population in the Halifax Harbour Basin. Her trefold). Sylvie has a BSc research interests include marine production of DMSP and in biochemistry and an MSc DMS, aspects of the global carbon cycle – especially meta- in microbiology from the bolic production of CO2, as well as enzymatic control of the University of Montreal. Her rates of CO2 production, O2 consumption and nitrate reduc- PhD in oceanography from tion. In 2003, Sylvie joined the Canadian SOLAS Secretariat the University of Quebec as cruise coordinator and data manager and was Acting was based on mathematical Executive Director for six months. Sylvie will be based in modelling of CO2 produc- Brest at the Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer located tion rates of marine bacteria on the Technopôle-Iroise campus of University of Brittany. using enzyme kinetics equations. Subsequently Sylvie has E-mail: [email protected] researched the production of DMS (dimethylsulphide) and

SOLAS Executive Officer Jeff Hare has been appointed the University of Cincinnati and a masterʼs degree and PhD in as the new Executive Officer meteorology from Penn State University. His research interests for SOLAS. For the past nine are in air-sea interactions, including small-scale turbulent heat years Jeff was a research exchange between the atmosphere and ocean, climate vari- marine meteorologist at the ability over the ocean, and exchange of greenhouse gases University of Colorado and between the air and sea. This research has taken him to many the NOAA Environmental places all over the world, and the measurement campaigns Technology Laboratory in were conducted primarily from research ships. Jeff is now at the Boulder, Colorado. Originally SOLAS IPO in the School of Environmental Sciences, Univer- from south-eastern Ohio, sity of East Anglia, Norwich. Jeff has a bachelorʼs degree in electrical engineering from E-mail: [email protected]

AIMES Co-Chairs The IGBP Officers have approved Colin Prentice and Dave Schimel as the inaugural Co-chairs for the new Analysis, Integration and Modelling of the Earth System (AIMES) project of IGBP.

Colin leads the Quantifying sity, Sweden, and was a founding director of the Max Planck and Understanding the Earth Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany. He led the System (QUEST) programme chapter on “The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric Carbon for the UK Natural Environ- Dioxide” in the IPCC Third Assessment Report in 2001, and ment Research Council and was awarded the Milankovitch medal by the European Geo- is Professor of Earth System physical Society in 2002. His involvement with IGBP began as a Science at the University of member of the planning team for the GCTE project, and later as Bristol. His research experi- a member of the GAIM Task Force, which he co-chaired from ence includes Quaternary 2003. His current research focuses on the use of simple models palaeoecology, multivariate to elucidate key processes in plant physiology and ecology that data analysis and vegetation have global-scale implications for climate and the carbon cycle, dynamics modelling, and he and the application of large-scale biosphere models to analyse has been among the pioneers in global-scale modelling of bio- the risks of anthropogenic climate change. sphere processes and their interactions with climate. He has E-mail: [email protected] been Head of the Department of Plant Ecology in Lund Univer-

20 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 21

Dave Schimel is a Senior Sci- Massachusetts, and a PhD from Colorado State University. entist in the Terrestrial Sci- His research interests are in the carbon dynamics of ter- ences Section of the Climate restrial ecosystems, and modelling ecosystem responses and Global Dynamics Divi- to global change. Dave was a member of the IGBP GAIM sion at the National Center Task Force, was a convening lead author on the 1994 and for Atmospheric Research, 1995 IPCC reports, and chairs the Biogeochemistry Panel Boulder, Colorado, USA, of NASAʼs Earth Observing System Project. He was an ISI and professor and Director Highly Cited Researcher in 2003, and was elected as an of the Max-Planck Institute External Member of the Max-Planck Society in 2002. for Biogeochemistry, Jena, E-mail: [email protected] Germany. Dave has a BA from Hampshire College,

New SC-IGBP Vice-chair Mary Scholes – an ICSU- try of savannah ecosystems and soil biological processes. appointed member of the Mary was Co-chair of IGAC in 2001–2002, was appointed Scientific Committee of IGBP by ICSU to the SC-IGBP in 2002, was elected as a member – has been appointed as a of CACGP in 2002, and is a member of the Scientific Advi- new Vice-chair of the Com- sory Committee of the International Nitrogen Initiative (a joint mittee. Mary is a professor Fast-Track Initiative of SCOPE and IGBP). in the School of Animal, Plant E-mail: [email protected] and Environmental Sciences at the University of Witswa- tersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, where she spe- cialises in the biogeochemis-

Staff Changes at the IGBP Secretariat After more than 15 years with helping with fundraising, and making sure all of us toe the the IGBP Secretariat, Elise line in terms of properly spending and accounting for our Wännman – the Director for funds. Elise, in her capacity as Director of Finances, has Finances – has retired. Elise helped navigate IGBP through waters both stormy and calm, is the longest serving staff and helped us make it through lean economic times. She member of the Secretariat, has provided invaluable support to all the Executive Direc- having carefully managed tors of IGBP: Thomas Rosswall, John Marks, Chris Rapley, IGBP finances and guided Will Steffen and Kevin Noone. Their jobs would have been many other administrative much more difficult without Eliseʼs constant support. We offer aspects of IGBP. She may Elise our most sincere thanks for her hard work, dedication, well be the best-known of all and loyalty to IGBP over her many years here, and wish her the Secretariat staff – espe- an extremely happy retirement. cially after her many years of

Britta Boström-Huáman was experience in financial administration and accountancy. been appointed to assume Britta grew up in Luleå in northern Sweden, and began responsibility for manag- studying geosciences at Umeå University. After two years ing the IGBP finances. of study she decided to take a “short break” which has Britta comes to the IGBP lasted more than twenty years. During her “short break” Secretariat from a Swed- Britta travelled extensively through South America, ish company that manages worked in tourism and financial administration, and started cooperative development a family. We welcome Britta to the Secretariat team. projects funded by the E-mail: [email protected] Swedish International Devel- opment Agency (SIDA), and bring with her extensive

20 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 21

Susannah Eliott – Deputy Sus a n na h l eaves I GB P at t h e e n d of Aug us t , s h e w i l l Director, Communica- have c o m p l ete d fi ve yea r s w i t h I GB P, d ur i n g w h ic tions – has accepted t i m e s h e ha s t i r e l e s s l y l e d t h e d evel o p m e nt of t h e I GB P an appointment as the c o m m un i c at i o n s a n d o ut r eac h effo rt s . Sus a n na hʼs inaugural Chief Execu- effo rt s have e s t a b l i s h e d I GB P a s a n i m p o rt a nt voi c e tive Officer for the new o n g l o b a l c ha n g e s c i e n c e i n t h e i nter nat i o na l m e d ia , Australian Science a n d have h e l p e d m a d e I GB P s c i e n c e m o r e a c c e s s i b l e Media Centre based in to t h e e d u c at i o n s e c to r a n d t o p o l i c y- m a ker s . We w i s h Adelaide, which is spon- Sus a n na h a n e n j oyab l e a n d r ewar d i n g f ut ure b a c k i n sored in equal parts by Aust r a l ia , a n d l o o k fo rwar d t o m a i nt a i n i n g c o nt a c t w i t h the private sector and h e r i n h e r n ew ro l e. media outlets. When

H i l a r i e Cut l e r ha s b e e n a s m to IGB P. Hi l a r i e or i g i na l l y hai l s fr o m New Yo r k , but a p p o i nte d a s a tem p o ry ha s l i ved i n Sto c k h o l m for 18 yea r s . G r a p h i c s D e s i g n e r at t h e H i l a r i e r e p l a c e s J o h n B e l l a my w h o i s t a k i n g a s i x I GB P Se c r et a r iat . H i l a r i e m o nt h leave of ab s e n c e fr o m ea r l y Aug us t to wor k wi t h ha s r un h e r own d e s i g n a n ot h e r i nter nat i o na l o r g a n i s at i o n b a s e d i n Sto c k h o l m. c o m p a ny i n Sto c k h o l m fo r over fi ve yea r s, E-mail: [email protected] va.se un d e rt a k i n g wor k fo r a w i d e r a n g e of c l i e nt s . Sh e b r i n g s a wea l t h of exp e r i e n c e a n d e nt h us i -

IGBP Opportunities

Upcoming Vacancy – Fast-Track Activity Science Communication Co-ordinator In August 2005 IGBP will The Global Water System Project advertise for a full time senior (GWSP) seeks a co-ordinator to facilitate science communicator to be based at the Secretariat a series of fast-track activities initiated by in Stockholm. An advertisement for this position will the GWSP Scientific Steering Committee. be distributed widely, will appear on the IGBP website This is a temporary, fixed-term position at as well as in various publications. Candidates with the small International Project Office at senior-level experience in science communication will the University of Bonn. More information can be obtained. be sought, but selection criteria will be broad, in order from www.gwsp.org or [email protected] to encourage applications from diverse science com The closing date for applications is 31 August 2005. munications backgrounds to apply. -

Project Director – Earth System Atlas A broadly trained scientist is sought to lead the effort to develop an Earth System Atlas – a project initiated within IGBP. The Atlas will provide data regarding the Earth System and Global Change, along with web-- based tools for data manipulation and visualisation (see prototype earthsystematlas.org). The ideal candi date will ha ve a background in Earth System analysis, experience with global data sets and data centres, excellent communication and managerial skills, and a demonstrated ability to maintain extramural funding. This is a one-year term position (with continuation contingent on obtaining additional funding), based -at Lehigh University (in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 80 km north of Philadelphia). Candidate from underrepre sented groups are encouraged to apply. For more information contact: [email protected] or [email protected]

22 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 23 In the Profile of a Scientist section we aim to feature “early-career” scientists who are making important contributions to Earth System science and to IGBP. We will strive to achieve gender, discipline and developed/developing country balances in this section. The Editor welcomes sug- gestions from readers for scientists to profile in the Global Change NewsLetter.

Profile of a Scientist: Peter Rayner

Peter Rayner is an atmospheric spheric transport. “In reality we move researcher currently working at CEA, between interpreting the available France. (and insufficient) observations, quan- tifying the various uncertainties in the Thinking back of his school days, process (such as imperfect models of Peter describes the 1970s as an atmospheric transport) and investigat- exciting time to be a blind child in ing the utility of future measurement Australia: “With changing methods of approaches”, Peter describes the chal- schooling, blind children could expect lenges of his work. to spend most of their school lives in He was the initial coordinator of the the rough and tumble of a normal long-running IGBP/GAIM project Trans- schoolyard.” Expectations of what Com (now part of the Global Carbon was possible were also changing. Project), which focused on the uncer- “When I announced, at age ten, that I wanted to tainties of this inversion process caused by unknown be a scientist when I grew up, my indulgent par- model transport. ents treated it as a normal childhood fantasy and A recent development was the realisation that satel- not, in principle, impossible“, Peter recalls. lite measurements of CO2 concentration, despite lower precision than surface measurements, could A quest for less crowded ground than theoretical enhance the ability to determine sources and sinks physics led him later on to a PhD in paleoclimate because of their greater coverage and density. “It is modelling at the University of Melbourne and hence exciting to watch the development of missions target- to post-doctoral work in climate modelling and ing this measurement”, he says. dynamics. In 1991 Peter followed his wife to Prince- ton for her studies and joined the ocean carbon cycle As another exciting direction Peter considers the group led by Professor Jorge Sarmiento. “This was a coupling of atmospheric transport models to models surprising hire since I was neither an oceanographer of surface fluxes (such as ocean and terrestrial bio- nor chemist”, he remarks. geochemistry models) in order to infer the behaviour of these models directly from atmospheric observa- In the early 1990s various groups had begun to use tions. This both enhances the power of the inversion atmospheric measurements to locate the carbon since it demands dynamical consistency among the sink required to balance known growth rates and various surface fluxes (much as data assimilation emissions. The surprising location of this sink in the does in numerical weather prediction) and allows cur- northern hemisphere and perhaps over the northern rent observations to constrain model predictions. “As hemisphere continents led to a flurry of crosscheck- well as taking me full circle back to climate modelling, ing of the result. I also find myself occasionally and surprisingly clas- “As the only atmospheric modeller in the group, and sified as a terrestrial modeller”, he notes. “Maybe one with friends already working in atmospheric inver- day I will even learn some of that ocean chemistry.“ sion, I was asked to check the result using the local The circumstance of having had an inspiring tutor at GFDL atmospheric model”, Peter explains. “In some university who combined roles as one of Australia´s sense I am still checking it, fifteen years and two leading physicists with a gift for communication, Peter continents later. “ considers as a rare privilege and states: “We owe it Atmospheric inverse studies seek to deduce the pat- to our mentors to pass on their gift and this is a role tern of surface fluxes compatible with atmospheric for which I would like to find more time.” concentration and isotopic composition data. To do this it is necessary to unwind the impact of atmo-

22 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 23 1st DIVERSITAS International Conference on Biodi- IGBP and Related Global versity. 09–12 November, Oaxaca, Mexico Change Meetings Contact: [email protected] or www.diversitas-osc1.org A more extensive meetings list is held on the IGBP web site at www.igbp.net. Greenhouse 2005: Action on Climate Control ACCENT Symposium: The Changing Chemical 13–17 November, Melbourne, Australia Climate of the Atmosphere Contact: www.greenhouse2005.com 12–16 September, Urbino, Italy Climate Science in Support of Decision Making Contact: www.accent-network.org/symposium 14–16 November, Arlington, VA, USA 2nd International AVEC Summer School Contact: www.climatescience.gov/workshop2005/contribpres.htm 18–30 September, Peyresq, Alpes de Haute- International Organizations and Global Environmen- Provence, France tal Change 2005 Berlin Conference on the Human Contact: www.pik-potsdam.de/avec/peyresq2005.html Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Polar Regions and Quaternary Climate 02–03 December, Berlin, Germany Contact: www.fu-berlin.de/ffu/akumwelt/bc2005 24–29 September, Acquafredda di Maratea, Italy Contact: [email protected] or www.esf.org

th 2006 7 International CO2 Conference 26–30 September, Broomfield, CO, USA EcoMod Modelling School Contact: www.cmdl.noaa.gov/info/icdc7 16–21 January, Bangkok, Thailand Contact: [email protected], www.ecomod.net 14th PICES Annual Meeting: Mechanisms of Cli- mate and Human Impact on Ecosystems in Mar- 1st iLEAPS Science Conference ginal Seas and Shelf Regions 21-26 January, Boulder, CO, USA 29 September–10 October, Vladivostok, Russia Contact: www.atm.helsinki.fi/ILEAPS/boulder or Contact: [email protected] or www.pices.int [email protected]

th Open Science Conference: Global Change in 4 World Water Forum: Local Actions for a Global Mountain Regions Challenge 02–06 October, Perth, Scotland, UK 16–22 March, Mexico City, Mexico Contact: www.mountain.conf.uhi.ac.uk Contact: www.worldwaterforum4.org.mx./home/home.asp

6th Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of PICES/GLOBEC symposium on ʻClimate variability Global Environmental Change Research Community and ecosystem impacts on the North Pacific: a basin-scale synthesisʼ 09–13 October, Bonn, Germany Contact: openmeeting.homelinux.org 19–21 April, Honolulu, USA Contact: [email protected] or www.pices.int CLIVAR/GOOS/OOPC/Argo South Pacific th Workshop 17 Global Warming International Conference & Expo 10–13 October, Concepción, Chile 20–21 April, Miami, USA Contact: www.clivar.org Contact: [email protected]

GSA Session - Glacial Geology and Lake Climate Changes and their impact on Boreal and Sedimentology: In Memory of Geoffrey O. Seltzer Temperate Forests 16–19 October, Utah, USA 05–07 June, Ekaterinburg, Russia Contact: [email protected] Contact: ecoinf.uran.ru/conference

1st Joint HITE-POLLANDCAL Conference Holivar 2006 Open Science Meeting: “Natural Climate Variability and Global Warming” 24–25 October, Umeå, Sweden Contact: www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/ecrc/pollandcal 12–15 June, London, UK Contact: www.holivar2006.org 4th GKSS School of Environmental Research: “Environmental Crises: Science and Policy” 2007 02–11 November, Delmenhorst, Germany Contact: coast.gkss.de/events/4thschool SOLAS Open Science Conference 06–09 March, Xiamen, China Contact: www.uea.ac.uk/env/solas/meetings.html

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Pi n B o a r d

T h e P i n B o a r d i s a p l a c e f o r s h o r t a n n o u n c e m e n t s a n d l e t t e r s t o t h e E d i t o r. A n n o u n c e m e n t s m a y r a n g e f r o m m a j o r fi e l d c a m p a i g n s , n e w w e b s i t e s , r e s e a r c h c e n t r e s , c o l l a b o r a t i v e p r- o g r a m m e s , p o l i c y i n i t i a t i v e s o r p o l i t i c a l d e c i s i o n s o f r e l e v a n c e t o g l o b a l c h a n g e . L e t t e r s t o t h e E d i t o r s h o u l d n o t e x c e e d 2 0 0 w o r d s a n d s h o u l d b e a c c o m p a n i e d b y n a m e a n d c o n t a c t d e t a i l s .

LETTER TO THE EDITOR One Planet, UsingMany a collection People of spectacular “Before and After” satellite images Dear Editor; for 80 sites around I see nothing gainful or even honest about the notion of the world, the United Nations Environment sustainability (see Guest Editorial Global Change NewsLet- Programmeʼs new ter No.60) in Latin America. Health and economic support large-format hard-cover along with environmental protection are the most obvious book One Planet, Many issues, especially in overpopulated Mexico, Central Amer- People: Atlas of Our Changing Environment ica and some Caribbean islands. Sustainability can be an affluent concept simply out of reach, while the problem is documents the dramatic and, in some cases, overpopulation and unemployment of the rural poor. Does damaging changes sweeping the Earth. The huge growth of greenhouses in southern Spain, the relentless ruination of Latin forests speak for biodiver- - the rapid rise of shrimp farming in Asia and Latin sity and sustainability? America, and the emergence of a giant penin sula at the mouth of the Yellow River are among Central America needs to create an electricity web for its the curious and surprising changes seen from modernisation and industrial competence. In the global space. They accompany images of rainforest race for employment, the cost of all energy sources has to deforestation in Paraguay and Brazil, rapid oil be kept down if urbanisation with consequent birth control is and gas development in Wyoming, forest fires to succeed. The dams for electricity cause vast lands to be across sub-Saharan Africa, and the retreat of - glaciers and ice in polar and mountain areas. flooded. Even though most of these lands are eroded and The atlas, produced in collaboration with organi worthless not providing a living, more protests and more sations including the United States Geological repression will soon repeat the past via the same relentless Survey and NASA, also shows the explosive population pressure. growth of the worldʼs major cities, such as Beijing, Dhaka, Dehli, Las Vegas, Miami, and Santiago. Paul R. Earl See www.na.unep.net/OnePlanetManyPeople/ Univ. Autónoma de Nuevo León San Nicolás de los Garza, NL Mexico Millennium Ecosystem International Max Planck Research Assessment - School on Earth System Modelling In late May 2005 the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment - The International Max Planck Research released its second report. The report – “Biodiversity and - School on Earth System Modelling (Hamburg, Human Well–being: A Synthesis Report for the Conven Germany) is offering PhD fellowships (2006- tion on Biological Diversity” – synthesises and integrates 2009) to outstanding students for interdisci findings related to biological diversity from the four Millen plinary studies in Earth System rese arch. nium Ecosystem Assessment Working Groups: Condi The School contributes to the development tions and Trends, Scenarios, Responses and Sub-global - of integrated Earth System models at differ - Assessments, in response to requests for information ent spatial and temporal scales and varying degrees of complexity. received through the Convention on Biological Diversity. Apply on-line at: The report documents the management tools, policies www.earthsystemschool.de - and technologies that exist to dramatically slow the cur rent high rates of biodiversity loss. by 15 October 2005. IPCC Working Group II Fourth Assessment The IPCC is currently undertaking its Fourth Assessment, - due to be completed in 2007. Working Group II (WGII) deals with the impacts of climate change, adaptation and vulner ability. If you are aware of material which has appeared since the 2001 assessment and which should be assessed, please note the deadline for submission is ) 14 should April precede 2006. [email protected] Notification (to submissions to be made after 1 April 2006.

26 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 27

The NorthernAustralian Territory Research Research and Award Innovation Board in Australia has con ferred its in augural Research Award on Mark Stafford Smith – CEO of the - Australian Desert Knowledge Coopera tive Research Centre and member of the AIMES Website - The AIMES project (Analy SC-IGBP. The award recognises Mark - - sis, Integration and Model as the driving force behind establishment ling of the Earth System) of the Desert Knowledge Centre and his of IGBP has recently development of the Centreʼs underpin established a wesbite ning concept of the “science of desert (www.aimes.ucar.edu). To living”. The concept links indigenous and - find out more about AIMES western science concepts to distinguish the factors that allow people - download the draft Execu to live well in the desert from those that donʼt. Within IGBP Mark has been using these same skills to help guide the new Global Land tive Summary of the project Science Plan, or contact the Project, especially to help strengthen the interactions between the - biophysical and human dimensions research communities. Executive Officer, Kathy Hib bard ([email protected]).

Top Ranking for LUCC Paper According to Essential Science Indicators, a LUCC synthesis article (Lambin et al. - (2001) The causes of land-use and Eminent Scientists Symposium land-cover change – moving beyond - the myths. Global Environmental IGBP and five other organisations including the Korea Environ- ment Institute and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Change: Human and Policy Dimen sions 11(4), 261-269) is in the top 1% Asia and the Pacific co-sponsored the recent Eminent Scien - tists Symposium, part of the Ministerial Conference on Environ within its field. Rating are based on the ment and Development, Korea, March 2005. The symposium number of citations papers receive within a focussed on the role of science in global change, environment given period. The paper can requested from the LUCC IPO and development, and was attended by over 70 scientists from ([email protected]). 30 countries. The 35 presentations covered a wide range of topics from the Earth System and its climate to sustainable development, atmospheric brown clouds and early warning systems for extreme events. See: www.unescap.org/mced for the overall meeting report. Royal Colloquium Earth Observation Handbook The European Space Several IGBP scien Agency has published the tists participated in a - 2005 Earth Observation - royal colloquium “Arctic Handbook of the Commit Under Stress: A Thaw tee on Earth Observation ing Tundra” at the end - the Swedish icebreaker M.V. Oden as it sailed from Luleå Satellites (CEOS). The of May 2005 on board in northern Sweden to Stockholm. The meeting was hosted Handbook presents the by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, who was main capabilities of satellite joined by his daughter Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Earth observations, their applications and a systematic Victoria, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Frederik of overview of the present and planned Earth observation Denmark and a group of 15 international scientists and satellite missions and their instruments. Hard copies policy makers. The workshop examined the implications of the Handbook can be requested via www.ceos.org for policy and resource management of the rapid changes and an online version of the Handbook can be found at occurring in the Arctic, and their connections to environ www.eohandbook.com. mental change at the global scale.

- QUEST of Discovery - A new programme on Earth System science has been launched in the UK. The programme – QUEST (Quantifying and Understanding the Earth System) – is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and is led by Professor Colin Prentice of Bristol University, also Co-Chair of IGBPʼs AIMES project. QUEST is placing a strong empha sis on an interdisciplinary, integrative approach in two major directions: (i) an integration of natural sciences, social sciences -and humanities to study the coupled human-environment system, and (ii) an integration of palaeo-research, contemporary observations and process studies, and Earth System modelling. QUEST will play a lead role in imple menting the Earth System Atlas activity of AIMES. See quest.bris.ac.uk.

26 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 Global Change NewsLetter No. 62 June, 2005 27 The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme IGBP is an international scientific research programme built on inter- disciplinarity, networking and integration. IGBP aims to describe and understand the interactive physical, chemical and biological processes that regulate the total Earth System, the unique envi- ronment that it provides for life, the changes that are occurring in this system, and the manner in which they are influenced by human actions. It delivers scientific knowledge to help human societies develop in harmony with Earthʼs environment. IGBP research is organised around the compartments of the Earth System, the interfaces between these compartments, and integration across these compartments and through time.

IGBP helps to • develop common inter- national frameworks for collaborative research IGBP produces based on agreed agen- • data, models, research tools das • refereed scientific literature, often as special • form research net- journal editions, books, or overview and synthesis works to tackle focused papers scientific questions and • syntheses of new promote standard methods understanding on • guide and facilitate construction of global data- Earth System science bases and global sustain- • undertake model inter-comparisons ability • facilitate efficient resource allocation • policy-relevant infor- • undertake analysis, synthesis and integration of mation in easily acces- broad Earth System themes sible formats

Earth System Science IGBP works in close collaboration with the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), and DIVERSITAS, an international programme of biodiversity science. These four interna- tional programmes have formed an Earth System Science Partnership. The International Council for Science (ICSU) is the common scientific sponsor of the four international global change programmes. Participate IGBP welcomes participation in its activities – especially programme or project open meetings (see meetings list on website). To find out more about IGBP and its research networks and integration activities, or to become involved, visit our website (www.igbp.net) or those of our projects, or contact an International Project Office or one of our 78 National Committees.

Contributions Publication Details The Global Change NewsLetter primarily publishes articles should be provided as vector-based .eps files to allow edito- Published by: reporting science undertaken within the extensive IGBP rial improvements at the IGBP Secretariat. All figures should IGBP Secretariat network. However, articles reporting interesting and rel- be original and unpublished, or be accompanied by written Box 50005 evant science undertaken outside the network may also be permission for re-use from the original publishers. SE-105 05, Stockholm published. Science Features should balance solid scientific SWEDEN content with appeal to a broad global change research The Global Change NewsLetter is published quarterly and policy readership. Discussion Forum articles should – March, June, September and December. The deadline for Editor-in-chief: Kevin Noone ([email protected]) Editor: Bill Young ([email protected]) stimulate debate and so may be more provocative. Articles contributions is two weeks before the start of the month of Technical Editor: John Bellamy ([email protected]) should be between 800 and 1500 words in length, and publication. Contributions should be emailed to the Editor. Graphic designer: Hilarie Cutler ([email protected]) be accompanied by two or three figures or photographs. Articles submitted for publication are reviewed before The current and past issues of the Global Change NewsLet- acceptance for publication. Items for the Pin Board may ter are available for download from www.igbp.net. Requests include letters to the Editor, short announcements such for reproduction of articles appearing in the NewsLetter as new relevant web sites or collaborative ventures, and should be emailed to the Editor. Changes to address infor- meeting or field campaign reports. Pin Board items should mation for receipt of the NewsLetter should be emailed to not exceed 250 words. [email protected]. The IGBP Report Series is pub- lished in annex to the Global Change NewsLetter. Photographs should be provided as tiff files; minimum of Printed by Bergs Grafiska, Sweden. 300 dpi. Other images (graphs, diagrams, maps and logos) ISSN 0284-5865