Communicating the e-Science of Climate Change

From ESIWiki

Contents 1 Aim of Theme 2 Intended Outcomes 3 Theme Leaders 4 Principle Events 5 Other relevant events 6 Bibliography

Aim of Theme

Whilst human-induced climate change is widely recognised as a global challenge to society, a sharp divide is apparent between what scientists can offer – in terms of knowledge and information about future climate change and possible solutions – and what potential users of this information seek.

In addressing both these challenges, scientists have made extensive use of "eScience"...through technical and applications developments of high performance computing, complex numerical modelling and data mining.

To the frustration of policy makers, businesses and social scientists, there remains a substantial communication gap between the knowledge and information derived from this use computing power and its “usability” in practical decision making by policy makers and businesses.

In short:

1. Are regional climate scenarios useful...for the purpose of managing future climate/weather impacts?
2. Are energy system models useful...for the purpose of understanding the social and economic implications of building a low carbon energy system?

This proposed theme aims to bring together participants on both sides of this communication gap to explore appropriate solutions and applications. The overall aim will be to provide more usable eScience and eSocial Science outputs for practical users of this information.

Intended Outcomes

This Theme intends to deliver:

1. A clear statement about whether regional climate scenarios and energy system model outputs are useful to potential users for planning future climate adaptation/mitigation investment;
2. For specific climate-related case studies, cross fertilization of ideas from both technical and application experts and practical users of this information on how the knowledge can be framed to more effectively engage users;
3. Specific outputs to support the development of the user community that makes use of climate scenarios;
4. High-impact scientific papers on the interactions between eScience and Social Science in the context of climate change projection, mitigation and adaptation.
5. Design specifications for models and tools to bridge the communication gap.

Theme Leaders

Dr Andy Kerr

Dr Dave Reay

Principle Events

Public Launch Event

Costing the Climate Change Bill - Workshop

Other relevant events

Bibliography

--Andy 20 December 2009