Programme "Polar regions and Coasts in a changing Earth System" : PACES
Starting 2009, AWI will be participating in the Helmholtz research programme PACES which stands for "Programme Marine, Coastal and Polar Systems: Polar Regions and Coasts in a changing Earth System". The PACEs programme aims at identifying the role of processes at high latitudes on past, current and future changes of the Earth system. Research will focus on (1) the changing Arctic and Antarctic, (2) coasts affected and mediated by climatic and anthropogenic drivers, (3) lessons from the Earth’s past, and (4) a synthesis via the integration of the polar perspective into Earth System models. To achieve these goals the programmes rely on existing and will develop new sophisticated modern infrastructure for coastal, ocean and polar research. PACES will provide insights on naturally driven Earth climate fluctuations and their anthropogenic perturbation and consequential effects and thus provides the basic scientific understanding for appropriate political decisions [download PACES: PDF]
PACES has been divided divided into 4 research topics and 2 additional topics on the infrastructure required for reaching the envisaged goals:
Topic 1: The changing Arctic and Antarctic
Jürgen Graeser with red tethered balloon and ozone sonde in Spitsbergen, 2007.
WP 1 : Role of Ice Sheets in the Earth System
WP 2 : Aerosol, water vapour, and ozone feedbacks in the Arctic climate system
WP 3 : Sea ice – atmosphere – ocean – ecosystem interactions in a bi-polarperspective
WP 4 : Antarctic Circumpolar Climate and Ecosystem Study
WP 5 : The role of degrading permafrost and carbon turnover in the coastal, shelf and deep sea environment
WP 6 : Ocean warming and acidification: organisms and their changing role in marine ecosystems
