Energy balance closure for the LITFASS-2003 experiment

In the first part, this paper synthesises the main results from a series of previous studies on the closure of the local energy balance at low-vegetation sites during the LITFASS-2003 experiment. A residual of up to 25% of the available energy has been found which cannot be fully explained either by the measurement uncertainty of the single components of the surface energy balance or by the length of the flux-averaging period. In the second part, secondary circulations due to heterogeneities in the surface characteristics (roughness, thermal and moisture properties) are discussed as a possible cause for the observed energy balance non-closure. This hypothesis seems to be supported from the fluxes derived from area-averaging measurement techniques (scintillometers, aircraft)

L'évolution du climat prévue par les modèles en Franche-Comté

L'évolution du climat au cours des décennies à venir repose sur des simulations numériques fort complexes. Elles peuvent sans doute être contestées dans le détail mais toutes les modélisations effectuées à ce jour confirment une modification du climat associée à une hausse inéluctable des températures. Une étude du climat commandée à Météo-France (qui a exploité les résultats du modèle ARPEGE-Climat) pour le compte du Conseil économique social et environnemental (cese) de Franche-Comté, n'échappe pas à la règle : le climat de la Franche-Comté se réchauffera tandis que les précipitations, dont l'évolution est plus délicate à établir, marquent une légère baisse. Nous donnons ici quelques uns des traits les plus marquants de cette évolution

The European Carbon Market in Action: Lessons from the First Trading Period Interim Report

Abstract and PDF report are also available on the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://globalchange.mit.edu/).The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is the largest greenhouse gas market ever established. The European Union is leading the world's first effort to mobilize market forces to tackle climate change. A precise analysis of the EU ETS's performance is essential to its success, as well as to that of future trading programs. The research program "The European Carbon Market in Action: Lessons from the First Trading Period," aims to provide such an analysis. It was launched at the end of 2006 by an international team led by Frank Convery, Christian De Perthuis and Denny Ellerman. This interim report presents the researchers' findings to date. It was prepared after the research program's second workshop, held in Washington DC in January 2008. The first workshop was held in Paris in April 2007. Two additional workshops will be held in Prague in June 2008 and in Paris in September 2008. The researchers' complete analysis will be published at the beginning of 2009.The research program “The European Carbon Market in Action: Lessons from the First Trading Period” has been made possible thanks to the support of: Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, BlueNext, EDF, Euronext, Orbeo, Suez, Total, Veolia

L'évolution climatique des villes européennes

La méthode des analogues climatiques consiste à déterminer un endroit doté aujourd'hui d'un climat comparable à celui que l'on prédit à la fin du siècle. Ce travail représente ainsi ce que signifie le changement climatique pour Paris et 8 autres grandes villes européennes. Dans le scénario du Hadley Centre, le climat de Paris entre 2070 et 2100 ressemble fortement au climat actuel de Badajoz, près de Cordoue : Capitale de l'Estremadure, dans le sud-ouest de l'Espagne, caractérisé par des étés brûlants et arides . Pour tenir compte des incertitudes, cet article compare les résultats de trois des principaux modèles climatiques européens. Du climat de Badajoz à celui des pays Baltes en passant par Rome, l'éventail des futurs possibles pour Paris est encore très ouvert

CubeSat Measures World's First Ice Cloud Map to Support Climate Research

Virginia Diodes, Inc. received NASA SBIR Awards to fund research and development for a lesser developed region of the electromagnetic spectrumterahertz waves. Their work led to funding from NASA ESTO, and the resulting CubeSat (named IceCube) captured the worlds first ice cloud map, which will contribute to our understanding of Earths climat

The SASSCAL contribution to climate observation, climate data management and data rescue in Southern Africa

A major task of the newly established "Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management" (SASSCAL; www.sasscal.org) and its partners is to provide science-based environmental information and knowledge which includes the provision of consistent and reliable climate data for Southern Africa. Hence, SASSCAL, in close cooperation with the national weather authorities of Angola, Botswana, Germany and Zambia as well as partner institutions in Namibia and South Africa, supports the extension of the regional meteorological observation network and the improvement of the climate archives at national level. With the ongoing rehabilitation of existing weather stations and the new installation of fully automated weather stations (AWS), altogether 105 AWS currently provide a set of climate variables at 15, 30 and 60 min intervals respectively. These records are made available through the SASSCAL WeatherNet, an online platform providing near-real time data as well as various statistics and graphics, all in open access. This effort is complemented by the harmonization and improvement of climate data management concepts at the national weather authorities, capacity building activities and an extension of the data bases with historical climate data which are still available from different sources. These activities are performed through cooperation between regional and German institutions and will provide important information for climate service related activities