climate / air

Alpine Forschungsstelle im Universitätszentrum Obergurgl

The Atlas of Our Changing Environment publications use a combination of ground photographs, current and historical satellite images, and narrative based on extensive scientific evidence to illustrate how humans have altered their surroundings and continue to make observable and measurable changes to the global environment. These publications underscore the importance of developing, harnessing and sharing technologies that help provide deeper understanding of the dynamics of environmental change. The words and pictures within the publications also serve as a vivid reminder that this planet is our only current home, and that sound policy decisions and positive actions by societies and individuals are needed to sustain the Earth and the well-being of its inhabitants.

Climatic variations and changes, extreme weather anomalies and nature-induced disasters must be interpreted within a longer-term context. With Euro-Climhist, evidence on weather and climate for Switzerland between 1550 and 1999 is made accessible through a user-friendly web search.

A world-wide network to study global change processes in mountains has been set up since October 2003. Based on the experience of over 20 mountain biosphere reserve managers and the expertise of over 300 scientists from all continents, a Research Strategy has been worked out to:
- detect signals of global change in mountains
- identify the consequences of global change
- suggest responses at local and regional scales

Green infrastructure has been defined in North West England as the region's life support system – the network of natural environmental components and green and blue spaces that lie within and between our cities, towns and villages and provide multiple social, economic and environmental benefits.

The HABIT-CHANGE project is implemented within the INTERREG IV B CENTRAL EUROPE programme. It not only stands for the expected habitat changes caused by climate change but also for the necessary adaptation of our own habits in close connection to this. Investigation regions of HABIT-CHANGE cover protected areas from all over Central and Eastern Europe with a focus on wetlands, forests, grasslands and alpine areas, including two areas in the Alps. The habitat types of these regions and their composition seem to be very vulnerable regarding climate change. Main aims of the project are to evaluate, enhance and adapt existing management and conservation strategies in protected areas to pro-actively respond on likely influences of climate change as a threat to habitat integrity and diversity.

Climate change might have negative effects on Alpine forests. It could alter their growth and health, increase pests and diseases diffusion and modify tree species distribution. These negative effects can be reflected on the multiple functions of forests such as protection against avalanches, flooding, ground slides, protection of water, settlements, traffic and of course with heavy ecological, economic and social consequences.

The MANFRED project, aimed at defining management strategies to adapt Alpine Space forests to climate change risks, has two main objectives:

* protection and preservation of forest ecosystems,
* effective forests management by means of knowledge-based adaptive strategies.

Moving Forward to a Sustainable Energy Future with the 2000 Watt Society

This project surveys and gathers the knowledge available in Switzerland on the actual and future impacts of climate change in the country.
This inventory is a specific mandate given by the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research on Climate (NCCR Climate), financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), and maintained with the support of the Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN).

The Climate Media Factory is an interdisciplinary media lab initiated by the Film and Television University "Konrad Wolf" and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Climate scientists, authors, producers and media scholars work together to develop scientifically sound and entertaining climate media to enable informed decisions in the climate debate.