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May 3-4, 2007 "NEESPI Summit", University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
The Summit brought together the representatives of the Earth System Science
Partnership Programs and Projects, members of the NEESPI Steering and Coordinating Committee,
and program managers and representatives from contributing organizations who
have vested interests in Northern Eurasia climatic and environmental studies.
Prior to the Summit (on May 2, 2007), a joint NEESPI-iLEAPS Scientific Symposium on ”Research in
Northern Eurasia on Land-Atmosphere Interactions, Water and Biogeochemical
Cycles” was held at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Symposium and Summit Programs.
After testing, a new NEESPI data access portal has been launched on April 2, 2007.
The GES DISC NEESPI portal is a multi-sensor, online, easy access data archive and distribution system to provide advanced data management capabilities in support of the NEESPI scientific objectives. Its tools include data analysis and visualization, data mining and other techniques for better science data usage.
The portal integrates remote sensing data from MODIS, AVHRR, and other instruments on board polar-orbiting satellites, with customized data products from climatology data sets and models into a single “one-stop-shopping” interdisciplinary NEESPI Data Center for Remote Sensing Products.
Visit the portal.
In September 2006, the IGBP Science Steering Committee granted NEESPI the
status of the IGBP External Project.
Mega-project "Siberia Integrated Regional Study" joined NEESPI in autumn 2006. More details
NEESPI Data and Publication Policies. NEESPI Data and Publication Policies
have been discussed and adopted at the 1st NEESPI Science Team Meeting (February 22-24, 2006, IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria). view
February
22-24, 2006 First NEESPI Science Team Meeting, IIASA,
Laxenburg, Austria.
A
meeting for the NEESPI Science Advisory Panel, as well as a programmatic
meeting of the representatives of the contributing organizations was held in conjunction with the first NEESPI Science Team meeting. More
Details
January
20-21, 2006 Third iLEAPS Science Steering Committee (SSC) Meeting, Boulder,
Colorado, USA.
At the Meeting,
the NEESPI status was presented by the NEESPI Project Scientist view presentation
and endorsed by the SSC view endorsement
Thaw
Will Speed Change. "The Guardian" (London), August 11, 2005. By Ian Sample
Siberia's peatbogs have been churning out methane for 11,000 years but
billions of tonnes of the gas has remained locked within the permafrost
that covers it. Because the permafrost is coated in snow and ice, it reflects
sunlight before it can be warmed up. But in recent decades, as the temperature
of the globe has risen, the vast expanse of western Siberia has begun
a slow thaw.
The melting of the permafrost is more than a mere indication of climate
change. It is an example of a finely balanced environmental system that
when upset by global warming can trigger a dramatic reaction that drives
global temperatures up further.
If the permafrost thaws and the meltwater drains away, the bogs will dry out, leaving the methane to oxidise into carbon dioxide and escape into the atmosphere.
If the bogs stay wet, as is the case for most in the region, the gas will bubble up as methane. Because methane can absorb more heat than carbon dioxide, it is a far more potent greenhouse gas and contributes more to global warming. Some scientists estimate that the vast west Siberian peatbog holds around 70bn tonnes of methane.
Climate scientists fear that as the Siberian permafrost and similar "tipping points" around the world are triggered by warming, they will cause knock-on effects that make temperatures around the world rise faster and faster, leading to runaway global warming that could have devastating consequences for the world's economy and environment.
Scientists only identified such delicate, but potentially devastating, environmental systems in the past five years or so and because current models do not take them into account, it is highly likely that estimates of future warming will have to be revised upwards.
" more details on the Environmental News page.
Updated: November, 2007