Increasing the collaborative effort between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Institute of Marine Research

Climate change is expected to have strong consequences for the physical environment of the North Atlantic Ocean. Many of the expected physical changes affect the biological productivity of the ocean with consequences for higher trophic levels like those that make up commercial fisheries. The scale and magnitude of climate change suggests that international research collaboration is our best way forward for understanding possible consequences of climate change and how these changes will affect human well- being. Greater exchange of research ideas and resources can speed-up our research to elucidate the complex suite of responses of marine ecosystems to climate change. This proposal seeks financial support for Trond Kristiansen to work for IMR as a visiti ng scientist at the headquarters of NOAA in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. Having Trond Kristiansen work from NOAA will allow for continuous communication between IMR and NOAA aimed at initiating new collaborations, proposals, research ideas, and publicat ions. Trond Kristiansen will take the lead in connecting researchers within the climate and fisheries divisions from NOAA and IMR. As part of his work, Trond Kristiansen will organize a workshop for researchers from NOAA and IMR to be held in Iceland fol lowing the ICES Annual Science Conference in 2013. In addition, Trond Kristiansen will organize a session at the ICES ASC on `climate change and the effects on biological productivity with a focus on fisheries recruitment`. Several additional deliverable s are detailed in the proposal, all aimed at increasing the international visibility of IMR within climate research in the US. The research results will be presented as publications in peer-review journals.