Advanced Climate Education and Research

Klimaendringene blir i økende grad referert til som den største utfordringen menneskeheten står overfor. Den tidligere presidenten i USA, Barack Obama uttalt at "ingen utfordring utgjør en større trussel mot vår fremtid og fremtidige generasjoner enn klimaendringer". Informert beslutninger som berører storsamfunnet avhenger av at ny og pålitelig kunnskap om de problemene som forårsakes av klimaendringer skapes og tas i bruk. Prosjektet Advanced Climate Education and Research (ACER) skal opprettholde, og videreutvikle samarbeid om klimaforskning og utdanning i verdensklasse. Vi vil bidra til å utdanne og motivere unge talentfulle forskerspirer fra Norge og resten av verden. Dette vil være av stor nytteverdi, og kanskje spesielt for klimavitenskapen som håndterer utfordringer som vil være gjeldende for både nåværende og kommende generasjoner.

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The Advanced Climate Education and Research project (ACER) will strengthen and further develop world-class climate research and education in Norway. This will be achieved by expanding cooperation between universities and institutions at the international forefront. This specifically entails student and faculty exchanges, joint courses, research projects and summer schools. The key US and Canadian partners in ACER are Harvard University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and McGill University. The Institute of Climate Physics in South Korea is an affiliated partner. The Bjerknes Centre at the University of Bergen and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University will run ACER jointly. ACER will: Increased transatlantic mobility of master students, an enhanced and deeper understanding of central climate issues of high-relevance through an annual summer school (the Advanced Climate Dynamics Courses; ACDC) and joint field course, networking opportunities for young talents, initiation of new collaborative efforts that will lead to submission of scientific papers and proposals, and develop joint courses and special sessions targeting three Sustainable Development Goals that relate to climate awareness and action. ACER highlights transatlantic collaborative research and education in the climate sciences, including: (1) Glacier- and flood reconstructions across multiple time scales, (2) Multidecadal climate variability and North Atlantic ocean dynamics, (3) Teleconnections and ENSO dynamics, (4) Orbital forcing of climate and the dynamics of glacial cycles, (5) Ice-ocean interactions and sea level change, (6) Integrating observational and proxy data with dynamical models, and (7) Abrupt climate change and sea ice instabilities.