March 23, 2011 | Editor’s note: In February, the newly formed UCAR Climate Council held its first meeting. In this Guest Column, the council’s chair, Jeff Kiehl, and vice chair, Jack Fellows, discuss what inspired the council and its first steps.

With strong interest and support from the UCAR Board of Trustees, a group of staff has begun the process of identifying the diverse threads of UCAR’s activities on climate and climate change. The UCAR Climate Council will provide the means by which we will weave together a tapestry spanning the institution.

Climate change is a multifaceted problem of immense importance to humanity. It brings with it the need to understand global processes contributing to and affecting our warming world. On the regional scale, the implications of changing rainfall and temperature patterns are of extreme importance for local water resources and human health issues. There are also important policy implications for a warming world, and the need to educate and communicate aspects of a changing climate to the various sectors of society.

UCAR/NCAR is at the forefront in studying and understanding many of these issues. Many of our scientists contribute to the scientific reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). We also explore the societal effects of a changing climate, including the policy needs to address the problem. And our educators have developed a range of activities to transfer science knowledge to educational institutions ranging from K–12 schools to universities.

Although our activities touch upon the many different threads of climate change, there has been no focused way for scientists, educators, communicators, and others to share information and learn about each other’s efforts. Given the multi-dimensional complexity of our changing climate and UCAR/NCAR’s many activities, it is time to investigate how these threads can be woven into a tapestry that contains a more holistic view of this complex problem.

Jeff Kiehl (top) and Jack Fellows. 

The charge to the Climate Council is to help coordinate climate-related science, policy, service, education, advocacy, communication, and outreach activities across all of UCAR/NCAR, and to develop a more strategic approach to the organization’s climate activities. The council will meet bimonthly to share information about individual programs, funding possibilities, and opportunities for collaboration, and to raise issues upon which a consensus needs to be developed, including where more emphasis might be placed in our climate portfolio. The council will report its activities periodically to the President’s Council, whose meeting notes appear in Staff Notes Daily.

The current membership of the council is:

• Jeff Kiehl (NESL/CGD), chair
• Jack Fellows (UCAR), vice chair
• Peter Backlund (NCAR Research Relations)
• Lawrence Buja (NESL/CGD)
• Chris Davis (NESL/MMM)
• Susan Foster (EO)
• Greg Holland (NESL)
• Jim Hurrell (NESL/CGD)
• Linda Mearns (CISL/IMAGe)
• Jerry Meehl (NESL/CGD)
• Doug Nychka (CISL)
• Raj Pandya (EO)
• Cindy Schmidt (OGA)
• Tim Spangler (COMET)
• Lucy Warner (Communications)

At the council’s first meeting, held in February, members discussed their climate activities and interests in potential collaborations. It was clear from this meeting there are a number of areas where connections across the institution will enhance climate science at UCAR and within the greater community.

We hope the Climate Council will provide a means to create a more holistic approach to climate research at UCAR. Given the support of UCAR/NCAR management, the Board of Trustees, and members of the Climate Council, we are off to a promising start in creating a new tapestry of understanding.

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