Climate extremes

20 April 2023 15:00-16:30 CEST

Climate extremes and impacts on the terrestrial carbon-cycle and fires

Join AIMES, the Earth Commission, Future Earth, and the WCRP Safe Landing Climates Lighthouse Activity for a webinar on climate extremes and impacts as part of a series that aims to advance the knowledge about tipping points, irreversibility, and abrupt changes in the Earth system.

Presentations

Climate risks from extremes events to the land carbon cycle: detection, attribution and uncertainties - Ana Bastos (Max Planck Institute)
Climate - fire interactions around the world; not all fires are equal - Guido van der Werf (Vrije University Amsterdam)
Q&A/ Discussion

Moderated by Pierre Friedlingstein (University of Exeter).

The recording is available below.

Back to series overview.

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Speakers

Dr. Ana Bastos
Max Planck Institute

Ana Bastos leads the Climate-ecosystem-disturbance interactions group at the Department of Biogeochemical Integration (Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry). She obtained her PhD in Geophysical and Geoinformation Science by the University of Lisbon in 2015. Her overarching scientific goal is to better understand inter-annual to long-term variability in the global carbon-cycle. To do this, her research bridges the disciplines of atmospheric science, ecology and biogeochemistry, from both observation-based and modelling perspectives. Specific topics include land-atmosphere interactions, the role of internal climate variability and ocean-atmosphere-land teleconnections in controlling carbon-cycle dynamics, the impacts of climate extremes on ecosystem functioning and ecosystem disturbance regimes.

She is currently co-leading the “REgional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes”, phase 2 (RECCAP-2) project, an activity of the Global Carbon Project aimed at improving our ability to constrain regional to national carbon budgets to inform the global stocktake process of the Paris Agreement. In 2022, she received the Early Career Scientist Award by the Biogeosciences Division of the European Geosciences Union and was granted an ERC Starting Grant to advance understanding about forest vulnerability to compound extremes under climate change.

Dr. Guido van der Werf
Vrije University Amsterdam

Guido van der Werf received his MSc. (2001) and PhD (2006) from the Vrije Universiteit, the latter based on a 3 year internship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He received fellowships from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) in 2006 (Veni) and 2014 (Vici) and a starting grant from the European Research Council (ERC) in 2011. Together with colleagues in the U.S. he developed the Global Fire Emissions Database and he is since 2014 amongst the 1% most frequently cited Earth scientists.

Van der Werf aims to understand how the global carbon cycle interacts with the climate system. His group focuses specifically on deforestation and forest fires. Combining biogeochemical modeling, satellite data, and atmospheric modeling enables them to quantify fire and deforestation emissions, and these are the basis for exploring their response to and influence on climatic, demographic, and socio-economical changes. In addition, they use satellite data to test ecological hypotheses over large scales.

Van der Werf teaches the Global Change course for Bachelor students Earth Sciences and Earth and Economics students, and coordinates the Master's course Global Biogeochemical Cycles for Earth Sciences students

All you need to know

This event is part of a series of online discussions aims to advance the knowledge about tipping elements, irreversibility, and abrupt changes in the Earth system. It supports efforts to increase consistency in treatment of tipping elements in the scientific community, develop a research agenda, and design joint experiments and ideas for a Tipping Element Model Intercomparison Project (TipMip).

This discussion series is a joint activity of the Analysis, Integration, and Modeling of the Earth System (AIMES) global research project of Future Earth, the Earth Commission Working Group 1 Earth and Human Systems Intercomparison Modelling Project (EHSMIP) under the Global Commons Alliance and the Safe Landing Climates Lighthouse Activity of World Climate Research Program (WCRP).

Organized by

Analysis, Integration, and Modeling of the Earth System (AIMES)

The Analysis, Integration, and Modeling of the Earth System (AIMES) project is an international network of Earth system scientists and scholars that seek to develop innovative, interdisciplinary ways to understand the complexity of the natural world and its interactions with human activities. AIMES is a global research project of Future Earth.

Earth Commission

The Earth Commission is a major scientific assessment, hosted by Future Earth, to define a safe and just corridor for people and planet. The Commission will inform the creation of science-based targets, the “1.5-degree equivalents”, to help maintain and protect critical global commons – our shared climate, land, biodiversity, freshwater, atmosphere and oceans. The Earth Commission is an international team of leading natural and social scientists and five working groups of additional experts. It forms the scientific cornerstone of the Global Commons Alliance.

Future Earth

Future Earth is a global network of scientists, researchers, and innovators collaborating for a more sustainable planet. Future Earth initiates and supports international collaboration between researchers and stakeholders to identify and generate the integrated knowledge needed for successful transformations towards societies that provide good and fair lives for all within a stable and resilient Earth system. Future Earth is the host of the Earth Commission.

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)is an international research institute that advances systems analysis and applies its research methods to identify policy solutions to reduce human footprints, enhance the resilience of natural and socioeconomic systems, and help achieve the sustainable development goals.

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) is advancing the frontier of integrated research for global sustainability, and for a safe and just climate future. A member of the Leibniz Association, the institute is based in Potsdam, Brandenburg and connected with the global scientific community. Drawing on excellent research, PIK provides relevant scientific advice for policy decision-making. The institute’s international staff of about 400 is led by a committed interdisciplinary team of Directors.

University of Exeter, Global Systems Institute

The Global Systems Institute (GSI) is thought-leading in understanding global changes, solving global challenges and helping create a flourishing future world together, through transformative research, education and impact. GSI's aim is to work with others to secure a flourishing future for humanity as an integral part of a life-sustaining Earth system. GSI's aim to be a ‘go to’ place for global change researchers from around the world, bringing them together with industry, policymakers, students and other stakeholders to tackle shared problems, and acting as a catalyst that enables translation of this research into applications that deliver tangible and sustainable social and ecological benefit.

WCRP Safe Landing Climates Lighthouse Activity.

The Safe Landing Climates Lighthouse Activity is an exploration of the routes to “safe landing” spaces for human and natural systems. It will explore future pathways that avoid dangerous climate change while at the same time contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those of climate action, zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, good health and well-being, affordable and clean energy, and healthy ecosystems above and below water. The relevant time scale is multi-decadal to millennial.

World Climate Research Programme

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) leads the way in addressing frontier scientific questions related to the coupled climate system — questions that are too large and too complex to be tackled by a single nation, agency or scientific discipline. Through international science coordination and partnerships, WCRP contributes to advancing our understanding of the multi-scale dynamic interactions between natural and social systems that affect climate.