Baltic Earth, working Group on Outreach and Communication

I am suggesting two activities for our working group. Obviously, this working group may pursue a broad range of activities, and my suggestion should not limit anybodies enthusiams to launch other activities.

Newsletter #1 of Baltic Earth

The first newsletter of the renewed BALTEX programme, now named Baltic Earth, has been published.

Cyclone 5--7 December 2013 (Xaver, Bodil) was also an event in the western Baltic Sea - an analysis

Das Seewetteramt Hamburg des Deutschen Wetterdienstes  hat eine Analyse des Orkantiefs am 5-7 Dezember 2013 ausgearbeitet. Der Sturm hiess in Deutschland Xaver, in Dänemark Bodil.

Orkantief XAVER über Nordeuropa vom 5. bis 7. Dezember 2013Dr. Thomas Deutschländer, Karsten Friedrich, Dr. Susanne Haeseler, Christiana Lefebvre; Stand: 09. Dezember 2013

What do interested audiences think about climate change, the role of science and the Baltic Sea?

When discussing issues related to climate change, and in particular the process and result of BACC, I have recently used our “Turning Point” technology (for a voting pad, see Figure) to map the opinions among the audience. This system allows showing questions on the screen, and the participants respond by pressing a number of the pad – the frequency is determined by software on the laptop, and when the voting is complete, the result is shown on the screen – visible for everybody. The voting itself is really anonymous, as nobody can really see which number a neighbor is pressing.

The motive for doing this is two-fold, one to allow the audience to note that there are indeed different opinions in the room – the response is usually very positive – and that it may give us Baltic Earthers an extra understanding what our stakeholder perceive and believe. Obviously, these surveys do not provide a representative estimate of opinions, but a mere snapshots of very different groups. I my case, these groups have all in common, not only that they are interested in climate and Baltic sea, but they also join a presentation by Hans von Storch.

The 17th biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting will be held 23 - 28 February in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Joint Session #2 (numbers may change) will be of interest in particular for the BALTEX and Baltic Earth community: Understanding Coupled Human-Natural Systems: Multi-disciplinary Approaches for Addressing Sustainability of the Marine Environment. For details refer to preliminary announcement of session. Note deadline for submission of abstracts: 4. October 2013

Baltic Earth is launched!

Baltic Earth is the name of the programme which is to succeed BALTEX. The continuity in basic research fields, structure (secretariat, conferences, publications) and the network (people and institutions) is symbolised by the clearly recognizable logo, being very similar to the BALTEX logo, but still distictly different.

Baltic Earth stands for the vision to achieve an improved Earth system understanding of the Baltic Sea region. This means that the research disciplines of BALTEX continue to be relevant, but a more holistic view of the Earth system encompassing processes in the atmosphere, on land and in the sea as well as in the antroposphere shall gain in importance in Baltic Earth relative to BALTEX. Specific grand research challenges are currently being formulated which represent interdisciplinary research questions to be tackled by the new programme in the coming years. A major means will be scientific assessments of particluar research topics by expert groups, similar to the BACC approach, which shall help to identify gaps and inconsistencies in the current knowledge.

A detailed presentation of Baltic Earth will be available shortly on the BALTEX and of course on the new Baltic Earth website (in preparation)!

Find news and infos on the 7th Study Conference on BALTEX at www.baltex-research.eu.

Markus Meier (SMHI), Marcus Reckermann (International BALTEX Secretariat) and Anna Rutgersson (Uppsala University) uncover the new logo in the presence of The King of Sweden.

7th Study Conference on BALTEX on Öland honoured by H. M. King Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden

We are very pleased to announce that H. M. King Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, will honour the 7th Study Conference on BALTEX with his presence during the Conference Opening on Monday 10 June 2013.

The Registration Deadline for the Conference which will take place in Borgholm, Island of Öland, Sweden on 10-14 June 2013, has been extended to 7 May 2013.

Please find the programme and all information concerning the Conference here:
www.baltex-research.eu/oland2013/

We hope to see you on Öland!

7th Study Conference on BALTEX - Programme available now

The programme for the 7th and final BALTEX Conference on the Swedish Baltic Sea island of Öland is now available online at  

http://www.baltex-research.eu/oland2013/material/BALTEX2013_Conf_Prog_Draft_24Apr.pdf

Be sure to check the conference website regularly for news and updates!  

www.baltex-research.eu/oland2013

Ocean Science Meeting in February 2014 - BALTEX session submitted

AGU/ASLO and TOS inform that

The biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting, co-sponsored by AGU, ASLO, and TOS will be held at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu on February 23-28, 2014. Increasing evidence of multiple human impacts on the oceans makes this is a critical time for the largest international assembly of ocean scientists, engineers, students, educators, policy makers, and other stake holders to gather and share their results on research, application of research, and education.

As the call for proposals of sessions reached us (Hans von Storch and Anders Omstedt) just hours before deadline, we submitted a proposal "The future of the Baltic Sea" without further disucssion within the BALTEX group. The proposal goes with this announcement

The Baltic Sea is an marginal sea under many pressures, originating from global climate change, import of alien species, eutrophication and the release of pollutants, dumped ammunition, overfishing and various engineering modifications, including dynamic development in coastal societies, hydro and nuclear power plants, massive wind farming and various bridge and tunnel crossings in the sounds to the open ocean. At the same time, the Baltic Sea is used for very many different purposes, from previous military use, to intense agriculture, tourism and natural preservation. The Baltic Sea has went through massive political development during last decades and new trust between the different countries have been possible to develop demonstrated by 20 years research within the BALTEX program, the HELCOM intergovermental work and the joint financing research program BONUS.
We want to discuss recent developments and design future scenarios. Strategies for gaining scientific underpinning of political decision processes, such as the BACC assessment of knowledge about climate, climate impact and climate change, and HELCOM action plans will be reviewed.

We now hope that the proposal will be accepted (which is uncertain), and that many of us will see each other in February next year in Honolulu.

7th Study Conference on BALTEX

EXTENDED ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 11 March
Conference website and Call for Papers click here...

Just a reminder:

7^th Study Conference on BALTEX

Changes in Energy, Water and Matter Cycles - 20 Years of BALTEX Research
Building Regional Earth System Knowledge - A future programme for the Baltic Sea region

Borgholm, Öland, Sweden
10-14 June 2013

Obviously a conference, were all friends of scientific analysis of the Baltic Sea regional environment should show up. However, the deadline for submission of abstracts is tomorrow!Submission is easy, just go to http://www.baltex-research.eu/oland2013/programme.html

BALTEX is ending - An new programme is starting

At the 7th Study Conference on BALTEX, to be held on the beautiful Swedish island of Öland, 10-14 June (the week before mid-summer!), BALTEX (the mother of BACC) will be officially terminated after 20 years and two successful research phases. At that conference, the new programme will be presented and also given a name and a new logo. For a first glimpse and taste of the new programme, read the new BALTEX Newsletter. It may be interesting for BACCers to see that the assessment idea sensu BACC is intended to be taken up in the new programme.

A call for papers for the Öland Conference is still open until 28 February.

HELCOM Workshop discusses recent findings and options to cope with climate change

A HELCOM Workshop on Climate Change was organized on 5 and 6 February 2013 in Warnemünde, Germany, in conjunction with BALTEX. The most recent climate change findings were presented by BACC II authors and other experts. Scientists and stakeholders were present to discuss these results and possible options to cope with climate change and its impacts on the Baltic Sea ecosystem.

A podium discussion with scientists and stakeholders and expert breakout discussion rounds elaborated a number of proposals. Presentations given at the workshop can be downloaded from the HELCOM website here... The conclusion document together with the agenda and a list of participants can be directly downloaded here....