Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) will support 2 jointly selected projects in the “Climate Predictability and Inter-Regional Linkages” Collaborative Research Action (CRA)*1, within the framework of the Belmont Forum*2 International Opportunities Fund. The following projects were selected for funding:
1. The potential of seasonal-to-decadal-scale inter-regional linkages to advance climate predictions (InterDec) will be led by Hisashi Nakamura (RCAST, The University of Tokyo, Vice Director/Professor) on the Japanese side. Other Principal investigators in the international project are Danieta Matei (Scientific Researcher, Ocean in the Earth System, Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, Germany), Noel Keenlyside (Professor, Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, Norway), Torben Koenigk (Research Leader, Rossby Centre, Sveriges Meteorologiska och Hydrologiska Institute, Sweden), Frederic Vitart (Principal Scientist, European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts, United Kingdom) and Tao Wang (Associate Professor, Nansen-Zhu Center, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, China).
This international research project aims to deepen understanding for mechanisms for seasonal to decadal-scale climate variability at regional scale toward its improvement of prediction skills by focusing on atmospheric and oceanic teleconnections between distant regions that potentially affect regional weather extremes.
2. Globally Observed Teleconnections and their role and representation in Hierarchies of Atmospheric Models (GOTHAM) will be led by Shingo Watanabe (Department of Seamless Environmental Prediction Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Director) on the Japanese side. Other Principal Investigators in the international project are Lesley Gray (Professor, University of Oxford and National Center for Atmospheric Science, United Kindom), Bo Wu (Associate Researcher, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, China), Francôis Lott (Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, France), Dim Coumou (Senior Scientist, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany) and Krishnan Raghavan (Executive Director, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, India).
This project represents an ambitious research program to gain robust, relevant and transferable knowledge of past and present day patterns and trends of regional climate extremes and variability of vulnerable areas identified by the IPCC, including the tropics and high-latitudes.
A total of 31 proposals were submitted in response to the call, which was jointly conducted by funding agencies from Belmont Forum participating countries. The proposals were evaluated by a Panel of Experts nominated from the countries participating in the joint call, including Japan. Based on that evaluation, the participating funding agencies jointly selected projects for funding, considering the excellence of the research plan and expected effectiveness of the collaboration. Research funding of the projects will begin in July 2016 and will continue for about 4 years.
- *1 Collaborative Research Action (CRA):
- Collaborative Research Actions (CRAs) are Belmont Forum activities, often including a multilateral joint call for proposals, which are set in parallel in various research fields each year. Joint calls are conducted by funding agencies from participating countries and the proposals received are jointly evaluated. Researchers involved in selected projects are supported by the participating funding agencies from their respective countries.
- *2 Belmont Forum:
- The Belmont Forum (established in 2009) is a group of the world’s major and emerging funders of global environmental change research and international science councils. It aims to accelerate delivery of the environmental research needed to remove critical barriers to sustainability by aligning and mobilizing international resources.
Appendices
Contact
Yukihiro Hisanaga (Mr.)
Department of International Affairs, JST
K’s Gobancho, 7 Gobancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076
Tel: +81-3-5214-7375 Fax: +81-3-5214-7379
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