The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Homepage Research Council of Norway Homepage Natural Environment Research Council Homepage

Web Portal Home

Joint International call : text of the AO
Joint International call:full bids results

Rapid climate change research in The Netherlands



The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has joined the UK and Norway in a joint initiative for funding research related to the THC and rapid climate change in the North Atlantic region, which is linked to the UK programme RAPID.

Rationale and scope of RAPID
The ocean circulation (Thermohaline circulation, THC) in the North Atlantic plays a key role in the coupled ocean-atmosphere system which results in the present, relatively warm climate of western Europe. The Gulf Stream conveys warm surface water to high latitudes, where by cooling and high salinity it turns into deep water. There are indications that the system can change drastically on a time scale of one or two decades. This would have far-reaching consequences for the climate in Europe and northern America as well.

Against the background of global climate change, the RAPID programme is aimed at the variability of this system and its sensitivity for changes in external forcing like wind-climate, temperature, atmospheric pressure, inflow of fresh water. The resulting changes in climate in the North Atlantic area are part of the programme as well, but not the impact of climate change.

A detailed outline is presented in the UK Rapid Climate Change Science Plan and Implementation Plan.

A prime activity in RAPID is monitoring of physical parameters in the North Atlantic. NERC and NSF (USA) have developed an extensive "Monitoring the Meridional Overturning Circulation" programme. In addition to ocean monitoring, modelling of ocean dynamics, ocean-atmosphere coupling and impacts on climate form part of RAPID, as does paleo-climatology.

Collaboration UK, Norway, The Netherlands

Applicants for the new round of proposals should take notice of previously funded research and monitoring activities in the framework of RAPID, NOClim and the Norwegian Climate and Climate Change (KlimaProg) programme.

Further information about the objectives and strategic aims of NWO can be found on the NWO Earth and Life Sciences (NWO-ALW) web site, where useful documents are available to be downloaded. Among these, are:

Main Contacts:

Any queries about NWO and NWO Earth and Life Sciences research should be addressed to:

Dr. Hans de Boois
Phone: + 31 70 3440752
E-mail: boois@nwo.nl.