CliSAP

Cluster of Excellence "Integrated Climate System Analysis and Prediction"

Prof. Dr. Beate M.W. Ratter, Vera Köpsel, Dr. Arnd Holdschlag
Duration: 2007 - 2017

Cluster of Excellence "Integrated Climate System Analysis and Prediction" (CliSAP) at Universität Hamburg is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Further participating institutions are the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (Centre for Materials and Coastal Research, HZG), and the German Climate Computing Center (DKRZ). At CliSAP, natural sciences, economics, and humanities form an alliance. All scientists collaborate closely in tracking and analyzing natural versus human-induced climate changes.

Research topic A3:  Climate Sensitivity and Sea Level:  Sea level variability and change are topics of vital concern to coastal populations, and require a variety of interdisciplinary research efforts. Sea level evolves in response to changes in the Earth’s heat budget and the hydrological cycle, including the addition of freshwater from melting land ice. We investigate the causes and consequences of global and regional changes in sea level on time scales from decades to centuries, and determine the impact of climate sensitivity on sea level changes and the additional effects of the solid earth and ice processes.

Research topic C3: “Climate change, perception and communication” analyzes the mental models on climate change held by individual actors and compares them across cultures and political boundaries. It deals with the means and practices of the mediated communication process and the dynamics of public discourses on climate change in different culturally embedded societies.