Das Projekt "Numerische Untersuchungen des Energie- und Wasserzyklus im Ostseeraum" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie durchgeführt. One of the central issues in climate research is to obtain a more in depth understanding of water cycle of the earth. Water in all its forms affects climate in a fundamental way and this in many different ways and at different time scales. Key aspects of the water cycle are still incompletely known and such a basic quantity as the globally, annually averaged precipitation is only known with an accuracy of some 10 percent. An improvement of our understanding of the water cycle is not only a climate issue, but a major challenge to mankind as water is becoming more and more scarce in a world with increasing population and an estimated increased usage of water per capita. The strategy to improve the knowledge of the water and the energy cycle of the climate system has been outlined in the international GEWEX program. The general approach is to identify areas of particular interests and in different climate zones around the world and in these areas undertake detailed investigations. The total run-off from the Baltic Sea is one of the largest into the North Atlantic and the same or larger than Mississippi. It undergoes large variations on annual and decadal timescales or longer. This and many other unique scientific aspects of the meterological, hydrological and oceanographic processes of the Baltic Sea, including potentially severe environmental issues, has lead to the formulation of the Baltic Sea Experiment (BALTEX). BALTEX is a European contribution to GEWEX. The purpose of the present is to reduce the uncertainty of the hydrological and energy cycle for the region, by means of systematic numerical experiments and data-assimilation studies using high resolution atmospheric models. Earlier studies by this group have shown that the different models used must be highly standardized and a major aspect of the project will be to bring the different models together into a joint framework using the same vertical and horizontal resolution. The project will in this way explore, model and quantify the various processes which determine the space and time variability of the energy and water cycle of the Baltic region. Of particular importance will be to couple the high resolution atmospheric models with hydrological models of river run-off and to use such calculations to better validate the water cycle. Another important objective of this project will be to outline an optimized data assimilation and observational network for the BALTEX main experiment, scheduled for the period 2000 to 2001. The increased knowledge will be beneficial for climate impact studies and weather prediction on different time-scales. It will also be beneficial for observational techniques and network designs, water resource assessment and management, as well as providing a necessary modelling framework for environmental aspects.
Das Projekt "Einrichtung eines BALTEX-Sekretariats im GKSS-Forschungszentrum" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht, Institut für Atmosphärenphysik durchgeführt. Das im Rahmen des Globalen Energie- und Wasserkreislauf-Experimentes (GEWEX) etablierte europaeische Regionalprojekt BALTEX (Baltic Sea Experiment) hat die Modellierung und Messung von Wasser- und Energietransporten sowie der fuer diese Transporte relevanten Prozesse im gesamten Wassereinzugsgebiet der Ostsee zum Ziel. In Analogie zu anderen grossen internationalen Projekten wird auch im BALTEX die gesamte Koordination der Forschungsaktivitaeten ueber ein zentrales Sekretariat gesteuert bzw. verfolgt. Das BALTEX-Sekretariat ist beim GKSS-Forschungszentrum eingerichtet. GKSS stellt wesentliche Mittel fuer das Sekretariat zur Verfuegung. Die fuer BALTEX unbedingt erforderliche und gut angelaufene Koordinierung durch das Sekretariat soll weitergefuehrt und finanziell abgesichert werden.