InterAmerican Institute for Global Change Research Data and Information System

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Inter-American Institute for Global Change
Research Data and Information System IAI/DIS
Inter American Workshop on Environmental Data
Access 3-6 March 2004, Campinas, Brazil
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Global Change

• Changes in the global environment (including
  alterations in the climate, land productivity,
  oceans or other water resources, atmospheric
  chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter
  the capacity of the earth to sustain life.

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INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE
RESEARCH

• Signatory and Ratifying Countries
• (Agreement entered into force March 11, 1994)
• 1. Argentina 16. Perú
• 2. Bolivia 17. Estados Unidos
• 3. Brasil 18. Uruguay
• 4. Canadá 19. Venezuela
• 5. Chile
• 6. Colombia
• 7. Costa Rica
• 8. Cuba
• 9. República Dominicana
• 10. Ecuador
• 11. Guatemala
• 12. Jamaica
• 13. México
• 14. Panamá

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IAI Main Goals

• Conduct and promote research on global change
  and their interaction with human activities
  Agreement Art.II a) to e), g), h)
• Improve public awareness and serve as an
  effective interface between science and the
  governmental policy process Agreement Art II,
  f)

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IAI framework
Constituent bodies CoP, EC, SAC,
Directorate Programmatic framework Science
agenda Structure Distributed network of
national and international research and
policy institutions
Activities Science program and funded
research, CRN, Grants Training and
education Support to workshops, conferences and
seminars Surveys (HD of GC) Data and
Information System (DIS) Newsletter Listserver
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IAI SCIENTIFIC AGENDA

• Understanding Climate Change and Variability in
  the Americas 
• Comparative Studies of Ecosystem, Biodiversity,
  Land Use and Cover, and Water Resources in the
  Americas
• Understanding Global Change Modulations of the
  Composition of the Atmosphere, Oceans and Fresh
  Waters
• Understanding the Human Dimensions and Policy
  Implications of Global Change, Climate
  Variability and Land Use

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• GEC deals with the Earth system in toto
• Ecosphere the human factor
• Ecosphere
• Human factor

atmosphere cryosphere hydrosphere lithosphere bios
phere anthroposphere human decisions and
actions
Anthropocene era
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Global change

• Involve a large and wide spectrum of issues
• Multifaceted
• Inter-, Intra- trans-disciplinary
  (cross-cutting)
• Multi scales (time space)
• Required interactions and dialogue between
• - Hard sciences (Earth System Science ESS)
• -- well established methodologies
• - Soft sciences (HD, socio-economic)
• -- no standard methodologies

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• Global Environmental Change Data
• Needed for
• SCIENCE
• MANAGEMENT, POLICY , DECISION MAKING
• Establishment of open and on-going processes
  identifying data and information requirements
  from research scientists and managers and policy
  makers may be of great help

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Sea-ice extent
Monthly anomalies (millions of km2) of Arctic and
Antarctic sea-ice extent for the period
1973-2002, derived from satellite passive
microwave sounder data (Source HadlSST1 data
set, Hadley Centre, UK Met Office) Trend -
2.8 per decade
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Antarctic sea ice decline since the 50s (M.A.J.
Curran et all., Science, Vol.302, 14 Nov. 2003)
MSA Methanesulphonic acid SIE Sea ice extent
for the 80E to 180E sector (satellite derived)
Trend 20 decline in SIE since about 1950
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What is IAI-DIS ?

• an Internet based system dedicated to the
  dissemination of scientific information produced
  by the IAI projects, following a pre-defined
  standard (Z3950), as well as to ease the exchange
  of that information between institutions/organizat
  ions. It was developed by CIESIN (Center for
  International Earth Science Information Network) .

• IAI-DIS main objectives
• Disseminate global change research information
  produced by the IAI, and other affiliated
  institutions, and
• Contribute for the standardization and exchange
  of scientific data between different
  institutions.

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IAI-DIS
Coordinator Node
PO Participating organizations
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• Main features of the IAI-DIS system
• WEB access and user-friendly interface
• Integrated Search and Retrieval modules and
• Two levels of METADATA ( information about
  data a short, organized and searchable form of
  documentation used to find data).
• What IS NOT IAI-DIS
• It is not a statistical system and
• It is not a tool to make automatic comparisons
  between actual data

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• Drawbacks
• System up and running for 4 years some
  components obsolete
• Present system is not easy for a layman user
• Future actions
• Aggiornamento - update of the system
• - increase the
  user-friendliness
• Creation of a distributed network of GEC DIS in
  the Americas

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www.iai.int
http//disbr1.iai.int
iaidis_at_ dir.iai.int 55-12-3945-6868