The World Climate Research Programme's (WCRP) Open Science Conference brought together physical scientists, as well as social and information scientists.
The meeting aimed to increase understanding of the role of human-influenced climate change on natural climate variability, with a focus on the prediction of weather, and the challenges facing surface and space observation platforms.
28 October 2011: The World Climate Research Programme’s (WCRP) Open Science Conference brought together over 1900 scientists from 86 countries to share research on the impacts of rising temperatures on polar regions, glaciers, ice caps and the oceans.
The meeting took place from 24-28 October 2011, in Denver, Colorado, US, bringing together physical, social and information scientists. The meeting aimed to increase understanding of the role of human-influenced climate change on natural climate variability, with a focus on the prediction of weather, as well as the challenges facing surface and space observation platforms.
Parallel sessions addressed challenges related to: prediction at various scales; the detection and prediction of extreme events; the understanding of ocean and sea level dynamics; regional climate predictions; analysis of climate data records; the understanding of the impacts of clouds, aerosols and dynamics; replicability of climate models; radiative forcing; land cover impacts; the cryosphere; and feedback loops. The outcomes of the meeting will be published and will inform forthcoming assessments on freshwater, ecosystems, biodiversity and ozone, as well as the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The meeting engaged large numbers of early-career scientists with the aim of providing opportunities for this next generation of scientists. WCRP is co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). [WCRP Press Release] [Meeting Website]