Headline: How to improve the understanding of effects of human actions? IASS joins Earth System Research Partnership

Understanding the processes driving global and climate change can only be improved by looking at the Earth system as a whole. The scope of this task, however, is larger than what can be achieved by any single institute. Therefore, the Max Planck Institutes for Biogeochemistry (Jena), Chemistry (Mainz) and Meteorology (Hamburg) launched the Earth System Research Partnership (ESRP) which the IASS has joined in early 2014.

A key aim is to improve the understanding of effects of human actions and whether it is possible to ‘manage’ the Earth system in the long term. With its work on sustainable interactions with the atmosphere in the Anthropocene, especially in the broader context of Earth system research and analysis, the IASS fits well into the ESRP. Our primary contribution is our research on ozone production and soot particles, as well as the highly polluted region of Southern Asia, and how this can be brought together with knowledge from societal and political actors to support the development of mitigation options. This is implemented through our project “ClimPol”, which is investigating metrics that inform simultaneously about impacts on air quality and climate change. This is part of a broader conceptual effort “coupled human-atmosphere-system thinking” (CHAST) in which the impacts and consequences of emissions to the atmosphere are linked with human actions and behavior specifically considering local socio-ecological contexts. Another link is our work on assessing climate engineering options – large-scale interventions into the Earth system – and the accompanying risks and uncertainties. The inter- and transdisciplinary approach of the IASS will provide a useful contribution to the ESRP by integrating social science expertise and societal actors into the Earth System research.

IASS PhD students Jane Coates and Noelia Otero Felipe will participate in the ESRP PhD conference “Earth System Science 2014” in March 2014, presenting papers on "Comparing how Chemical Mechanisms Treat VOC Degradation and Impact on Ozone Production" (Jane Coates) and the "Effect of low-wind circulation types on air pollution consitions in present and future climate" (Noelia Otera Felipe).