Climate change and impact research: the Mediterranean environment (CIRCE)

Description:

The CIRCE Project produced an overview of climate change impacts and possible adaptation actions in the Mediterranean region, that includes Europe, North Africa and Middle East. The objectives of the project were:

• to predict and to quantify physical impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean area
• to evaluate the consequences of climate change for the society and the economy of the populations located in the Mediterranean area
• to develop an integrated approach to understand combined effects of climate change
• to identify adaptation and mitigation strategies in collaboration with regional stakeholders

The project investigated how global and Mediterranean climates interact, how the radiative properties of the atmosphere and the radiative fluxes vary, the interaction between cloudiness and aerosol, the modifications in the water cycle. Recent observed modifications in the climate variables and detected trends were compared. The economic and social consequences of climate change were evaluated by analysing direct impacts on migration, tourism and energy markets together with indirect impacts on the economic system. CIRCE moreover investigated the consequences on agriculture, forests and ecosystems, human health and air quality. The variability of extreme events in the future scenario and their impacts were assessed. A rigorous common framework, including a set of quantitative indicators developed specifically for the Mediterranean environment was developed and used in collaboration with regional stakeholders. The results were incorporated in a decision support system tool and disseminated to the relevant users. Possible adaptation and mitigation strategies were identified.
The integrated results discussed by the project CIRCE were presented in the first Regional Assessment of Climate Change in the Mediterranean area. The knowledge yielded by the different specialised investigations were then linked in an integrated inter-disciplinary approach designed to study the total effect of climate change and to make a powerful contribution to the definition and evaluation of adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Project information

Lead

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (IT)

Partners

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (IT), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientìficas ES), Fundacìon Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterràneo (ES), CLU Ltd (IT), Danish meteorological Institute (DK), University of Crete (GR), Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie e lo Sviluppo Economico Sostenibile (IT), Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (IT), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES), Institute for Coastal Research GKSS (DE), Institute of Accelerating Systems and Applications (GR), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IT), Postdam Institut fur Klimafolgenforschung (DE), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (ES), World Health Organization (INT), Fondation de Recherche pour le Developpement Durable et les Relations Internationales (FR), Natural Environment Research Council (UK), Max-Planck-Society for the Advancement of Science (DE), National Observatory of Athens (GR), National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies (TN), University of Haifa (IL), University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (AT), Joint Research Centre (EU), Parc Cientific de Barcelona (ES), Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale Roma E (IT), METEO-FRANCE (FR), MET OFFICE (UK), Università degli Studi della Tuscia (IT), Stochkolm Environment Institute - University of York (SE/UK), University of Birmingham (UK), Universidad del Pais Vasco (ES), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ES), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR), Tel-Aviv University (IL), Universidad de Alcala (ES), ZADIG Srl (IT), University of East Anglia (UK), Universitat de les Iles Balears (ES), Instituto de Ciencia Aplicada e Tecnologia de faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Lisboa (PT), Universitat Hamburg (DE), University of the Aegean (GR), Centre For Environment and Development For Arab Region and Europe (EG), University of Bern (CH), Università degli Studi - L'Aquila (IT), Freie Universitat Berlin (DE), Università del Salento (IT), European Climate Forum (DE), Vereniging voor Christelijk Hoger Onderwijs Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek en Patientenzorg (NL), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL), Università di Santiago di Compostela (ES), Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (IT), Institute Pasteur de Tunis (TN), Association pour la Recherche sur le Climat et l'Environment (DZ), International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (SY), Hellenic Center for Marine Research (GR), University of Southampton (UK), Ben-Gurion University of Negev (IL), Paul Scherrer Institut (CH), Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (GR), Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e Geofisica Sperimentale (IT), Università di Bologna (IT), Sei - Oxford Office Limited (UK), The Cyprus Institute (CY)

Source of funding

FP 6