"Sensitivity and Coupled Response of the Mediterranean and Black Seas System to Environmental Change"

Tribute to Ümit Ünlüata

Session at the 38th CIESM Congress - Istanbul, Turkey, 9-13 April 2007

This session is organized as a tribute to Ümit Ünlüata (1945-2006), who until his last day served, motivated, and made firm contributions to oceanographic investigation of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, helped initiate studies in the Caspian Sea, formerly as a member and director of the Institute of Marine Sciences in Erdemli, Turkey, and later as the Head of the Ocean Sciences Section of the Intergovernmental Oceanography Commission in Paris, France. The session is organised as a special activity of CIESM and with the support of  IOC.

 

The assessment of the vulnerability of the Mediterranean and Black Seas system to climate change largely depends on the sensitivity of the various coupled basins and sub-basins to variable climate forcing. Of particular concern is the degree of effectiveness of the individual physical and biogeochemical processes that make up the combined response. The marine ecosystem's response and resilience should depend primarily on the degree of sensitivity of individual parts, their coupling, and ensuing adaptation.

 

12 communications (15 minutes each, plus short discussion) are expected. Both the invited talks (less than half of the communications) and the remaining overviews are expected to present ideas and analyses of the leading physical and ecosystem processes in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, displaying their contrasts as well as combined nonlinear effects and impacts on human activities. Since there will be limited space for contributions in this short session, we invite original contributions opening up new ground by synthesis across geographical or scientific domains, possibly expanding on the following themes:

 

- regional interdecadal climate variability and change in relation to the neighboring areas

- analyses of gradual versus abrupt changes and regime shifts, e.g. recent observations of

Western Mediterranean warming, Eastern Mediterranean Transient and changes in the

Mediterranean and Black Seas ecosystems

- detection and indicators of environmental / ecosystem changes, alien species, migrations,

- stresses on energy, water and food, development.

 

Please respond to Emin Özsoy ( Bu e-Posta adresi istek dışı postalardan korunmaktadır, görüntülüyebilmek için JavaScript etkinleştirilmelidir ) and Nadia Pinardi ( Bu e-Posta adresi istek dışı postalardan korunmaktadır, görüntülüyebilmek için JavaScript etkinleştirilmelidir ) before 15 November 2006, sending an abstract and description of your proposed contribution.