Research Overview

What are the Scientists at the WegCenter working on?

The research at the WegCenter is structured into research programmes, in which specific research areas are addressed by thematic research groups via a range of mutually coordinated research projects. Two programmes are established:

Programme CCR
(Programme leader: Gottfried Kirchengast)
Climate and Environmental Change Research and Monitoring Programme

The CCR Programme focuses on the natural science aspects of climate and environmental change and deals with the monitoring, analysis, modeling and prediction of natural and human induced climate and environmental change, as well as with the impacts on the natural living environment of man (air, water, soil, plants). The main goal is to contribute globally, regionally and locally to a better understanding of the geo-bio-physical climate system and climate variability in a global context, and to analyze, understand and predict the possible regional and local climate and environment impacts of anthropogenically induced global change.
In the CCR Programme two research areas are pursued, one by the research group ARSCliSys (Atmospheric Remote Sensing and Climate System), the other one by the research group ReLoClim (Regional and Local Climate Modeling and Analysis).

Programme HDP
(Programme leader: Karl Steininger)
Human Dimensions of Climate and Environmental Change Programme

The HDP Programme focuses on the socio-economic aspects of climate and environmental change, in particular on how individuals and the society contribute to global climate and environmental change, how people are affected by this change and how they can mitigate the climate and environmental change or adapt to it. The main goal is, complementary to the natural science oriented research in the CCR Programme, to characterize, analyze and understand the socio-economic dimensions of climate change.
In the HDP Programme a third research area is pursued by the research group EconClim (Economics of Climate and Environmental Change).

A series of co-operations exists via the multitude of interfaces between the CCR and the HDP Programmes and there is an emphasis on the joint development and implementation of adequate research projects. On the basis of common research experiences gained since 2005 mainly in direct project-level teamwork, a new joint fourth research area was established in fall 2008:

CCR-HDP Joint Focus RegIMOS
Regional Integrated Climate-Environment-Economy Modeling System and Studies

Complementary to CCR and HDP, this Joint Focus represents a programme-overlapping research area, which can only be implemented systematically by an interdisciplinary institute such as the WegCenter. It is jointly pursued by the three research groups ReLoClim, EconClim and ARSCliSys. RegIMOS focuses on the consolidation of the combined modeling, data and know-how resources of ReLoClim, EconClim, ARSCliSys and selected collaboration partners for the development and utilization of a regional integrated climate-environment-economy-modeling-system to conduct studies of climate change, climate impacts, adaption and mitigation on a regional and local scale, with main focus on the Alpine region and Austria/Styria (see also next paragraph).

Focus region Austria/Styria in a global context
Austria is the focus region for the research in both programmes and in the Joint Focus area RegIMOS, embedded in the context of global climate and environmental change, with special consideration of Styrian regions. The latter serve as primary modeling and investigation testbeds for research in the range of high spatial and temporal resolution, for example, innovative climate and environmental modeling down to the local scale of 100 m to 1 km resolution, i.e., the local living environment for people, animals and plants. For an adequate embedding in the global context, the WegCenter sets a high value as well on the contribution and the Know-how in the field of global climate research at global, European and the entire Alpine region levels. For example, leading Know-how exists in the area of satellite-based global Earth observation of climate change in the atmosphere.

Data & Information Center (DIC)
In co-operation of both the CCR and the HDP programme, a Data & Information Center is being built. A main focus is on data and information for systematic monitoring of climate change by way of key parameters of climate, the environment and the socio-economic world. Emphasis is on simple and publicly accessible - both for professionals and interested laypersons - selected data for Austria/Styria and the global context, including indicators for future climate change and its potential consequences. Suitable existing data from external sources, to provide easy access, as well as own research data are included.
Practically the setup of the DIC consists of the four web portals “WegenerNet”, “Alpine region-Austria-Styria under Climate Change”, “Global Climate Monitoring” and “Indicators of Climate Change”. Complementarily, the publications of the Wegener Center Verlag are part of the DIC. Two portals already exist, the “WegenerNet” (www.wegcenter.at/wegenernet, www.wegenernet.org) and the “Global Climate Monitoring” portal (www.wegcenter.at/globclim, www.globclim.org). These portals currently provide own research data and are continuously expanded and developed. The development and expansion of the further DIC portals is pursued depending on the allocatable resources of the research groups and the institute.
Prospectively the information within these portals ranges from global data (e.g., on emissions and concentrations of greenhouse gases, large-scale changes of temperature) via regional and local parameters for mean climate change and climate and weather extremes (e.g., heat index, precipitation, storminess, snow availability, soil moisture) to socio-economic indicators for causes, impacts and risks of climate change (e.g., macro-economic trends, risk and loss indices, climatically relevant cost-benefit indicators).