CIRMOUNT
International Activities Workgroup
Chico Hot Springs, 4 March 2005
Tentative Activities and Rationales
1. Objective: Determining the CIRMOUNT Presence at Perth
It appears that at least 10 participants in MTNCLIM are seriously considering going
to the Global Change in Mountain Regions Open Science Conference in Perth
Scotland from 1 to 5 October 2005. While each participant at Perth can certainly
present on their particular specialty, the presence of a group of CIRMOUNT
associated scientists creates possibilities for more programmatic activities as well.
These could include such things as
• ensuring that all CIRMOUNT-associated presenters adopt some common
CIRMOUNT format,
• organizing a CIRMOUNT session,
• presenting a CIRMOUNT poster(s),
• developing a cross-comparison both ecologically and institutionally with
another mountain region (e.g. Russia), or
• any number of other cool ideas.
Next steps include:
• getting a complete list of CIRMOUNT participants attending Perth
• designating a US lead responsible for this effort
• consulting (via email or conference call) with willing parties (including MRI)
to scope potential presentations
2. Objective: Articulating the Benefits of International Collaboration within Mapping
New Terrain
Much time in the workgroup session was spent enumerating the benefits of and
impediments to, international scientific collaborations. The benefits are various and of
different orders:
• showing that global change impacts are indeed global in scope ( and therefore
merit more attention),
• elucidating transboundary impacts, particularly as they relate to water
resources, air pollution and other media,
• enhancing understanding of climate change and other impacts through
comparisons with mountain regions in other areas of the world,
• improving the capacity of host country scientific institutions and thereby the
reputation of the nation.
The impediments include
• declining budgets
• proving benefits to American taxpayers
• chronic if low-grade xenophobia.
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This discussion could achieve concrete form as a section within the Mapping New
Terrain document. This document serves to lay out the argument for integrated
climate research in western mountains. To the degree that workgroup participants can
articulate a rationale for international collaborations, inclusion within Mapping New
Terrain will get that argument before managers of federal budgets.
Next steps include
• identifying participants interested in articulating the rationale
• identifying an editor of that section of Mapping New Terrain.
3: Objective: Exploring the Possibility of Linking the Western Mountain Initiative to
the GLOCHAMORE Research Strategy and Network.
WMI and GLOCHAMORE are conceptual siblings. Both programs are exploring
global change impacts in mountain regions. WMI is itself a network with multiple
sites, all within the western US, but nonetheless spanning considerable environmental
variation. GLOCHAMORE spans much space and more environments but is not
nearly as developed as WMI, which has a research plan and researchers working
together already. GLOCHAMORE could benefit a great deal from a collaboration
with WMI through the addition of more sites into its high mountain network and
consideration of WMI research emphases and results, while WMI could benefit
through an even broader range of enviroments across which to consider its
hypotheses.
While these complementarities seem evident, capitalizing on them will require much
more focused exchange between WMI and GLOCHAMORE so that all parties
understand more clearly the operations of the others.
Next steps include:
• distribution of information to WMI site managers and researchers
• participation, if desired, of WMI managers and researchers in the Real
Projects in Real Places project of the Mountain Research Initiative.
4. Objective: Presenting the Global Change in Mountains Research theme to the
International Group of Funding Agencies (IGFA) annual meeting.
IGFA brings together all the principal scientific funding agencies for global change
research to discuss priorities, plans and other operational matters. As such, it is a
logical venue for a pitch of the importance and needs of global change in mountain
regions of the world. Such a presentation would be the mountain research
community's attempt to make global change research in mountains as compelling as
research in the Arctic.
MRI has asked the Swiss NSF to propose such a presentation to IGFA. We do not yet
now if the Swiss NSF will act on MRI's request. If it does, MRI would like to
assemble an international group of researchers to design, build and deliver such a
presentation. CIRMOUNT includes the principal American researchers and thus
ought to play a major role in this presentation.
Next steps:
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MRI will follow up to determine the status of the request.
Should the response be positive, MRI will request CIRMOUNT's help.
Other objectives or angles that emerged in the meeting included:
• aiding Henry Diaz in developing a meeting on climate science in the entire
American Cordillera
• climate change impacts on recreation, especially ski areas
• climate change and air pollution impacts on mountain forests
• climate change impacts on transboundary water supply and water quality
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