Date

For more information on the Global Change Open Science Conference,
please contact:

Professor Berrien Moore III
Office of the Director
Morse Hall
Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space
University of New Hampshire
Durham, New Hampshire 03824 USA
tel: 603/862-1766
fax: 603/862-1915
e-mail: b.moore [at] unh.edu


Deadline for Abstracts is: 31 March 2001

Dear Colleagues,

As you may know, the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP),
the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), and the International
Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) have come together to host a Global
Change Conference, Challenges of a Changing Earth, to be held 10-13 July
2001 in Amsterdam (http://www.sciconf.igbp.kva.se). This meeting will
bring together many communities, and, amongst those communities,
scientists, policymakers, and government program leaders engaged in
global environmental change research, and the issues of the Earth's
high-latitude systems and the cryosphere in general will be of
particular importance.

This meeting would be an ideal time to highlight internationally what we
now know about the cryosphere generally and the Arctic in particular and
what we need to know. Issues such as the changes in arctic sea ice and
high-latitude ecosystems are just two of several areas that would be
exciting to present in Amsterdam.

The intersection of the scientific issues that are posed by global
changes in the Arctic and the scope and timing of the Amsterdam meeting
will be particularly important this summer. The Conference of the
Parties (COP) will begin meeting on Monday, 16 July in Bonn. This is
the so-called COP 6.5 to pick up from the COP 6 meeting held last
November in The Hague (http://cop6.unfccc.int). The Arctic is an area of
obvious international concern.

I would like to extend a special invitation to the members of the arctic
scientific community to come to Amsterdam.

Posters are very much welcome and Posters will be a central feature for
the Amsterdam meeting!! We invite and encourage the organization of
"Poster Clusters" (see below).

We recognize that the science from the arctic community would span
several of the Themes for the Posters
(http://www.sciconf.igbp.kva.se/copro.html). We suggest that any Poster
Clusters be submitted to the Theme that you feel is most appropriate. We
shall try and organize them in such a manner that the full arctic
connections are realized across themes. In other words, we shall work to
ensure that the Arctic is highlighted across Poster Themes in a coherent
and clear manner.

Finally, we are hoping for a large student participation. Please
encourage your students to attend
(http://www.sciconf.igbp.kva.se/fr.html).

I do hope that you will contribute to the Amsterdam meeting; it is an
important forum.

If there is any way we can be of assistance please let me
(b.moore [at] unh.edu) or the IGBP Stockholm office know (e.g., Will Steffen:
will [at] igbp.kva.se, João Morais: Morais [at] igbp.kva.se, Wendy Broadgate:
wendy [at] igbp.kva.se).

Very best,
Berrien Moore

The deadline for abstracts is 31 March--but the abstracts can be SHORT!!
(http://www.congrex.nl/igbp/abstracts/)


CHALLENGES OF A CHANGING EARTH
Global Change Open Science Conference
10-13 July 2001
Amsterdam, Netherlands

BASIC DATA: The Global Change Open Science Conference is a major 4-day
scientific meeting to be held in Amsterdam, NL 10-13 July 2001.

JOINT SPONSORSHIP: The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme
(IGBP), in collaboration with the International Human Dimensions
Programme on Global Environmental Change(IHDP) and the World Climate
Research Programme (WCRP).

OBJECTIVES: The Conference will present the latest scientific
understanding of the many facets of global environmental change, it will
point towards the novel research approaches needed to study Earth as a
system, and it will explore the role of science in the quest for global
sustainability.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE: An integrated mix of plenary sessions
(http://www.sciconf.igbp.kva.se/prog.html), parallel sessions
(http:// www.sciconf.igbp.kva.se/parallelsessions.html) and poster
viewing (http://www.sciconf.igbp.kva.se/copro.html), allowing the
presentation of both (i) research highlights on major themes and (ii)
the broad spectrum of individual research projects contributing to
international global change science. The poster sessions are a central
feature of the Conference with six hours of dedicated viewing time.
'Poster Clusters' provide the framework for 'self-organizing' groups of
posters to be presented around specific themes and focused topics.

PARTICIPATION: The Conference is aimed primarily towards the global
change scientific community, including specialists in disciplinary areas
of global change research who are keen to learn more about the broader
Earth system context of their work. The Conference will also provide an
excellent state-of-the-art overview of global change issues for
policymakers and resource managers.

SUPPORT FOR LDC SCIENTISTS: A special effort will be made to attract and
support scientists from developing countries, Eastern Europe and the
former Soviet Union.

STUDENTS: There are special opportunities and accommodations for
students. See http://www.sciconf.igbp.kva.se/fr.html

DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: 31 MARCH
(http://www.congrex.nl/igbp/abstracts/)

DEADLINE FOR EARLY REGISTRATION: 30 APRIL
(http:// www.sciconf.igbp.kva.se/info.html)

LATE REGISTRATION ACCEPTED AFTER 30 APRIL AND UP TO CONFERENCE BUT LATE
FEE APPLIES

MORE INFORMATION ON THE CONFERENCE, INCLUDING ONLINE REGISTRATION
(http://www.congrex.nl/igbp/) AND
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION, IS AVAILABLE ON THE HOMEPAGE:
http://www.sciconf.igbp.kva.se