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| DDC Home Page | IPCC | | | WG1 | | | WG2 | | | WG3 | | | TGICA | Contact the DDC |
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| DDC Home Page | IPCC | | | WG1 | | | WG2 | | | WG3 | | | TGICA | Contact the DDC |
Welcome to the Data Distribution Centre (DDC) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The DDC offers access to baseline and scenario data for representing the evolution of climatic, socio-economic, and other environmental conditions.
The data are provided by co-operating modelling and analysis centres. It also provides technical guidelines on the selection and use of different types of data and scenarios in research and assessment. The DDC is designed primarily for climate change researchers, but materials contained on the site may also be of interest to educators, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and the general public.
Analysis of climate impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability involves a set of activities designed to identify the effects of climate variability and change, to evaluate and communicate uncertainties, and to examine possible adaptive responses. Methods for analysis of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability have evolved over the past decade, and a large array of methods and tools are now available for use in specific sectors, at different scales of analysis, and in contrasting environmental and socio-economic contexts.
Most assessments of the impacts of future climate change are based on the results of impact models that rely on quantitative climatic and non-climatic data and scenarios. The identification, selection, and application of baseline and scenario data is a crucial step in the analytical process. The great diversity of the data required and the need to maintain consistency between different scenario elements can pose substantial challenges to researchers. The IPCC DDC seeks to provide access to such data and scenarios and to offer guidance on their application.
The DDC is overseen by the IPCC Task Group on Data and Scenario Support for Impact and Climate Analysis (TGICA) and jointly managed by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in the United Kingdom, the Deutches Klimarechenzentrum (DKRZ/MPI) in Germany, and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University, New York, USA.
The DDC and TGICA support the work of the IPCC, which is carried out by three Working Groups that focus on climate change, impacts/adaptation/vulnerability, and mitigation. Feedback from user communities is welcomed and can be made by completing the feedback form.
Page last modified: 06 July 2005
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© 2005 Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, UK |
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New guidance materials available. More... (07/02/2005)