CHANGES: CARBON, HYDROLOGY AND GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS. UNLOCKING UNDER-RESEARCHED ENVIRONMENTAL ARCHIVES

CHANGES –Carbon, Hydrology and Global Environmental Systems- is a collaborative research initiative, supported by ICSU, IUGS and UNESCO, between four IGCP projects that focus on the records of environmental change from drylands (IGCP 413), karst terrain (IGCP 448), the continental shelves (IGCP 464), and the archives of climatic change held within past carbon cycle fluxes (IGCP 459). The principal aims of CHANGES are to • Co-ordinate specific strengths within the independent IGCPs ; • Synthesize existing data and data-bases ; • Identify the global role of each environment with respect to the dynamics of carbon, water and the 'greenhouse' gases. The overall purpose of CHANGES is to highlight the significance of these environments in better understanding the dynamics of terrestrial responses to global climate change. With regard to other environments, those in the CHANGES remit are often under-researched, yet they often contain important sedimentary, biological and geomorphological proxies of Quaternary environmental changes that can contribute to enhancing global interpretations of environmental dynamics.

CHANGES aims to contribute to the realisation of their potential as data sources that enhance understanding of global climate system dynamics during the Quaternary, and into the future. This is being facilitated through a range of actions including the development of an interactive data base that acts as an archive of peer- reviewed palaeoenvironmental records. Data collection and analysis is currently focussing on three key time slices: – The last glacial maximum – The Holocene climate optimum – 1000 BP

At the INQUA congress the rationale, development and content of the data base will be demonstrated, and future research plans explained.