全球变化研究——一个新的国际前沿科学计划

A STUDY OF GLOBAL CHANGE——A NEW INTERNATIONAL FRONTAL SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM

本文简单介绍全球变化研究计划的由来和发展,计划的主要内容和组织机构以及我国的全球变化研究组织和有关活动。

This paper describes briefly the origin and development of the study of global change, its goal and major contents, organization of global change program, as well as the pilot study of global change in China. It is emphasized that the study of global change may be help to describe and recognize the interactive physical, chemical and biological processes as a whole that regulate the Earth system. The focus is paid on the significant global changes on time scale of decades to centuries. The major contents of the study of global change include terrestrial biosphere-atmospheric chemistry interactions, marine biosphere-atmospheric interactions, biospheric aspects of the hydrological cycle, effects of climatic change on terrestrial ecosystems and global geosphere-biosphere modelling. In addition, data and information systems and geosphere-biosphere observatories will be estabilished and the global change in the past will be conducted. China has a plenty of bio-geological records and a large number of historical literature. We, the Chinese scientists, should from the very beginning participate this international frontal scientific program in order to make great contribution to the course of scientific development.