The CRCES Workshop on Decadal Climate Variability

Abstract

The importance of decadal climate variability (DCV) research is being increasingly recognized, including by international research programs such as the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) and the U.S. National Research Council. This brief article (workshop presentations available online at www.DecVar.org/auditorium.php) summarizes a consensus view of a research community workshop attended by approximately 45 scientists. Gaps in our knowledge of DCV and its societal impacts were identified, as were areas of needed research and anticipated benefits of research. It is a major challenge to implement recommendations of this and other such workshops on climate research in this era of declining earth science budgets. Therefore, a phased implementation is recommended, with highest priority recommendations outlined in a sidebar to this summary.