Skip to main content

Work Package 4: Improving technical harmonisation and data quality in environmental monitoring and experimentation

TCD & SASSCAL with UIB and NORCE

The development and maintenance of observational, monitoring and experimental networks are an extremely important tool to capture both short term variability and long-term changes in climate, which will help us to better understand how the climate of sub-Saharan Africa is changing. The data derived from these networks is required to both enhance the prediction of future climate change scenarios and also to develop appropriate risk management strategies that can inform land management decisions, particularly with regards to climate smart agriculture, food security and greenhouse gas emissions. The experimental aspect of these networks provide additional information on the interactions between climate and land use and how these factors influence key biogeochemical cycles within atmospheric, terrestrial and marine systems. In order to maximise the benefits from the development of such networks, it is important to ensure that the measurement requirements, methodological approaches and data outputs are aligned to, and harmonised with key international research initiatives and programmes. This will ensure that key stakeholders are provided with the most robust information possible that can be used to inform the decisions surrounding land use and the provision of key ecosystem services such as the production of food, the supply of water, carbon sequestration and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, all of which will influence future climate change in sub-Saharan Africa.

This work package (WP) will integrate with and build on the outputs of WPs 1-3 and will address three key objectives:

  • To identify the environmental parameters within atmospheric, terrestrial and marine systems that are essential to monitor long-term changes in climate and that can be used to predict future climatic variability.
  • To develop standardised observational and experimental approaches to assess the impacts of climate and land use on carbon, water and greenhouse gas dynamics.
  • To provide harmonised guidelines and protocols, based on operational case study sites, and to disseminate these to the key stakeholder parties through a series of workshops.
Scroll to top