One of the five thematic priorities of the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) is ‘Global change and life evolution’. Understanding climate trends relies heavily upon the preserved geological record. By studying this record, Earth scientists are learning how the climate works, how it has behaved in the past and how it may behave in future. The theme consists of research and capacity-building projects related to climate change, including: Late Varsican Terrestrial Biotas and Palaeoenvironments; Deltas in the Monsoon Asia-Pacific Region; Monsoon Evolution and Tectonic-Climate Linkage in Asia; Dating Caspian Sea Level Change; Environmental Catastrophes; Middle Palaeozoic Vertebrate Biogeography; Palaeogeography and Climate; The Rise and Fall of the Vendian Biota; Quaternary Land-Ocean Interactions; Devonian Land-Sea Interaction: Evolution of Ecosystems and Climate in the Devonian; Dryland Change: Past, Present, Future; Ordovician Palaeogeography and Palaeoclimate; Paleoclimates of the Cretaceous in Asia; Neoproterozoic Ice Ages; Black Sea Mediterranean Corridor during the last 30 ky: Sea level change and human adaptation; Reconstruction of the Past Coastal Environments and its Management; and Rapid Environmental/Climate Change in the Cretaceous Greenhouse World.

Contacts:
::  R. Missotten, Senior Programme Specialist and Secretary, IGCP, SC/EES/GEO
::  M. Patzak, Programme Specialist, SC/EES/GEO

Related links:
::  UNESCO's Earth sciences (More)