The IPCC Data Distribution Centre

DDC Bulletin No. 3, 28th August 1998

This is the third of an occasional series of bulletins from the IPCC DDC keeping you informed of progress about the Centre and about new developments relating to the availability of scenario information being handled by this IPCC initiative. You are receiving this email as a Registered User of the DDC web site. Since the last bulletin in April a number of additions have been made, both to the Green and Yellow Pages. These are summarised below:

• A DDC Data Policy statement has been added to the DDC Blue Home Page. Please read this if you intend using data from the DDC.
• Results from five GCM experiments are now available from the Yellow Pages: ECHAM4, HadCM2, GFDL-R15, CGCM1 and CSIRO. Monthly time series and other technical information about these models and experiments can be downloaded from there.
• We have initiated a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the User Support Page of the Green site. This list of questions and answers about scenarios and about the DDC will be added to in the weeks to come as we handle more enquiries from users.
• Also on the Green Pages, users can now download aggregate (30-year mean) GCM datasets and an observed 1901-1995 global climatology. Users should access this Green Page facility (cf. the Yellow Page facility) if, either, they need only 30-year mean changes or if their Internet connection only allows smaller data files to be downloaded.
• We have activated the Visualisation Pages on the Green site. Not all of the data files have yet been added, but the time series page is fully functioning allowing users to examine historic changes in climate from 1901-1995 for any user-defined region of the world. The other GCM visualisation data will be added in the next few weeks.
• Two other important DDC products are also in preparation. The Guidance Material to accompany these scenario data will be published later in the autumn, probably November. This document will be posted on the web site as well as published as hard copy. The DDC CD-ROM should also be ready this autumn, probably October. This CD will contain all of the functions and data held on the DDC Green Pages and will contain it's own web browser so that users can view the Pages on their local PC without access to the Internet. We will keep registered users informed of progress.
• Finally, the provisional new emissions scenarios from the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios working group of IPCC are now nearly complete. Once we have access to this, we will make them available through the DDC and provide some provisional interpretation of their climate significance.

Please invite your colleagues who have an interest in this Data Centre to Register and be kept abreast of developments. The IPCC DDC is the primary means by which the IPCC is supporting the use of consistent scenarios in impacts assessments that may be cited in the Third Assessment Report.