External datasets catalogue

Effects of temperature, phase type and timing, location, and human density on plant phenological responses in Europe — 05 Oct 2012

Phenological onset dates are closely linked to temperature. In this study, we analysed a phenological dataset collected during the COST 725 Action 'Establishing a European phenological data platform for climatological applications', which contained more than 36 000 phenological time series for Europe covering 1971-2000. We analysed the temperature response of the phenological phases, their regional differences, and the relationship between the sizes of the local temperature and phenology trends in connection with a high-resolution climate grid of Europe. As an external factor, we examined the influence of human population density on phenology. Our analyses confirm differences in behaviour between annual and perennial plants in Europe. The average temperature response of perennial plants was significantly greater (-4.2 d°C -1 ) than that of annual agricultural crops (-3.0 d°C -1 ). The correlation between temperature and phenology trends was greatest for leaf unfolding of fruit trees and deciduous trees (r=-0.63 and -0.46, respectively). The geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) had only a modest influence on the mean onset of the groups of phases; however, inclusion of altitude improved the models for some groups.

Environment data compendium — 28 Sep 2012

The average temperature of the large rivers increased by nearly three degrees during the last hundred years. The discharge of cooling water and the rise in air temperature are the main causes . Also the temperature of smaller waters has increased by climate change .

World Energy Outlook 2009 (IEA) — 29 Aug 2012

Since WEO-2008, the economic downturn has led to a drop in energy use, CO2 emissions and energy investment. Is this an opportunity to arrest climate change or a threat that any economic upturn might be stifled at birth? What package of commitments and measures should the climate negotiators at Copenhagen put together if they really want to stop global temperatures rising? How much would it cost? And how much might the developed world have to pay to finance action elsewhere? How big is the gas resource base and what is the typical pattern of production from a gas field? What does the unconventional gas boom in the United States mean for the rest of the world? Are we headed for a global gas glut? What role will gas play in the future energy mix? And how might the way gas is priced change? All these questions and many others are answered in WEO-2009. The data are extensive, the projections more detailed than ever and the analyses compelling

UNECE data on environment and human settlements — 27 Aug 2012

Environment and Human Settlements Division

ALARM (Assessing LArge Scale Risks for biodiversity with tested Methods) — 23 Aug 2012

Sustainable development, global change and ecosystems

Climate warming and the decline of amphibians and reptiles in Europe — 23 Aug 2012

We explore the relationship between current European distributions of amphibian and reptile species and observed climate, and project species potential distributions into the future. Potential impacts of climate warming are assessed by quantifying the magnitude and direction of modelled distributional shifts for every species. In particular we ask, first, what proportion of amphibian and reptile species are projected to lose and gain suitable climate space in the future? Secondly, do species projections vary according to taxonomic, spatial or environmental properties? And thirdly, what climate factors might be driving projections of loss or gain in suitable environments for species?

Climate change and timing of avian breeding and migration throughout Europe — 23 Aug 2012

Bird breeding and spring migration phenology have advanced in response to climate change, but the effects differ between sites. Here, we examine the geographical variation in layingdate trends in a short-distance migrant, the European starling Sturnus vulgaris, and a long-distance migrant, the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca.  We model the trend in laying date for these 2 species — between 1980 and 2004 for most of their European breeding areas—by combining geographical variation in mean laying date, the effect of temperature on laying date, and spatial variation in temperature change.

NCEI Data and Products (NOAA) — 22 Aug 2012

NOAA's former three data centers have merged into the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). The demand for high-value environmental data and information has dramatically increased in recent years. To improve our ability to meet that demand, NOAA’s former three data centers—the  National Climatic Data Center , the  National Geophysical Data Center , and the  National Oceanographic Data Center , which includes the  National Coastal Data Development Center —have merged into the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) — 22 Aug 2012

The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) is engaged in comprehensive long lead-time research fundamental to NOAA's mission. Scientists at GFDL develop and use mathematical models and computer simulations to improve our understanding and prediction of the behavior of the atmosphere, the oceans, and climate.

Image 2000 & Corine Land Cover 2000 (dataset URL not directly available) — 22 Aug 2012

Data provided by: JRC-IES/Land Management and Natural Hazards Unit / Image 2000; Corine Land Cover 2000 Project

Network analysis to assess landscape connectivity trends: Application to European forests (1990–2000) — 22 Aug 2012

Articles in Journals

Measuring and reporting on forest landscape pattern, fragmentation and connectivity in Europe: methods and indicators — 22 Aug 2012

PDF report provided by: JRC-IES/Land Management and Natural Hazards Unit

Data on forests in Europe — 22 Aug 2012

Data provided by: JRC-IES/Land Management and Natural Hazards Unit /  European Forest Data Center (EFDAC)

Projections of minicipal waste and greenhouse gas emission — 21 Aug 2012

The EEA and its ETC/SCP have released a report on municipal solid waste (MSW) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The report is using a life cycle approach in order to investigate the implications in GHG terms of the developments in MSW management in the EU from 1990 to 2020. The improvements observed in MSW management accross the EU have resulted in a significant GHG mitigation, cutting annual GHG emissions by 48 million tonnes from 1995 to 2008. The potential is even higher for the forecasted future, especially if the EU waste legislation is implemented fully. These GHG cuts are mainly an outcome of increased recycling and reduced landfiling due to, respectfully, saving the production of virgin materials and avoiding methane emissions.

European air quality maps European air quality maps of ozone and PM10 for 2009 and their uncertainty analysis ETC/ACM Technical Paper 2011/11 — 20 Aug 2012

This paper provides the annual update of the European air quality concentrations of selected pollutants (PM10 and ozone), their exceedance probability and population exposure estimates for the year 2009. The analysis is based on interpolation of annual statistics of the 2009 observational data reported by EEA Member countries in 2010 and stored in AirBase . The paper presents the mapping results and includes an uncertainty analysis of the interpolated maps, building upon the latest methodological developments.

ESA 95 Supply Use and Input-Output tables — 17 Aug 2012

Eurostat tables

Global Footprint Network - National Footprint Accounts 2009 Edition — 17 Aug 2012

PDF document

Probabilities of Adverse Weather Affecting Transport in Europe: Climatology and Scenarios up to the 2050s — 14 Aug 2012

Adverse and extreme weather events, such as heavy rain, heavy snowfall, strong winds, extreme heat  and cold, drought and reduced visibility, can have a negative impact on the transport sector, causing injuries and damages as well as other economic losses. Fre-quency and intensity of weather and climate extremes are likely to continue to change in the future due to the projected climate change; consequences of changes will be both negative and positive for transportation. The EWENT project (Extreme Weather impacts on European Networks of Transport) funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme (Transport, Horizontal Activities) has the objective of assessing extreme weather impacts on the Europe-an transport system. This report frames the findings of Work Package 2 (WP 2) of the EWENT project. The study provides the first comprehensive climatology of the adverse and extreme weather events affecting the European transport system by estimating the frequency (or probability) of phenomena for the present climate (1971-2000) and an overview of projected changes in some of these adverse and extreme phenomena in the future climate until 2070. The following phenomena are analyzed: wind, snow, blizzards, heavy precipitation, cold spells and heat waves. In addition, visibility conditions determined by fog and dust events, small-scale phenomena affecting transport systems, such as thunderstorms, lightning, large hail and tornadoes, and events that damaged the transport system infrastructure were considered. Frequency and probability analysis of past and present extremes were performed using observational and reanalysis data. Future changes in the probability of severe events were assessed based on six high-resolution regional climate model (RCM) simulations produced in the ENSEMBLES project. There are large differences in probabilities and intensity of extremes affecting transport systems across Europe. Northern Europe and the Alpine region are impacted most by winter extremes, such as snowfall, cold spells and winter storms, while the probability of extreme heatwaves is highest in Southern Europe. Extreme winds and blizzards are most common over the Atlantic and along its shores. Although heavy rainfall may impact the whole continent on a yearly basis, the very extreme rainfall events (over 100 mm/24 h) are relative sparse. Visibility conditions indicate a pan-European improvement over the decades studied; severe fog conditions becoming almost non-existent at some of the main European airports. The multi-model mean climate projections indicate robust changes in temperature extremes, but are less coherent with regard to ex-tremes in precipitation and wind. Both cold extremes and snow events are likely to become rarer, especially in the north where the extreme cold might shorten by 30-40 days/year by the 2050s. On the other hand, heavy snowfalls (>10 cm/day) are not expected to decrease, instead models project a 1-5 days/year increase over Scandinavia. Extreme heat is likely to intensify over the entire conti-nent, being more accentuated in the south (by 30-40 days/year). The analysis of the Baltic Sea ice cover indicates a decrease in the average maximum fast ice thickness of 30-40 cm by 2060. To facilitate the assessment of impacts and consequences of extreme phe-nomena at the continental level a regionalization of the European extreme phenomena is provided.

Applying probabilistic projections of climate change with impact models: a case study for sub-arctic palsa mires in Fennoscandia — 19 Jul 2012

Fronzek, S., T.R. Carter, J. Räisänen, L. Ruokolainen and M. Luoto (2010), Climatic Change 99(3), 515-534, doi:10.1007/s10584-009-9679-y

Final Report. GlobSnow Deliverable 3.5. GlobSnow. — 18 Jul 2012

Luojus, Kari, Jouni Pulliainen, Matias Takala, Juha Lemmetyinen, M Kangwa, R Sohlberg, T Nagler, et al. 2011. Final Report. GlobSnow Deliverable 3.5. GlobSnow.