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Chronicles of Physical Oceanography
The Birth of CLIVAR – A Successor to TOGA and WOCE
On this day in history,...
...in 1992, the Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) program was formally proposed in the final report of the WCRP CLIVAR Study Group. After extensive deliberations, including difficulties in naming the new initiative, the group settled on CLIVAR, reflecting its focus on climate variability and predictability. CLIVAR was designed as the successor to the TOGA (Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere) and WOCE (World Ocean Circulation Experiment) programs, extending their objectives to address both natural climate variability and externally forced climate change, such as greenhouse gas-driven warming.
We know that CLIVAR was officially proposed in September 1992, but the exact date is unclear. We have assigned September 15 as a reference, and if anyone has more precise information, we would be happy to update it.
As a key component of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), CLIVAR set out to:
- Improve understanding of climate variability across time scales from months to centuries.
- Investigate both natural climate fluctuations and those driven by external factors, such as greenhouse gas emissions.
- Enhance climate predictability through sustained observations and modeling efforts.
Since its inception, CLIVAR has played a key role in global climate research, contributing to major advancements in:
- Ocean-atmosphere interactions, particularly ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) dynamics.
- Decadal climate variability and long-term climate trends.
- Development of observational networks, including Argo and satellite-based climate monitoring.
Sources
- World Climate Research Programme (WCRP): https://clivar.org/
- CLIVAR Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CLIVAR