The Third Phase of the Workshop Series on the Effects of Climate Change on the Indian Ocean Marine Environment is being held by the IROST, Regional Centre for Science and Technology Transfer (RCSTT) in cooperation with the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science (INIOAS), and the Regional Education and Research Centre on Oceanography for West Asia (RCOWA) under the auspices of UNESCO in collaboration with the IORA Secretariat on 20-22 February 2023, in Tehran, I.R.Iran.
The Indian Ocean, as the third-largest body of water in the world, plays an important role in the economy, ecosystem, and weather from local to global scales. Many properties of the Indian Ocean, can be fundamentally influenced by climate change. Climate change is rapidly impacting the weather, ecosystems, and life of more than two billion people. The impacts of climate change are putting increasing pressure on both marine and terrestrial environments, through more extreme weather conditions that also increase the likelihood of natural disasters.
Climate change is predicted to result in an increase in global temperatures, sea level rise, ocean acidification, more intense tropical cyclones, and an increase in the frequency, intensity, or duration of extreme weather events. It is predicted that climate change-driven disturbance will have a negative effect on water supply; food security; health, industry, settlement, and society, especially for those located in coastal areas and river flood plains. In addition, climate change would also impact natural systems and resources, infrastructure, and labor productivity which may lead to reduced economic growth and increasing poverty and inequality. Therefore, the investigation of climate change effects from different points of view, from marine environment/biodiversity to weather variation, is significant. The workshop topics are as follows:
- The long-term perspective of regional climatic changes in the Indian Ocean
- Changing biogeochemistry of the Indian Ocean and its ecosystem implications
- Climate change-driven dust storms and primary productivity within the Indian Ocean
- Marin ecosystems of the Indian Ocean under the changing climate
