The U.S. Department of Energy and the People's Republic of China' Academy of Sciences Joint Research on the Greenhouse Effect: 1985–1991 Research Progress

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Energy and the People's Republic of China's Academy of Sciences signed an agreement on 19 August 1987 to carry out a joint research program on the study of global warming due to enhanced greenhouse effect. The joint study is a first step toward providing opportunities for scientists in both countries to share climate information leading to a better understanding of the earth's climate system and to reliable regional climate prediction. The joint program has four tasks? analysis of general circulation models (GCMs), preparation and analysis of proxy and instrumental data, the study of the relationship between large-and regional-scale climates, and measuring and analyzing methane emissions from the paddy fields in China. Significant progress is being made, and this paper summarizes the research progress since 1985, including two years of scientist-to-scientist collaboration. Overall, there are over 120 publications documenting project research. Highlights of the accomplishments are described and future collaborative work is outlined.