The Catalan Institute of Climate Sciences (IC3), part of the Research Centres programme of the Catalan Government (CERCA), has taken its first steps towards becoming a pioneering centre at the international forefront in research into the field of climate sciences.

The dynamism of this new institution (which takes over the baton from the Climate Research Laboratory, initially affiliated to the Barcelona Science Park) and the need to have new spaces in which to grow and have its own visibility have made it necessary to seek a new main headquarters, which it has found in the 22@Barcelona district, where the core themes of “innovation and knowledge” regarding water, energy and sustainability (linked to the energy cluster activities of 22@) are the ideal framework for conducting research work with a vocation of excellence.

Its new home is a historic industrial building in the city called “El Canem”, situated at Carrer Dr Trueta 203, very near Rambla del Poblenou. Originally a textile factory, it was used as a retaliatory prison in the civil war and was restored for new uses some years ago.

Created in mid 2008, the IC3 centres its specific field of study on the Mediterranean region and seeks to improve knowledge of the causes and mechanisms responsible for planetary climate changes in conjunction with the leading international research programmes and centres.

Major lines of research

• Climate prediction from the seasonal scale (from 1 to 3 months) to the coming decades, both very useful socially and economically.
• Generation of models to simulate the impacts of the climate and its variability.
• Integral study into the greenhouse effect gas cycle in the peninsular troposphere through a range of completely unique samplings, technologies and numerical models in our environment.
  

Training
Besides basic research, IC3 also plans to contribute towards training the future specialists in climate sciences through Master’s and PhD programmes and to publicise issues related to climate and climate change better to the general public.

Research
A contribution will be made to the identification and development of the new technologies that emerge around the new scenarios posed by climate change. This way, the whole of Catalan society will benefit from the work carried out at the IC3, and especially companies in such varied sectors as tourism, healthcare, food and drink, mobility, water supply, energy, insurance and major infrastructure design, and the public sector that promotes regional planning and the protection of ecosystems.

A young and multicultural research team
The team comprises some 25 people, including researchers of different nationalities.
The average age of the workers is under 30, and experts include climatologists, physicists, biologists, mathematicians, oceanographers, environmentologists and chemical engineers.

A notable fact that gives some idea of the quality of the research conducted at the IC3 is that some of the principal researchers will be participating authors in the forthcoming IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) report in 2010.