Enfield This proposal will allow for the planning of a proposal for Phase II of the IAI Start-Up Grant Program by institutions in the Caribbean and Pacific Coasts of North, Central, and South America. These institutions have the common goal of studying the interactions between the sea surface temperatures (SST) of the Pacific and Caribbean and the overlying trade convergence regime of the troposphere and the resulting anomalous excursions and intensity fluctuations of rain-producing processes. The ultimate goal is to study the detail of these processes, to examine the relationships to the details of climate anomalies in the region and to develop useful ways of forecasting the resulting climate fluctuations. The forecast activities will take into account the potential social and economic impacts on human activities within the region so that the relevant aspects of the climate can de identified and strongly targeted for research. The workshop will enable the core group of institutions in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and the United States to reach out to the other institutions of the region to inform them of the goals of the project, understand their needs and priorities, and coordinate with them to jointly plan for the implementation of research and ultimately of useful forecasts. This proposal assembles a diverse team of investigators from both academic and governmental institutions in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and the United States. These countries are Member States of the IAI, an initiative to stimulate cooperative research on global change issues among the scientific institutions of the Americas. The National Science Foundation is the designated U.S. Government agency to carry out the U.S. responsibilities within the IAI. This proposal will allow for the planning of a proposal for Phase II of the IAI Start-Up Grant Program by institutions in the Caribbean and Pacific Coasts of North, Central, and South Americ a. These institutions have the common goal of studying interannual climate variability in the humid tropics in order to produce climate forecasts that are useful to society. The workshop will enable the core group of institutions in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and the United States to reach out to the other institutions of the region to inform them of the goals of the project, understand their needs and priorities, and coordinate with them to jointly plan for the implementation of research and ultimately of useful forecasts. This proposal assembles a diverse team of investigators from both academic and governmental institutions in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and the United States. These countries are Member States of the IAI, an initiative to stimulate cooperative research on global change issues among the scientific institutions of the Americas. The National Science Foundation is the designated U.S. Government agency to carry out the U.S. responsibilities within the IAI. ***
