9410900 Pisias This two-year award will support initial planning activities for a new initiative of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, MESH (Marine aspects of Earth System History). MESH-related research will address questions concerning the role of the ocean in climate change on time scales ranging from 10 to 100,000 years, primarily as recorded in marine sediments. Results of MESH research will address hypotheses concerning the long-term natural variability of the ocean/climate system, and will be applied to testing and verifying predictive models of climate change under altered conditions. A draft science plan has been generated by a steering committee elected by a cross-section of the research community. Planning activities supported by this award will include workshops to develop the science plan, by defining priorities and milestones for research, and publication of a newsletter and reports. ***
