International Pacific Research Center

The International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) is a joint U.S.-Japan effort to gain a better understanding of the nature and causes of climate variation in the Asia-Pacific region. The center's mission is "to provide an international, state-of-the art research environment to improve understanding of the nature and predictability of climate variability in the Asia-Pacific sector, including regional aspects of global environmental change." Conceived under the "U.S.-Japan Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective," the IPRC was created in 1997 through an agreement between the University of Hawaii and the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center and the National Space Development Agency of Japan.

Current activities of the IPRC revolve around the following four themes: (1) the Indo-Pacific oceanic climate; (2) regional ocean influences; (3) the Asian-Australian monsoon system; and (4) the impact of global environmental change.

Using data from NASA, one recent research project conducted by scientists at the IPRC mapped the occurrence of high sea winds to assess the impact on ocean circulation and the possible contribution to climate change.

Website: http://iprc.soest.hawaii.edu